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Exports for August revised up, despite a decrease in the number of uranium dilutions
Calculations and traders' statements show that the differential between Brent and Urals crude eased on Tuesday due to lower prices in India and firmer freight rates to Asia, as well as lower prices of the grade. The export plan for Russia’s western ports was also revised upwards. Three people with knowledge of the situation said that Russia increased its crude oil export plans for Priomorsk and Ust-Luga ports in August by 200,000 barrels a day from the original schedule, after Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted refinery operation and released more crude to be shipped. Due to the ongoing strikes and changing repair schedules, delays and volume revisions may be expected, they stated. PLATTS WINDOW On Tuesday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. Interfax reported that the Russian energy ministry is working with oil companies to increase reserve capacity for refining. Mark Porter (Reporting and Editing)
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After a long legal dispute, Ryanair and Booking.com have reached a deal on tickets
The companies announced on Tuesday that they had reached a settlement with Booking Holdings, allowing their Booking.com and KAYAK sites to resell airline tickets. This agreement ends a long-running legal dispute. In recent years, Ryanair has taken legal action against third-party platforms such as Booking that resell the airline's tickets without its consent. The airline has accused the platforms of charging additional fees and making it hard for them to reach passengers. It has also been signing agreements since the beginning of the year with platforms such as Kiwi.com and Expedia to allow the resale tickets. In a joint statement, Ryanair and Booking stated that the deal would allow customers to receive flight updates and "full transparency" directly. In addition, the agreement covers Booking's Priceline website and Agoda. Ryanair announced that the partnership ends all litigation. Both parties were seeking a U.S. Court ruling on the legality for Booking websites to scrape Ryanair's website. Ryanair brought the case in 2020 but it has been appealed several times since then. In December 2023, a number of online travel agencies suddenly stopped selling Ryanair tickets due to legal and regulatory pressure. The airline said that the problem has been largely resolved. Conor Humphries, Helen Popper, and Barbara Lewis edited the article.
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US truck manufacturers look for protection as Trump's tariffs increase costs
Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have increased manufacturing costs in the U.S. trucking industry worth $50 billion. This has led companies to source more components from Mexico, to take advantage of concessions made under the USMCA. Section 232 (Trade Expansion Act) imposes 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper derivatives imported by U.S. truck makers. Manufacturers like Bellevue-based Paccar face tariffs for every non-USMCA compliant part that they import. Daimler Truck, Traton and other rivals that manufacture in Mexico can gain an advantage over those who manufacture in the U.S. USMCA allows for duty-free trade between the U.S. and Mexico, Canada, and Mexico, as long as certain regional sourcing requirements are met. The pact requires that at least 64% (of the value of a heavy-duty truck) must be sourced in North America. This can include parts such as engines and axles or raw materials like steel, or assembly labor. This threshold will increase to 70% by 2027. Volvo, a Swedish company, and its subsidiary Mack Trucks, based in Pennsylvania and Virginia, produce their cars for the U.S. domestic market at their respective plants, Dublin and Macungie. A spokesperson for Volvo North American said that "trucks built in America are actually at a disadvantage today when compared with trucks built in Mexico." In April, the company increased its planned investment in Mexico by $300 million up to $1 billion to support its U.S. operation. Bernstein, a brokerage firm, said that tariffs on imported parts put U.S.-built trucks at a cost premium of 3% compared to USMCA compliant models manufactured in Mexico. Chad Dillard is a senior analyst at Bernstein. He said that companies with a greater manufacturing footprint in the U.S. compared to Mexico face a cost disadvantage. This is the exact opposite of what Trump wants. ACT Research predicted that production would drop 11% annually in 2026, to 226,600 vehicles. Economic headwinds as well as lower carrier profitability had hit the industry by 2025. Paccar, a company that sells trucks under Kenworth and Peterbilt, estimates tariff costs of $75 million for the third quarter. The company reported that its brands would hold a market share of 30,4% in the first half 2025. Daimler had a gross margin of 21,96% in the first quarter, compared to Paccar's 18,69%. Paccar declined comment on this article. Preston Feight, CEO of Paccar, said that in a recent earnings conference call the company is working with suppliers to increase USMCA certified parts imports. This will reduce long-term tariff exposure. According to ACT Research, tariffs can add between 2% and 4% to the cost per unit. Daimler's Mexican-built Freightliner Cascadia costs about $165,000, compared to roughly $195,000 of Paccar's Kenworth T680. The cost of a truck is largely determined by the raw materials, finished components and castings. Traton of Munich, which operates International Motors, formerly Navistar, for the North American Market, said that the USMCA allows it to qualify for duty-free entry to the U.S. The Volkswagen-owned company stated in a press release that "this can offer a cost advantage over U.S. manufacturing in cases where U.S. factories rely on imported components, steel or aluminum or those subject to Section 232 tariffs or other additional duties." Daimler Truck's spokesperson said the company has two USMCA-compliant factories in Mexico that produce a variety of models, including the Freightliner Class 8 Cascadia truck and the medium duty Freightliner truck M2. According to Mordor Intelligence, the U.S. heavy duty truck market is expected to grow from $51.56 billion to $71.81 billion in 2030. In April, the U.S. Commerce Department began an investigation under Section 232 to determine whether imports of heavy-duty trucks, and their parts, threaten national security. Experts said that the probe could result in new tariffs or exclusions, changing the cost dynamics of truck manufacturers, and discouraging overseas production.
