2025-11-25 11:52
NEW DELHI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - India is considering extending an import tariff, locally known as a safeguard duty, on some steel products to counter cheaper imports primarily from China, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, had in August recommended a three-year import tariff of 11%-12% on some steel products as part of the final findings of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies that falls under the federal trade ministry. Sign up here. "It (tariff) is under consideration," the source told Reuters, declining to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the matter. India's Ministry of Finance did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comments. The Indian government had in April imposed a 12% temporary tariff for 200 days that lapsed earlier this month. India's finished steel imports during the first seven months of the financial year were down 34.1% year-on-year. South Korea was the biggest exporter of finished steel to India during the period, shipping in 1.4 million metric tons of finished steel, followed by China, Japan and Russia. Chinese steel exports made India "vulnerable", the source said, primarily due to cheaper prices. China's steel output will slip below 1 billion tons this year for the first time in six years, on track to meet the government's pledge to reduce production, the state-backed steel association said late last month. Beijing in late October unveiled a proposal for a more stringent steel capacity swap plan to reduce existing capacity, a move that is set to rebalance supply and demand in the sector contending with overcapacity. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-considering-import-tariff-some-steel-products-source-says-2025-11-25/
2025-11-25 11:50
TURIN, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab Chairman John Elkann on Tuesday warned that the European auto industry risks an "irreversible decline". Speaking in Turin during an event marking the start of large-scale production of the new hybrid version of the Fiat 500 small car, Elkann said the industry as a whole had drawn up a package of proposals for the European Commission to give automakers more flexibility on emissions targets and that this would allow the sector to avoid such decline. Sign up here. The European Commission is due to present on December 10 a package of proposals as part of its scheduled review of EU carbon emissions regulation for the auto industry. Elkann earlier this month said Stellantis backed a string of measures put to the EU to support the European auto industry. Those proposals include allowing plug-in hybrids, range extenders and alternative fuels beyond 2035, averaging interim carbon reduction goals fixed for 2030 over several years, introducing a wide scrappage scheme on existing cars and adapting regulation to favour the production of small cars. Gianluca Ficco of UILM union said in a statement that the start of production of the hybrid Fiat 500 was positive for Italian output but added that the EU needs to change rules for the auto industry, "before it's too late" and to avoid tough consequences for the industry and jobs. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/european-car-industry-risks-irreversible-decline-stellantis-chairman-warns-2025-11-25/
2025-11-25 11:50
PARIS/BEIJING, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A multi-billion dollar pipeline of rare earth projects around the world is set to partly wean the U.S. off Chinese rare earths, but falls far short of breaking Beijing's grip over the sector for most other countries. China would still supply roughly 60% of the world's key magnet-making rare earths by 2030, according to Reuters' analysis of International Energy Agency data. By comparison, the U.S. is on course to meet about 95% of its own demand from domestic sources. Sign up here. However, these projections assume that today's pipeline is built and scaled on schedule. Experts point to the years needed to build new mines and refineries, the difficulty and expense of finding equipment outside China and the shortage of skilled workers. The IEA estimates are also narrowly focused on just four of the 17 rare earth elements. But China is set to continue dominating processing of heavy rare earths, a niche but vital sub-group of the elements, and the West as a whole will still rely on China for 91% of its needs in 2030. "By 2030, we will still be in trouble," said Neha Mukherjee, research manager at Benchmark Minerals. "It's just that, if all these projects in the pipeline are able to come online, we will be in less trouble than we are right now." https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-set-narrow-its-rare-earth-gap-others-not-so-much-2025-11-25/
2025-11-25 11:46
Sanctions to cause sharp December drop in Russian oil imports Refiners seek options on tighter Western curbs, bank scrutiny U.S., EU sanctions pressure India's refiners to cut Russia buys NEW DELHI/MOSCOW, Nov 25 (Reuters) - India's Russian oil imports are set to hit their lowest in at least three years in December, down from multi-month highs in November, as refiners turned to alternatives to avoid breaching Western sanctions, trade and refining sources said. Britain, the European Union and the United States have tightened sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, with Washington’s latest measures targeting top Russian producers Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab. Sign up here. Buyers of Russian oil had until November 21 to wind down dealings with the two firms. Separately, the EU has set a January 21 deadline after which it will decline fuel from refineries that handled Russian crude within 60 days of the bill of lading. BANK SCRUTINY LEADS TO CAUTION Bank scrutiny following the latest U.S. sanctions has made Indian state refiners "extremely cautious", one of the refining sources said, adding that India is likely to get 600,000 to 650,000 barrels per day of Russian oil in December. These include imports by Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) , opens new tab, Nayara Energy and delivery of some November-loading cargoes for Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) , opens new tab, the source added, citing preliminary lifting plans of Indian companies. This month, India is expected to receive 1.87 million bpd of Russian crude, provisional data from Kpler showed. In October it imported 1.65 million bpd of Russian oil, up 2% from September, data from trade sources shows. "Russian supply is expected to be high in November as many refineries tried to fill the stocks prior to the U.S. sanctions deadline and also due to the rule for oil products production for EU market from non-Russian oil from 2026," said a trade source. The sources sought anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to media. MOST INDIAN REFINERS HALT RUSSIAN BUYS Most Indian refiners, such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL.NS) , opens new tab, Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL.NS) , opens new tab and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, have stopped buying Russian oil. State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) , opens new tab and Bharat Petroleum Corp have said they will buy only from the non-sanctioned entities. Nayara Energy, partly owned by Rosneft, is exclusively processing Russian oil after other suppliers pulled back following British and EU sanctions. Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS) , opens new tab has said it loaded Russian oil cargoes "precommitted" as of October 22, and will process any parcel arriving after November 20 at its refinery that is geared to produce fuels for the local market. Reliance, the operator of the world's biggest refining complex, has two refineries with one catering exclusively to export markets. The share of U.S. oil in India's oil imports in October surged to its highest since June 2024 as refiners tapped an arbitrage window. India is also under pressure to buy more U.S. energy after Washington doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50%, citing New Delhi's buying of Russian oil. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-russian-oil-binge-end-december-sanctions-bite-sources-say-2025-11-25/
2025-11-25 11:39
Nov 25 - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. As a year-end Federal Reserve interest rate cut comes back into play, the trickle of backlogged U.S. economic data turns into a torrent on Tuesday as markets get a better take , opens new tab on the U.S. consumer ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Fed easing hopes have zoomed higher since New York Fed boss John Williams nodded late Friday to another cut next month. Futures markets now see a more than 70% chance of a move in December compared with a 1-in-4 chance just a week ago. The shift in expectations dragged Treasury yields lower and sparked another hefty rally of more than 1% in Wall Street stock indexes on Monday. Stock futures have stepped back a touch overnight, however, as some major health checks on the U.S. consumer are due to hit later on Tuesday. Long-delayed September retail sales and producer price data are released alongside a more up-to-date taken on consumer confidence this month. And with 'Black Friday' sales also on the radar, Best Buy reports earnings. The Fed's focus lately has been on the extent of softness in the labor market - with a mixed picture on that in the most recent payrolls update. But Williams' intervention on Friday also indicated that he saw still elevated inflation as temporary and producer price readings on Tuesday will help color thinking on the Fed's favored personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge for the same month. The Fed Board's resident dove and Fed Chair hopeful Christopher Waller backed another rate cut next month. So did San Francisco Fed chief Mary Daly. All of which has helped repair market sentiment after last week's jarring tech-related selloff. But it was far from plain sailing in the increasingly volatile Big Tech and AI megacaps. As Tokyo returned from Monday's holiday, tech giant Softbank shares plunged 10%, even though Japan's Nikkei index clung to positive territory. Shares of Alphabet jumped 3% premarket after The Information reported the firm was in talks with Meta Platforms to supply AI chips, a move that's seen AI-chip behemoth Nvidia's stock drop 3% ahead of Tuesday's bell as the rivalry was eyed. And with attention still on the scale of AI-related investment frenzy, Amazon said it plans to invest $15 billion in Northern Indiana data centers - on the same day it announced plans to invest up to $50 billion to expand AI and supercomputing capabilities for U.S. government customers. Overseas there was better news on U.S.-China trade relations. President Donald Trump said on Monday that ties with China were "extremely strong" following a call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who told Trump that Taiwan's "return to China" is a key part of Beijing's vision for the world order. China's stocks rose 1% on Tuesday and the offshore yuan surged to its strongest level against the dollar in more than a year. Elsewhere, Japan's yen was firmer too, but long-dated government bonds there remained on edge ahead of an auction of 40-year debt on Wednesday that will test demand after the government unveiled its latest fiscal stimulus last week. Overall, the dollar index was steady to a touch lower. And in today's column, I explore an interesting – and potentially concerning - entanglement of the gold and crypto worlds. , opens new tab Today's Market Minute Chart of the day Even though ebbing slightly, U.S. consumers' inflation outlook over one and five years remained elevated. Market-based inflation expectations, however, are better behaved and have subsided this month - with the 10-year inflation 'breakeven' rate from the inflation-protected securities market falling back to near 2.2% for the first time since April. Today's events to watch (all times EDT) * U.S. September retail sales, Sept producer prices (0830) Sept home prices (0900) November consumer confidence (1000), Richmond Federal Reserve November business survey (1000), October pending home sales (1000), August business/retail inventories * European Central Bank board member Piero Cipollone speaks * U.S. corporate earnings: Best Buy, Workday, Autodesk, NetApp, HP, Analog Devices, Deere * U.S. Treasury sells $70 billion of 5-year notes and $28 billion of 2-year floating rate notes Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-11-25/
2025-11-25 11:06
LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - British retailers have reported the sharpest drop in confidence in 17 years and their sales fell again ahead of Wednesday's budget which is likely to include tax increases, according to a survey published on Tuesday. The Confederation of British Industry said its gauge of how retail sales compared with a year earlier worsened to -32 from -27 in October. The CBI's gauge of expected sales for the month ahead improved to -24 from -39. Sign up here. But a quarterly measure of firms' business sentiment for the next three months tumbled to -35 from -10 in August, marking the weakest reading since late 2008 when global financial crisis peaked. "Retailers continue to grapple with a long spell of weak demand, as households remain cautious around day-to-day spending," Alpesh Paleja, the CBI's deputy chief economist, said. "With all eyes on the forthcoming budget, uncertainty in the run-up has meant that businesses are holding back on plans for investment and hiring," Paleja said. A measure of inflation in prices charged by retailers fell closer to its long-run average, slowing sharply from August. The CBI's survey was conducted between October 28 and November 13. Of the 177 respondents, 66 were retailers and 95 were wholesalers. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/uk-retailers-confidence-collapses-17-year-low-before-budget-2025-11-25/
