2025-09-07 22:31
TOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday in early trade, paring last week's losses, after OPEC+ agreed over the weekend to raise output further but at a slower pace from October due to an anticipated weakening of global demand. Brent crude gained 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $65.73 a barrel by 2213 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.08 a barrel. Sign up here. Both benchmarks fell over 2% on Friday as a weak U.S. jobs report dimmed the outlook for energy demand. They lost more than 3% last week. OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, has agreed to further raise oil production from October as its leader Saudi Arabia pushes to regain market share, while slowing the pace of increases compared with previous months. OPEC+ has been increasing production since April after years of cuts to support the oil market, but the Sunday decision to further boost output came as a surprise amid a likely looming oil glut in the northern hemisphere winter months. Eight members of OPEC+ agreed on Sunday in an online meeting to raise production from October by 137,000 barrels per day, it said in a statement, much lower than the monthly increases of about 555,000 bpd for September and August and 411,000 bpd in July and June. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-rise-opec-agrees-raise-output-slower-pace-october-2025-09-07/
2025-09-07 22:08
Battery EV sales seen exceeding 30% of EU car market by 2027 T&E says Mercedes focuses on more profitable combustion engine models To continue lagging on emission targets Report warns against weakening future emission targets BRUSSELS, Sept 8 (Reuters) - All European carmakers except Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) , opens new tab are on track to meet the European Union's 2025-2027 carbon emission targets thanks to an expected surge in sales of new electric vehicles, according to a report published on Monday. Research and campaign group Transport & Environment forecast a marked improvement from first-half sales in 2025, when only Geely-owned Volvo Cars and BMW (BMWG.DE) , opens new tab were on course while Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab, Renault (RENA.PA) , opens new tab, Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) , opens new tab and Mercedes were lagging. Sign up here. The report said increased launches of more affordable models thanks to declining battery prices and sharp growth of charging infrastructure were fuelling demand. It forecast battery electric vehicle sales would surpass a 30% share of the EU car market in 2027 from 18% this year. T&E said this was a sign that targets were working and said that any weakening of the next set of targets for 2030 and 2035 would dismantle investments in EVs and allow China to extend its lead. "Europe now faces a decisive choice: to either lead the global BEV race and confidently enter the electric age or risk falling behind in the fossil fuel era," it said. Auto groups have said that future CO2 emission targets, including a 100% reduction by 2035, are no longer feasible. Executives are due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on September 12 to discuss the EU sector's future. The European Commission yielded in March to pressure from European automakers to give them three years, rather than one, to meet CO2 emission targets for new cars and vans. T&E said expected Mercedes to keep trailing other EU automakers on the targets as it was focussing on more profitable internal combustion engine models. Failure to meet the targets results in fines, which carmakers had said would run into billions of euros if 2025 was the target year. Compliance is now based on average emissions over the period 2025 to 2027. Mercedes is expected to avoid fines by pooling its emissions with those of Volvo Cars and Polestar , for which Mercedes would pay its rivals. Sweden's Volvo is majority-owned by China's Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), whose chairman controls a company with a 9.69% stake in Mercedes. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-carmakers-close-emission-goals-mercedes-lags-says-report-2025-09-07/
2025-09-07 19:40
MEXICO CITY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Mexico's top prosecutor said on Sunday that authorities have so far detained 14 people suspected to be involved in the illicit trade of fuels, reiterating that more actions would follow as new information comes to light. On March 19, authorities seized a petroleum tanker in the Port of Tampico, together with nearly 63,000 barrels of diesel it was carrying, as well as containers and vehicles for its transport and storage. Sign up here. The tanker, Challenge Procyon, had arrived from the United States, LSEG tanker-tracking data showed. Mexican authorities said then that it was carrying diesel on which a special tax was due on import; instead, it had been declared to customs as a petrochemical exempt from the tax. "This seizure is one of the largest in recent history related to this crime and started a series of investigative and intelligence efforts that revealed part of the criminal structure behind these activities," said the country's attorney general, Alejandro Gertz. "There'll be more actions." Gertz added that these investigations had confirmed the existence of an organization dedicated to the theft and illegal trade of hydrocarbon products, which was using false documentation, complicit customs agencies and public officials. Mexican authorities have not released company names and have given only the first names of the 14 people detained on suspicion of involvement in the crime, to protect their identity. The investigations into these businessmen, active and retired naval officials and former customs officials, are ongoing. Raymundo Morales, head of the Mexican Navy, said at the same press conference in Mexico City that the Navy had strengthened internal controls and disciplinary procedures to prevent and eradicate the illegal import of fuels. "We're protecting the institution without excusing isolated individual behaviors that violate public trust," he added, speaking alongside Gertz and the security minister, Omar Garcia Harfuch. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/after-14-detentions-mexicos-top-prosecutor-vows-more-actions-against-fuel-crimes-2025-09-07/
2025-09-07 16:25
