2025-06-27 10:46
BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) - Plans to build one of Europe's largest green energy hubs on the site of disused coal-fired power plant units in eastern Germany have been postponed indefinitely, energy firm LEAG said on Friday. The announcement comes a week after ArcelorMittal (MT.LU) , opens new tab dropped plans to convert two German steel plants to carbon-neutral production, citing high energy costs. Sign up here. LEAG said H2UB Boxberg was being postponed as political and economic conditions for the plant had not developed as expected. It said the previous coalition government had indefinitely delayed implementation of the federal Power Plant Safety Act, a key regulatory pre-condition. "We are currently postponing plans for hydrogen production in Boxberg and initially shifting our focus to other technologies for the generation, storage, and flexible provision of electricity," a LEAG spokesperson said. LEAG announced the project in April 2024. It called for the construction of a centre for hydrogen production and energy use, along with large-scale green electricity storage, on the grounds of lignite-fired power station units that were decommissioned in the 1990s. In 2023, the company announced its ambition to bring 7 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind capacity online by 2030 and committed to investing 1 billion euros annually. LEAG is based in eastern Germany's Lusatia region and owned by Czech investor EPH. It said there was no reliable implementation schedule yet for the timely and cost-effective availability of hydrogen infrastructure in the region. "The hydrogen economy is far from its expected increase. Uncertainty regarding availability and prices in a future hydrogen market is high," the spokesperson said. Germany phased out nuclear power in 2023 and aims to end coal-fired power use in 2038. There are still two 500-megawatt lignite-fired units in operation at Boxberg which are expected to operate until 2029. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germans-leag-indefinitely-postpones-green-hydrogen-project-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 10:17
MUMBAI, June 25 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee had its best week since January 2023, as an Iran-Israel ceasefire cooled oil prices and sapped safe-haven dollar demand, while worries over the Federal Reserve's future independence added pressure on the greenback. The rupee gained 1.3% on the week, its best performance in two and a half years, to close at 85.4750 per U.S. dollar on Friday. Sign up here. Crude oil prices retreated by over 11% this week after Iran and Israel reached a ceasefire following a 12-day war, which saw involvement of the U.S. Meanwhile, the dollar index was down 1.5% on the week as investors, unnerved by fresh signs of an erosion in U.S. central bank independence, wasted no time in pushing the greenback back to its lowest levels in over three years. "Part of the sell-off of the dollar is due to the unpredictability of policy from Washington and that is unlikely to change," MUFG Bank said in a note. The rupee rose this week but it continues to lag behind its Asian peers amid persistent dollar weakness seen over 2025. While currencies like the Korean won and offshore Chinese yuan are up between 2% and 9% this year so far, the rupee is little changed. Bankers and analysts reckon that while the rupee's underperformance is likely to persist, a broadly weaker dollar alongside portfolio inflows should support the currency in the near term. Foreign investors have turned buyers on Indian government bonds over the last few sessions, while block trades and initial public offerings have drawn interest from global investors. Later on Friday, the focus will be on U.S. personal consumption expenditure (PCE) inflation data alongside remarks from Fed policymakers as investors try to gauge the future trajectory of the central bank's policy rates. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-posts-best-week-over-two-years-dollars-struggles-resurface-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 09:33
LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - The pound was set for its biggest weekly gain against the dollar in nearly four months on Friday and held close to its near four-year high hit the previous day, though that was more due to dollar weakness than sterling strength. The pound was last up 0.14% on the dollar at $1.13745, just off Thursday's top of $1.37701, the highest since late 2021. Sign up here. It was broadly steady on the euro, at 85.24 pence, underlining the fact that the move in the pound against the dollar - referred to as cable by financial markets - has much more to do with the dollar. "The gains in cable reflect mostly this year’s weakness in the dollar and the strength of the euro, which has dragged the pound higher due to the limited parameters of the EUR/GBP trading range," Rabobank analysts said in a note. The pound has gained 2.2% against the dollar this week, its most since early March, as the greenback's short-lived gains during the Israel-Iran conflict fade. The main domestic support for the pound this year has come from the Bank of England being slower to cut interest rates than peers, particularly the European Central Bank, as inflation remains sticky. "Core inflation in the UK has basically stopped moving for the past year - hard to say why. BoE officials are quite concerned. That makes it difficult to cut rates and also the economic outlook is not improving," Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank, said. Analysts also said they were watching this week's political drama given what Rabobank described as "the overhang of a very large debt/GDP ratio and a UK current account deficit." Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week sharply scaled back planned welfare cuts after more than 100 of his Labour Party lawmakers publicly opposed the reforms, which sought to shave 5 billion pounds ($6.9 billion) per year off a rapidly rising welfare bill. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-keeps-climbing-struggling-dollar-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 07:41
TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - Japan's private-sector rice imports rocketed higher in May as the country grapples with supply shortages that have become a major headache for both consumers and policymakers. Some 10,600 metric tons of so-called staple rice - which is consumed at meals as opposed to rice used for feed or ingredients in other products - were imported by companies such as trading firms and wholesalers despite high levies. Sign up here. While that's still a small amount compared to the roughly 7 million tons eaten by the Japanese each year, it represents a huge jump from the 3,004 tons imported for the entire last financial year that ended in March. Rice prices in Japan have doubled since last year after an extreme heatwave hit the 2023 harvest which was then exacerbated by stockpiling following an earthquake and additional demand from a boom in tourism. To tackle the problem, Japan's government began releasing stockpiled rice directly to retailers from late May, allowing some consumers to snap up 5 kg of rice for about 2,000 yen ($13.85) - less than half of average supermarket prices. Japanese restaurants and consumers are increasingly turning to U.S. brands in search of cheaper prices. Japan takes a heavily protectionist stance towards its most basic food and traditionally has not had to rely on imports. Private-sector imports are subject to a levy of 341 yen per kilogramme. The government can also import 100,000 tons of staple rice tariff free under World Trade Organization rules. It decided to hold a tender for tariff-free imported rice this month, earlier than the usual auction in September, to help lower soaring prices. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/japan-private-sector-rice-imports-soar-may-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 07:19
Iranian oil imports to China hit record high for June 1-20 - Vortexa China imported over 1.8 mln bpd from Iran for June 1-20 - Vortexa Discharge accelerates amid high stocks, robust demand SINGAPORE, June 27 (Reuters) - China's Iranian oil imports surged in June as shipments accelerated before the recent conflict in the region and demand from independent refineries improved, analysts said. The world's top oil importer and biggest buyer of Iranian crude brought in more than 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from June 1-20, according to ship-tracker Vortexa, a record high based on the firm's data. Sign up here. Kpler's data put the month-to-date average of China's Iranian oil and condensate imports at 1.46 million bpd as of June 27, up from one million bpd in May. The rising imports are fuelled in part by the accelerated discharge of high volumes of Iranian oil on the water after export loadings from Iran reached a multi-year high of 1.83 million bpd in May, Kpler data showed. It typically takes at least one month for Iranian oil to reach Chinese ports. Robust loadings in May and early June mean China's Iran imports are poised to remain elevated, Kpler and Vortexa analysts said. Independent Chinese "teapot" refineries, the main buyers of Iranian oil, also showed strong demand for the discount barrels as their stockpiles depleted, said Xu Muyu, Kpler's senior analyst. A possible relaxing of U.S. President Donald Trump's policy on Iranian oil sanctions could further bolster Chinese buying, she added. Trump said on Wednesday that Washington has not given up its maximum pressure campaign on Iran - including restrictions on Iranian oil sales - but signalled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild. For this week, Iranian Light crude oil was being traded at around $2 a barrel below ICE Brent for end-July to early-August deliveries, two traders familiar with the matter said, compared to discounts of $3.30-$3.50 a barrel previously for July deliveries. Narrower discounts were spurred by worries that oil flows could be disrupted through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway between Iran and Oman, traders said. Market fears for a closure of the chokepoint had escalated after last weekend's U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites but eased after Iran and Israel on Tuesday signalled a ceasefire. Tighter discounts for Iranian oil come amid a retreat in futures prices. ICE Brent crude futures hovered at $68 per barrel on Friday, their level before the Israel-Iran conflict began and down 19% from Monday's five-month peak. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-iran-oil-imports-surge-june-rising-shipments-teapot-demand-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 07:12
