2025-04-18 10:46

PARIS, April 18 - Liberia has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza on a poultry farm, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Friday. The disease, commonly called bird flu, has spread around the globe in the past years, leading to the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry. Sign up here. The outbreak, detected in February on a farm in the Bong county, killed 18 birds out of a flock of 26,000, the Paris-based WOAH said, quoting information from Liberian authorities. Some 25,800 poultry in the Western African flock were vaccinated, the report also said, without specifying when vaccination occurred. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/liberia-reports-h5n1-bird-flu-poultry-farm-woah-says-2025-04-18/

2025-04-18 09:34

JAKARTA, April 18 (Reuters) - Indonesia will increase imports of U.S. food and commodities and reduce orders from countries where the Southeast Asian nation currently buys the products, chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters in Washington. Airlangga is in the United States as part of a delegation of senior officials to meet U.S. counterparts for talks on a 32% tariff on Indonesian exports, which has been paused for 90 days. Sign up here. Indonesia has proposed increasing its imports from the U.S. by as much as $19 billion, including around $10 billion of energy imports, to eliminate its trade surplus with Washington and avoid the tariffs threatened by the administration of President Donald Trump. "Indonesia also plans to buy agricultural products including wheat, soybeans and soybean meal and increase purchases of capital goods from the U.S," Airlangga said at the press conference broadcast on video conference platform Zoom. “We will support the government's decision, as long as market prices and competitiveness are aligned,” Ratna Sari Lopis, executive director of the Indonesian Wheat Flour Producers Association told Reuters. According to data from the association, Australia provided 40% of Indonesia's wheat imports in 2024, with 26% from Ukraine and 16% from Canada. U.S. imports stood at just below 4%. In contrast, Indonesia imported nearly 89% of its soybean from the U.S in 2024. "We will also facilitate American companies that have been operating in Indonesia, related to permits and incentives," he added. Indonesia will also work on critical minerals and simplify procedures related to American horticultural products imports. After a meeting with the U.S. Trade Representative and the secretary of commerce, the two countries agreed to complete negotiations within the next 60 days. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-says-increase-us-imports-would-divert-orders-elsewhere-2025-04-18/

2025-04-18 09:15

MOSCOW, April 18 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble strengthened past 81 to the U.S. dollar, supported by rising oil prices, reaching its highest level since June 28, 2024. At 0900 GMT the rouble was up 1.5% 80.90 to the U.S. currency in thin trade ahead of the Orthodox Easter holiday. The price for oil, Russia's main commodity, rose by 3% on April 17. Sign up here. The Russian currency is up by over 40% against the dollar since the start of the year, mainly on expectation of easing of tensions between Russia and the United States. The rouble has ignored the statement by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that President Donald Trump will walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done. Against the Chinese yuan, which is used by Russia's central bank for its foreign exchange interventions and is currently the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble was up 0.1% to 11.08 on the Moscow Stock Exchange. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/russian-rouble-strengthens-past-81-vs-us-dollar-up-40-since-start-2025-2025-04-18/

2025-04-18 09:10

Deal will give USA privileged access to Ukraine's resources Kyiv, Washington sign memorandum of intent Ukraine seeking to fix ties after Oval Office shouting match KYIV, April 18 (Reuters) - Kyiv said on Friday it aims to complete talks by the end of next week about a deal with Washington on jointly exploiting Ukrainian mineral resources, an agreement Ukrainian officials hope will go some way to firming up softening U.S. support for them in their war with Russia. Though the terms of the eventual deal are not finalised, Washington has signalled it expects to have privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources by way of repayment for U.S. military support for the country over the past three years. Sign up here. Late on Thursday, the U.S. and Ukrainian governments signed a memorandum of intent, signalling their intent to finalise the minerals deal. The memorandum represented a step towards repairing ties between Kyiv and Washington that appeared to be hanging by a thread in February, when an Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned into a shouting match. According to the text of the memorandum, published by the Ukrainian government on Friday, the aim of both sides is to complete discussions on the final deal by April 26, and to sign it soon after. The memorandum said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will travel to Washington at the start of next week to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and work on the deal together. "We are happy to announce the signing with our American partners," Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and economy minister, said on social media on Thursday, referring to the memorandum of intent. She said the document "testifies to the constructive joint work of our teams and the intention to finalise and conclude an agreement that will be beneficial to both our peoples." According to the text of the memorandum, it paves the way for an economic partnership deal and the setting up of an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The text did not give any details about the terms of the eventual deal, including what access the United States would have, and how much revenue it would stand to gain. In Washington, Trump told reporters: "We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday." Trump has been critical of the billions of dollars of aid that his predecessor, Joe Biden, gave to Ukraine, saying it was a bad deal for the United States. He has also indicated he wants closer ties with Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The White House did not respond to a request for further details on the timing and contents of the agreement. PRIZED RESOURCES A draft of the minerals deal that was under discussion earlier this month would give the U.S. privileged access to Ukraine's mineral deposits and require Kyiv to place in a joint investment fund all income from the exploitation of natural resources by Ukrainian state and private firms, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The draft deal included mineral deposits in Ukraine and also infrastructure for the transit of natural gas, the source said. The proposed deal, however, would not provide U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine - a top priority of Kyiv's - for its fight against Russian forces occupying some 20% of its territory. Inna Sovsun, a member of Ukraine's parliament, said she was grateful to Washington for the aid it has given, but said of a proposed minerals deal: “I do think that for us as Ukrainians, it feels a little bit like another country is using our vulnerability, which was not created by us.” "It's also critically important when we are designing the future to keep in mind that people will live here in the future,” she told Reuters, speaking before the memorandum was signed. Ukraine has sizable deposits of natural resources, including rare earths that are prized for use in electronics. It has deposits of graphite, lithium, titanium and uranium, among other minerals. The path to a deal on minerals has been bumpy. A previous iteration of the deal was ready for signing in February, when Zelenskiy came to the White House to meet Trump. That though was shelved after their meeting turned acrimonious - and Washington also briefly paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which is vital in its effort to resist the Russian invasion. Later, Kyiv launched an effort to salvage the relationship, and began talking to U.S. officials again about cooperation on natural resources. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-says-aiming-wrap-up-mineral-deal-talks-within-week-2025-04-18/

