2024-09-13 11:55

USTR maintains tariffs of 100% on Chinese EVs, 50% on chips, 25% on batteries, steel USTR doubles duties on Chinese face masks, surgical gloves, syringes China tariff exclusions added on five machinery categories Industry groups warn of higher tariffs disrupting supply chains Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, including a 100% duty on electric vehicles, to boost protections for strategic industries from China's state-driven industrial practices. The U.S. Trade Representative's office said that many of the tariffs, including a 100% duty on Chinese EVs, 50% on solar cells and 25% on steel, aluminum, EV batteries and key minerals, would take effect on Sept. 27. The USTR determination , opens new tab, published on Friday and first reported by Reuters, showed that a 50% duty on Chinese semiconductors, now including two new categories - silicon wafers and polysilicon used in solar panels - is due to start in 2025. The action, which marks the end of a more than two-year review of tariffs that had been imposed by former president Donald Trump, mostly left unchanged the top-line duty increases announced in May by President Joe Biden. These include a new 25% tariff on lithium-ion batteries, minerals and components, with those for EVs taking effect on Sept. 27, and those for all other devices on Jan. 1, 2026. The Biden administration also left in place Trump's tariffs on over $300 billion worth of Chinese goods ranging from toys and t-shirts to internet routers and industrial machinery at rates of 7.5% to 25%. The final decision largely disregarded pleas from automakers for lower tariffs on graphite and critical minerals used in EV battery production because they are still dependent on Chinese supplies. The action drew industry complaints that the increases would disrupt supply chains, including for semiconductor-intensive products, and do little to stop China's technology transfer and industry domination practices that have led to excess factory production now flooding global markets. "Since implementation, the tariffs have cumulatively cost American businesses and consumers $221 billion, while failing to alter Chinese trade policies and practices of concern," Information Technology Industries Council President Jason Oxman said in a statement. "With today's announcement, USTR once again relies on the blunt and ineffective tool of tariffs with no support for their effectiveness." 'TOUGH, TARGETED' Lael Brainard, the top White House economic adviser, told Reuters the decision was made to ensure that the U.S. EV industry diversifies away from China's dominant supply chain. She said such "tough, targeted" tariffs are needed to counter China's state-driven subsidies and technology transfer policies that have led to over-investment and excess production capacity. Washington is investing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of its own tax subsidies to develop domestic EV, solar and semiconductor sectors. "The 100% tariff on electric vehicles here does reflect the very significant unfair cost advantage that Chinese electric vehicles in particular are using to dominate car markets at a breathtaking pace in other parts of the world," Brainard said. "That's not going to take place here under the vice president's and the president's leadership." A spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington said the U.S. tariffs would "backfire", adding that they would also fail to suppress China and solve U.S. industrial problems. "The 301 tariff is the product of unilateralism and protectionism, and it reflects the hegemonic nature of U.S. power politics," the spokesperson said in a statement. "China firmly opposes this and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its own rights and interests." The higher U.S. tariffs take effect as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are both courting voters in auto and steel producing states, trying to position themselves as tough on China ahead of the November presidential election. Trump has vowed to impose 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports. The European Union and Canada also are imposing new tariffs on Chinese EVs, the latter matching the 100% U.S. duties. PORT, MEDICAL RELIEF The final tariff decision does provide some temporary relief for U.S. port operators who were facing a new 25% tariff on massive ship-to-shore cranes, an industry that China dominates with no U.S. producers. The duty would add millions of dollars to the cost of each crane. USTR said it will allow exclusions from the tariffs for any Chinese port cranes that were ordered prior to the May 14 initial tariff announcements, as long as they are delivered by May 14, 2026. USTR raised tariffs to 50% on medical face masks and surgical gloves, from an initially proposed 25%, but delayed their start to allow a shift to non-Chinese suppliers. The planned duty on Chinese syringes, which were in short supply during the COVID-19 pandemic, will immediately rise to 100% from a previously planned 50%, but USTR will allow a temporary exclusion for enteral syringes, used to feed infants, for a year. The agency also said it will consider requests for tariff exclusions for five Chinese industrial machinery categories, including those for machinery for purifying or filtering liquids, industrial robots and printing machinery. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-locks-steep-china-tariff-hikes-many-start-sept-27-2024-09-13/

