China restricts EU imports of medical devices
China will also restrict imports of medical devices from other countries that contain EU-made components worth more than 50% of the contract value, the finance ministry said. The measures come into force on Sunday.
($1 = 7.1645 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
OPEC+ is pumping more oil, but is it needed and at what price?
LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 7 (Reuters) - Two questions stand out after the decision by OPEC+ to accelerate increases in crude oil output: who is going to buy the extra crude, and will the group actually export the additional barrels they say they are going to produce? OPEC+ agreed at a weekend meeting to raise production by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, up from the 411,000 bpd the group had approved for May, June and July, and 138,000 bpd for April. The production boost will come from eight members of the group - Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Algeria. The increase for August means that the eight will have unwound 1.919 million bpd of the voluntary 2.2 million bpd they had imposed last year in a bid to support crude prices. OPEC+ cited what it called "steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals" in the statement announcing the increased August output, sticking to a theme from its recent communiques that the oil market is in fine shape. However, the reality may not be quite as rosy as OPEC+ paints, with tepid demand growth in major consumers such as China, the world's top oil importer. China's crude imports barely rose in the first five months of the year, with official data showing a gain of 0.3%, or 28,500 bpd, to 11.1 million bpd. The growth rate will likely tick up when June data is released next week, with LSEG Oil Research expecting imports of 11.96 million bpd for the month, up from the customs number of 11.30 million bpd for June 2024. While China's imports are likely to have been strong in June, the reason why is not quite so bullish. It is likely that refiners were buying more crude than they intended to process because prices were lower at the time when June-arriving cargoes were arranged. Global benchmark Brent futures hit a four-year low of $58.50 a barrel on May 5 and had been trending lower since early April, the time period when June-arriving cargoes would have been bought. The weakness in prices has seen oil imports by Asia, which buys about 60% of seaborne crude, rise in June, with LSEG estimating arrivals of 28.65 million bpd, the most since January 2023. The higher June imports lifted Asia's arrivals for the first half of 2025 to 27.36 million bpd, up 620,000 bpd for the same period last year. Coincidentally this is largely in line with the demand growth forecasts for the region by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, with the group's June monthly report forecasting demand growth of 630,000 bpd for non-OECD Asia in 2025. The question is whether the second half will see higher imports in Asia, or if the momentum seen in June will dissipate. Much will depend on prices, as history suggests that when prices rise importers such as China and India tend to trim imports and use up stockpiles. The brief surge in prices in mid-June sparked by Israel's attacks on Iran, later joined by the United States, will probably be enough to see China lower imports in August and perhaps September. For imports to rise in the fourth quarter, it will likely take lower oil prices to encourage buying and inventory builds. In that case the ball is largely in OPEC+'s court. If the group starts producing what their quotas allow, and furthermore actually exports this oil, then it's likely that prices will continue to soften, thereby encouraging buying. So far, it appears that actual output has lagged the higher quotas, with the five OPEC members of OPEC+ raising output by 267,000 bpd in June, short of the 313,000 bpd allowed, according to a Reuters survey released on July 4. Much will depend on what Saudi Arabia does, given that OPEC+'s largest exporter is the producer with the most spare capacity and the most ability to raise output. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
China releases plan to improve rural workers' skills, CCTV reports
HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - China on Monday released a plan outlining 14 specific tasks to promote retraining of the rural workforce to improve their job prospects, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The announcement comes after China in April announced a 10-year plan to build an agricultural powerhouse, amid escalating tensions with the United States, an economic slowdown and challenges posed by climate change. The plan, issued by several government departments including the Commerce Ministry and National Development and Reform Commission, announced policies including vocational education for rural workers. China has close to 300 million rural migrants in cities, with around 100 million of them reaching retirement age over the next 10 years, according to official data. To improve employment security of rural labour, it said it would "strengthen housing security, create favourable conditions for rural workers in cities to enjoy basic public services equally and integrate into the local society as soon as possible," CCTV said. The report said the scheme would help support job-seeking services for rural labour and support the employment and entrepreneurship of college graduates. The plan would help improve the supply and quality of workers and better meet employers' needs, CCTV said, citing Zou Yunhan, deputy director of the Macroeconomic Research Office of the Economic Forecasting Department of the National Information Center.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Asia stocks slip amid US tariff confusion, oil skids
SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - Stock markets slipped in Asia amid much confusion as U.S. officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide any detail or paperwork on the change, while oil prices slid as OPEC+ opened the supply spigots more than expected. The United States is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on August 1. "President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN. Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate on most countries and higher "reciprocal" rates ranging up to 50%, with an original deadline of this Wednesday. However, Trump also said levies could range in value from "maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20%", further clouding the picture. With very few actual trade deals done, analysts had suspected the date would be pushed out, though it was still not clear if the new deadline applied to all trading partners or just some. "This renewed escalation in trade tensions comes at a time when major trade partners, including the EU, India and Japan, are believed to be at crucial stages of bilateral negotiations," analysts at ANZ said in a note. "If reciprocal tariffs are implemented in their original form or even expanded, we believe it will intensify downside risks to U.S. growth and increase upside risks to inflation." Investors have grown somewhat used to the uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy and the initial market reaction was cautious. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.3% (.N225), opens new tab, while South Korean stocks (.KS11), opens new tab fell 0.7%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab eased 0.1%. Safe-haven bonds were better bid, with 10-year Treasury yields down almost 2 basis points at 4.326% . Major currencies were little changed as the dollar index continued to languish near four-year lows at 96.913 . The euro held at $1.1787 , just off last week's top of $1.1830, while the dollar dipped to 144.38 yen . The dollar has been undermined by investor concerns about Trump's often chaotic tariff policy and what that might do to economic growth and inflation. The same worries have kept the Federal Reserve from cutting rates and minutes of its last meeting should offer more colour on when the majority of members might resume easing. It is a relatively quiet week for Fed speakers with only two district presidents on the docket, while economic data is also sparse. The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to cut its rates by a quarter point to 3.60% at a meeting on Tuesday, the third easing this cycle, and markets imply an eventual destination for rates of 2.85% or 3.10%. New Zealand's central bank meets on Wednesday and is likely to hold rates at 3.25%, having already slashed by 225 basis points over the past year. In commodity markets, gold slipped 0.3% to $3,324 an ounce , though it did gain almost 2% last week as the dollar fell. Oil prices slid anew after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to raise production by a larger-than-expected 548,000 barrels per day in August. The group also warned that it could hike by a similar amount in September, leaving analysts with the impression it was trying to squeeze lower margin producers and particularly those pulling oil from U.S. shale. Brent dropped 52 cents to $67.78 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell $1.01 to $65.99 per barrel. text_section_type="notes">To read Reuters Markets and Finance news, click on For the state of play of Asian stock markets please click on:
