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☆ Bank of England can't rule out more rate rises, MPC's Haskel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of England may need to raise interest rates more than once from their current level of 4.5% to bring inflation under control, Monetary Policy Committee member Jonathan Haskel said on Monday. "My own view is that it's important we continue to lean against the risks of inflation momentum, and therefore that further increases in interest rates cannot be ruled out," Haskel wrote in an article for The Scotsman newspaper. "As difficult as our current circumstances are, embedded inflation would be worse," he added. "We are monitoring indicators of inflation momentum and persistence closely," Haskel said on Monday. Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar and Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jonathan Haskel, Haskel, BoE, David Milliken, Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: Bank of England, Monetary, Scotsman, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington

Despite hitting an 18-month low of 4.70% in April, analysts do not expect India's inflation to fall to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% medium-term target in a sustainable manner for some time. India has raised rates by 250 basis points (bps) since May 2022, but surprised analysts in April by keeping them unchanged. India's hold on rates contrasts with recent central bank actions elsewhere. "Our goal is to achieve the inflation target of 4% and keeping inflation within the comfort band of 2-6% is not enough," Das said. Das said that the central bank would remain "nimble" with its liquidity operations amid spikes in overnight rates despite surplus liquidity in the banking system.

Persons: Shaktikanta Das, OIS, Das, Michael Patra, Suvodeep Rakshit, Gaura Sen Gupta, Swati Bhat, Sudipto Ganguly, Ira Dugal, Krishna N, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, Reserve Bank of India's, MPC, Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of Canada, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, IDFC, Thomson Locations: Delhi, India, Anushree, MUMBAI

☆ Morning Bid: Back to data watching, with US debt bill on track
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Unfortunately, there's little respite on that front given disappointing economic activity and persistently elevated inflation data out of Asia. China's official PMIs indicated a faster-than-expected contraction in manufacturing activity and slower growth in services in May. That followed consistently weak economic releases for April, suggesting the post-COVID reopening bounce has run out of steam. China economyAsian stock markets fell and even U.S. equity futures turned negative despite the debt ceiling reprieve, while China's yuan promptly skidded to fresh six-month lows, giving the U.S. dollar a broad boost. But much of the focus will, of course, be on the House debate over the debt ceiling bill.

Persons: Sonali Desai, Philip Lowe's, Italy's, Ignazio Visco's, Catherine Mann, Muralikumar Organizations: Sonali, Reserve Bank of Australia, U.S, CPI, Central Bank's, Bank of Italy, Bank of England MPC, Nordstrom, Thomson Locations: Asia, China, Korean, Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, U.S, Italian

Despite the uncertain macroeconomic backdrop the market faces, some companies have been able to buy back their shares without relying heavily on debt to finance the purchases. PYPL YTD mountain Shares of PayPal are under pressure this year with a decline of more than 15%. MPC YTD mountain Marathon shares are down roughly 8% from the start of 2023. Meta shares have been on fire this year as the company focuses on efficiency, rallying more than 100%. META YTD mountain Meta stock in 2023

☆ Major central banks were expected to pause rate hikes soon. Now it's not so clear cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Brendan McDermid | ReutersThe market has long been pricing in interest rate cuts from major central banks toward the end of 2023, but sticky core inflation, tight labor markets and a surprisingly resilient global economy are leading some economists to reassess. Economic resilience and persistent labor market tightness could exert upward pressure on wages and inflation, which is in danger of becoming entrenched. The Bank of England The U.K. faces a much tougher inflation challenge than the U.S. and the euro zone, and the U.K. consumer price inflation rate fell by less than expected in April. Meanwhile core inflation jumped to 6.8% from 6.2% in March, which will be of greater concern to the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee. Risk management considerations will, we think, force the MPC to push rates higher and further than previously intended."

HOUSTON, May 19 (Reuters) - An attorney representing the family of a 55-year-old Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) refinery worker killed in a fire at the Texas facility this week called the plant where he worked "dangerous" on Friday. Higgins family plans to file a gross negligence lawsuit against the oil refiner and other firms involved in the plant's maintenance, he said. Buzbee is seeking documents on the plant and maintenance, according to court filings. "Scott always thought he might die at that plant," Buzbee said. And the reason he talked to them about it is because that plant is very dangerous," Buzbee said.

