US job growth slows sharply in July, jobless rate rises

Spanish Market: Coal, Metals, Natural gas
02/08/24

The US added 114,000 nonfarm jobs in July, much less than expected, as the jobless rate rose and average hourly earnings growth fell, all signs of an almost certain rate cut from the Federal Reserve next month.

Job gains followed downwardly revised gains of 179,000 in June and 216,000 jobs in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gains were revised down by 29,000 for the two months.

Gains in July were well below the average 215,000 jobs added monthly for the prior 12 months.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.3pc from 4.1pc.

Fed policymakers this week kept their target rate unchanged at 5.25-5.5pc, a 23-year high, but Fed chief Jerome Powell said a possible rate cut was "on the table" for September should the data — especially easing inflation pressures and weakening labor market conditions — keep moving in the right direction.

After the jobs report today, the CME's FedWatch tool showed 67.5pc odds of a 50 basis point cut, and 32.5pc probability of a 25 basis point cut at the September meeting, compared with 22pc and 72pc odds, respectively, on Thursday.A rate cut in September would come less than two months before the November national election and would be the first cut since early 2020, when Covid-19 struck the US.

Job gains were led by health care, construction, transportation and warehousing.

Health care added 55,000 jobs, construction added 25,000 and transportation and warehousing added 14,000 jobs. Manufacturing added 1,000 jobs compared with losses of 9,000 jobs in June. Mining, which includes oil and gas exploration and production, shed 1,000 jobs.

Average hourly earnings rose by an annual 3.6pc, down from 3.8pc in June and the lowest since May 2021.

By Bob Willis

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12/06/25

Japan’s Jera signs LNG supply agreements with the US

Singapore, 12 June (Argus) — Japanese power producer Jera has signed multiple long-term LNG supply agreements with US partners over the past two months, to procure up to 5.5mn t/yr of LNG supply from the US over 20 years, the firm announced on 12 June. The agreements include a 2mn t/yr sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with US LNG firm NextDecade on 28 April, and a 1mn t/yr SPA with US developer Commonwealth LNG on 30 May. Jera has also signed non-binding interim agreements with Sempra Infrastructure — a subsidiary of US energy firm Sempra — for 1.5mn t/yr on 29 May, and with developer Cheniere for 1mn t/yr on 11 June. The deals offer competitive pricing and flexible contract terms. All supply will be delivered on a fob basis priced to the US' Henry Hub, allowing Jera to optimise shipping routes and respond flexibly to domestic demand and market conditions, the company said. If the four deals are considered as a single package of 5.5mn t/yr of supply, it is Jera's largest contract to date, senior managing executive officer Ryosuke Tsugaru said. The new agreements add to Jera's existing offtake contracts with the US, which include a combined 3.5mn t/yr of LNG from Texas' Freeport LNG and Louisiana's Cameron LNG, and approximately 1mn t/yr of LNG from developer Venture Global's CP2 project in Louisiana. US supplies could account for 30pc of Jera's long-term LNG portfolio in 2035, up from 10pc at present, a Jera spokesman told Argus . But Jera does not intend to increase its planned LNG handling volume of no less than 35mn t/yr up to the April 2035-March 2036 fiscal year, as some of its existing contracts are set expired in the middle of the 2030-31 fiscal year, Tsugaru said. The potential increase in Japan's US LNG procurement should help reduce the US' trade deficit with Japan, which could aid Tokyo's negotiations over import tariffs with the US administration. But Jera emphasised that neither Tokyo or Washington had requested or pressured it to sign the new supply contracts. The deals were Jera's decision to ensure stable supplies to Japan, Jera said. The Japanese government could use the US' proposed 20mn t/yr Alaska LNG export project as part of its tariff negotiations, as Alaska's proximity to Japan and its ample resources make it a promising import source for the east Asian country. Jera is waiting for more details to be announced about the project before it makes a decision on whether to step into an offtake deal, Tsugaru said. Jera dose not plan to invest in the development of the project, he added. Japan's LNG imports from the US rose by 15pc on the year to 6.34mn t in 2024. By Motoko Hasegawa and Joey Chan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Philippines axes planned ban on nickel ore exports

