2025-11-26 10:47

NEW DELHI, Nov 26 (Reuters) - India has approved a 72.8 billion rupees ($815.74 million) rare earth permanent magnets manufacturing programme, the information minister said on Wednesday, in an effort to cut reliance on imports for the elements critical to sectors ranging from electric vehicles and aerospace to defence and renewable energy. India's consumption of rare earth permanent magnets - one of the strongest types of permanent magnets - is expected to double by 2030, but it currently meets its demand primarily through imports, according to the government. Sign up here. The South Asian nation imported 53,748 metric tons of rare earth magnets in the fiscal year ending March 2025. "Right now, all permanent magnets used in the country are imported from somewhere ... with the completion of this programme and the establishment of new plants, our import dependence will practically reduce to zero," Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters after a cabinet meeting. The new programme will increase self-reliance by supporting the establishment of manufacturing facilities with a total capacity of 6,000 metric tons per annum, India's heavy industries ministry said in a statement. The capacity will be allocated to five beneficiaries through a global competitive bidding process, each of whom will be allotted up to 1,200 metric tons per annum, it added. ($1 = 89.2440 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-approves-816-mln-rare-earth-permanent-magnets-manufacturing-programme-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 08:32

Venezuelan bonds top global hard currency returns as US presses Maduro Bets on right-wing electoral wins impacting market sentiment in Colombia Longer term, markets favor credible macro policies over political alignment NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Latin America's political map is tilting to the right just as Washington signals deeper support for ideologically aligned governments, a convergence that investors say is starting to reshape how risk is priced across the region's assets. Conservative leaders already govern Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador, with Bolivia joining the market-friendly column this month. A right-wing bloc came close to winning simple majorities in the Chilean Congress earlier this month, with Jose Antonio Kast tipped to become the country's first far-right president since the Pinochet dictatorship. Sign up here. Conservative candidates are also likely to win presidential elections in Peru and Colombia next year. This leads up to the upcoming departure of leftist Gustavo Petro, who cannot run for reelection in Colombia, and whose outspoken criticism of U.S. policies has made him one of President Donald Trump's top bogeymen in the region. Amid the burst of support for Argentina's government during the October midterms, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was a "generational opportunity" to create allies in Latin America, citing upcoming elections in Chile and later in Colombia. While Trump has picked fights with Colombia, Brazil and above all Venezuela, his administration has also cozied up to governments pursuing deregulation, aggressive crime-busting or budget-cutting, showering such allies with financial favors that some fund managers say are now starting to influence sentiment. Trump'sactions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have triggered massive market interest on bets of a change. "We've generally seen it as a positive development for risk in the countries which matter to the U.S., and there's definitely been a pickup in focus around Latin America in particular," said Grant Webster, co-head of EM FX and sovereign in the EM fixed income team at investment manager Ninety One. Latin American financial assets have had a strong 2025 across the board, with some countries' markets enjoying outsized gains despite tangling with Trump. For example, Brazil's and Colombia's currencies are up 15% and 16% against the greenback, respectively. The dollar is down 8% this year against its developed market peers. The outperformance has straddled the region, with local currency bonds gaining 15% at the index level, while hard-currency has gained 16%, both outperforming their global peers. Equities in the region have rallied over 40% in dollar terms this year, while their price-to-earnings ratio shows they remain cheap compared to both emerging and developed markets. Yet the U.S. approach in the region could work as more of a differentiating variable going forward, with Argentina serving as the poster boy for the new U.S. approach. Washington has been an outspoken supporter of Argentine President Javier Milei's libertarian overhaul, offering up to $20 billion of the country's balance sheet to stabilize the economy and support the government. Fitch said the involvement spared Argentina, whose reserves had been dwindling in the weeks before the U.S. intervention, another credit rating downgrade. That stance has reinforced the perception that ideological alignment may bring financial benefits. "It certainly has been for Argentina. It's been helpful for Venezuelan debt prices," Webster said. "We take each one as it comes, but on the whole we slightly view other countries in a different light now, because we think the U.S. could have positive influence over them." Venezuelan bonds, although deeply distressed and still trading around 30 cents on the dollar, have returned close to 100% this year, making them the top performers globally in hard currency bond returns according to JPMorgan's benchmark (.JPMEGD) , opens new tab. Chile's impending realignment has driven one of the region's strongest equity rallies this year, with the S&P IPSA index up 48%, far outperforming even Mexico and Brazil's local benchmarks, up close to 30%. "With right-leaning parties only one vote away from securing simple majorities in the recent Lower House and Senate elections, we would expect strong Congressional support for growth and investment-enhancing reforms, even if in practical terms they might take time to materialise," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote this week. Foreign investment in the country could ramp up early next year, they added. Conservative candidates' electoral dominance has supported expectations of regulatory streamlining and tight-fisted budget policies beyond Chile. For investors, the election result there "just confirms the trend, which I would say is market positive," said Viktor Szabo, portfolio manager at Aberdeen Investments. "We do have that move to the right, as we have seen in Argentina, as we've seen in Bolivia. And it's quite important, because we have some really important elections coming up next year, particularly in Colombia and especially in Brazil," he added. "It's clear the markets have preference for right-wing governments." Still, Trump's alliances, which are sometimes fickle, could end up taking a back seat to fiscal health and macroeconomic stability over the longer-term, favoring countries like Peru over Chile and especially Argentina, which is haunted by memories of fiscal crises. "We don't see Washington alignment as a primary pricing variable yet," said Pramol Dhawan, head of PIMCO's emerging markets portfolio management team. "Markets favor credible macro policies regardless of political orientation. The real question is policy execution and institutional strength. We price country-specific fundamentals first, geopolitics second." https://www.reuters.com/world/us-political-support-tilts-latam-market-risk-investors-say-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 07:47

