2025-06-06 18:59

At least 7 ships are anchored or hovering in US Gulf waters One vessel docks near Houston after heading away from Gulf Coast No immediate alternative markets for US ethane exports, consultant says HOUSTON/SINGAPORE, June 6 (Reuters) - Over half a dozen U.S.-loaded ethane vessels, originally bound for China, have stalled around the U.S. Gulf Coast after Washington requested U.S. exporters seek licenses to ship the shale gas to the top buyer, according to trade sources and ship tracking data on Friday. Around half of all U.S. ethane exports head to China, and the halt in flows has pushed ethane prices lower on worries of domestic oversupply and is likely to cut into profits of top ethane producers. Sign up here. Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab and Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) , opens new tab, two of the largest ethane producers and exporters, have warned the disruptions could impact their exports. The U.S. Commerce Department has also denied some vessels emergency authorization requests to export to China. Liberia-flagged STL Qianjiang, which loaded at Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal for China's Satellite Chemical (002648.SZ) , opens new tab, was anchored off the coast on Friday in the Gulf, according to LSEG and Kpler ship tracking data. Energy Transfer, which produces ethane by extracting it from natural gas and then exports it from terminals along the Gulf Coast, said it received a letter from the U.S. Commerce Department on June 3 requiring the company to apply for a license to ship ethane to China. The company and Satellite Chemical did not reply to requests for comments on the vessel. Three other vessels, which were set to load in early June, were anchored in the U.S. Gulf near Houston and Port Arthur, Texas, while three others hovered further south in the water after having slowed down. Meanwhile, Liberia-flagged very large ethane carrier (VLEC) Pacific Ineos Grenadier, which loaded at Enterprise Products Partners' (EPD.N) , opens new tab terminal in Morgan's Point, Texas, and had been originally destined for China, was anchored at an Enterprise dock along the Houston Ship Channel on Friday after heading away from the Gulf Coast on Thursday. The ship had not discharged on Friday afternoon and it was not immediately clear if it would. The vessel, a part of British petrochemical firm Ineos' fleet, has been used exclusively for transit between the United States and China since August 2023, according to Kpler data. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) , opens new tab received the license requirement letter in late May, and on Wednesday said it received a notice from the U.S. government of its intent to deny emergency requests for three proposed export cargoes of ethane totaling around 2.2 million barrels to China. Enterprise has 20 days to respond to the denial, it said on Wednesday. Unless otherwise notified by the government by the 45th day after receiving the notification, the denials will become final. Enterprise and Ineos declined to comment. The United States has no ethane import terminal, Vortexa analyst Samantha Hartke said, meaning U.S. ethane once loaded onto a ship cannot be discharged in the country. Ethane prices at Mont Belvieu traded at around 22.75 cents per gallon on Friday, recovering from the 18.75 cents it touched on Wednesday, on optimism around talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 'NO IMMEDIATE ALTERNATIVE MARKETS' U.S. ethane production touched a record 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration, and was expected to rise to 3.1 million bpd by next year. Most of the output growth was expected to be exported to meet international demand as domestic consumption will likely hold steady. Exports also climbed to a record 492,000 bpd last year, of which about 227,000 bpd, or 46%, headed to China. "These are distressed cargoes at this point. I would expect these to have been sold at significant discounts," said Uday Turaga, founder of energy research and consulting firm ADI Analytics. "Without China, there are no immediate alternative markets for vast U.S. ethane exports, directly impacting prices and profit for major U.S. producers due to specialized trade contracts," he said. The letters from the Bureau of Industry and Security, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, said exports of ethane pose an unacceptable risk of military end-use in China, according to both companies' filings. Chinese petrochemical firms use ethane as a feedstock because it is a cheaper alternative than naphtha, while U.S. oil and gas producers need China to buy their natural gas liquids as domestic supply exceeds demand. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-ethane-vessels-stall-amid-curbs-exports-china-2025-06-06/