2024-09-13 11:51

Prague puts up flood barriers to protect historic centre Once in 100 year floods forecast for parts of Czech Republic South Germany, parts of Austria, Poland, and Slovakia on alert Slovakia mounting anti-flood measures around Morava river Polish city of Wroclaw cancelled outdoor cultural events PRAGUE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Prague was putting up flood defences in the city's historic centre on Friday after Czech forecasters expanded a warning for extreme rainfall to areas of the country including the capital, which suffered catastrophic flooding more than 20 years ago. Heavy rain has pounded mostly eastern parts of the Czech Republic since Thursday, and the most affected areas may see more than a third of annual rainfall over four days by Sunday. Similar weather has been forecast around central Europe, including southern Germany and parts of Austria, Poland, and Slovakia over the coming days. "Data shows we are facing uneasy days," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a televised briefing after a crisis committee meeting, adding that in some places water levels may exceed flooding coming on average once in 100 or more years. "We are taking all the necessary measures to prevent damage to property and health." On Friday, the highest risk warning was extended to central and southwestern areas including Prague, where in 2002 floods forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, led to building collapses and flooded the capital's subway system for months. Prague, a city of 1.3 million people, has since invested heavily into flood barriers and other measures to avoid similar inundations. Prague mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said on Czech television that waters in the city, which sits on the banks of the Vltava river spanned by the picturesque 14th century Charles Bridge, were expected to peak on Saturday night. "We are acting in a preventative mode and we believe that starting anti-flood measures now, we believe the situation of 2002 will not repeat itself," he said. Water management authorities have started to empty reservoirs on the Vltava dam cascade upstream from Prague, as well as on other rivers, to make room to dissipate the expected flood waters. The most heavy rain was still expected in the country's east and northeast, which are drained by the Elbe (Labe), Danube and Oder (Odra) rivers flowing to Germany, Slovakia and Poland, respectively. The Czech soccer league cancelled matches across the country, and cities cancelled cultural events. Fire officers helped fill sandbags and put up fixed flood barriers in a number of towns and cities. The southern Polish city of Wroclaw cancelled outdoor cultural events, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said emergency services would be ready for localised flooding. The Morava river, which forms the Czech-Slovak and Austrian-Slovak borders before reaching the Danube, threatened to overflow and Slovakia's government has started to look for places to artificially spill out the river in non-populated areas, Slovak Environment Minister Tomas Taraba said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/prague-high-flood-alert-central-europe-faces-torrential-rain-2024-09-13/

2024-09-13 11:45

MUMBAI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) , opens new tab extended their winning run for a fourth straight week to hit a record high of $689.24 billion as of Sept. 6, data from the central bank showed on Friday. The reserves rose by $5.3 billion in the reporting week, after having risen by a total of $13.9 billion in the prior three weeks. The RBI intervenes on both sides of the foreign exchange market to prevent undue volatility in the rupee. These interventions, via state-run banks in the spot market, helped avert a steeper decline in the local currency, which has hovered close to 84 per U.S. dollar in recent sessions, traders said. In the week ending Sept. 6, the rupee fell 0.1% against the dollar and traded in a thin band. The rupee settled at 83.8875 on Friday, having strengthened nearly 0.1% week-on-week in its best weekly performance since the week ended June 25. Changes in foreign currency assets are caused by the RBI's intervention as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves. Foreign exchange reserves also include India's reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund. FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (in million U.S. dollars) --------------------------------------------------------- Sept 06 Aug 30 2024 2024 --------------------------------------------------------- Foreign currency assets 604,144 599,037 Gold 61,988 61,859 SDRs 18,472 18,468 Reserve Tranche Position 4,631 4,622 ---------------------------------------------------------- Total 689,235 683,987 ---------------------------------------------------------- Source text: (https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx , opens new tab) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/indias-foreign-exchange-reserves-hit-fresh-high-2024-09-13/

