2025-06-06 23:12
Trump hints at imminent Fed chair decision Warsh seen as frontrunner for Fed chair role Trump criticizes Powell's rate policy again WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday that a decision on the next Federal Reserve chair will be coming out soon, adding that a good Fed chair would lower interest rates. "It's coming out very soon," Trump told reporters on Air Force One. Sign up here. When asked specifically about former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, Trump said, "he's very highly thought of." Warsh is considered a frontrunner to be Trump's pick to be the next Fed chair. Earlier on Friday, Trump said the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by a full percentage point and he reiterated his view that Chair Jerome Powell has been too slow to lower borrowing costs. The president has repeatedly berated Powell for not cutting rates as he desires. The two men met face-to-face for the first time last week, with Trump telling Powell he was making a "mistake" by not lowering rates. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-decision-fed-chair-will-be-out-soon-2025-06-06/
2025-06-06 22:16
HOUSTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The spread between U.S. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures narrowed to its tightest level since September 2023 on Friday as U.S. prices rose on a sliding rig count and Canadian wildfires that cut supplies, analysts and traders said. U.S. futures ended the week 4.9% higher, while Brent futures rose 2.75%, as OPEC+ output increases put a cap on gains. Sign up here. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT A narrower spread indicates a closed arbitrage window for traders and weaker shipping economics to Europe and Asia. The tighter spread can act as an early indicator that U.S. crude exports will likely fall in the next few weeks, assuming the premium for Brent crude remains weak. The inclusion of WTI-Midland crude in the dated Brent index has meant that the spread between the two is increasingly correlated to freight rates, as the price of Dated Brent is set by WTI Midland on many trading days. BY THE NUMBERS The spread between the two crude benchmarks narrowed to as little as $2.78 a barrel during the session on Friday. A discount of $4 per barrel is typically considered the level that encourages U.S. exports to Europe, as traders see an open arbitrage route. The spread has remained narrower than $4 a barrel since May 1, according to data from LSEG, partly due to concerns around U.S. production, helping keep more barrels onshore, according to Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. CONTEXT Since April, OPEC+ countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia have made or announced increases totaling 1.37 million barrels per day, or 62% of the 2.2 million bpd they aim to add back to the market. Meanwhile the U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by four to 559 in the week to June 6, the lowest since November 2021, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab said in its closely followed report on Friday, stoking some concerns around future U.S. production. This has helped create pricing that encourages U.S. oil to remain in the domestic market, traders and analysts said. Wildfires burning in Canada's oil-producing province of Alberta have further buoyed U.S. crude futures, analysts said, with Canadian daily crude production down by about 7%. "With Canadian wildfire season underway, further disruption could push the WTI/Brent spread below $3 this summer," said analysts at Sparta Commodities. KEY QUOTES "When you look at the WTI/Brent spread, you can see the concerns a little bit around leveling off U.S. production and concerns about export barrels tightening up," said Price Futures Group's Flynn. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/wti-brent-spread-narrowest-almost-two-years-us-prices-rise-2025-06-06/
2025-06-06 21:51
BOGOTA, June 6 (Reuters) - Colombian Finance Minister German Avila said on Friday that "paralyzing" the economy to comply with the country's fiscal rule is not an option and that the government will take steps, including increased borrowing, if needed to ensure growth. His remarks follow news that Colombia may temporarily suspend compliance with the fiscal rule governing government finances. Sign up here. "Paralyzing the state and the economy to comply with the fiscal rule is not the way forward," Avila told a banking conference in Cartagena. "It is possible we will make some adjustments in spending, we are examining them," Avila said, adding there will be adjustments to the country's debt and "surely we will not reach the limits established by the fiscal rule." Any decision to suspend the rule, created in 2011 to implement policy constraints that prevent the worsening of public finances, would roil markets, which are already deeply wary of President Gustavo Petro's economic management. The proposal will be discussed at a Monday meeting of the Superior Council for Fiscal Policy, which is charged with managing the country's budget, among other fiscal duties, Avila confirmed on Friday. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-will-not-paralyze-economy-comply-with-fiscal-rule-says-minister-2025-06-06/
2025-06-06 21:35
Fed in wait-and-see mode with unemployment rate steady at 4.2% Financial markets bet Fed delivers two interest rate cuts in 2025 Trump urges Fed to cut rates by a full percentage point Fed's Harker tells CNBC jobs report solid: 'I was pleased with it' June 6 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers have already signaled they are in no rush to cut interest rates, and a government report on Friday showing the labor market is far from crumbling amid big trade policy changes only cements that stance. The Labor Department's monthly employment report showed the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% last month. Employers added 139,000 jobs, which combined with downward revisions to prior months' estimates showed a cooling in labor demand but nothing abrupt; by comparison, job gains averaged 160,000 last year. Sign up here. U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up his calls for rate cuts. "Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel," Trump said in a post on Truth Social that urged the Fed to lower rates by 100 