☆ Egypt's central bank leaves key interest rates on hold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Egypt's central bank kept its overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying that growth had slowed in the fourth quarter and international commodity prices were easing. As forecast by analysts, the bank left its lending rate at 19.25% and deposit rate at 18.25%, its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said in a statement. The MPC said inflation had decelerated in part because disruptions to the domestic supply chain, commodity prices and the exchange rate had eased. "On the global front, forecasts for key international commodity prices have been revised downwards compared to those underlying the previous MPC meeting," the MPC said. At its last meeting on March 30, the central bank raised interest rates by 200 bps, saying it aimed to check soaring inflation.

[1/2] Production units are seen in operation at Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, U.S., May 15, 2023. Scott Higgins, a 55-year-old machinist, was killed and two contract employees, including Eduardo Olivo, were injured in a fire at Marathon’s giant Galveston Bay Refinery on Monday morning. The unit is the larger of two Ultraformers at the 593,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery, the second-largest in the United States. Higgins was the second worker to die at the Marathon refinery this year. On March 23, 2005, when the refinery was owned by BP Plc, 15 contract workers were killed and 180 other people were injured in a explosion caused by an overflowing refinery unit.

Geoff Gottlieb, the IMF's Senior Regional Representative for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, warned of the potential for fiscal policy to fuel inflation and so force monetary policy to remain tighter for longer. "We think Polish fiscal policy can do more to help reduce inflation," he said in an interview. "A new fiscal impetus would likely add to inflationary pressures and could also necessitate additional monetary policy tightening." "Our recommendation is for the (Monetary Policy Council) to resume monetary policy tightening if key indicators - core inflation momentum, wage growth, and the economy - fail to slow as projected," he said, urging the MPC to make clear that talk of cuts was premature. The European Commission projects Poland's average inflation rate at 6% next year, the highest in the European Union, retreating from nearly twice that level expected this year.

☆ U.S. refiners build new oil processing as travel rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HOUSTON, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiners aim to run at up to 94% of a total 17.9 million barrels per day processing capacity this quarter, according to company forecasts and analysts, driven in part by expectations of seasonal travel demand. This quarter is traditionally one of the year's hottest for demand as companies build gasoline and jet fuel output for the summer vacation season. He estimates refiners overall will run at 94% utilization rate this quarter, matching the 2017-19 average for the period. High prices will keep U.S. refinery utilization rates at levels near last year's about 91.7% this year and next, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast in January. Refiners will add the capacity to process an additional 328,000 bpd in this quarter, increasing gasoline and diesel supplies this summer.

☆ One worker dies after fire at Marathon's Texas refinery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Marathon Petroleum Corp FollowMay 15 (Reuters) - A Marathon Petroleum <MPC.N> worker has died from injuries suffered in a fire that broke out on Monday at the company's giant Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, the company said. "A Marathon employee has passed away as a result of the fire today at Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay refinery," company spokesperson Jamal Kheiry said in an emailed response to Reuters. The Texas City Emergency Management Department said on Twitter earlier that a shelter-in-place order was not needed. A contract worker died in March after receiving an electric shock at the refinery. Texas City is located 42 miles (68 km) southeast of Houston.

☆ Bank of England hikes rates by 25 basis points, no longer sees recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A passageway near the Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, U.K., on Thursday, March 18, 2021. LONDON — The Bank of England on Thursday hiked interest rates by 25 basis points and revised its economic projections to now exclude the possibility of a U.K. recession this year. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 in favor of the quarter-point increase to take the main bank rate from 4.25% to 4.5%, as the bank reiterated its commitment to taming stubbornly high inflation. "In the context of resilient economic activity, we think there is a good chance of the Bank Rate peaking at 5% by the August meeting. "As rates moves deeper into restrictive territory and credit conditions tighten, a policy-induced recession becomes almost inevitable."

