Trump's tariffs have already been carved out in a significant way. Russell: Oil and gas
Energy commodities were excluded from the new tariffs announced by U.S. president Donald Trump. White House announced on Wednesday that the baseline of 10% for all imports into the United States and even higher for major trading partners will not apply to crude oil and natural gas, or refined products. The exemption of energy imports is an obvious tactic that will limit the pain Americans feel as a result of tariffs. It also fits in with Trump's larger goal to keep energy costs low. The rest of the world will also be faced with a dilemma in how to respond to Trump's disruption of the global trade system.
US Businesses brace themselves for more pain when Trump imposes reciprocal tariffs
The U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a number of reciprocal duties on trading partners, the latest of a long list of duties that have been imposed by him since he returned to the White House in early this year. From April 5, the U.S. is imposing a baseline 10% tariff on all imports into the country and will be increasing duties for several of its largest trading partners. Levies may be especially damaging to U.S. firms in sectors that have already been hit with duties. Following U.S. Trump announced last week that he would impose 25% tariffs on imports of all automobiles and auto parts from outside the United States.
Trump exempts oil imports from his sweeping tariffs
The White House announced on Wednesday that imports of refined products, oil and gas were exempted by President Donald Trump from his new sweeping tariffs. The exemption is a welcome relief for the U.S. Oil Industry, which was concerned that new taxes could disrupt flow and increase costs of everything from Canadian crude oil to Midwest refineries and European cargoes to the Eastern Seaboard. Trump announced on Wednesday that he will impose a baseline 10% tariff on all imports into the United States, and higher duties on the country's largest trading partners. This is a continuation of the trade war he started upon his return to office.
GE Vernova will supply turbines for a planned natgas plant in Pennsylvania by 2026
GE Vernova is helping to transform Homer City Generating Station, a coal-powered power plant in Pennsylvania, into a campus of natural gas powered data centers by providing seven turbines that will produce almost 4.5 gigawatts. The project should begin generating power in 2027. It will be the largest natural-gas power plant in the U.S. once it is completed. This surpasses Florida Power & Light West County Energy Center's capacity of almost 3.8 GW. Homer City Redevelopment, the company in charge of this project, released a statement on Wednesday stating that the construction is expected to start by the end of the year and GE Vernova would supply the turbines until 2026.
EIA: US crude and distillate stocks rise while gasoline inventories fall
The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude and distillate oil inventories increased while gasoline inventories decreased last week. The EIA reported that crude inventories increased by 6.2 millions barrels, to 439.8million barrels for the week ending on March 28. This was compared to analysts' expectations based on a poll of a 2.1-million barrel draw. The EIA reported that crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma's delivery hub, rose by 2.4 millions barrels. The crude prices have remained relatively unchanged despite the surprising build-up of inventories. Brent futures traded at $74.39 per barrel at 10:35 am EDT (1435 GMT), down 11 cents. U.S.
OPEC+ will discuss Kazakhstan's output at the Thursday meeting, sources claim
Two delegates said that eight OPEC+ nations meeting on Thursday, will focus on convincing Kazakhstan to stop exceeding their output quota as well as its plans to compensate overproduction while the group increases gradual production. Sources have said that the record Kazakh production has angered other members of OPEC+, including Saudi Arabia. OPEC+ has urged the Central Asian nation, as well as other members of the group, to cut further to compensate for excessive production. One of the delegates stated that the meeting was to inform the new Kazakhstan Minister of the importance of meeting the production requirements and compensating the surplus.
ConocoPhillips is looking to sell assets in Oklahoma worth more than $1 billion, according to sources
People familiar with the situation said that ConocoPhillips has begun exploring the possibility of selling oil and gas assets it acquired from Marathon Oil when it bought the company for $22.5 billion last year. Sources said that the energy producer hired Moelis & Co as an investment bank to manage the sale of the assets. However, they added that talks were at a very early stage, and a deal was not guaranteed. Sources, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential, said that the assets, which include operations in the Anadarko basin, which spans approximately 300,000 acres net, will fetch a price greater than $1 billion.
US businesses prepare for more pain when 'Liberation Day" tariffs loom
Businesses all over the world are eagerly awaiting details about the new tariffs that President Donald Trump has imposed on his trading partners. This is the latest in an extensive series of duties that have been imposed by the U.S. since he returned to the White House at the beginning of this year. Trump is expected to announce the new duties at a ceremony on Wednesday at 4 pm Eastern Time (20:00 GMT), dubbed "Liberation Day". Administration officials say that Trump's tariffs are cumulative, and include previous rates. Following U.S. businesses are most likely to be affected by Trump's tariffs.
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. Alstom, a French train manufacturer, announced on Tuesday that it had received 2.4 million euro ($1.08m) in public funding as part of the France 2030 plan to speed up the development of an intelligent train safety platform. It also announced a 125-million-euro order to supply 10 more regio2n train sets to the Auvergne/Rhone Alpes region. ARGAN: French firm Argan announced on Tuesday a rental income of 52.9 million euro in the first quarter. It also confirmed its outlook for 2025.
Data shows that Russia's LNG imports fell by 1.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018.