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After a long legal dispute, Ryanair and Booking.com have reached a deal on tickets
The companies announced on Tuesday that Ryanair and Booking Holdings have reached an agreement to allow their Booking.com website and KAYAK website to resell tickets from the airline. This deal appears to be the end of the long-running legal dispute between the two. In recent years, Ryanair has launched a number of legal actions against third party booking platforms such as Booking that resell their tickets without consent. The airline has accused the platforms of charging additional fees and making it hard for them to reach passengers. It has been signing agreements since the beginning of the year with platforms such as Kiwi.com and Expedia, allowing the resale or tickets. In a joint statement, Ryanair and Booking stated that the deal would allow customers to receive flight updates and "full transparency" directly. The statement didn't say if a resolution had been reached in the U.S. case between Booking and Ryanair over the legality scraping Ryanair's website by Booking websites. The case, which was initially brought by Ryanair in the year 2020, has been subjected to several appeals. The statement also added that the agreement extends to Booking's Priceline, Agoda and other websites. Conor Humphries, Helen Popper (Editing)
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UN Post agency: 25 States suspend US shipments
The U.N. agency in charge of the postal service said that 25 member countries have suspended consignments from the United States due to uncertainty following President Donald Trump’s administration's decision to scrap a rule on customs taxes that exempted small parcels from duty. The Universal Postal Union (UPU), a Swiss-based agency that promotes cooperation between the postal services of its member countries, has said they conveyed their concern about disruption to Secretary of States Marco Rubio in a letter on 25 August 2025. The statement did not mention any specific countries, although Australia and Norway as well as Switzerland have publicly announced their suspension. This news follows Trump's announcement last month that it would suspend global "de minimis", which allows minimal paperwork for international shipments below $800. Reporting by Emma Farge Editing Made by Chambers
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US threatens withholding funding from States over truck driver English language proficiency rules
The U.S. Transportation Department announced Tuesday that it would withhold federal funds from California, Washington State, and New Mexico until they adopted English proficiency requirements for truck drivers. The Trump administration has taken several steps to address concerns regarding foreign truckers who don't speak English. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States would immediately suspend the issuance all worker visas for truck drivers. Trump signed in April an executive order that directed enforcement of a rule that requires commercial drivers to meet English proficiency requirements in the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the department may withhold up to $50 million of federal funding in 30 days if it does not comply and take other actions. Requests for comments were not immediately responded to by the states. Duffy announced last week that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had launched an investigation in a Florida crash which killed three people. According to Florida and U.S. authorities, the crash involved an Indian driver who did not speak English and had no legal authorization to enter the United States. Duffy stated that the investigation revealed the three states did not enforce the rules. Harjinder Singh, a driver from Punjab in India, has been charged on three counts of vehicular murder. The police said that he tried to make a U-turn illegally through an "Official Use Only", blocking traffic, and causing the fatal accident after a minivan hit his truck. The English proficiency standard for truckers is a long-standing U.S. Law. However, Trump's April executive order reversed the 2016 guidance to inspectors that they not remove commercial drivers from service if all their violations were due to a lack of English. Duffy says that failing to enforce driver qualifications standards is a serious safety concern and increases the risk of accidents. In 2023, FMCSA reported that approximately 16% of U.S. drivers are born outside the United States. Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations, praised Duffy’s announcement, saying that "every commercial truck driver operating in America must be able read road signs, understand safety instructions, and communicate with law-enforcement." (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson, Chizu Nomiyama, and Hugh Lawson).
