2026-01-28 11:47

SOUTH GOA, India, Jan 28 (Reuters) - India's appetite for liquefied natural gas is set to rise in the coming years, driven by demand across the fertiliser, city gas, refining and power sectors, executives from the country's top importers said. However, further consumption would hinge on lower prices, they added. Sign up here. India is the world's fourth-largest buyer of LNG and is seeking to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from the present 6.2%. It is a seen as a key growth market in driving global demand, but it remains a price sensitive buyer. GAS DEMAND EXPECTED TO RISE Top gas importer Petronet LNG (PLNG.NS) , opens new tab forecasts imports rising to 28 million to 29 million metric tons in 2026 from about 25.5 million tons last year. "This year, gas demand will rise as last years' summers were relatively cool," its Managing Director Akshay Kumar Singh told reporters at the India Energy Week conference. Consumption will be boosted as more cities and households are linked to gas pipeline networks, he added, as well as by rising use by refineries and the fertiliser and power sectors. Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL.NS) , opens new tab, which recently issued a ten-year LNG import tender, said it would consider floating another long-term import tender next year amid its rising gas sales to sectors including transport, industry and domestic household. "BPCL currently sells 2.2-2.4 million tons of LNG every year, and this could triple to 6.5-6.6 million tons per annum by 2030," said Rahul Tandon, its business head for gas. PRICE SENSITIVITY India's push to raise its gas usage however depends on the price of the fuel. Asian spot LNG prices this month rose to a nine-week top of $11.35 per million British thermal unit as lower winter temperatures across the northern hemisphere lifted heating demand. The head of state-run GAIL expects India to sign more long-term LNG import contracts if prices soften. "We believe that with the softening of Brent prices, oil-linked gas contracts will definitely be much affordable (than at) current levels," said Chairman and Managing Director Sandeep Kumar Gupta. Petronet LNG's Singh said $6-7 per mmBtu will be a comfortable price range to improve LNG consumption in India. "India needs more oil-linked LNG contracts, as Henry Hub is very volatile," he said, referring to the U.S. gas benchmark gas price in Louisiana. Meanwhile, U.S. natural gas futures soared by a record 124% over the past six days on Tuesday in volatile trade on worries that extreme cold expected this week in the Northeast could keep some gas wells frozen until the weekend or beyond. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-lng-demand-set-grow-across-industries-if-prices-cooperate-2026-01-28/

2026-01-28 11:40

FTSE 100 down 0.4% FTSE 250 rises 0.1%, hitting 2-year high Gold prices hit record high, boost miners LVMH’s disappointing results drag luxury stocks Investors await Fed policy update Jan 28 (Reuters) - The UK's blue-chip index declined on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in banks and healthcare stocks, as investors parsed corporate earnings and awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) , opens new tab fell 0.4% by 1056 GMT, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 (.FTMC) , opens new tab bucked the trend, rising 0.1% and hitting its highest level since January 2022 earlier in the session. Sign up here. Healthcare stocks (.FTNMX201030) , opens new tab were the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, tumbling 1.9%. Pharmaceutical giants GSK (GSK.L) , opens new tab and AstraZeneca (AZN.L) , opens new tab dropped 1.9% and 2.3%, respectively. Banks (.FTNMX301010) , opens new tab retreated 1.2% after hitting record highs in the previous session. Investec (INVP.L) , opens new tab slid 1.6%, while HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) , opens new tab and Close Brothers (CBRO.L) , opens new tab both fell over 1%. Luxury stocks (.FTNMX402040) , opens new tab also came under pressure after French luxury conglomerate LVMH (LVMH.PA) , opens new tab plunged 6.7% following disappointing fourth-quarter results. Burberry (BRBY.L) , opens new tab and Watches of Switzerland (WOSG.L) , opens new tab declined 2.5% and 2%, respectively. But precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030) , opens new tab rose 2.1%, rebounding from Tuesday's losses as gold extended its rally above $5,300 per ounce. Energy stocks also advanced 1%, lifted by oil prices hitting their highest since late September. Majors Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and BP (BP.L) , opens new tab each gained about 1%. The companies are seeking U.S. licenses to extract natural gas from fields in Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, according to Caribbean energy minister Roodal Moonilal. Market participants are now looking to upcoming corporate earnings for clearer signals on business conditions amid geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainties. Attention was also on the Fed's policy update later in the day. Most traders expect the U.S. central bank to hold interest rates steady. Pets at Home (PETSP.L) , opens new tab jumped 5.3% after the pet care retailer maintained its full-year profit forecast despite reporting lower third-quarter revenue, attributed partly to price cuts as part of its retail turnaround strategy. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/londons-ftse-100-falls-healthcare-bank-stocks-decline-2026-01-28/