2025-06-06 18:30

June 6 (Reuters) - Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet's (CRCL.N) , opens new tab shares climbed 48% on Friday, extending a stellar run after a blowout market debut on the New York Stock Exchange a day earlier. New York-based Circle's stock went as high as $123.49, nearly four times its $31 offer price and valuing the company at $32.1 billion on a fully diluted basis. Sign up here. The blockbuster listing also reinforced expectations that the IPO market was regaining its momentum after being stifled by tariff-driven volatility. "This is big enough that it extends beyond crypto," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. "This is the latest sign of building momentum in the IPO market. We'll likely continue to see moderate activity over the next month, but there is still some tariff uncertainty on the horizon, which is why we're expecting more of a full IPO rebound in the fall." Wall Street executives also struck an optimistic tone on Thursday at an industry conference, emphasizing that markets were ready for the right companies. NYSE President Lynn Martin said Circle's IPO was a bellwether for the IPO market this year and not just for crypto listings. Investors are also realizing that the uncertain environment is going to be relatively persistent and focusing on putting their dollars at work, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said. "The successful debuts we have seen in recent weeks were largely by companies less exposed to international supply chain risks," said IPOX research analyst Lukas Muehlbauer. Muehlbauer said it wouldn't be surprising if the pipeline stays more active in coming months, especially for companies in sectors shielded from tariff uncertainties, such as AI, defense or fintech. Digital banking startup Chime is poised to go public next week. Sixth Street-backed cancer diagnostic firm Caris Life Sciences also joined the IPO pipeline recently. https://www.reuters.com/business/stablecoin-firm-circle-scales-record-high-after-blockbuster-nyse-listing-2025-06-06/

2025-06-06 17:56

Financial leaders warn of U.S. deficit impact on bond market Citadel Securities plans to expand cryptocurrency trading under new SEC rules Market volatility boosts Citadel Securities' trading revenue and profits NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's growing debt pile is a "ticking time bomb" and how the Trump administration reacts to this crisis is going to be "super important", Citadel Securities President Jim Esposito said on Thursday. Several other leaders of the financial services industry have issued similar warnings about the current U.S. deficit in recent weeks. Earlier in June, JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. national debt is a "big deal" that could create a "tough time" for the bond market that causes spreads to widen. Sign up here. "The stock of debt and the budget deficit is a ticking time bomb. No one is smart enough to predict when exactly it will rear its ugly head. We've been talking about this for more than 20 years, so in some ways the market's gone into complacency, but over a multi-year period we can work this out," Esposito said at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange & Trading Conference. Shifting U.S. economic policies have sent bond markets tumbling in recent weeks. In May, ratings agency Moody's downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating. Long-dated bonds have been under pressure due to deficit concerns, with investors delivering a tepid response to a 20-year auction in May and sending the 30-year bond yield to its highest level since October 2023. Higher bond yields can translate into higher borrowing costs for consumers, businesses and governments. Citadel Securities, a market-making behemoth that was founded by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, plans to double down on cryptocurrency trading this year under a new regulatory framework. "This year you'll see us getting more active providing liquidity on specific crypto exchanges. So that's a part of our strategic plan. I think we'll execute on that in this calendar year, like everybody else," said Esposito. "We're excited by the prospects of the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) coming out with the rule set. So crypto is definitely a space we're going to get bigger in, and we're excited about the prospects," he added. The market volatility this year has boosted the fortunes of large market makers like Citadel Securities and Jane Street. During the first quarter of 2025, Citadel Securities' net trading revenue surged 45% to $3.4 billion, while its profit jumped 70% - a record for the firm, according to people familiar with the matter. "The number of growth opportunities that lie in front of us is almost unlimited. In our core businesses, our equity business at the moment is a bit too skewed towards the U.S. at the expense of the rest of the world - so Europe is a very big growth opportunity for us," Esposito said. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/citadels-esposito-says-us-deficit-is-ticking-time-bomb-2025-06-05/