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Kenya Airways reports first-half loss before tax after falling passenger numbers
Kenya Airways reported a loss before tax in the first six months of the year, compared to a profit for the same period last year, due to a decline in revenue and passengers, with some planes being out of service for maintenance. Kenya Airways, one of Africa's top three airlines, posted a loss in the first six months of the year of 12,17 billion shillings (94.34 millions dollars), compared to a profit of 634 million in the same time period last year. Pretax profit was the airline's first in more than a decade. The operating loss for the first half was 6.23 billions shillings. This is down from the 1.3 billions shillings profit of the first half in 2024. Revenues fell from 91.5 to 74.5 billions shillings. Allan Kilavuka is the chief executive officer of the company. He told investors at an investor briefing in July that one aircraft had returned to service after being grounded for maintenance. He stated that the goal was to have an entire fleet ready by next year. Kenya Airways declared insolvency after an expansion campaign left it with debts of hundreds of millions dollars. It was more difficult to service the debt due to the near-shutdown of international travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was combined with the weakening shilling in 2022-2023, and the higher interest rates. The airline has been reliant on the state for financial support. In January, the government paid off a $150 million loan that it had received from commercial banks in the area. The company had a profit for the full year of 2024 of 5.53 billions shillings compared to a loss for the previous year of 22.86 milliards shillings. The performance of 2024 was largely driven by foreign exchange gains of 10,55 billion shillings versus a loss in 2023 of 15,04 billion shillings as the local currency gained more than 20% in comparison to the dollar.
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Russia raises August oil export plan after drone strikes disrupt refineries, sources say
Three people with knowledge of the situation said that Russia revised its crude oil export plans from western ports in August by 200,000 barrels a day (bpd). This was due to the fact that Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted the refinery operations, allowing more crude to be shipped. Due to the ongoing strikes and changing repair schedules, delays and volume revisions may be expected, they stated. "Attacks continue and repair deadlines vary daily." One person stated that it is unclear how much Russia will be able to load in this month or the next. The final plans for loading Russian oil in September have not yet been received by Russian oil sellers, even though they usually receive the plan one week before the loading period. The Russian Energy Ministry and Transneft, the monopoly of the oil pipeline in Russia, did not respond immediately to comments. The disruptions occur at a moment when Moscow seeks to increase revenues despite Western Sanctions and U.S. Pressure on key buyers of its oil to reduce their imports. The sources stated that the loadings of Primorsk and Novorossiisk will reach 2 million barrels a day, up from 1.8 million. This is a significant increase from an original plan for 1.8 million. According to calculations, the adjustment was made after attacks on ten Russian refineries in this month that shut down facilities representing at least 17% or 1.1 millions bpd of national processing capacity. Ukraine also attacked the Druzhba pipe and Unecha pumping stations in the Bryansk area, which are key routes for crude deliveries to Ust-Luga. This further limited Russia's export capability. According to one source, damage to the Druzhba Pipeline and Ust-Luga Route could result in a reduction of exports up to 500,000 BPD. This person also said that the availability of vessels at the end August was limited, which would limit Russia's capacity to increase shipments. A second source stated that Ust-Luga is only operating at 50% of its 700 000 bpd capability and it's unclear when the terminal will start to run in full. Source: The volume is being diverted towards Novorossiisk or Primorsk. As most refineries are located in central Russia, the western port loadings of Russian oil are adjusted according to refinery throughput. Eastern exports remain largely unaffected.
Boeing and the US FAA will conduct scenario-based planning before lifting the 737 MAX production limit
The Federal Aviation Administration's head said Tuesday that the agency will conduct tabletop exercises with Boeing to plan scenarios before lifting the cap of 38 planes per month on the 737 MAX production.
Officials said that the exercises would review any potential problems Boeing could face as it increases production. They also aim to ensure that Boeing maintains its progress in quality.
On Tuesday, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said that they still hadn't asked for an increase in the rate and we had not agreed to anything. We agreed that it was a good idea to begin the process of bringing up a conversation about a possible rate increase.
Bedford said he hopes that these exercises, which are currently being developed, will be completed by the end September. Bedford added that if the FAA wants to increase production, they will have a road map on how to evaluate it. The FAA implemented the production cap after an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 that was missing four bolts in mid-air during a mid-air emergency on January 20, 2024. Since then, FAA has increased its in-person supervision of Boeing production.
Boeing declined to comment immediately. In May, CEO Kelly Ortberg stated that the planemaker was "pretty sure" it could increase production to 42 737 MAX jets per month.
Bedford met with Ortberg and was briefed on Boeing's quality and safety initiatives, as well as the supply chain's stability, on August 15. The FAA also gave him a tour of the production line. In May, the FAA extended by three years the program that allows Boeing, on behalf of the agency, to perform certain tasks, such as inspections.
Bedford praised Boeing's efforts to improve quality and implement changes, but acknowledged that there were still problems with traveling work. This is when jobs are completed later than planned.
Bedford said that "in general, there are good news and cautious optimism, but still, work needs to be done."
(source: Reuters)