2024-09-13 11:35

Gold could reach $3,000 per ounce by mid-2025- Citi Bullion up over 24% for the year Gold ETFs saw fourth consecutive month of inflows in August- WGC Sept 13 (Reuters) - Gold market bulls are locking in bullion prices surging to fresh records, with a milestone of $3,000 per ounce coming into focus, fired up by monetary easing by major central banks and a tight U.S. presidential election race. Spot gold reached a historic high of $2,572.81 an ounce on Friday and is on track for its strongest annual performance since 2020, with a rise of over 24% driven by safe-haven demand, due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty, and robust central bank buying. Gold could reach $3,000 per ounce by mid-2025 and $2,600 by the end of 2024 driven by U.S. interest rate cuts, strong demand from exchange traded funds and over-the-counter physical demand, said Aakash Doshi, head of commodities, North America at Citi Research. Last week, the World Gold Council said global physically backed gold exchange traded funds saw a fourth consecutive month of inflows in August. With the next Federal Reserve meeting approaching on September 18, markets are gripped by the likelihood of the first U.S. interest rate cut since 2020. Low rates tend to be supportive for gold, which bears no interest. Investors are currently pricing in a 55% chance of a 25-basis-point U.S. rate cut and a 45% chance of a 50-bps cut, the CME FedWatch tool showed , opens new tab. If incoming data points to growth risks and weakness in the labor market, it will raise the chance of a 50 bp rate cut in either November or December, which would increase the tailwind for gold and pull forward the timing for attainment of $3,000, said Peter A. Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Interest rate cuts from major central banks are well underway, with the European Central Bank on Thursday delivering its second quarter-point cut of the year. "We're also evaluating other factors stirring up demand from the Western investor, including the upcoming U.S. election arguably adding to the uncertainty and gold serving as a hedge against immediate event risks," said Joseph Cavatoni, market strategist at World Gold Council. The upcoming Nov. 5 presidential election could boost gold prices as potential market volatility may drive investors towards safe-haven gold. Attaining the $3,000 per ounce target is possible, said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, adding that the scenario could be driven by political unrest following elections. Investment banks and analysts have turned increasingly bullish on gold, with Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs showing the highest confidence in near-term upside in gold, which remains its preferred hedge against geopolitical and financial risks. Australia's Macquarie raised its gold price forecasts this week and is now looking for a quarter average cyclical peak in the first quarter next year of $2,600 per ounce, with potential for a spike towards $3,000. "While the backdrop of challenged developed market fiscal outlooks remains structurally positive for gold, a lot is arguably already in the price, with the potential for cyclical headwinds to emerge later next year," analysts at Macquarie said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-bulls-set-sights-previously-dismissed-record-3000oz-milestone-2024-09-13/

2024-09-13 11:34

MOSCOW, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Gazprom Neft-owned Moscow Oil Refinery on Tuesday resumed operations at crude distillation unit-6 (CDU-6), which was suspended following a drone attack on Sept. 1, two industry sources told Reuters on Friday. Gazprom Neft did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the day of the attack that several drones targeted the Moscow refinery and caused a fire at a "separate technical room" at the plant. Sources said the refinery suspended operations at combined refining unit Euro+, that includes CDU-6. The Euro+ unit accounts for some 50% of the plant's total prime refining capacity, as its crude distillation unit has a capacity of 6 million metric tons of oil per year. In 2023, the Moscow plant processed 11.6 million tons of crude oil, producing 2.6 million tons of gasoline, 3.3 million tons of gasoil, 2.3 million tonnes of fuel oil and 0.9 million tons of jet fuel. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/moscow-oil-refinery-resumes-operations-drone-hit-unit-sources-say-2024-09-13/

2024-09-13 11:11

TSX ends up 0.4% at 23,568.65 For the week, the index gains 3.5% Materials group rises to highest since April 2022 2-year yield falls to 2-year low Sept 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to an all-time high on Friday in a broad-based rally, led by mining stocks, as expectations rose the U.S. Federal Reserve would opt for an oversized interest rate cut at a policy decision next week. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 93.51 points, or 0.4%, at 23,568.65, moving past the record closing high it set on Thursday. For the week, the index was up 3.5%, its biggest weekly gain since October. "This is the everything rally going on. We've got equities up, we've got bonds working, commodities going," said Greg Taylor, a portfolio manager at Purpose Investments. "We're getting a lot of expectations that the Fed next week is going to do a 50 basis-point cut. Markets seem to be cheering that on." Wall Street's main indexes also rose as investors priced in a near 50% chance of a half-percentage-point reduction in interest rates by the Fed at a policy decision due on Wednesday. The Toronto market's materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, rose 1.5% as gold and copper prices climbed, notching its highest closing level since April 2022. Technology added 0.7% and real estate, which could particularly benefit from lower borrowing costs, ended 2.1% higher. Canada's 2-year yield fell nearly 6 basis points to 2.945%, its lowest level in more than two years. The Canadian government will not intervene to end a dispute between Air Canada (AC.TO) , opens new tab and its pilots and intends instead to pressure both sides to avert a strike, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Air Canada's shares ended nearly 1% higher. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-rise-commodity-prices-larger-us-rate-cut-bets-2024-09-13/