Türkiye's Botas Buying 4 bcm of LNG from Shell in 10-year Deal

The logo of a Shell gas station is pictured in Ulm, Germany, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
The logo of a Shell gas station is pictured in Ulm, Germany, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
TT
20

Türkiye's Botas Buying 4 bcm of LNG from Shell in 10-year Deal

The logo of a Shell gas station is pictured in Ulm, Germany, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
The logo of a Shell gas station is pictured in Ulm, Germany, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

Turkish state energy company Botas and British oil major Shell signed a 10-year LNG agreement on Monday, the Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.

"A total of 40 LNG cargoes of approximately 4 billion cubic meters will be delivered annually for a period covering 10 years starting from 2027," Bayraktar said, Reuters reported.

"This agreement ... provides additional regional and global trade opportunities with the options of receiving (LNG) from the filling port and unloading to European terminals."

Speaking in the ceremony, Bayraktar said the deal has strengthened Turkey's prospects of becoming a natural gas centre and its role in playing a part in Europe's supply security.

Botas signed a 10-year LNG agreement with ExxonMobil in May, under which Botas will purchase up to 2.5 million tons of LNG per year from the US company.

Türkiye meets almost all of its consumption needs with imported gas and brought in 14.3 billion cubic metres (bcm), or 28.3% of the 50.5 bcm that it consumed last year, in the form of LNG.

Türkiye has the supply flexibility to a large part of national consumption needs with liquefied gas instead of pipeline gas if needed, with a gasification capacity of approximately 0.16 bcm per day, according to Reuters calculations.



Gold Falls as Traders Gauge Risk Outlook on Trump's Tariff Clarity

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelery shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS COMMODITIES)/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelery shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS COMMODITIES)/File Photo
TT
20

Gold Falls as Traders Gauge Risk Outlook on Trump's Tariff Clarity

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelery shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS COMMODITIES)/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelery shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS COMMODITIES)/File Photo

Gold prices fell on Friday as investors reassessed their risk outlook in the wake of US President Donald Trump's tariff measures, which have provided more clarity on market trends but raised concerns over economic slowdown.

Spot gold was down 0.4% at $3,101.01 an ounce, as of 0710 GMT. Still, bullion was on track for a fifth consecutive weekly gain, buoyed by its safe-haven appeal that aided gold to reach three record highs this week.

US gold futures edged 0.1% higher to $3,123.00.

In the previous session, gold dropped more than 2% as a broader market sell-off sparked by Trump's import tariffs, weighed on bullion traders.

This sharp pullback came just hours after gold reached a record high of $3,167.57.

"Gold tends to rally amid difficult-to-price uncertainty - like the start of a war - but tends to lose that support once markets learn how to price the risks involved," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

"The Trump administration seems to have picked a road, and while sentiment clearly doesn't like it, at least the path of least resistance is more visible and easier to price. That is trimming some of gold's "market confusion" premium."

Trump said he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on some of the country's biggest trading partners.

US trading partners threatened to ratchet up a trade war with Washington as these tariffs ignited fears of steep price increases in the world's largest consumer market.

Federal Reserve officials, seeking more detail on Trump's trade plans, got perhaps more than they anticipated when he unveiled sweeping tariffs, analysts said, noting that it could dramatically reshuffle the country's economic outlook.

The market now awaits the US non-farm payrolls report, which could provide insights into the Fed's interest rate path.

Spot silver declined 1.5% to $31.4 an ounce, platinum lost 0.8% to $944.80, and palladium was steady at $928.33.