2025-06-06 15:49

BUENOS AIRES, June 6 (Reuters) - The last eleven months have seen a net outflow of $12.3 billion from Argentina, affecting the central bank's ability to accumulate reserves, according to the bank's latest report. As President Javier Milei has attempted to maintain the value of the peso to combat high inflation, relatively high prices for domestic goods and services have encouraged imports and discouraged tourists. Sign up here. The report said that in April, 636 million more dollars left Argentina than entered, the latest in almost a year of outflows. This does not include funds from Argentina's recent deal with the International Monetary Fund. Argentina currently has 38.7 billion in dollar reserves and the $12 billion Argentina has received from the IMF so far has allowed it to lift capital controls that had long blocked foreign investment. "Payments for imports, the negative balance in services and interest, and the structural tourism deficit explain the deterioration of this account this year," it said. "The services sector registered a deficit of $1.161 billion in April ... This deficit was explained by net outflows under 'Travel, tickets, and other card payments,' 'Other services,' and 'Freight and insurance' …, partially offset by net inflows under 'Professional and technical business services,'" the central bank reported. Analysts predicted that the current trend is unlikely to reverse in the short term. "It is happening in an election campaign, with macroeconomic factors supporting the outflow of funds - purchase of goods and services, travel - and in a few months agricultural exports will decrease because of seasonal factors," with major harvests ending, said Pablo Besmedrisnik, economist and director of VDC Consulting. The same central bank report describes how the large fluctuations in the goods sector and continued deficits in the services and primary income, which includes interest payments and dividends, pose a challenge for the government's access to foreign currency. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentina-reserves-build-up-stalls-dollars-exit-2025-06-06/

2025-06-06 15:38

Trump criticizes Powell for being too late with rate cuts Fed expected to leave rates steady amid tariff and inflation concerns Markets expect a quarter-point Fed rate cut in September June 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by a full percentage point, President Donald Trump said on Friday as he reiterated his view that Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been too slow to lower borrowing costs. "Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite (Powell), our Country is doing great. Go for a full point," Trump wrote in a social media post. Central banks typically limit rate moves to quarter point changes outside of crises. Sign up here. The Fed last September did reduce rates by a half of a percentage point, after a faster-than-expected decline in inflation and a marked slowdown in the labor market. By the end of 2024 it had delivered two additional quarter-point rate cuts, and has held the policy rate steady since then, citing uncertainty over tariff policy and inflation still above its 2% target. Trump said the Fed could always raise rates again if cuts led to inflation. 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. Powell has said the Fed will make policy decisions based solely on economic conditions and the outlook, with no political considerations. The Fed in May left the policy rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range, where it has been since December, and policymakers have since signaled they may leave it there for another few months as they wait for more clarity on how Trump's tariff and other policies affect inflation and the labor market. Financial markets are currently betting the Fed will resume cutting rates in September with a quarter-point reduction, after a Labor Department report Friday showed the job gains have slowed while the unemployment rate was steady at 4.2%. The market's policy rate bets are in line with Fed policymakers' own projections, as of March, for 50 basis points of cuts this year. The European Central Bank has cut interest rates eight times since last June, and this month signaled it may now pause. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fed-should-cut-interest-rate-by-full-point-trump-says-2025-06-06/

2025-06-06 14:36

June 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that growth in the agriculture sector may allow Latin America's largest economy to defy current projections and expand this year more than in 2024, when it notched growth of 3.4%. Lula's optimistic remarks diverge from his own government's forecast, as the Finance Ministry sees Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowing to 2.4% in 2025 amid tight monetary conditions. Sign up here. The comments followed the publication of Brazil's first-quarter GDP figures last week, which showed year-on-year growth of 2.9% fueled by a jump in agricultural activity thanks to a bumper harvest of soybeans, the country's top farm export. The South American country is the world's largest exporter of soy, coffee, cotton, sugar, beef and chicken, as well as a top supplier of corn and pork. "Our first-quarter growth demonstrates that we can once again surprise the world and grow above the global average," Lula told an event in Paris, where the country was recognized as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. "If last year we grew 3.4% with agriculture not expanding as much as we expected, I think agriculture growth this year can allow us to think about growing a bit more," the leftist leader added. Private economists polled on a weekly basis by the central bank expect Brazil's GDP to grow 2.13% this year. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-lula-bets-agriculture-drive-higher-growth-2025-2025-06-06/