LSEG's preliminary data on Tuesday showed that Russia's LNG exports in the first quarter of this year fell by 1.2% compared to a year ago, reaching 8.1 million metric tonnes. Due to U.S. sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been unable to increase its LNG exports. The new Arctic LNG 2 facility has effectively been frozen due to the Western sanctions. According to two sources, Arctic LNG 2 resumed processing in the last month. According to LSEG, Russia's exports of LNG rose 3.7% in March, from 2.7 millions tons a year earlier. In March…
The price of gas in Europe is rising due to forecasts for cooler temperatures and Norwegian maintenance
Dutch and British gas rates rose on Tuesday, as forecasts called for cooler temperatures over the weekend. They also cited maintenance scheduled at certain Norwegian infrastructure this week. LSEG data shows that the Dutch front-month contract increased by 0.34 euros to 40.69 Euro per megawatt hour or 12.88/mmBtu at 0818 GMT. The Dutch June contract increased by 0.37 euros to 41.24 Euro/MWh. The British day-ahead contracts was up 1.25p at 98.25p/therm. The weekend temperatures are expected to be below normal, which could increase gas demand and slow gas injection into storage.
Gas giants claim that Australia's opposition plan to reserve supplies may worsen the shortage
Gas giants around the world said that a proposal made by Australia's coalition of opposition to force producers to divert more gas from exports into the domestic market in an attempt to win votes would discourage investment and not solve the looming gas shortages. The conservative Liberal-National Coalition has pledged to lower power bills by implementing a gas reservations scheme. The center-left Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has introduced a cap on wholesale gas prices for 2022 and implemented other regulatory measures and policies to reduce emissions and meet domestic energy requirements.
Tokyo Gas, Japan expands its US shale-gas business with Chevron
TG Natural Resources LLC, co-owned by Tokyo Gas, Castleton Commodities International and Castleton Commodities, announced on Tuesday that it had purchased a 70% stake of east Texas gas assets for $525m from Chevron, in order to expand its U.S. Gas business. TGNR, which is the fourth largest producer in the Haynesville shale region, will be able to benefit from synergies worth over $170m during the development of the asset, according to Craig Jarchow. Haynesville, located in the Gulf Coast region of Texas and Louisiana, is a great location for LNG exports. Investors are paying attention to this as President Donald Trump wants to increase gas exports.
Shell warns that Australia's gas reservations plan could worsen shortages
Shell warned Tuesday that Australia's proposal to force more gas from export onto the domestic market would end up discouraging investment and worsening shortages. Energy has become a major issue in the campaign ahead of Australia's general election on May 3. The conservative Liberal-National Coalition pledged to lower power bills and avoid a shortage on the East Coast through a reservation scheme. Shell Australia Chair Cecile wake said that export controls are not the best solution. She also questioned if they would have a material impact on consumer prices. This does not increase the supply, but simply redistributes what is already there.
US oil production dropped to an 11-month low, according to data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Monday that U.S. crude production dropped by 305,000 barrels a day in January to 13,15 million bpd, its lowest level since Feb. 2024. The data revealed that this was the largest monthly decline in U.S. crude oil production since January 2024. The EIA lowered their estimate of U.S. record oil production for December by about 40,000 barrels per day to 13.45million bpd. The oil output in Texas, which is the largest U.S. state for oil production, dropped by 105,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 5,58 million bpd. This was the lowest level of the last three years.
The LAPFF in Britain recommends voting against BP Chairman, annual report
The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum in Britain (LAPFF), recommended to shareholders on Monday, that they vote against the reelection of BP Chairman Helge Lund and BP's Annual Report, remuneration reports, as well as abstaining on whether BP Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss is reelected. Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) as well as Glass Lewis, two influential proxy advisors, have advised that shareholders vote for the reelection of BP’s board of directors, management team and annual report during the annual general meeting on April 17.
India increases gas prices starting April
India's government website revealed on Monday that the price for its locally produced oil field gas has increased by almost 4%, to $6.75/million metric British Thermal Units (mmBtu), compared to $6.50/mmBtu the previous month. This is the first price revision for gas produced in old fields in two years. India set a price cap of $6.50 for two years in 2023. The third year will see a 25-cent increase per annum. The website of the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, part of the Ministry of Oil, showed that India had also set a ceiling price of $10.04 per million Btu of gas produced from difficult areas for the months of April to September…
Sempra sells Mexico energy assets and stake in infrastructure unit
Sempra, a utility firm, said it would sell energy infrastructure assets and a minority interest in Sempra Infrastructure in Mexico to fund its $56 billion five-year capital expenditure plan. In February, the company forecasted a five-year plan for capital expenditures of approximately $56 billion. This was a 16% rise from its previous plan. Over 90% of capital expenditures were projected to be spent on investments in regulated utilities in Texas and California. The CEO Jeffrey Martin said that the actions were taken to help the company simplify its business and reduce the reliance on future common equity issuances to fund the five-year capital program.
Prices for EUROPE GAS remain stable as the storage needs continue to support them
Dutch and British wholesale prices for gas were slightly higher on Monday morning, but are expected to be more volatile this week due to the milder weather being offset by the necessity to replenish storages as peace in Ukraine is still elusive. LSEG data shows that the Dutch front-month contract rose 0.60 euros to 41.00 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $13.01/mmBtu by 0850 GMT. The contract for the month of May, which is now the front-month was increased by 0.81 euros at 41.40 euro/MWh. The day-ahead contract in the British market rose by 2.00 pence, to 99.00 pence per therm. Meanwhile, the within-day contract increased by 2 pence, at 98.00 pence per therm.
UK shares drop after Trump announces tariff escalation
UK shares fell Monday, after U.S. president Donald Trump said that his tariffs will cover all countries. This intensified a global trade conflict. The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 1% as of 1011 GMT; the midcap FTSE 250 index dropped 1.9% to a more-than-eleven-month low. Trump told reporters that the tariffs will affect essentially all countries. He will announce reciprocal tariffs Wednesday and auto levies Thursday. Specifics are still unclear. According to Downing Street, during a phone call on Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir starmer and Trump discussed the "productive negotiation" towards a UK-U.S. Economic Prosperity Deal.
