2025-05-19 10:08
MUMBAI, May 19 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended modestly higher on Monday, hoisted by a weaker dollar, hurt by concerns over U.S. debt and deficits following a Moody's downgrade of the country's sovereign credit rating late last week. The rupee closed at 85.40 against the U.S. dollar, up 0.1% on the day. The currency had dipped to a low of 85.61 in early trading but reversed course as the dollar declined by about 0.6% against major peers. Sign up here. Asian currencies were mostly stronger on the day with the Thai baht leading gains with a 0.8% rise. Safe havens like the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, meanwhile, rose alongside the price of gold. A broadly weaker greenback and foreign banks' dollar sales helped the rupee nudge higher on the day but the gains were limited by routine dollar bids from local companies, traders said. Meanwhile, dollar-rupee forward premiums dipped on the back of a rise in U.S. bond yields spurred by the same concerns that weighed the dollar down on Monday. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 10 basis points to above 4.50% while 1-year Treasury yield rose by 3 basis points to 4.15%. "The link between US sovereign risk, Treasuries, and the dollar is one of capital flight," ING Bank said in a note. "Expect a risk premium to stay in the dollar this week," the note added. Equity futures indicated that U.S. stocks would open in the red on Monday with the S&P 500 futures sliding by over 1%. In the near-term, traders expect the rupee to be acutely sensitive to developments regarding a U.S.-India trade deal which would also impact foreign portfolio flows into Indian equities. Foreign investors have net bought about $2.2 billion of Indian stocks over May so far. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-ends-tad-higher-dollar-droops-after-us-credit-downgrade-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 10:00
20 of 32 economists expect BI to cut rates by 25 bps on May 21 BENGALURU, May 19 (Reuters) - Bank Indonesia (BI) will resume its easing cycle on Wednesday with a quarter-point interest rate cut as the rupiah's recent strength gives the central bank room to focus on supporting economic growth, a Reuters poll of economists found. Southeast Asia's largest economy grew 4.87% last quarter, its slowest pace in three years, while the rupiah recovered from April losses, easing pressure on BI to keep monetary policy tight. April inflation rose to be within the central bank's 1.5%-3.5% target range, official data showed. Sign up here. The bank has kept interest rates unchanged for the past three months. BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said in April the central bank's short-term priority was to stabilise the currency, saying: "Once stability is maintained, the room for a rate cut will be more open and that would be the time to decide on future interest rate policy." Since then, the rupiah has strengthened over 2.4% against the U.S. dollar. More than 60% of economists, 20 of 32, in a May 14–19 Reuters poll forecast BI will cut its benchmark seven-day reverse repurchase rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab by 25 basis points to 5.50% on May 21. The remaining 12 expected no change from 5.75%. The overnight deposit and lending facility rates were also forecast to be lowered by 25 basis points to 4.75% and 6.25%, respectively. "After an extended pause, BI is expected to lower rates in May, tapping into the recent window of currency appreciation as well as an improvement in risk appetite after the recent U.S.-China bilateral tariff cuts," said Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank. Among those who provided a longer term outlook on rates, 55% of economists, 15 of 27, expected the key rate to be 5.25% by the end of the third quarter. Beyond that, there was no clear consensus among economists on where rates would be. Projections for 2025 varied widely, with some economists expecting just a 25 basis points cut and others predicting as much as 100 basis points of easing. But median forecasts showed the end-year policy rate at 5.25%, down only 50 basis points from the current level as economists weighed the impact of recent volatility in the rupiah. The rupiah is projected to trade at 16,500 per U.S. dollar by the end of the third quarter, about 2.5% weaker than at the start of 2025, a separate Reuters poll showed last month. Several economists in the poll said the currency outlook may limit BI's ability to pursue aggressive rate cuts to support growth, given its mandate to maintain currency stability. "BI will be more gradual in its approach to rate cuts this year given IDR volatilities. But it will remain opportunistic and cut by more if IDR stability can be upheld for longer periods of time," said Lavanya Venkateswaran, senior ASEAN economist at OCBC Bank. (Other stories from the May Reuters global economic poll) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bank-indonesia-cut-rates-may-21-rupiah-stabilises-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 07:45
BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) - China on Monday called on the United States to take responsible policy measures to maintain the stability of the international financial and economic system and safeguard the interests of investors. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson made the comments at a daily press briefing when asked about Moody's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating due to concerns about the nation's growing debt pile. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/china-asks-us-maintain-stability-international-financial-system-after-moodys-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 07:32