2026-01-28 11:39

BANDUNG BARAT, Indonesia, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Rain is hampering the search for 32 people still missing five days after a landslide hit Indonesia's West Java province, the disaster mitigation agency said on Wednesday, as it raised the death toll to 34. The landslide struck Pasir Langu village in Bandung Barat region early on Saturday, triggered by heavy rains that started a day earlier. Sign up here. Among those missing is the brother of Muhammad Rifal Firmansyah, 14. Rifal has spent the past four days at the landslide site, digging through mud and rocks and showing rescuers photographs of his father, mother, and brother on his phone. His father and mother were found dead on Tuesday but his brother remains missing. Several other relatives have also not been found, his aunt said. Rifal was 50 km (30 miles) away in an Islamic boarding school when the landslide struck and he learned of the disaster from a cousin. "I contacted everyone at home but no one responded. Then I knew, it hit my home. I cried," he said. "We had landslides before but small, it would just pass the front of the house. This time, it levelled everything. Everything's gone." The village is in a hilly area of the province about 100 km (60 miles) southeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. "It's raining in the landslide site this morning but all the rescuers are ready to continue the search, waiting for the right timing," disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said. The death toll rose to 34 from the previous count of 20. Another 23 people survived the disaster. Twenty-three soldiers were killed while conducting border patrol training, the Indonesian Navy said on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the latest death toll included those soldiers, Muhari said. A team is currently working at the scene to identify the bodies, Muhari added. At least 800 rescuers, military and police personnel along with nine excavators have been deployed to find the remaining missing people. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/death-toll-indonesias-landslides-rises-34-official-says-2026-01-28/

2026-01-28 11:36

LISBON/MADRID, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Storm Kristin left more than 800,000 people across central and northern Portugal without electricity early on Wednesday, toppling trees and utility posts, damaging homes, and disrupting motorway and rail traffic before moving inland to Spain, authorities said. At least one person died when a tree fell on their car in Vila Franca de Xira, on the outskirts of Lisbon, according to emergency services. Sign up here. Civil protection authorities reported around 1,500 weather‑related incidents, triggered by wind gusts of up to 150 km/h (93 mph), heavy rain and even snowfall in the country of nearly 11 million people. Grid operator E-Redes said technical teams were working to reestablish power supplies to some 855,000 clients after their initial efforts were hindered by the severe weather. The storm then pushed east into Spain, which is still dealing with the impact of a previous system, Storm Joseph. In the coastal town of Torremolinos, strong winds felled a palm tree on Tuesday, killing a woman. More than 160 roads across Spain were affected by snow on Wednesday, including 27 motorways on the main highway network, such as the A‑6 linking Madrid with the northwest. Snow also blanketed rooftops in parts of central Madrid but caused no major disruptions. Spain's national weather agency AEMET warned that large areas of the country would face very strong winds, with some gusts reaching hurricane force. Authorities in parts of southern Almeria province issued a red alert due to the intensity of the winds. Local authorities closed parks, and in some areas outdoor sports and educational activities were suspended. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/storm-kristin-knocks-out-power-800000-portugal-barrels-into-spain-2026-01-28/

