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Asia currencies drop as dollar gains raise import costs

  • Spanish Market: Crude oil
  • 26/09/22

Asia-Pacific currencies fell further against the dollar in Asia trading today, adding to costs for the region's big importers of oil and other commodities, while the UK pound slumped by almost 5pc to a near 40-year low.

The Korean won, Japanese yen and Indian rupee all weakened against the dollar in early trading, extending multi-year lows.

The Chinese yuan weakened to above Yn7.15 to the dollar. That prompted China's central bank to intervene to prop up the yuan by raising the cost of shorting the currency, which weakened to more than Yn7 to the dollar earlier this month for the first time in over two years.

Aggressive moves by the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates have boosted the value of the dollar against rival currencies in recent months. Oil and other commodities are priced in dollars, so a stronger US currency adds to costs for importers.

The biggest declines were recorded by the UK pound. Sterling dropped by 4.7pc against the dollar in early trading to as low as $1.03, before recovering slightly to just under $1.06 at 10.30am Singapore time (02:30 GMT), still down by around 2.6pc.

The UK government's plans to cut taxes, announced by the country's new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng last week, have accelerated a sell-off in sterling.

Oil prices were largely steady, with the Ice front-month November Brent contract edging higher to $86.36/bl at 10.30am Singapore time. The contract slumped by almost 5pc to close at $86.15/bl on 23 September.


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11/02/25

Petrobras considers India for crude: CEO

Petrobras considers India for crude: CEO

Sao Paulo, 11 February (Argus) — Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras is considering opportunities in deepwater and ultra-deepwater crude blocks in India, chief executive Magda Chambriard said today. The Indian government announced on Tuesday, during the India Energy Week conference held in New Delhi, that it will offer 25 deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil blocks, Chambriard said. "We will carefully evaluate these opportunities, always looking for new production frontiers, which will guarantee us security and financing for the energy transition," she added. Petrobras has been looking for alternatives to replenish its crude reserves, as those in its main source of oil — Brazil's pre-salt — are dwindling. But reserves are not in immediate danger, as the firm's proven oil and natural gas reserves rose by 4.6pc to 11.4bn bl of oil equivalent (boe) at the end of 2024. The company's 2025-29 strategic plan envisions investments in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Africa, but this is the first time Petrobras mentioned India as a potential source of crude. Still, the company's main bets to replenish reserves are the southern Pelotas basin and the Foz do Amazonas basin in the northern equatorial margin. The latter could contain 10bn of recoverable bl of oil equivalent, according to energy research bureau EPE. Petrobras is awaiting permission to start exploratory drilling there , after it appealed environmental agency Ibama's May 2023 decision to deny the license on environmental grounds. By Lucas Parolin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Feyzin bitumen output halted as part of wider stoppage


11/02/25
11/02/25

Feyzin bitumen output halted as part of wider stoppage

London, 11 February (Argus) — Bitumen production at TotalEnergies' 109,300 b/d Feyzin refinery near Lyon, central France, is halted from 10-20 February as part of a wider shutdown affecting the refinery's crude distillation unit (CDU) and reformer. Workers at the plant said last week there had been unexpectedly extended CDU works caused by a blockage by unspecified debris . TotalEnergies said at the time it would not comment on operations. Officials at the company confirmed today the CDU and reformer were among units shut at Feyzin, but said the halt was planned. They said the CDU had suffered no unexpected blockage or damage. Workers reiterated today that debris had been detected in the CDU and that this could result in a shutdown lasting weeks. Sources familiar with the refinery's operations said today that the bitumen halt would cause no supply disruptions in terms of the usual truck movements, with sufficient stocks held at the plant to meet current low-level requirements during the winter slow activity period in the road paving and other construction sectors. By Fenella Rhodes and Adam Porter Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Power outage shuts Norway's Sverdrup oil field: Update


11/02/25
11/02/25

Power outage shuts Norway's Sverdrup oil field: Update

Updates throughout London, 11 February (Argus) — Norwegian state-controlled Equinor has confirmed that a power outage has forced it to shut down production from Johan Sverdrup, the North Sea's largest oil field, as well as other oil and gas fields in the area. "We have experienced an incident involving smoke development in a control room connected to one of the converter stations at Haugsneset near Karsto," the company said. "This station supplies power to Johan Sverdrup and other fields on the Utsira High. The incident has resulted in a temporary shutdown of production." Equinor said it is working to restore power supply to the fields. According to its website, the affected power line also supplies the Gina Krog, Ivar Aasen, Edvard Grieg and Gudrun fields. Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen feed into the medium sour Grane crude blend. It is the second time in a week that Johan Sverdrup has been disrupted by a power outage. The field was shut down briefly on 4 February because of power supply issues onshore. Power was restored the same day, and the field had been ramping back up up to full operations on 5 February. At the time, Equinor did not expect any delays to loadings. Johan Sverdrup produces the largest stream of middle distillate-rich crude in Europe, with a plateau capacity of 755,000 b/d. The field averaged around 712,000 b/d in 2024. Its output was around plateau levels in March, April and July last year, but Equinor expects capacity to drop early this year. The grade was valued at a $1.65/bl premium to benchmark North Sea Dated on 10 February, a seven-month high, supported by a perceived global tightness in the supply of medium grades. The US tightened sanctions on the Russian fleet last month, which pushed refiners in Asia-Pacific to look for alternative, unsanctioned grades. Grane is the second-largest medium sour stream in the region, with around 180,000 b/d exported last year, according to loading programmes. Official production data show Ivar Aasen contributed around 18,000 b/d to the Grane stream last year and Edvard Grieg accounted for 38,000 b/d. Grane prices surged to a $2.50/bl premium to Dated in recent assessments, up from a $1/bl discount in early January. By Lina Bulyk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