☆ Bank of England poised to raise rates again to tackle stubborn inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Investors are fully pricing in another quarter-of-a-percentage point increase in Bank Rate, taking the BoE's benchmark rate to 4.5%, when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announces the outcome of its May policy meeting at 12 p.m. (1100 GMT). Markets' main focus will be any signals from the BoE about the likelihood of further rises in the months ahead. "We expect that the Bank will only start to reduce rates from 2024 Q2 given resilient growth momentum," Goldman Sachs economist James Moberly told clients this week. "We have to be very alert to any signs of persistent inflationary pressures," Bailey said on March 27, before the latest round of data showed inflation fell less than expected. Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank both raised their benchmark borrowing rates by 25 basis points.

☆ Bank of England set for 12th straight interest rate hike, but the outlook remains murky
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, January 26, 2023. "All this, and updated projections, should be consistent with our call for a final 25bp hike at the June meeting to a terminal rate of 4.75%." Updated forecasts Alongside the rate decision, the MPC will update its forecasts on Thursday. "Thus, while our base case remains for a final hike in June, we see risks that they skip this meeting and deliver the final hike in August," Ardagno's team said. Deutsche Bank Senior Economist Sanjay Raja echoed the projections for a 7-2 split in favor of a 25 basis point hike on Thursday, followed by another quarter-point in June.

☆ Bank of England set to raise rates to 4.5% next week, a possible peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Economists polled by Reuters this week were unanimous that the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will raise rates to 4.5% next week, in sharp contrast to a poll two weeks earlier which showed only a slim majority expecting a hike. "Previously we had seen the MPC holding Bank Rate at 4.25% but the April labour market and March CPI inflation data were too much to ignore," said Peter Schaffrik, global macro strategist at Royal Bank of Canada. Only a minority of economists polled by Reuters this week expect the BoE to raise interest rates above 4.5% this year. But investors in interest rate futures - whose views shift more rapidly - see rates reaching 4.75% or 5% by September. "In our view, further tightening beyond May can't be ruled out," said Andrew Goodwin, chief UK economist at Oxford Economics.

☆ Phillips 66 joins rivals to beat profit estimates as refining margins soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Arunima Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view of the Phillips 66 refinery, as seen from the corner of Fifth Street and California Street in Rodeo, California, the oldest oil refining town in the American West, U.S. December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File PhotoMay 3 (Reuters) - U.S. refiner Phillips 66 (PSX.N) beat Wall Street estimate for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, joining rivals in gaining from elevated margins on sustained fuel demand amid tight crude supplies. Realized margins soared 91% to $20.72 per barrel in the first quarter from a year earlier, Phillips 66 said. "We ran above industry-average crude utilization, successfully executed major turnarounds and increased market capture to 93%," Phillips 66's CEO Mark Lashier said in a statement. The Houston-based refiner reported adjusted earnings of $4.21 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with average analyst estimate of $3.56, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Marathon Petroleum beats profit estimates as strong demand boosts margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Arunima Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Marathon Petroleum Corp FollowMay 2 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) topped Wall Street profit estimates on Tuesday as sustained fuel demand and tight crude supplies boosted its margins, prompting the top U.S. refiner to expand its share buyback programme by $5 billion. Pandemic-era closure of facilities and demand recovery have lifted refiners' margins, further bolstered by tight crude supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a jump in jet fuel demand owed to a travel boom. Marathon refining and marketing margin soared 70.8% to $26.15 per barrel for the January-March quarter, compared with a year earlier. "With operating costs in line with expectations and stronger utilization, Marathon Petroleum captured stronger refining margins, notably on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Midwest," Third Bridge analyst Peter McNally said. Marathon returned $3.5 billion to investors through share buybacks and dividends in the first quarter, and repurchased $1.2 billion of shares last month.

☆ Marathon Petroleum posts bumper profit on high demand, tight supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Marathon Petroleum Corp FollowMay 2 (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) posted a bumper profit on Tuesday, benefiting from higher margins on sustained fuel demand and tight crude supplies, and announced an additional $5 billion share repurchase authorization. Pandemic-era closure of facilities and demand recovery have boosted margins for refiners, with crude supplies also coming under pressure after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Strong demand for refined products has also helped the company, with jet fuel recently sprinting higher while diesel demand fell. Refining and marketing margin was $26.15 per barrel for the January-March quarter, compared with $15.31 per barrel for the first quarter of 2022. Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bank of England policymakers consider 12th straight rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is weighing up whether to raise interest rates for the 12th meeting in a row next week as it continues to grapple with an inflation rate that remains above 10%, higher than in any other big, rich economy. Following is a summary of recent comments by members of the Monetary Policy Committee. If they become evident, further monetary tightening would be required. JON CUNLIFFE, DEPUTY GOVERNORHas not commented on monetary policy in recent months. MPC MEMBERS WHO VOTED IN MARCH TO STOP RAISING RATESSILVANA TENREYRO, EXTERNAL MPC MEMBERApril 14: "We need to be patient (to see the effects of past rate increases).

