Ford sales jump 14% in the second quarter, well above industry forecast
New vehicle sales for the second quarter totaled 612,095, led in part by gains in its F-Series trucks and 'electrified' vehicles, which includes hybrids and EVs.
F-Series trucks saw their best second quarter since 2019, climbing 11.5% to 222,459. New pickup sales overall totaled 288,564 for the quarter, Ford said.
Sales of Ford electrified vehicles totaled 82,886 during the second quarter, up 6.6% from 2024. But of those 'electrified' vehicles, pure EVs saw a 31.4% drop, while hybrids were up 23.5%.
For the first half of the year, Ford sold a record 156,509 EVs and hybrids, up 14.7% from the same time last year.
Auto industry forecasters Cox Automotive and Edmunds forecasted new vehicle sales would increase 1.7% and 2%, respectively, for the second quarter from the year-earlier period. They cited a strong market in April and early May as driving the increases, while June sales were expected to be softer.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump implemented 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and many auto parts imported into the U.S. The levies initially pulled forward demand from price-conscious buyers, but analysts expect that increase in demand to fade if higher prices take hold.
Rival General Motors reported a 7.3% sales increase for the second quarter and a nearly 12% increase for the first half of 2025. The automaker credited its growth to sales within its trucks, crossovers, EVs and gains in the luxury market led by Cadillac.
South Korean automakers Kia and Hyundai both reported their best-ever first-half sales results on Tuesday, up 8% and 10% from a year ago, respectively.
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Reuters
23 minutes ago
- Reuters
Emerging market debt sale surge defies global turmoil amid signs of de-dollarisation
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Reuters
23 minutes ago
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Wall St set for muted start after ADP shock; focus on trade, payrolls data
July 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were on track for a subdued start on Wednesday as surprisingly weak U.S. private jobs data raised concerns about the labor market, while investors closely monitored trade talks ahead of President Donald Trump's July 9 tariff deadline. The ADP National Employment Report showed U.S. private payrolls fell unexpectedly in June and job gains in the prior month were smaller than initially thought. Investors quickly increased their bets of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in July to 27.4%, from about 20% prior to the report, according to LSEG data. "I take it as a mixed bag. On one hand, the wage is still strong, which is terribly important to the U.S. economy. On the downside, if this isn't seasonality, this is the beginning of a long-term trend in white collar jobs that'll spill over into the total labor market," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. "It would be very damaging for the overall economy and obviously make the Federal Reserve react despite their concerns about tariffs causing inflation." The Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab and the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab closed lower in the previous session, retreating from record highs as tech stocks were pressured and Treasury yields climbed after data showed stronger-than-expected job openings in May. Focus now turns to the more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report, scheduled for release on Thursday - a day earlier than usual, as markets are closed on Friday for Independence Day. The reading is expected to show U.S. job growth cooled in June and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, according to a Reuters poll of economists. On trade, Trump said on Tuesday he was not thinking of extending the July 9 deadline for imposing tariffs and expressed doubts that an agreement could be reached with Japan, although he said he expected a deal with India. The European Union's trade chief is expected to hold talks this week with peers in Washington. By 8:52 a.m. ET (1252 GMT), S&P 500 e-minis were down 10.75 points, or 0.17%, Nasdaq 100 e-minis dropped 91.75 points, or 0.4%, and Dow e-minis slipped 28 points, or 0.06%. The blue-chip Dow (.DJI), opens new tab closed 1.3% below its record high touched in December. U.S. Senate Republicans passed Trump's massive tax-and-spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending, while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt. The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval, although a handful of Republicans have already opposed some of the Senate provisions. Among single stocks, Centene (CNC.N), opens new tab tumbled 31.2% premarket after the health insurer said it had withdrawn its 2025 earnings forecast after data showed a significant drop in expected revenue from its marketplace health insurance plans. Shares of peers including Elevance Health (ELV.N), opens new tab, Molina Healthcare (MOH.N), opens new tab and UnitedHealth (UNH.N), opens new tab dipped in the range of 2.4% and 12.8%. U.S. banking giants including JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab, Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab and Wells Fargo (WFC.N), opens new tab edged higher following announcements that they planned to raise third-quarter dividends after clearing the Fed's annual health check last week. Verint Systems (VRNT.O), opens new tab soared 9.4% after Bloomberg News reported buyout firm Thoma Bravo was in talks to buy the call-center software maker.
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
U.S. dollar to stay under pressure from tariff, debt and rate cut expectations: Reuters poll
BENGALURU, July 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar will remain weak over the coming months, a Reuters poll of FX analysts forecast, caught in a tangle of mounting U.S. debt concerns, erratic tariff policies and rising interest rate cut expectations. Growing unease over President Donald Trump's on-again off-again tariffs, and a tax-cut and spending bill that is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt, have led to a scurry of investor outflows from dollar-denominated assets in recent months. A surge in the "term premium" - compensation investors demand to hold longer-term debt - has also contributed to a nearly 11% dollar decline against a basket of major currencies this year (.DXY), opens new tab and to a three-and-a-half-year low against the euro and sterling last week. Recent data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also showed the short-dollar trade was at a near two-year high, suggesting further weakness may be in the offing. Asked how that positioning would change by end-July, more than 80% of FX analysts in a June 27-July 2 Reuters poll, 42 of 52, said it would broadly hold or net-shorts would increase. A majority of these same FX analysts surveyed by Reuters in April and again in May had already concluded the reserve currency's "safe haven" shine had partly eroded. "We are expecting a weaker U.S. dollar in the coming months," said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. "The recent budget, the inflationary impact tariffs are going to have and what that means for the Federal Reserve, and the pointed comments President Trump is using against Fed Chair Jerome Powell - all of that doesn't bode well for the overall U.S. economic outlook at least over the rest of the year." Trump has repeatedly demanded immediate and deep rate cuts. Powell, whose term ends in May 2026, reiterated on Tuesday the central bank's plan was to "wait and learn more" about the impact of tariffs on inflation before lowering interest rates. Asked what would be the main driver for the U.S. dollar over the coming month, nearly 37% of respondents, 22 of 60, said "tariff negotiations". Attention will now turn to Trump's next move after the July 9 expiry of a 90-day pause on sweeping tariffs he announced in early April. Eighteen respondents said "interest rate differentials", which have not been important in recent months - with the euro surging while the European Central Bank was cutting rates and the Fed on hold all year. Thirteen said "portfolio diversification", supporting findings from a June survey where a near-90% majority of FX strategists said demand for dollar assets would decline. Seven chose "debate over Fed independence". The euro, up nearly 14% so far this year and on course for its best annual performance against the greenback since 2017, was forecast to hold steady at $1.18 in six months and climb about 2% to $1.20 in a year, survey medians from 70 strategists showed. Nearly 70% of FX analysts in the latest survey upgraded their euro-dollar forecasts from last month, leading to the highest medians since September 2021. But most of those forecasts were formulated in the past week, during which the common currency gained nearly 3%, suggesting they will soon be upgraded. "We continue to watch this slower burn story of real money and... a consistent selling of the dollar, particularly from European real money," said Alex Cohen, FX strategist at Bank of America. "That just speaks to more structural reasons for the dollar to continue to grind lower in the coming months." (Other stories from the July foreign exchange poll)