12/06/25

Philippines axes planned ban on nickel ore exports

Beijing, 12 June (Argus) — The Philippines has removed a provision in its mineral bill that had banned the export of unprocessed nickel ore. The country's Senate on 3 February had passed a bill to ban unprocessed nickel ore exports by 2030 to promote domestic processing -- mirroring a similar policy in Indonesia. But this was not welcomed by the local industry. The decision to remove the ban was supported by the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA). "This is a prudent and forward-looking step that protects jobs, upholds investor confidence, and reflects a more realistic understanding of the challenges surrounding domestic mineral processing," PNIA said in a statement. The Philippines exported 44.97mn wet metric tonnes of nickel ore in 2024, up by 10.1pc year on year. Of this, 35.12mn wmt was exported to China, down by 12pc on the year. Indonesia received 9.55mn wmt, up from 215,000wmt it received in 2023. Rising demand and a lower approved mining quota, or RKAB, in Indonesia boosted the country's ore imports from the Philippines. While in China, weak demand resulted in the decline of imports. The Philippines' nickel intermediates output fell by 7.8pc on the year to 414,000t of nickel metal equivalent in 2024. Most of this production came from the Coral Bay and Taganito high-pressure acid leach plants owned by Nickel Asia, according to data from the International Nickel Study Group. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US copper group seeks tariffs, export ban

11/06/25

US copper group seeks tariffs, export ban

Houston, 11 June (Argus) — A US copper trade group is asking the government to impose tariffs on certain imported products while sparing some feedstocks as part of an ongoing trade investigation. In a 6 June filing to US trade regulator the US Bureau of Industry and Security, the Copper Development Association recommended that the US impose tariffs on all semi-fabricated copper and copper alloy products, such as plates, sheets, strip, and wire, and requested a tariff exemption for raw material feedstocks, including copper cathodes and scrap copper. The group seeks the exemptions because it believes tariffs on refined copper cathodes would hurt the domestic semi-fabrication industry and potentially worsen national security risks. The group also called for a ban on all US copper scrap exports to reduce access to US supplies by China and other countries. The US imported 1.7mn metric tonnes (t) of copper and its derivatives in 2024 and exported 956,700t of copper scrap, according to customs data. Copper cathode made up the majority of copper imports last year at 903,100t, which predominantly came from the US' free trade partners Chile, Canada, Peru and Mexico. Copper is currently not considered a critical mineral according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), but in the filing, the association requested copper be added to the newest version of the USGS critical minerals list, which is expected to be published later this year. Critical minerals are defined as those used to manufacture products considered essential to American economic and national security. By Angelina Contreras Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EQT signs 10-year gas deals with Duke, Southern

11/06/25

EQT signs 10-year gas deals with Duke, Southern

New York, 11 June (Argus) — US natural gas producer EQT has signed 10-year firm supply deals with US utilities Duke Energy and Southern Company for a combined 1.2 Bcf/d of gas beginning in 2027. EQT previously disclosed it struck deals to sell 800mn cf/d and 400mn cf/d of gas to "investment-grade utilities" in the southeastern US, but it has not disclosed the buyers. Those previously unnamed utilities are North Carolina-based Duke, which has contracted for 800mn cf/d from EQT, and Georgia-based Southern, which has contracted for 400mn cf/d, according to people with knowledge of the matter. EQT declined to comment for this story. Duke and Southern did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The deals represent about 20pc of EQT's production and allow EQT to take advantage of contracted capacity it holds on Mountain Valley Pipeline, which ferries gas from West Virginia to Virginia. EQT, the second-largest US gas producer by volume, has been the owner of Mountain Valley Pipeline since acquiring its previous owner Equitrans Midstream in July 2024. The gas supply deals are "two of the largest long-term physical supply deals ever executed in the North American natural gas market," EQT chief executive Toby Rice said in October 2023. The deals also underpin EQT's broader strategy of trying to sell more gas directly to large end users, including utilities, LNG export terminals and data centers, instead of selling into the volatile US spot gas market with the use of financial hedges. The deals also give EQT more exposure to pricing hubs in the southeastern US, where gas trades at a premium to gas sold within the Appalachian production region, where EQT operates. For Duke and Southern, the long-term agreements guarantee available gas supply as the utilities convert coal-fired power generation facilities to gas-fired generators while scrambling to meet surging power demand from planned data centers running artificial intelligence software. Those drivers of gas demand are also behind US pipeline companies Williams, Kinder Morgan and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners trying to build out more gas transportation capacity into the southeast, FactSet manager of natural gas research Connor McLean told Argus . Duke Energy plans to add 5GW of new gas-fired power generation through 2029 across its territory, the company said earlier this month. Duke Energy Carolinas and Southern Company hold most of the contracted capacity on Williams' planned 1.6 Bcf/d Southeast Supply Enhancement expansion of its Transcontinental (Transco) pipeline, which is expected to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2027, US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filings show. That expansion project will make available new gas transportation capacity from the terminus of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia to end markets in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Duke Energy Carolinas, whose service territory includes North Carolina and South Carolina, holds 1 Bcf/d of contracted capacity on Southeast Supply Enhancement. Southern Company, whose service territory includes Georgia and Alabama, holds 400mn cf/d. By selling into those regions, EQT will be taking 1.2 Bcf/d of gas it was previously selling into the comparatively low-priced Tetco M-2 market and selling it instead into the higher priced Transco zone 4 and 5 South markets. The spot price for gas in the Transco zone 5 South region — which covers gas downstream from compressor station 165 near the terminus of Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia to the Georgia-South Carolina border — in 2024 averaged $2.69/mmBtu, and the Transco zone 4 index — spanning Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi — averaged $2.41/mmBtu. The Tetco M-2 receipts index over the period averaged $1.67/mmBtu. The supply deals with Duke and Southern are "the main driver" behind EQT's anticipated corporate gas price differential — or the average price at which it sells its gas relative to the US benchmark price — tightening to around 30¢/mmBtu in 2028 from an anticipated 60¢/mmBtu this year, EQT's Rice said in April. EQT is also in talks with a dozen proposed power projects in the Appalachian production region, he said. By Julian Hast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump brings momentum and uncertainty to US LNG

11/06/25

Trump brings momentum and uncertainty to US LNG

The current administration has been quick to roll out export licences, but the steel tariffs might throw a wrench in its plans, writes Tray Swanson London, 11 June (Argus) — US president Donald Trump's administration has swiftly shored up the country's LNG industry, most prominently by doling out export licences to proposed terminals. But while cutting regulatory hurdles signals policy stability and helps projects on the cusp of final investment decisions (FIDs) gain momentum in commercial negotiations, Trump's unwavering commitment to steel tariffs adds a layer of uncertainty for developers looking to spend billions on new projects. Political backing from the new administration and regulatory streamlining helped bring momentum to commercial talks. Since January, US LNG producers have signed or finalised offtake agreements totalling 10.7mn t/yr, including non-binding deals.Five LNG projects received a non-free trade agreement (FTA) permit or permit extension since January, which could make their projects more appealing in commercial talks with banks and potential offtakers. Four of them expect to reach FIDs this year. In February, Trump's Department of Energy (DOE) swiftly ended the Biden administration's year-long pause on issuing licences to export to non-FTA countries. Although the first two new licences were conditional, the DOE issued a final order for Sempra's 13.5mn t/yr Port Arthur phase 2 project on 29 May, shortly after the DOE concluded its 2024 LNG export study that was commissioned by the Biden administration to assess the impact of increased LNG exports on "the public interest". Trump's DOE found that higher exports indeed are in the public interest and hailed "a return to regular order on LNG exports". Alongside Port Arthur, Kimmeridge's 9.5mn t/yr Commonwealth LNG, Delfin's 13.2mn t/yr floating LNG terminal and Venture Global's 28mn t/yr CP2 plant have also received export approvals or extensions and are anticipated to reach FID later this year. Several other legislative measures being discussed in the Republican-dominated Congress seek to eliminate regulatory delays to LNG projects. The so-called "big, beautiful bill" includes an add-on that would automatically grant non-FTA export licences to developers that pay a $1mn fee, considering the payment to be in the public interest. One bill proposed in the Senate seeks to prevent federal courts from vacating permits that are already issued to LNG facilities, a measure that would safeguard projects from the judicial setbacks that NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG and Glenfarne's Texas LNG faced last year. And the House Energy Subcommittee on Energy will soon discuss the 1948 bill, which would eliminate altogether the requirement for DOE authorisation to export LNG, placing sole authority over LNG approvals with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Steely determination But not all of Trump's policies have found a receptive audience in the LNG sector. His insistence on levying tariffs on steel and aluminium, key building materials for LNG projects, might force companies to adjust their spending plans. Unlike the reciprocal tariffs placed, revoked and still threatened on most countries, Trump has not dithered on the metals tariffs since enacting them in March. Instead, he doubled steel and aluminum duties to 50pc on 4 June — a move that, barring an exemption for industry, threatens to inflate project costs. The US Trade Representative has partly back-tracked on its proposal to require 1pc of US LNG exports be loaded on US-flagged, built and operated ships from 2028 — by shifting the duty to comply from plant operators, which under the original plan faced the threat of having their export licences revoked, to shippers. This came after the industry had criticised the measure for being hard to reconcile with the prevailing fob nature of US LNG contracts. Yet it remains difficult to envisage how even the amended proposal could work in practice. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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