2025-07-16 07:16
DUBAI, July 16 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Wednesday it plans to transfer its 24.9% shareholding in Austria's OMV AG (OMVV.VI) , opens new tab to its XRG investment unit ahead of the establishment of a chemicals company combining existing OMV and ADNOC firms. ADNOC last year bought a 24.9% stake in OMV from Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, without disclosing the financial terms. Sign up here. Earlier this year, ADNOC and OMV agreed to merge their polyolefin businesses to create a chemicals company with a $60 billion enterprise value. The merged entity, Borouge Group International (BGI), is set to be the world's fourth-largest polyolefins firm by production capacity, behind China's Sinopec and CNPC and U.S.-based ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, ADNOC Downstream CEO Khaled Salmeen told Reuters in March. BGI will combine two joint ventures - Borealis, 75% owned by OMV and 25% by ADNOC, and Borouge (BOROUGE.AD) , opens new tab, 54% owned by ADNOC and 36% by Borealis, the company announced in March. In its statement on Wednesday, ADNOC said it is progressing with preparation for the proposed establishment of BGI. ADNOC's proposed 46.94% shareholding in BGI is expected to be held by XRG upon completion of the transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, the statement said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/abu-dhabis-adnoc-plans-transfer-249-stake-omv-xrg-unit-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 07:02
US crude stockpiles fall, gasoline and distillates build US gasoline demand eases during peak driving season OPEC bullish on oil demand outlook HOUSTON, July 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled marginally lower on Wednesday as U.S. fuel inventory builds and concerns about wider economic impact from U.S. tariffs outweighed some signs of increasing demand. Brent crude futures settled 19 cents, or 0.3% lower, at $68.52 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $66.38. Sign up here. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 3.4 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said. Analysts had expected a draw of 1 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.2 million barrels, EIA data showed, far surpassing expectations for a 200,000-barrel rise. Crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels last week, the EIA said, exceeding forecasts for a 552,000-barrel draw. "I think the market is disappointed to see large builds in gasoline and distillate inventories as refiners are operating at near their highest levels of the year turning oil into refined products," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, referring to refinery rates of nearly 94% of total capacity. "I think investors are also disappointed to see gasoline demand fall just after July 4 as we are now in the peak summer driving season," he added. The amount of products supplied for gasoline, a proxy for demand, eased 670,000 barrels per day to 8.5 million bpd. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war continued, with the European Commission preparing possible retaliation if talks with Washington fail to secure a trade agreement for the European Union. On Monday, Trump said the U.S. will impose "very severe tariffs" on Russia in 50 days if there is no deal to stop the war in Ukraine. Short-term U.S. interest-rate futures rose after a report that Trump was likely to fire Federal Reserve Jerome Powell soon, with traders now betting on rate cuts starting in September and at least one more by December. Trump said he was not planning to fire Powell, but declined to rule out anything. Interest rate cuts typically boost economic activity and energy demand. Helping keep a floor under prices, U.S. economic activity increased slightly in recent weeks, but the outlook was neutral to slightly pessimistic, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, as businesses reported the Trump administration's higher tariffs were putting upward pressure on prices. OPEC's monthly report on Tuesday forecast that the global economy would do better in the second half of the year. Brazil, China and India are exceeding expectations while the United States and EU are recovering from last year, it added. Chinese state-owned refiners are ramping up output after completing maintenance to meet higher third-quarter fuel demand and to rebuild diesel and gasoline stocks at multi-year lows, traders and analysts said. Barclays estimated that Chinese oil demand in the first half of the year grew by 400,000 bpd year-on-year to 17.2 million bpd. On the supply side, drone attacks for a third day on oilfields in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have slashed crude output by 140,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, two energy officials said on Wednesday, as infrastructure damage forced multiple shutdowns. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-gain-demand-expectations-amid-improving-economy-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 06:56
