2025-05-15 12:07
ANTALYA, Turkey, May 15 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday he will discuss the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Syria and the roadmap ahead in a meeting with his U.S. and Syrian counterparts later in the day. Fidan was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an informal NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Antalya, Turkey, where he later planned to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. Sign up here. U.S. President Donald Trump made the surprise announcement on Syrian sanctions this week. https://www.reuters.com/world/turkey-discuss-roadmap-with-us-syria-after-us-lifted-syrian-sanctions-2025-05-15/
2025-05-15 11:59
LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 15 (Reuters) - Asia's imports of key refined fuels such as gasoline and diesel fell to the lowest in four years in April, driven by a combination of refinery maintenance and weaker demand in the top-importing region. Total imports of light and middle distillates were 166.37 million barrels in April, down from 195.54 million in March and the weakest since April 2020, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler. Sign up here. The sharp drop in April's imports was largely the result of weaker shipments from key exporters of refined products. India, the region's top fuel exporter, saw exports of light and middle distillates slump to a 30-month low of 29.2 million barrels in April, down from 42.66 million in March, according to Kpler. China, which has Asia's largest refining capacity, saw its exports of light and middle distillates drop to 17.4 million barrels in April, down from 21.5 million in March and the lowest on a per day basis since December. Singapore, the main Asian trading hub for crude and products as well as a refining centre, saw its light and middle distillate exports drop to a seven-month low of 25.1 million barrels in April from 26.15 million in March. Some of the weakness in April can be put down to refineries undergoing scheduled maintenance, especially in India. But there are also some signs of softness in other fuel exporters, with China's refinery output being largely flat in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier, which limits the volumes available for export. For the first four months of 2025, Asia's imports of light and middle distillates totalled 746.73 million barrels, down 11.6% from the same period in 2024. This decline would normally suggest that the profit margins for refiners would be coming under pressure as they compete for market share amid declining sales. But so far this hasn't happened, with the margin for a typical refinery in Singapore processing Dubai crude ending at $6.60 a barrel on Wednesday, not much below the recent 15-month high of $7.25 hit on May 5. FUEL MARGINS This is because the price of crude oil has declined faster from the high so far this year in January than the prices of gasoline and gasoil, the middle distillate that is the building block for diesel and jet kerosene. Global benchmark Brent futures have slid 20% from the January 15 peak of $82.63 a barrel to Wednesday's close of $66.09. However Singapore gasoline has declined only by 12.5% to end at $76.15 a barrel on Wednesday, while gasoil has retreated by 17.5% to $16.24 on Wednesday. This is a sign that refined fuel supply into Asia has been constrained, allowing refiners to maintain margins even in the face of declining crude oil prices. However, the outlook for products such as gasoline and diesel may be darkening somewhat, as Asia's economic growth is likely to be hit by the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. While markets have cheered the recent moves to de-escalate tensions with China, and moves to strike deals with other major economies such as India and Japan, the overall picture is still that U.S. import tariffs are likely going to end up substantially higher than they were before Trump returned to the White House. Even if trade deals are successfully negotiated, Asia's exporters will face higher costs and more challenging market access to the United States. A further threat to oil product demand also stems from the trade war, with Indonesia, Asia's biggest fuel importer, indicating that it may buy more from the U.S. as part of a trade deal. Indonesian Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on May 9 that the Southeast Asian nation may shift as much of 60% of its fuel buying from Singapore to the United States. Increasing fuel imports from the U.S. is part of a wider proposal that Indonesia has made to Washington to address the tariffs, and Jakarta has indicated it wants to lift U.S. energy imports by about $10 billion. Indonesia usually imports up to 14 million barrels of light and middle distillates each month, and changing to buying the bulk from the United States would disrupt regional flows of refined products. Refiners would have to find alternative markets in Europe, Africa and Latin America, which would likely add to costs and lower profits. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/asias-refined-fuel-imports-drop-margins-still-hold-russell-2025-05-15/
2025-05-15 11:59