BELGRADE, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Serbia is preparing an amendment to the draft budget law that would enable it to take ownership of its Russian-owned, U.S.-sanctioned oil refiner NIS (NIIS.BEL) , opens new tab, the parliament speaker told Euronews Serbia on Tuesday. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector in January, including NIS, which is majority owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM) , opens new tab and Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab. The U.S. granted NIS repeated waivers before the sanctions finally came into effect in October. Sign up here. Ana Brnabic, a close ally of President Aleksandar Vucic, said on Tuesday evening that the parliament would start debating amendments to the budget law, prepared by the country's ruling SNS party, on Wednesday afternoon or on Thursday. "One of the amendments that will be submitted will be the one that will foresee the circumstance that at some point we will take over NIS," Brnabic told Euronews. Vucic said on Tuesday that NIS oil refinery will shut down in four days if the United States does not lift sanctions, risking fuel supplies ahead of winter. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/serbia-prepares-amendment-enable-takeover-russian-owned-refiner-official-says-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 07:45

LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Sterling was steady against the dollar early on Wednesday as wary investors awaited what is expected to be a tax-heavy budget from British finance minister Rachel Reeves, with her speech due to start at around 1230 GMT. Reeves is expected to raise tens of billions of new tax revenue in a budget that will test her credibility with investors. Sign up here. The pound was last down less than 0.1% on the dollar at $1.3159. It is up around 0.6% for the week so far, however, partly thanks to the weaker dollar and traders fine-tuning their positions heading into the speech. PREPARED FOR BAD NEWS "I think the market has, in recent weeks, probably months, built up short positions in sterling, so I think the market is prepared for bad news," said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank. "That is why we saw Sterling a little bit higher yesterday. I believe there is scope that if we don't get have any big negative surprises today, there may be even a little bit of short covering," she said. The pound was also steady against the euro at 87.91 pence, very marginally stronger so far this week. In the medium term, however, most analysts see the pound weakening further as the Bank of England cuts rates. Reeves' public remarks ahead of the budget indicate she hopes it will put downward pressure on prices, making it easier for the BoE to ease. "Keeping inflation down is a theme, because Reeves needs the BoE to cut interest rates," Foley added. The BoE kept interest rates unchanged in November in a tight 5-4 vote, but markets expect the central bank will resume its rate-cutting cycle when it convenes next month. Money market traders are currently pricing in a more than 80% chance of a rate cut from the BoE in December. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/pound-edges-up-ahead-uk-budget-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 07:16

LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Europe’s gas market is far calmer today after years of turmoil that saw the region swap Russian supplies for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, a strategy that is unlikely to change even if U.S. President Donald Trump brokers a peace deal in Ukraine. The White House is pushing Moscow and Kiev to agree to a plan to end the almost four-year war. If successful, Russian oil and gas might soon begin to trade more openly. But that will likely do little to change Europe's gas landscape. Sign up here. Benchmark TTF European gas prices traded below 30 euros per megawatt hour this week, the lowest for this season since before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Prices also slipped 2% on Tuesday after reports that Kiev had backed parts of the deal. That muted reaction reflects the enormous transformation of Europe's gas market since the invasion and resulting EU sanctions on Russia triggered the region's worst energy crisis in 50 years. Europe has today largely shaken off its outsized pre-invasion reliance on Russian pipeline gas, shifting instead to LNG, primarily from the U.S., the world's top producer and exporter of the fuel. So after three anxious winters dominated by fears over dwindling storage levels, the well-supplied market has settled into a new, calmer norm. FEWER WINTER JITTERS Recent price behavior tells the story. A cold spell hit northwest Europe last week, leading to a rapid depletion of gas stocks, with northwest Europe’s gas demand jumping by 80% from the previous seven days, according to LSEG data. And European gas storage is currently only around 79% full, compared with 88% last year and a 10-year average of 86.5%, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe. A few years ago, this scenario would likely have triggered a price spike and political panic. But not this year - prices have barely budged. The difference is LNG. Ample cargoes, mostly from the U.S., have kept any nerves in check, helped along by forecasts for milder temperatures in the coming weeks. PSYCHOLOGICAL SHIFT A psychological shift in Europe’s gas market appears to have taken place: traders now assume gas will be there. First, European LNG imports are also not sky-high. They may be up around 10% year-on-year so far in 2025, but they are 10% below 2022 and 2023 levels for the same period, according to Kpler data. Yet, even with Europe sitting on less gas storage, TTF prices are still only around a quarter of 2022 levels and roughly a third lower than in 2023 and 2024. This suggests traders are relaxed about Europe having sufficient gas supplies this winter, even if storage levels decline. That confidence rests on a wave of new supply, with even more expected as new U.S. liquefaction capacity comes online. Global LNG cargoes in transit surged to a record 22 million tons last week, with the U.S. accounting for more than a third, according to Kpler. And U.S. LNG capacity - which has risen about 15% this year to 19 billion cubic feet per day - is set to climb to 27 bcfd by the end of 2027, according to LSEG. UPSETTING THE BALANCE Risks remain. A prolonged cold snap in Europe or Asia could intensify competition for cargoes and tighten the market. That is unlikely to produce extreme price swings, however, given the current supply‑demand balance. Nor is a Ukraine ceasefire likely to upend this new equilibrium. While news of a deal might initially spur a price move, it probably wouldn’t prove durable. Even if sanctions on Russia's energy sector were eased, European governments would be reluctant to re-embrace Moscow as a core supplier after the shock of 2022. Some limited Russian flows might resume, especially to landlocked central and eastern European countries, and Russian LNG projects could add more volumes to the global market. Most of those flows, however, would likely continue to be absorbed outside Europe, as they have since the invasion. While Europe’s new LNG-focused gas strategy has its risks, including a heavy reliance on U.S. supplies, it offers more room to maneuver compared with the inflexibility and vulnerability of heavy pipeline dependence on Russia. This new balance should offer European consumers and industries much relief, and, hopefully, predictability, following the crisis years since 2022. Want to receive my column in your inbox every Monday and Thursday, along with additional energy insights and links to trending stories? Sign up for my Power Up newsletter here. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), , opens new tabyour essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI , opens new tab can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/dont-expect-ukraine-peace-deal-alter-europes-gas-gameplan-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 06:54

Nov 26 (Reuters) - U.S. LNG producer Venture Global (VG.N) , opens new tab accused Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab of waging a "three-year campaign" to damage its business after Shell appealed an arbitration loss, according to a staff note confirmed by Reuters on Wednesday. Venture Global has faced arbitration claims from Shell, BP and other European buyers alleging contract breaches after the company sold LNG on the spot market during the 2022 energy crisis. Sign up here. The email from Venture Global's co-founders, Michael Sabel and Robert Pender, criticized as "misguided" a decision by Shell to challenge the unanimous ruling and added that Venture Global would continue to defend itself. Venture Global and Shell did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The decision should be a concern to Shell's board of directors and its shareholders, the Venture Global co-founders added in their email. "To be very clear, this action relies on completely baseless claims and is an unfortunate continuation of their three-year campaign to damage Venture Global," the company told employees. First reported by the Financial Times, the note was confirmed to Reuters by a company source who spoke on condition of anonymity. It also highlighted recent supply deals worth $28 billion with customers in Greece, Japan and Spain, saying the company was on track to become the world’s largest LNG producer. Shell launched a challenge in New York state court this month to overturn the arbitration ruling. Separately, Shell was ordered to pay Venture's legal fees following a recent loss in arbitration LNG supply claims. Both cases centered on Venture Global's failure to deliver LNG under long-term contracts while selling cargoes on the spot market as prices surged after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In August, Venture Global won a case against Shell at the International Chamber of Commerce but lost another against BP (BP.L) , opens new tab in October, which is seeking damages of more than $1 billion. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venture-global-accuses-shell-campaign-harm-lng-business-ft-reports-2025-11-26/