Israel launches heavy airstrikes in Damascus US producer prices unchanged in June July 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped on Wednesday following news reports that U.S. President Donald Trump planned to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but trimmed gains after Trump denied the claim. Trump said he was not planning to fire Powell, but declined to rule anything out, citing an investigation into cost overruns on a $2.5-billion Fed renovation project. Sign up here. Spot gold rose 1% to $3,354.01 per ounce, as of 0153 p.m. EDT (1753 GMT) after rising as much as 1.6% earlier. U.S. gold futures settled 0.7% higher at $3,359.1. "Headlines suggesting Trump was considering firing Powell drove gold prices higher... he later clarified it's highly unlikely. Gold markets were whipsawed by the back and forth," said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities. Israel launched powerful airstrikes in Damascus, damaging the Defence Ministry and striking near the presidential palace. The attack added to geopolitical worries and supported purchases of safe-haven gold. On the trade front, the European Commission prepared to target $84.1 billion worth of U.S. goods for possible tariffs if trade talks with Washington fail after Trump threatened last week to impose 30% tariffs on imports from the EU. "With Israeli strikes and the U.S. being more hawkish on trade tariffs, there is a little bit more uncertainty to the marketplace," which is helping gold, said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals. "I expect gold to trade between $3,250 and $3,476 in the near term." Adding support to gold was data that showed U.S. producer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in June from a 0.3% rise in May. It followed Tuesday's data that showed overall consumer prices rose 0.3% in June, up from 0.1% in May, signalling the Federal Reserve may continue to exercise caution before cutting interest rates. Gold thrives during uncertain times, and a low-interest rate environment boosts it further. Spot silver added 0.5% to $37.89 per ounce. Platinum gained nearly 3% to $1,412.55 and palladium rose 1.8% to $1,227.73. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/gold-ekes-out-gain-focus-turns-us-tariff-negotiations-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 06:51
NEW DELHI, July 16 (Reuters) - India's state-run GAIL (GAIL.NS) , opens new tab is in initial talks to buy liquefied natural gas from the proposed Alaska LNG project as the South Asian nation expands its import capacity, three industry sources with knowledge of the matter said. The talks with developer Glenfarne come as India works to raise its energy imports from the United States to narrow its trade surplus as part of a broader trade agreement with Washington to avoid the imposition of hefty U.S. tariffs. Sign up here. GAIL's discussions are preliminary as the landed cost of LNG will be a crucial deciding factor for the deal, the sources said. Glenfarne said last month that 50 firms had formally expressed interest in contracts with Alaska LNG. The project, championed by U.S. President Donald Trump, has been stuck on the drawing board for more than a decade. GAIL did not respond to Reuters email seeking comment on the talks. "Glenfarne does not comment on or confirm individual commercial negotiations, but Alaska LNG’s growing commercial momentum reflects the project’s competitive economic and geostrategic advantages," it said in an emailed statement to Reuters. India, the world's fourth-largest LNG importer, aims to increase the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030, up from about 6% currently, to reduce its carbon footprint. GAIL plans to increase the capacity of its 5 million metric tons per year Dabhol LNG terminal to 6.3 million tons per year by mid-2027 and to 12.5 million tons per year by 2031-32. Earlier this year GAIL invited initial bids from companies as it seeks to buy equity in an existing LNG project or a new project that would be commissioned by 2030 at the latest. The $44-billion Alaska LNG project could export up to 20 million metric tons per year of the superchilled gas. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said in March the project could start exporting LNG by 2030. Glenfarne expects to make a final investment decision in the fourth quarter of this year on the first phase of the project - a 765-mile (1231-km) pipeline to deliver gas from the state's far north to its Anchorage region. Thailand's state-owned oil and gas giant PTT (PTT.BK) , opens new tab last month signed a 20-year agreement to buy 2 million tons per year of LNG from the Alaska LNG project. Others, including South Korea and Japan's top power producer JERA, are awaiting clarity on the financing and cost of the project. GAIL has contracts to buy 15.5 million tons annually of LNG including 5.8 million tons from the United States. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-gail-initial-talks-long-term-lng-deal-with-alaska-lng-sources-say-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 06:27
LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - Chilean miner Antofagasta (ANTO.L) , opens new tab said on Wednesday its copper production rose 11% to 314,900 metric tons in the first half of 2025, on higher production from its two concentrators. The London-listed company left guidance for full-year copper output unchanged between 660,000 and 700,000 tons. In 2024, it produced 664,000 tons of copper. Sign up here. It said net cash costs stood at $1.32 per pound in the first half of the year, 32% lower than the same period of 2024, mostly on higher production. The company left capital expenditure guidance for the year unchanged at $3.9 billion in 2025, up from $2.7 billion in 2024, as works on its Centinela concentrator peak. Antofagasta operates four copper mines in Chile, and seeks to develop the Twin Metals copper and nickel mine in Minnesota, which was stalled after President Joe Biden's administration blocked permits over environmental concerns. CEO Ivan Arriagada on July 10 said he saw "an opportunity" to advance Twin Metals, following President Donald Trump's move to impose a 50% import tariff on copper, reviving hopes for greater support of domestic mining projects. Copper, a metal with high electrical and thermal conductivity, is essential in the power and construction sectors. Demand for it is expected to increase over time, driven by the expansion of the electric vehicle market and emerging applications, including AI-powered data centres. Chile is the world's biggest copper producer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/antofagastas-copper-output-up-11-first-half-2025-07-16/
2025-07-16 06:26
Trade deal sets US tariffs at 19% vs feared 32% Indonesia agrees to buy more US planes, energy, farm products Jakarta stock market rises but traders await more details Bank Indonesia says deal will have positive impact on GDP JAKARTA, July 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's president said U.S. counterpart Donald Trump was a "tough negotiator" after the two countries reached a trade deal that led to a reduction of proposed tariff rates to 19% from 32%. The deal is among only a handful reached so far by the Trump administration ahead of an August 1 deadline for negotiations, but no details were immediately provided by Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy and a member of the G20. Sign up here. Trump said Indonesia had committed to purchasing 50 Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab jets, $15 billion in U.S. energy supplies, and $4.5 billion in U.S. agricultural products. "We've agreed from 32%, if I'm not mistaken, lowered to 19% ... I was still negotiating, but, I must say, he's a pretty tough negotiator," Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto told journalists on Wednesday after a phone call with Trump. Prabowo, who was returning from overseas visits, including Brazil for the BRICS conference, said he had spoken to Trump. He added, while he understood the United States' points of view in the talks: "We've given our offer, we cannot give more." Trump's comments outlined an Indonesia deal similar to a preliminary pact struck recently with Vietnam, with no levies on U.S. exports to Indonesia. It also included a penalty rate for so-called transshipments of goods from China via Indonesia. Indonesia - the world's fourth-largest country by population - ran a goods trade surplus of $17.9 billion with the United States in 2024, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. "This is an extraordinary struggle by our negotiating team led by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs," Hasan Nasbi, the Indonesian president's spokesperson, told reporters earlier. Nasbi said Indonesia's tariff rate was much lower than other countries in Southeast Asia. The Jakarta stock index (.JKSE) , opens new tab rose as much as 0.8% on Wednesday after the deal, which Indonesia's central bank said would provide a positive catalyst for economic activities. The JKSE is up 10% since early April. The country's central bank cut rates on Wednesday, saying the deal will have a positive impact on the archipelago's exports and economic growth, and provide certainty to financial markets. A report by Capital Economics said that the rate cut might have come anyway, but the trade deal helped by removing a key source of uncertainty. "While details are still sparse, it appears to be similar to that agreed with Vietnam, with clamping down on re-routing from China, once again, a key target," the report said. Natixis warned the Indonesian economy would still be affected by Trump's tariffs on China - Indonesia's biggest trade partner. "Well, 19% is better than 32%," Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index in Brisbane, said. "Indonesian non-oil exports such as footwear and textiles will take a hit, but energy and agriculture are set to gain. Officials are of course pleased because they're in Trump's good books," he added. Myrdal Gunarto, an economist with Maybank Indonesia, described the deal as relatively good, as Jakarta is getting a tariff below those imposed on other Southeast Asian neighbours. "(It) opens more space for domestic lower monetary policy rate," he said, predicting it would also trigger capital inflows. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-says-us-trade-deal-reached-after-extraordinary-struggle-2025-07-16/