U.S. ethane exports set to rise, driving investments in flexible crackers Some Asian producers shifting to ethane to stay competitive Flexible crackers will outlast rivals in a low-margin market, insider says NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - Several petrochemical producers in Asia plan to reconfigure their crackers to process more ethane to reduce costs and capitalise on rising U.S. supplies as they face thin margins and global oversupply, company executives said. These include South Korea's largest cracker operator YNCC and SP Chemicals in China. In Japan, Mitsui Chemicals is studying the use of ethanol at existing crackers. Sign up here. The change will allow operators to keep their feedstocks flexible with U.S. ethane exports forecast to rise by about 7% in 2025. Ethane, a byproduct of shale gas, is typically cheaper than the more widely used naphtha. South Korea's YNCC is re-evaluating its investment plans to improve cost efficiency at its crackers, which have been running at minimum utilisation rates of 70–80% so far this year, its CEO You-Jin Lee said at the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Bangkok last week. "One of the ways we can do it is by increasing (the) use of ethane," said Lee. In China, SP Chemicals is studying plans to increase ethane use at its petrochemical complex in eastern China's Jiangsu province to up to 90% from 75%. "Flexible crackers will ultimately be the fittest to survive when margins are plunging," said a source at an east-China naphtha cracker who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media. "New entrants into the market will want to import cheap U.S. ethane," Armaan Ashraf, global head of natural gas liquids, at consultancy FGE, said, referring to petrochemical projects in the Middle East, Russia and Asia. Thailand's PTT Global Chemical will begin to use U.S.-ethane as an alternative feedstock at its petrochemical complex, securing 400,000 tons annually starting in 2029, the company said in a report released at APIC. In Europe, where global chemical giants have announced closures due to high operating costs and weak margins, INEOS is building a 1.45 million tons per year cracker, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its May 6 report. EIA expects this project to utilise up to 75,000 barrels per day of ethane when it comes online in mid-2026. Other importers, such as India, will have to build infrastructure including storage and ships to boost the use of ethane at their plants, an Indian industry source said. For example, ONGC (ONGC.NS) , opens new tab is seeking partners to build large ethane carriers to ship in 800,000 metric tons per year from May 2028 for its western India petrochemical plant. EIA expects U.S. ethane production to rise to a new record 3.1 million bpd in 2026 from 2.9 million bpd in 2025. This will increase U.S. exports to 540,000 bpd in 2025 and 640,000 bpd in 2026, EIA said. EIA expects Wanhua Chemical's newly started cracker in eastern China's Yantai city, which can process ethane or naphtha, to add 50,000-75,000 bpd of U.S. ethane export demand this year. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/asian-petrochemical-producers-chase-ethane-gains-margins-dwindle-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 07:30
JAKARTA, May 19 (Reuters) - Torrential rains forced a halt on Monday to Indonesia's search for 14 missing in its easternmost region of Papua after a landslide killed six workers at a gold mine and injured four, officials said. The rains had triggered Friday's landslide, which hit a small mine run by residents of the Arfak mountains of West Papua province, said Abdul Muhari, the spokesperson of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency. Sign up here. Authorities will resume on Tuesday their search for those missing after the disaster, which engulfed temporary shelters used by miners. The search effort was hampered by "damaged roads and mountainous tracks as well as bad weather", Yefri Sabaruddin, the head of a team of 40 rescuers, including police and military officials, who retrieved five bodies, told Reuters. Travelling to the site required 12 hours from the nearest town, he said. Monday's tally was updated from an earlier figure of one dead and 19 missing. Small-scale and illegal mining has often led to accidents in Indonesia, where mineral resources are located in remote areas in conditions difficult for authorities to regulate. The number of casualties could rise. At least 15 people died in the collapse of an illegal gold mine in West Sumatra province last September after a landslide caused by heavy rains. Another landslide in a gold mine on Sulawesi island killed at least 23 people in July last year. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/indonesia-searches-19-people-after-landslide-gold-mine-papua-2025-05-19/
2025-05-19 07:30
OSLO, May 19 (Reuters) - Norway has launched the first part of its long-awaited inaugural floating wind tender, it said on Monday, offering subsidies to the winners despite the challenges faced by the global offshore wind industry. The industry has grappled with skyrocketing costs, higher interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks, prompting governments to halt or postpone tenders due to a lack of interest from bidders. Sign up here. In a first step, the process foresees bidders being awarded the rights to develop commercial projects of up to 500 megawatts (MW) in capacity at the Utsira Nord site off the country's south-west coast. The winners will then have two years to mature the projects before competing in an auction for subsidies in 2028-2029, to be provided as a direct grant. "Utsira Nord is an important first step in the development of commercial floating offshore wind development on the Norwegian continental shelf," Norway's Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement. Norway has agreed to cap total subsidies at Utsira Nord at 35 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.37 billion), reflecting the technology's relative immaturity. "The model for allocating project areas and state support is adapted to floating offshore wind and will contribute to both technology development and cost reductions for subsequent projects," Aasland said. Norway is not part of the European Union but participates in the bloc's internal market, requiring it to comply with EU rules, including on state aid, a process that is managed by the EFTA surveillance authority (ESA). The latter approved Norway's proposal to tender acreage suitable for floating wind farms at Utsira Nord in April. Floating wind turbines are deemed particularly suitable for greater water depths where fixing the foundation into the seabed is not possible. Norway awarded a first bottom-fixed offshore wind farm licence in 2024 but will focus solely on floating wind farm development when it next announces new tenders. ($1 = 10.3723 Norwegian crowns) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/norway-opens-floating-offshore-wind-tender-2025-05-19/