MUNICH, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Chinese battery maker CATL's (300750.SZ) , opens new tab new plant in Hungary is expected to start production by early next year, its general manager for Europe said on Sunday, as the company looks to the region for growth. CATL invested 7.3 billion euros ($8.55 billion) in the plant in the eastern city of Debrecen, seeking to expand battery production in Europe for automakers such as BMW (BMWG.DE) , opens new tab, Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) , opens new tab. Sign up here. The new site would dwarf CATL's existing European battery production facility in the German state of Thuringia, with a planned annual production capacity of 100 gigawatt-hours and a 9,000-strong workforce. CATL's general manager for Europe Matt Shen told Reuters the current goal was to start production at Decrecen "at the end of this year or beginning of the next year, so the next four, five months". The company had initially hoped to launch production by the end of 2025. CATL is one of many Chinese players attending this year's IAA Mobility car show in Munich, which officially kicks off on Tuesday, as European carmakers struggle to keep up in the shift to electric vehicles. CATL has been extending its lead in the EV battery market, with a 38% share globally in 2024, up from 36% a year earlier, according to data from SNE Research. The company raised $4.6 billion in its Hong Kong stock exchange debut in May, which helped fund the Hungarian project. Shen shrugged off concerns about sluggish demand for EVs in Europe. "There are always some fluctuations," he said. "For the overall trend, there is no doubt about that." ($1 = 0.8535 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/chinese-battery-maker-catl-expects-hungarian-production-start-by-early-2026-2025-09-07/
2025-09-07 15:57
WASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - A top aide to U.S. President Donald Trump who is on his short list to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve said on Sunday that the central bank should be "fully independent of political influence," including from Trump. "I would say 100% that monetary policy, Federal Reserve monetary policy, needs to be fully independent of political influence, including from President Trump," White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CBS News' "Face the Nation" show. Sign up here. "The fact is that we've looked at countries that have allowed the leaders to take over the central banks, and what tends to happen is that it's a recipe for inflation and misery for consumers." Trump's repeated demands that the U.S. central bank cut rates immediately and frequent berating of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for his stewardship of monetary policy have fueled questions about the Fed's ability to set interest rate policy without regard to politicians' wishes. So, too, has Trump's bid to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who has sued to challenge her dismissal. Powell's term as Fed chair is due to end in May 2026. Trump's short list of candidates to succeed him includes Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and current Fed Governor Christopher Waller. "I don't have a plan to overhaul the Fed right now. I'm just happy to do my job," Hassett said. Hassett endorsed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's call on Friday for renewed scrutiny of the Federal Reserve, including its power to set interest rates and said he would be prepared to implement the vision outlined by the Treasury secretary. He declined to provide details. Trump has said that questions about the mortgages on properties Cook owns - and are the subject of a criminal probe by his administration - are sufficient cause for dismissal. Cook has filed a lawsuit seeking to block her unprecedented removal, setting up a legal battle that could upend long-established norms for the Fed's independence. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-houses-hassett-says-fed-needs-be-fully-independent-trump-2025-09-07/
2025-09-07 14:38
Output to rise by 137,000 bpd in Oct, less than in Sept/Aug OPEC+ begins a surprise unwinding of 1.65 mln bpd cut Saudi Arabia pushes to regain market share LONDON/MOSCOW/BAGHDAD, Sept 7 (Reuters) - OPEC+ has agreed to further raise oil production from October as its leader Saudi Arabia pushes to regain market share, while slowing the pace of increases compared with previous months due to an anticipated weakening of global demand. OPEC+ has been increasing production since April after years of cuts to support the oil market, but the Sunday decision to further boost output came as a surprise amid a likely looming oil glut in the northern hemisphere winter months. Sign up here. Eight members of OPEC+ agreed on Sunday in an online meeting to raise production from October by 137,000 barrels per day, it said in a statement, much lower than the monthly increases of about 555,000 bpd for September and August and 411,000 bpd in July and June. The Sunday deal also means OPEC+ has begun to unwind a second tranche of cuts of about 1.65 million bpd by eight members more than a year ahead of schedule. The group has already fully unwound the first tranche of 2.5 million bpd since April, equivalent to about 2.4 percent of global demand. "The barrels may be small, but the message is big," said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad and a former OPEC official. "The increase is less about volumes and more about signalling – OPEC+ is prioritizing market share even if it risks softer prices." OPEC+, made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other allies, found it easy to raise production when demand was growing in summer, but the real test will come in the fourth quarter with expected slowing demand, Leon said. OPEC+ said it retained options to accelerate, pause or reverse hikes at future meetings. It scheduled the next meeting of the eight countries for Oct. 5. NEW CAPACITY OPEC's output increases this year also come as Saudi Arabia has sought to punish other members such as Kazakhstan for overproducing, and as the United Arab Emirates has built new capacity and sought higher targets. Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump put pressure on the group to boost output as he sought to fulfil his election promise to bring down domestic gasoline prices. The increases in output have led to a fall in oil prices of around 15% so far this year, pushing oil companies' profits to their lowest since the pandemic and triggering tens of thousands of job cuts. Oil prices have not collapsed, however, trading at around $65 a barrel, supported by Western sanctions on Russia and Iran. That has emboldened OPEC+ to continue increasing output. OPEC+'s hikes have fallen short of the pledged amounts because most members are pumping near capacity. As a result, only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are able to add more barrels into the market, analysts have said and data have shown. OPEC+ had two layers of cuts before the Sunday deal - the 1.65 million bpd cut by the eight members, and another 2 million bpd cut by the whole group in place until the end of 2026. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-agrees-further-oil-output-boost-october-regain-market-share-2025-09-07/
