Stocks Pare Declines Amid US Trade-Deal Hopes: Markets Wrap

Their meeting started with smiles and a handshake despite Trump's desire to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, a prospect that has chilled bilateral relations. The subject quickly came up as they took questions from reporters.

"We're not going to be discussing that unless somebody wants to discuss it," Trump said. "It would really be a wonderful marriage."

Carney put down the idea firmly.

"It's not for sale, it won't be for sale - ever," he told Trump in the Oval Office.

"Never say never, never say never," Trump said.

Trump, whose tariff policy has rattled world markets, said he and Carney would discuss "tough points," an allusion to the president's belief that the United States can do without Canadian products.

"Regardless of anything, we're going to be friends with Canada," he said.

Carney's Liberal Party won the April 28 election on promises to tackle Trump and create a new bilateral economic and security relationship with the United States.

Shortly before Carney arrived, Trump posted a message on social media.

"I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things? We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain. They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us!"

Trump appeared to be referring to the trade deficit the U.S. has with Canada due mostly to American imports of Canadian oil, although Canada's merchandise trade surplus was C$102.3 billion ($74.25 billion) in 2024.

Carney, a 60-year-old ex-central banker with no previous political experience, was elected Liberal leader in March to replace Justin Trudeau, who had a poor relationship with Trump.

Canada is the U.S.' second-largest individual trading partner after Mexico, and the largest export market for U.S. goods. More than $760 billion in goods flowed between the two countries last year.

Ahead of the meeting, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday Canada's goods trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to a five-month low in March, the month when Trump's hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum took effect. Canadian exports to the U.S. plunged by $3.7 billion, the second-largest drop on record.

Canadian data showed the drop in U.S. exports was almost compensated by an increase to the rest of the world, as Canadian companies sought new markets.

Shows trade relationship with Canada

Trump in March imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports and then slapped another 25% tariff on cars and parts that did not comply with a North American free trade agreement.

On Sunday, Trump said he would put a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the U.S., without giving details, in a potential blow to Canada's film industry.

With additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Nia Williams and Rod Nickel

Source: Reuters

DEX traders load up on puts

Focus on the June rate cut talk

Source: coindesk

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) no longer expects to publish one of its major energy reports this year after losing some of its staff through President Donald Trump's efforts to downsize the federal workforce.

The EIA does not plan to publish its International Energy Outlook (IEA) — which models long-term global trends in energy supply and demand — this year because of a loss of staff responsible for producing the report, according to an internal email initially reported by the news outlet ProPublica. The EIA confirmed the authenticity of the email.

"At this point, you can assume that we will not be releasing the IEO this year," the EIA's Office of Energy Analysis assistant administrator Angelina LaRose wrote in the 16 April email. "This was a difficult decision based on the loss of key resources."

Oil and gas producers, traders, utility companies, federal regulators and foreign governments have come to rely on the data and models from the EIA, an independent agency within the US Department of Energy. The 2025 version of the IEO might still be published early next year, the EIA said.

The agency for now is focusing on trying to "preserve as much institutional knowledge as possible" with an "all hands-on deck" effort under which remaining staff will document models and procedures on long-term modeling, LaRose wrote in the email.

Trump and his administration have worked to cut the size of the government's workforce through voluntary buyouts and a process known as a reduction in force. The EIA has yet to say how many personnel it has lost, but about a third of the agency's 350 staffers have accepted voluntary buyouts, according to a person familiar with the situation. The White House last week proposed an 18pc budget cut for the non-nuclear portions of the Department of Energy, but has yet to say if it is seeking to cut spending at the EIA.

Last month, the EIA released its premier report, the Annual Energy Outlook, but omitted its traditional in-depth analysis. A technical issue on 1 May delayed the release of a key natural gas storage report by more than three hours, the EIA said.

Source: Argus Media

Republicans in the US House are more likely than not to kill a consumer tax credit for electric vehicles, according to Speaker Mike Johnson.

“I think there is a better chance we kill it than save it,” Johnson said in a Tuesday interview. “But we’ll see how it comes out.”

Eliminating the popular tax credit of as much as $7,500 for consumers who purchase an EV has been a prime target for Republicans looking for ways to help pay for President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut package.

The credit was expanded in former President Joe Biden’s sweeping climate law to include used and commercial vehicles. Its cost is projected to balloon from an initial estimate of $12.5 billion made by the Congressional Budget Office in 2022. An analysis by consulting firm Capital Alpha Partners in March said the credit’s 10-year cost could total more than $200 billion.

The debate also comes as Trump has railed against EVs and his administration has begun the process of undoing scores of Biden’s environmental and climate policies, while promoting fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. Earlier this month, Republicans moved a step closer to repealing a federal waiver allowing California to ban gasoline-powered cars by 2035.

The fate of the EV tax credit, and the resulting impact on manufactures such as Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc., Rivian Automotive, Inc., General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., is in the air as the House is set to detail their plan for the future of hundreds of billions in energy tax credits for sources such as solar, wind, nuclear power, and carbon capture.

Johnson said details of lawmakers’ plan for the energy credits would be revealed later this week, but he acknowledged the difficulty in reaching a consensus on the fate of those credits, as well as the EV credit. One issue is that many EV factories have been built or are under construction in GOP districts.

A growing number of House Republicans have expressed support for keeping some clean energy tax incentives. Last week, 26 of the lawmakers sent a letter to the chair of the House’s tax writing committee asking that breaks for nuclear and clean electricity credits be spared. In total, 38 House Republicans have voiced support for keeping Inflation Reduction Act clean energy incentives, according to a May 2 note by ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington consulting firm.

In all, House Republicans are aiming for a total of $2 trillion in spending reductions paired with a $4.5 trillion in reduced revenue from tax cuts.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Natural Gas Technical Analysis

Source: fxempire