2025-08-30 06:58
TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A Trump administration request that Japan buy more U.S. rice caused this week's snag in bilateral trade talks as Tokyo "strongly objected" to the condition, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday. Japan's top tariff negotiator abruptly cancelled a U.S. trip on Thursday over unspecified "points that need to be discussed at the administrative level", the top government spokesperson said, as the two sides try to hammer out details of a July agreement on a reduced 15% tariff on U.S. imports from Japan. Sign up here. The Nikkei, citing Japanese government officials it did not identify, said a revised order from President Donald Trump included a commitment for Japan to buy more American rice. One official criticised the proposal as an "interference in domestic affairs," the business daily said. The office of negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's minister for economic policy, and the agriculture and foreign ministries, as well as the U.S. embassy could not be reached for comment on the report outside business hours. The Nikkei said the new demand contradicted an agreement that Japan would not need to lower its tariffs on agricultural imports. In the July deal, the White House said Japan would boost U.S. rice purchases by 75%. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the share of U.S. rice imports might increase under an existing tariff-free framework but that the agreement did "not sacrifice" Japanese agriculture. Akazawa's trip was meant to finalise Japan's agreement to a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment through government-backed loans and guarantees, the contents of which remain obscure. Japanese officials have repeatedly said they want an amended presidential executive order - removing overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods - before releasing a joint document on the investment details. Opposition leader Yuichiro Tamaki on Saturday questioned the government's competence and transparency on the trade deal, posting on X that the confusion highlights the danger of operating without a formal text of the deal. "Because there is no written agreement, we cannot confirm what the problem is," said Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People. Citing "heightened uncertainty" for Japan's auto industry and its workers, he urged Ishiba to swiftly convene parliament and provide a full explanation, saying any new agricultural concessions would require legislative approval. https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-demand-japan-buy-more-us-rice-snagged-trade-talks-nikkei-says-2025-08-30/
2025-08-30 06:45
CAIRO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Egypt has signed four agreements with international firms worth more than $340 million to explore oil and gas in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta, the Petroleum Ministry said on Saturday. The deals, signed by the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), provide for the drilling of 10 wells as part of the ministry's efforts to boost exploration and production. Sign up here. Egypt, once a regional exporter, has increasingly turned to imports to meet rising domestic demand as output declines from aging fields and investment lags in new ones. Gas production in May was 3,545 million cubic metres, down more than 40% from March 2021, according to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI). The first deal, with oil giant Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, is worth $120 million and covers three wells in the Mediterranean's Merneith offshore area, the ministry said. Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab signed a $100 million agreement to drill three wells in the East Port Said offshore block. A third agreement, worth $109 million, went to Arcius Energy, a joint venture 51% owned by BP (BP.L) , opens new tab and 49% by ADNOC's investment arm XRG, to operate in the North Damietta offshore area. The ministry also announced a $14 million deal with Russia's Zarubezhneft to drill four wells in the onshore North El-Khatatba block in the Nile Delta. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/egypt-signs-340-mln-oil-gas-exploration-deals-with-global-firms-2025-08-30/
2025-08-30 04:24
Amber's bid includes pact to pay $2.13 billion to bondholders Changes by Gold Reserve to its bid were not enough to exceed Amber's Delaware judge to make final decision following September hearing HOUSTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - A $5.89 billion bid from an affiliate of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management has been recommended as the winner of a U.S. court-organized auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum, according to documents filed late on Friday by the officer overseeing the sale process. Improved bids emerged in the final stages of the auction, spurred by court rulings in parallel legal cases that encouraged revisions. Delaware Judge Leonard Stark is expected to make a final decision on the winner following a court hearing next month. Sign up here. The recommendation from court officer Robert Pincus came despite a last-minute effort from a subsidiary of miner Gold Reserve (GRZ.V) , opens new tab earlier this week to sweeten its $7.4 billion offer, which had previously been marked as the frontrunner. Earlier this month, Pincus said an improved bid from Elliott's affiliate Amber Energy was superior. The court gave three days to the Gold Reserve group to try and match it. Pincus said on Friday that the transaction proposed by Gold Reserve's Dalinar Energy "did not match or exceed the Amber sale transaction, and therefore, the Amber sale transaction continues to constitute a superior proposal." However, he left the door open for the court to request a future revision of his recommendation based on "intervening events." The auction's proceeds are expected to compensate some of the 15 creditors that have been fighting since 2017 to recover nearly $19 billion in U.S. courts after Venezuela expropriated assets and defaulted on debt. Amber's offer fully covers nine claimants, one of the filings showed, compared with the 12 claimants that the Gold Reserve group proposed to compensate. However, it includes a separate agreement with more than 75% of the holders of a defaulted Venezuelan bond collateralized with Citgo equity to settle their claim by paying them $2.13 billion in cash. Amber is also offering partial compensation of $500 million to Gold Reserve, which wants the auction proceeds to cover the expropriation of its mining assets in Venezuela. The miner has not accepted the offer, one of the filings said. Gold Reserve and creditors Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) , opens new tab, Consorcio Andino and Valores Mundiales this week filed motions to disqualify Amber's bid, saying that Pincus' determination that its price was superior "discarded the bidding procedures." Those motions are under review. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/elliott-affiliates-589-billion-bid-recommended-winner-citgo-auction-2025-08-30/
2025-08-30 00:21
HOUSTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - California's Energy Commission voted on Friday to temporarily set aside penalties for excessive refining profits that were adopted after gasoline pump prices climbed over $8 a gallon in 2022. The five-year delay in implementing the penalties comes as Phillips 66's (PSX.N) , opens new tab Los Angeles refinery is preparing to begin shutting production as early as next week ahead of a permanent closure. Sign up here. "The fact is, supply is declining faster than demand, and we need to bring them into alignment: that means slowing supply loss while aggressively pursuing the transition to zero emission vehicles," the Commission's staff said in an emailed statement. California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom had proposed the penalties, but has since switched direction amid worries of price spikes in 2026 after the closure of the Phillips 66 refinery and a San Francisco-area plant operated by Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) , opens new tab next year. Both companies said declining gasoline demand promoted by state's policies in favor of non-fossil-fuel-powered vehicles made the once-lucrative California market untenable in the long-term. California has adopted a goal to ban the sale of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles by 2035. The delay was supported by Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), which had called for the penalties to be delayed for 20 years, saying prices were determined by global oil markets and not the state's policies. The state's Consumer Watchdog group faulted the change in direction by California officials. "By taking the penalty off the table, you are opening the market to the price spikes we suffered in 2022," said Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court in a letter prior to the vote. In addition to putting penalties on hold, the commission also voted to adopt policies to stabilize California's refinery capacity, increase motor fuel imports and promote development of the state's oil reserves. California is isolated by the Rocky Mountains from the U.S. refining centers along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Midwest. The state relies on what plants in that state and Washington can make as well as imports from Asian refineries. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/california-sets-aside-penalties-high-refinery-profits-2025-08-30/
2025-08-29 23:51
BEIJING, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Russia and China jointly oppose "discriminatory" sanctions in global trade that hinder the world's socio-economic development, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a written interview with China's official Xinhua news agency. The two countries will continue to work to reduce mutual trade barriers, Putin said in the interview published on Saturday on the eve of a visit to Russia's biggest trading partner. Sign up here. Putin will be in China from Sunday to Wednesday, in a four-day visit that the Kremlin has called "unprecedented." The Russian leader will first attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the northern port city of Tianjin. Putin will then travel to Beijing to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a massive Chinese military parade marking the end of World War Two after Japan's formal surrender. "To sum up, economic cooperation, trade and industrial collaboration between our countries are advancing across multiple areas," Putin said. "During my upcoming visit, we will certainly discuss further prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation and new steps to intensify it for the benefit of the peoples of Russia and China." The visit to China - Putin's first since May last year - comes as he seeks to reverse a slowdown in bilateral trade while Russia's war in Ukraine rages on despite a recent summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska. When Western nations severed ties with Russia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China came to the rescue, buying Russian oil and selling goods from cars to electronics that pushed bilateral trade to a record $245 billion in 2024. Putin and Xi declared a "no limits" strategic partnership in 2022. The two have met over 40 times in the past decade. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-china-oppose-discriminatory-sanctions-global-trade-says-putin-2025-08-29/
2025-08-29 23:51
Putin says Russia, China oppose "discriminatory" trade sanctions Putin to visit China August 31 to September 3 for regional summit, military parade China is Russia's biggest trading partner BEIJING, Aug 30 (Reuters) - On the eve of a visit to China, Russian leader Vladimir Putin blasted Western sanctions as his country's economy teetered on the brink of recession, wounded by trade curbs and the cost of his war in Ukraine. Russia and China jointly opposed "discriminatory" sanctions in global trade, Putin said in a written interview with China's official Xinhua news agency published on Saturday. Sign up here. Putin will be in China, Russia's biggest trading partner, from Sunday to Wednesday in a four-day visit that the Kremlin has called "unprecedented." The Russian leader will first attend the two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin. The security-focused SCO, founded by a group of Eurasian nations in 2001, has expanded to 10 permanent members that now include Iran and India. Putin will then travel to Beijing to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a massive military parade in the Chinese capital commemorating the end of World War Two after Japan's formal surrender. Earlier in May, Xi attended a military parade on Moscow's Red Square marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany. It was Xi's 11th visit to China's giant neighbour since he became president more than a decade ago. Russia has been hammered by multiple rounds of Western sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. U.S. President Donald Trump said he might impose "massive" sanctions on Russia depending on whether progress was possible in his bid to secure a peace deal. "To sum up, economic cooperation, trade and industrial collaboration between our countries are advancing across multiple areas," Putin said of China, which the West accuses of backing Russia's so-called special military operation in Ukraine. "During my upcoming visit, we will certainly discuss further prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation and new steps to intensify it for the benefit of the peoples of Russia and China." When Western nations severed ties with Russia after Moscow's launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China came to the rescue, buying Russian oil and selling goods from cars to electronics that pushed bilateral trade to a record $245 billion in 2024. China was by far Russia's leading trading partner by volume and transactions between the countries were almost completely carried out in rubles and yuan, Putin said. Russia was a leading exporter of oil and gas to China and the two sides continued joint efforts to reduce bilateral trade barriers, he added. "In recent years, the export of pork and beef to China has been launched. Overall, agricultural and food products occupy a prominent place in Russia's exports to China," he said. He made no mention of EU accusations of Chinese support for Russia's war in Ukraine, which the bloc describes as a serious threat to European security. China denies the allegations. Putin and Xi declared a "no limits" strategic partnership in 2022. The two have met over 40 times in the past decade. Wanted by the International Criminal Court over accusations of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, Putin last travelled in China in 2024. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/putin-lambasts-trade-sanctions-eve-visit-china-2025-08-29/