BP promises strategy reset after sharp drop in profit


11/02/25
11/02/25

BP promises strategy reset after sharp drop in profit

London, 11 February (Argus) — BP today promised to "fundamentally reset" its strategy later this month after reporting a drop in underlying profit last year. The company alluded to what the reset might entail, noting that last year it had "laid the foundations for growth" by committing capital to new oil and gas projects and "refocusing" its investments in low-carbon assets. Details of the strategy shift will be outlined at a capital markets day for investors on 26 February. Key actions in 2024 included taking a final investment decision on the 80,000 b/d Kaskida oil field in the US Gulf of Mexico and raising its exposure to biofuels in Brazil . The company also took steps via a joint venture with Japanese utility Jera that will see it commit less capital to its wind energy investments. BP reported an underlying replacement cost profit — excluding inventory effects and one-off items — of $1.2bn for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with $3bn a year earlier. For the full year, underlying replacement cost profit fell by 36pc compared with 2023 to $8.9bn, while cash flow from operations dropped to $27.3bn from $32bn. The company benefited from higher oil and gas production last year — up by 2pc on 2023 at 2.36mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d). But lower prices, a drop in refining margins and lower contributions from both oil and gas trading weighed on profitability. BP said it expects upstream production to be lower this year and refining margins "broadly flat". It expects a similar level of refinery maintenance in 2025, with the work "heavily weighted towards the first half" and the second quarter in particular. For now, BP is sticking with its share repurchasing programme, announcing a further $1.75bn of share buybacks for the fourth quarter. It has maintained its quarterly dividend at 8¢/share. The company's capital expenditure remained steady at $16.2bn last year. It will provide guidance on this year's investment budget at the strategy day later this month. By Jon Mainwaring Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump imposes new tariffs on steel, aluminum


11/02/25
11/02/25

Trump imposes new tariffs on steel, aluminum

Washington, 10 February (Argus) — US president Donald Trump today imposed a 25pc tariff on all US imports of steel and aluminum effective 12 March, although he said he would consider making an exemption for imports from Australia. In remarks to reporters at the White House Trump complained that many of the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed since 2018 have been moderated or reduced for some countries. Currently Australia and Canada can export any steel and aluminum they want to into the US without tariffs, while Mexico can export steel melted and poured in the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement region into the US without tariffs, while any material with an origin outside of USMCA is subject to 25pc tariffs. "Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands," Trump said. "It's 25pc without exceptions, and that's all countries, no matter where it comes from, all countries." But Trump, prompted by reporters, confirmed that he may make an exemption for Australian-sourced steel, after Canberra threatened to take reciprocal measures. "We have a surplus with Australia, one of the few," Trump said, referring to an overall trade surplus the US runs with Australia. "And the reason is they buy a lot of airplanes." Trump said he spoke with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese earlier today. "I told him that [steel tariff exemptions] is something that we will give great consideration." A similar exemption for the UK is unlikely since the US already is running a trade deficit with that country, Trump said. Trump contended that his initial volley of tariffs in 2018 led to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US and boosted economic growth. A 2019 study from the Federal Reserve Board that was updated in 2024 estimates that taking into account retaliatory tariffs, there was a net decrease in US jobs and economic growth from the tariffs. US oil and gas midstream companies were among the industries hit by the 2018 tariffs, which led to higher costs for pipeline steel. Most steel imports from non-tariffed US steel imports are heavily reliant on the countries that are currently not subject to US tariffs, with their volumes making up 80pc of the 26.2mn metric tonnes (t) of steel products imported in 2024, according to US Department of Commerce data. Steel tariff rate quota (TRQ) systems are in place for Argentina, Brazil, the EU, Japan, South Korea and the UK for steel products, with specifics dependent on the country. The CME Midwest hot-rolled coil (HRC) futures market jumped today, after Trump said on Sunday he would impose new tariffs, by $51/short ton (st) for March to $856/st, while April increased by $48/st to $858/st. Steel costs would rise by $6.38bn based on the $25.5bn value of 2024 steel imports from those nontariffed countries, if volumes remained the same. Those higher costs would lead to more US steel mill price increases, with one buyer expecting another round of price increases coming soon from US steelmakers. Steelmaker Nucor has increased its published hot-rolled coil (HRC) spot price by $40/short ton (st) in the last three weeks to $790/st. Other steelmakers like ArcelorMittal USA, Cleveland-Cliffs, and US Steel are at $800/st offers for their spot HRC. Canada key aluminum supplier In the aluminum market, the US imported over 6mn t of products in 2024, according to customs data. Canadian aluminum exporters currently have no restrictions on their volumes into the US. They shipped the highest volumes into the US and are responsible for an even larger share of primary aluminum imports. Current US primary aluminum smelting capacity, excluding idled operations, is around 795,000t/yr, which equaled less than one-third of Canadian imports and one-fifth of total imports. There are multiple idled primary aluminum facilities and a greenfield plant currently under construction, but observers and company representatives challenged the feasibility of idled plant restarts in the past. TRQ systems exist for US aluminum imports from Argentina, the EU, and the UK. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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