May 15 (Reuters) - Canada's Enbridge (ENB.TO) , opens new tab said on Thursday that Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance will buy a 12.5% stake in the pipeline operator's Westcoast system for C$715 million ($511.19 million), as Indigenous communities look to own stake in energy firms. The pipeline system stretches over 2,900 kilometers from northeast British Columbia (B.C.) and the B.C.-Alberta border to the Canada-U.S. border, with a capacity of 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Sign up here. Canada's First Nations are increasingly buying stakes in Canadian energy projects as they seek economic benefits from projects on their land, while companies look to raise capital. The Canadian government is also interested in selling a stake of its C$34 billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline to Indigenous groups. Enbridge said that a unit of Canada Development Investment Corporation will provide C$400 million in loans to the Alliance, which represents 36 First Nations in B.C. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter. ($1 = 1.3987 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/canadas-indigenous-alliance-buy-stake-enbridges-westcoast-system-511-million-2025-05-15/
2025-05-15 11:54
NEW YORK, May 15 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has sent a proposed rule to the White House for review on the amount of biofuels that oil refiners must blend into their fuel beginning in 2026. Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, oil refiners must blend billions of gallons of biofuels into their fuel or buy tradable credits from those that do. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-epa-sends-biofuel-blending-volume-proposal-white-house-review-2025-05-15/
2025-05-15 11:37
DAKAR, May 15 (Reuters) - Regulatory hurdles in Mali have left British miner Kodal Minerals (KOD.L) , opens new tab unable to export more than 20,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate, its chief executive Bernard Aylward told Reuters. Kodal's blocked shipments come as global lithium production is already expected to drop this year - potentially by 228,000 tons - as miners curtail operations due to plummeting prices for the metal, used in electric vehicle batteries. Sign up here. Kodal, which launched production in February, has agreed to sell its entire output to China's Hainan Mining (601969.SS) , opens new tab, Aylward said. "We're spending money to produce a product that we want to sell ... Our buyer actually wants to buy it, [but] we can't export," he said. Spokespeople for Mali's mining and trade ministries did not respond to requests for comment. Long a major gold producer, the West African nation is seeking to develop its significant lithium reserves at a time when its military government is also asserting more control over the mining sector in a bid to generate more revenues. Malian authorities have arrested foreign executives and seized gold stocks as they negotiate with multinational gold miners. In Kodal's case, Aylward said officials have been scrutinising a pricing mechanism to ensure the spodumene concentrate produced at the firm's Bougouni project is sold at prevailing market rates. He said the company has been locked in negotiations for final approvals since last year and is now finalising its export permit in the hopes of sending its first shipment in mid-June. "Other operations in Mali are also having delays in the export permits. It is not restricted to the Kodal team," he added. China's Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ) , opens new tab, which operates Mali's only other lithium mine, did not respond to a request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kodal-says-mali-lithium-exports-blocked-due-permit-delays-2025-05-15/
2025-05-15 11:36
KIGALI, May 15 (Reuters) - Rwanda's central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 6.5% in a decision announced on Thursday and said it planned to start buying gold for its international reserves. Governor Soraya Hakuziyaremye told a press conference that the level of the Central Bank Rate (RWREPO=ECI) , opens new tab was adequate to keep inflation within the bank's 2%-8% target range while continuing to support economic growth. Sign up here. "Our inflation is projected to stay around 6.5% for the rest of the year and is expected to decline to 3.9% in 2026. Nevertheless, risks to this outlook remain, and these include risking trade uncertainty and geopolitical tensions," she said. It was the third monetary policy meeting in a row the National Bank of Rwanda has maintained its key rate. Annual inflation (RWCPIY=ECI) , opens new tab eased to 6.3% in April from 6.5% a month earlier. Hakuziyaremye, Rwanda's first female central bank governor appointed earlier this year, said the bank would start buying gold in the financial year that starts in July. "We have had approval from our board as a central bank to consider gold as an investment asset," she said. "We will probably communicate the end of the next financial year, how much gold we have been able to acquire and whether its potential for high returns is what we have expected." With its gold purchases Rwanda will be following in the footsteps of neighbouring countries, such as Uganda and Tanzania, which have been buying gold to diversify and boost their reserve holdings. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/rwandas-central-bank-holds-its-key-rate-65-2025-05-15/