basis points. The president added that the Fed could simply increase rates again if inflation reignited. But the latest job growth reading is already giving Fed policymakers more comfort about holding the U.S. central bank's policy rate steady as they watch to see how higher import tariffs affect the economy. It “was a solid report and I was pleased with it,” Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker told CNBC, adding that now was the time for the Fed to hold policy steady. Fed officials have telegraphed that they intend to do just that at their June 17-18 policy meeting. Financial markets have been betting the Fed will wait until September to cut rates and will deliver a second reduction in borrowing costs by December; after the jobs report they trimmed their bets on a possible third rate cut by the end of this year. "Continued strength in the jobs number provides further support for the Fed's patience," said Scott Helfstein, Global X's head of investment strategy. "The Fed is likely to remain on hold through the end of summer to see how tariff negotiations proceed and ensure prices are stabilizing." Analysts said they expect more softening ahead in the labor market as higher import levies and government policy uncertainty strain economic growth. Job gains in May were concentrated in a narrowing range of industries, including healthcare, and manufacturing lost jobs in its worst showing since January, the employment report showed. The workforce shrank by the most in 17 months. Fed policymakers, however, have signaled they are disinclined to act preemptively to cushion any emerging weakness in jobs, especially with higher tariffs seen likely to also push up prices and potentially reignite inflationary pressures. The takeaway on the labor market for the Fed, said Krishna Guha, vice chairman of Evercore ISI, is that, "given the lack of any serious cracks to date, the risk of waiting several more months to learn more with policy in a modestly restrictive posture looks low." https://www.reuters.com/business/fed-seen-no-rush-cut-rates-us-job-market-cools-doesnt-crumble-2025-06-06/
2025-06-06 21:27
WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department approved a plan by Signal Peak Energy to expand coal mining, providing exports for Japan and South Korea, the agency said on Friday, as it responded to President Donald Trump's energy-emergency directives. The approval authorizes the Montana-based coal company to recover 22.8 million metric tons of federal coal and 34.5 million tons of adjacent non-federal coal and extend the life of the Bull Mountains mine by nine years. Sign up here. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who is also co-chair of Trump's Energy Dominance Council, said unlocking more federal coal enables the U.S. to bolster ties with allies abroad. "President Trump’s leadership in declaring a national energy emergency is allowing us to act decisively, cut bureaucratic delays and secure America's future through energy independence and strategic exports," he said. On January 20, Trump declared an energy emergency to speed permitting, roll back environmental protections and withdraw the U.S. from an international pact to fight climate change. Signal Peak had initially sent its plan to expand its mining operations to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in 2020, but it has been under federal review and subject to litigation since then. The Interior Department completed the environmental impact statement for the mine expansion according to its new policy to speed such reviews to a maximum of 28 days. Burgum this week joined Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in Alaska to promote an LNG project, as well as other energy exports destined for Asian markets. The Bull Mountains mine in Montana, located in Musselshell and Yellowstone counties, employs over 250 workers and primarily supplies Japan and South Korea. Environmental groups have tried to block the expansion of the mine over concerns about its water use and greenhouse gas emissions. “It’s utter hogwash that we have to sacrifice the climate, water resources, wildlife and area ranching operations in order to send coal overseas to be burned by foreign countries,” Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/trump-administration-approves-coal-mine-expansion-boost-asia-exports-2025-06-06/
2025-06-06 21:24
June 6 (Reuters) - Missouri authorities are investigating a fake press release about the damaging livestock pest New World screwworm that sparked a selloff in U.S. cattle futures markets last week, the state's agriculture department said on Friday. U.S. agriculture officials and farmers are on high alert for screwworm as it has moved north in Mexico from Central America, arriving within about 700 miles (1,125 km) of the Texas border. Sign up here. The U.S. Department of Agriculture indefinitely halted U.S. cattle imports from Mexico last month in a bid to keep out the parasite, which eats livestock and other wild animals alive. Screwworm infestations can kill cattle if left untreated and make them susceptible to secondary infections. On May 27, a false press release , opens new tab was sent to a northwest Missouri radio station about screwworm, the Missouri Department of Agriculture said. A report on the radio station's website pressured Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures before being taken offline, livestock traders said. Live cattle futures fell nearly 2% before paring losses, as daily trading volumes in the market spiked 77% from a week earlier. The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Rural Crimes Investigative Unit, the Livestock and Farm Protection Task Force, and state attorney general are investigating the matter, Missouri's agriculture department said in a press release. State officials want to determine "if this was an act with malicious intent to cause panic in agricultural markets," the department added. U.S. cattle producers' group R-CALF USA last week asked , opens new tab the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates futures markets, to investigate. The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and exchange operator CME Group (CME.O) , opens new tab declined to comment. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/missouri-probes-false-report-about-screwworm-pest-that-hurt-us-cattle-prices-2025-06-06/