☆ A solid start to earnings season will be put to the test in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The biggest week of this earnings season showed us that things aren't as bad as many feared. The week ahead of earnings, including several more Club names, should tell us more. The results are always important, but it's the guidance and management commentary we will really hone in on to better understand the path ahead. In Amazon's case, a solid first quarter for its AWS cloud business was overshadowed by management seeing a material slowdown in April. ET: Nonfarm Payrolls Looking back It was the biggest week of this earnings season for the Club as several of our mega-cap holdings and industry bellwethers reported results.

HOUSTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp (CVX.N) has stepped up sales of Venezuelan crude oil to rival U.S. refiners, adding PBF Energy Inc (PBF.N) and Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) to its list of customers for the crude, vessel tracking and loading schedules showed. Chevron, the last big U.S. oil producer still operating in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela, has increased exports of the crude since January. So far in April, it has loaded about 148,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil at Venezuelan ports, with cargoes going to at least three other U.S. refiners, besides Chevron's own refinery. In mid-April, Chevron sold about 550,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude to PBF for its 185,000-bpd Chalmette refinery, near New Orleans, U.S. Customs data on Refinitiv Eikon showed. Chevron has sent Venezuelan crude to its 369,000-bpd Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery and this month shipped a cargo to a Bahamas oil-storage terminal, PDVSA's schedules showed.

Unsecured loans – mostly personal loans and credit cards – do not carry any collateral and therefore pose higher risk. Indian banks have been growing their unsecured lending portfolio as the pandemic-induced stress began to ease. "Risks in unsecured lending has been on the RBI's radar," said a senior official at a private bank. This has pushed up the weighted average lending rate of banks by 95 bps in the same period. "It is trying to identify early warning signals in unsecured lending to not be caught off guard later."

☆ India monetary tightening cycle not over, inflation remains a concern -MPC minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Swati Bhat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 20 (Reuters) - India's current rate tightening cycle may not be over as more hikes could be warranted to align inflation towards the central bank's medium term target of 4%, minutes of this month's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting showed on Thursday. "It is clear that the war against inflation has not yet been won, and it would be premature to declare an end to this tightening cycle," MPC member Jayant Varma wrote. Most members appeared more concerned about inflation than in their commentary after the previous policy meeting in February when the bank raised rates by 25 bps. The decision by OPEC+ to cut crude output and the possibility of weak monsoon rains could both push up inflation in India and necessitate a monetary policy response, Varma said. In the current situation of high inflation, monetary policy does not have the luxury of responding to these growth headwinds."

☆ UK inflation rate surprises again with March figure holding above 10%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

City workers in Paternoster Square, where the headquarters of the London Stock Exchange is based, in the City of London, UK, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesU.K. inflation unexpectedly remained in double-digits in March as households continued to grapple with soaring food and energy bills. The consumer price index rose by an annual 10.1%, according to the Office for National Statistics, above a consensus projection of 9.8% in a Reuters poll of economists. On a monthly basis, CPI inflation was 0.8%, above a Reuters consensus of 0.5% and down from the 1.1% of February. U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said the Wednesday figures reaffirm why the government must continue efforts to drive down inflation.

☆ Wells Fargo raises the caution flag on refiners, downgrades Valero, Marathon
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wells Fargo is less optimistic on the future performance of oil refinery stocks Analyst Roger Read downgraded both Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum to equal weight from overweight. "We raise the caution flag on the refining sector," he said in a note to clients Tuesday. Jet inventory, meanwhile, is "well above" where it was a year ago but still below the average levels seen historically. Demand has also recovered compared with the long-term average but still sits below levels seen before the pandemic. MPC VLO 5Y mountain Valero and Marathon — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

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