2026-01-28 11:36

Sanction risk leaves cargoes stranded or re-exported Weak demand seen widening discounts on Russian barrels Premiums on non-sanctioned barrels seen rising NEW DELHI/MOSCOW, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Russia's naphtha exports to Asia are set to fall in January, with volumes in storage swelling as U.S. sanctions pressure key buyers including Taiwan, India and Venezuela, forcing Moscow to seek new markets, traders and analysts said. Buyers have become more cautious after Washington imposed sanctions on top Russian oil producers, forcing sellers to hold naphtha on ships or in storage abroad from where it can be re-exported, often with the destination obscured. Sign up here. "Everybody is going to be extra cautious this year when it comes to buying sanctioned cargoes," said Armaan Ashraf, director of natural gas liquids and Asia oils at FGENexant. This means premiums on "legitimate" barrels of heavy full-range naphtha will rise or discounts on Russian cargoes will widen, he added. Russia exports heavy full-range naphtha which is processed at reformers into aromatics for gasoline blending or to make petrochemicals. EXPORTS DOWN Russia typically exports 1.4 million to 1.5 million metric tons of naphtha per month, but the volume is falling as the Tuapse refinery and Taman port are shut for repairs after repeated Ukrainian drone attacks. The Tuapse refinery, which exports around 150,000 to 200,000 tons of naphtha per month, halted processing on December 31 and will take another month to restore production to normal, market sources said. Russia's naphtha exports to Asia could fall to about 600,000 tons in January, preliminary data from a shipping source showed, down from about 800,000 tons in December. In January and February, Asia's naphtha imports from Russia could drop to 700,000 to 800,000 tons, according to preliminary estimates from three Singapore-based traders, about 30% lower than the 1 million to 1.2 million tons monthly average in the first 10 months of 2025. Taiwan and India, two key Russian naphtha buyers, slashed imports in December after producers Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab were hit by U.S. sanctions. RE-EXPORTS Tankers carrying around 350,000 tons of naphtha loaded from Russian ports in December show Singapore as the destination as of January 22, while others with more than 320,000 tons did not declare final destinations, data from the shipping source showed. Some cargoes that loaded in December remain unsold on water, traders added. "Russian barrels will be clearing in re-exporting sites like Karimun in Indonesia, some of it could land in the Singapore straits, or even north or west African commercial tanks," FGENexant's Ashraf said. Around 50,000 tons of naphtha per month is being re-exported from the Karimun storage terminal, while some Ust-Luga cargoes are being re-shipped from Brazil, according to FGENexant. VENEZUELA Venezuela has also stopped importing Russian naphtha as a diluent for its crude, with some tankers making U-turns after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a blockade of all sanctioned tankers bound for Venezuela in mid-December. Russia supplied an average 100,000 tons per month of naphtha to Venezuela between June and December last year, traders said. To plug the supply gap, the U.S. will reinstate its naphtha flows to the Latin American country. "U.S. naphtha did show some strength as flows to Venezuela resumed ... but U.S. supply alone is not going to be enough for Venezuela," said NextBarrel analyst Matias Togni. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-hunts-new-naphtha-markets-key-buyers-pull-back-2026-01-28/

2026-01-28 11:28

LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Britain will provide a 20 million pound ($27.56 million) grant to Vestas' (VWS.CO) , opens new tab Isle of Wight wind turbine plant, saving about 300 jobs, the government said on Wednesday. Britain's Labour government has a target to largely decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030, which will require a huge increase in renewable power, and hopes a clean energy revolution will boost the economy and create jobs. Sign up here. The Danish wind turbine maker's facility had faced an uncertain future after demand ended for the offshore blades it produced, and logistical constraints prevented production of larger next-generation turbines at the site. The grant will help the company repurpose the site to develop onshore wind turbines and secure the future of the factory, the government said. "This will rebuild domestic manufacturing, strengthen energy security and support growth in onshore wind, which is needed to end the UK's dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets," Britain's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said in a statement. Vestas Senior Vice President Blades Manufacturing Ken Kaser said the move will position the site at the heart of the country's clean energy future. ($1 = 0.7256 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/britain-gives-28-million-grant-save-vestas-isle-wight-wind-turbine-factory-2026-01-28/