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - A momentous first half of 2025 comes to an end with trade, Federal Reserve independence and geopolitics staying high on the market watch list for the second half. There is plenty to digest: U.S. jobs data, a European Central Bank conference and Chinese business activity numbers. Sign up here. Here's all you need to know about this week in global markets from Marc Jones, Yoruk Bahceli and Anousha Sakoui in London, Rae Wee in Singapore and Lewis Krauskopf in New York. 1/ H2 OH! The year crosses the halfway line and while U.S. President Donald Trump's return to power in January was always going to ruffle markets, even the most grizzled of traders have been shocked by the rodeo ride. Some describe it as a once-in-a-generation "great rotation". The main evidence is that King Dollar is having its worst start to a year since the era of free-floating currencies began in the early 1970s, as U.S. debt worries grow. The "Magnificent 7" stocks are flat for the year too, compared to a near 20% leap by Chinese "Big Tech", gold's 25% surge and a 60% boom in European defence stocks. There won't be much time for an H2 breather. Trump wants to ram his "Big Beautiful" fiscal bill though by the Independence Day holiday, his temporary ceasefire in the global trade war is due to run out five days later. 2/JOBS JOLT The latest U.S. jobs data will shed light on the health of the labour market at a time when investors are debating at what point the Fed will next cut rates. June numbers, due on July 3 in the holiday-shortened week, are expected to show employment grew by 129,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll. That would be modestly slower growth than May's 139,000 increase. While a possibly weaker labour market is one consideration for rate cuts, the Fed is also monitoring inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell just told Congress that higher tariffs could begin raising inflation this summer. Investors are also watching the progress of Trump's tax-cut and spending bill in Congress, with his Republican party hoping to keep it on track for the president to sign into law before the July 4 holiday. 3/ ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS Central bankers meet for the ECB's annual forum in the foothills of Portugal's Sintra Mountains, with focus on what rates-setters from ECB chief Christine Lagarde to the Fed's Powell say on never-ending geopolitical turbulence. Whether it's the economic impact of renewed Middle East tensions or the July 9 tariff deadline, there's little clarity ahead, blurring rate cut expectations. Investors will look for clues on ECB policy, and Powell is in the spotlight with Trump considering naming his successor early, fanning worries over Fed independence. The ECB could also announce the results of its strategy review. For all the post-pandemic turmoil, policymakers are seen side-stepping calls for self-criticism, standing by the last decade's aggressive stimulus. And Tuesday's data should show whether euro zone inflation returns to its 2% target in June after dipping below it in May. 4/ LIFT-OFF? It's already midway through the year, but China's long-awaited economic recovery has barely taken off. China's manufacturing activity shrank for a third straight month in June, though at a slower pace, Monday's official purchasing managers' index figures show. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI reading follows the official release a day later, and the bar to surpass May's dismal numbers is relatively low. Chinese officials sound upbeat about the growth outlook, but uncertainties loom. Domestic deflationary pressures continue to deepen and a fragile Sino-U.S. trade truce is hardly the endgame. Tensions between the world's two largest economies remain, even if they are out of sight for now. 5/ DEAL, DONE Given tariffs and heightened market volatility, the first half has not gone too badly for dealmakers. China and Japan, for instance, saw huge jumps in M&A, Dealogic data in the year to June 23 suggests. Hong Kong awaits a possible Shein IPO - which would give Asia equity issuance a further boost. Global M&A remains off 2021 highs but is still up on the same period last year by nearly 25% at just over $2 trillion. The activity was driven by fewer but bigger deals like Charter Communications' (CHTR.O) , opens new tab $22 billion bid for rival Cox Communications. This trend is likely to persist, at least in the U.S., where M&A rose 8% to nearly $885 billion. While a KPMG survey of U.S.-based corporate and private equity dealmakers found that nearly all said tariffs had impacted dealmaking plans, nearly three quarters expected M&A to exceed last year's levels. For about two-thirds, potential tax policy changes would increase their appetite for M&A, and the new U.S. administration's approach to anti-trust would make deals easier. https://www.reuters.com/business/take-five/global-markets-themes-graphic-2025-06-27/