2025-04-18 08:38

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - As financial markets try to move past tariff fears, attention turns to what China will do to buffer its economy and how corporate America and business activity globally is holding up. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring meetings take place in Washington meanwhile against a backdrop of increased concern about U.S. isolationism. Sign up here. Here's the low-down on the week ahead in world markets from Rae Wee in Singapore, Lewis Krauskopf in New York and Dhara Ranasinghe, Yoruk Bahceli and Karin Strohecker in London. 1/ HUNKERING DOWN China sets its benchmark lending rates on Monday at a time when investors are bracing for more monetary easing from Beijing to help offset the headwinds from hefty U.S. tariffs on the world's second-largest economy. Some analysts expect a reduction in one-year and five-year loan prime rates, which would mark the People's Bank of China's first cut since October last year. Tariffs between the United States and China now stand at eye-watering levels of more than 100% and some banks are already cutting their China growth forecasts in a sign of the toll the trade war is expected to take. Elsewhere in Asia, Bank Indonesia meets on Wednesday and policymakers are straddling a fine line as they weigh a darkening economic outlook against a rupiah that's pinned near record lows. 2/ NOT SO MAGNIFICENT? A slew of quarterly earnings in the coming week led by Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab could shed greater light on how U.S. companies are wrestling with a shifting trade landscape. Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker and Google parent Alphabet are the first of the "Magnificent Seven" companies to report quarterly results, with the megacap growth stocks under pressure. AI-related spending will be another focus, while Tesla, whose shares have been hit particularly hard in 2025, is also in the spotlight because of Musk's close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. Investors will look for any insight from executives into the fallout from tariffs, with reports slated from major companies including 3M (MMM.N) , opens new tab, Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab, IBM (IBM.N) , opens new tab, Merck (MRK.N) , opens new tab, Intel (INTC.O) , opens new tab, and Procter & Gamble (PG.N) , opens new tab. United Airlines (UAL.O) , opens new tab on Tuesday warned of downside risks to its financial outlook if the U.S. economy slips into a recession -- one sign of the challenges facing companies. 3/ PRICE RISK Wednesday's April flash PMIs should also give markets a sense of the first hit from Trump's tariff chaos. Trump has postponed reciprocal tariffs, but a widespread 10% levy on imports remains. U.S. companies' input prices were already feeling the heat before the latest measures, Canada's services PMI had hit a five year low. Expect things to get worse. The key number to watch is the U.S. manufacturing PMI input prices index, what S&P Global, which compiles the data, dubs the first port of call for the inflationary impact of tariffs. It had already risen sharply to signal the fastest rate of input price rises for U.S. companies in almost two years in March. Traders expect at least three U.S. rate cuts this year, but some banks are sceptical that it can cut at all given inflation risks. 4/WASHINGTON CALLING Finance officials head to Washington for the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings - one of the biggest gatherings of such policy makers in the year. Jobs growth is a focus at the meeting. But there's no doubt trade tensions and a glum growth outlook will be in focus with finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world also jostling for face time with the Trump administration. The contours of how Trump sees Washington's future role in and cooperation with Bretton Woods institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank might also become clearer. Among the big set items is the Fund's global economic outlook to be released on Tuesday. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has already flagged that sweeping U.S. tariffs posed a "significant risk", appealing to Washington and its trading partners to work constructively to reduce tensions. 5/ UNEASY An uneasy calm has descended on investors, hopeful that the worst of the tariff-induced turmoil has passed. Wall Street shares have recovered from more than one-year lows, corporate bond spreads have come back in (a little) and signs of dysfunction in the $29 trillion Treasury market have eased after a pause to hefty duties. Trump is considering modifying auto tariffs. But with confidence shaken, focus is fixed on Washington, especially since aggressive tariffs against China remain and growth fears persist. The dollar is still heading for its worst month since 2022 and global investors have slashed U.S. stock holdings by a record amount in the past two months, says BofA. Deutsche Bank reckons a sustained shift in foreign investor allocation could generate "huge negative dollar flows". Markets rarely move in a straight line but when a trend is set, it's hard to reverse quickly. https://www.reuters.com/business/take-five/global-markets-themes-graphic-2025-04-17/

2025-04-18 08:26

KYIV, April 18 (Reuters) - Kyiv said on Friday it aims to complete talks by the end of next week about a deal with Washington on jointly exploiting Ukrainian mineral resources, an agreement Ukrainian officials hope will go some way to firming up softening U.S. support for them in their war with Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earth minerals as a form of payment for financially supporting the country's war efforts against Russia. Sign up here. Following is an overview of the critical minerals, including rare earths, and other natural resources in Ukraine that could be of interest to the U.S. and other partners: WHAT ARE RARE EARTHS AND WHAT ARE THEY USED FOR? Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones, missile systems, and other electronics. There are no viable substitutes. The U.S. Geological Survey considers 50 minerals to be critical, including rare earths such as nickel and lithium. Critical minerals are essential for industries such as defence, high-tech appliances, aerospace and green energy. WHAT MINERAL RESOURCES DOES UKRAINE HAVE? Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as critical, according to Ukrainian data. They include industrial and construction materials, ferroalloy, precious and non-ferrous metals, and some rare earth elements. According to Ukraine's Institute of Geology, the country possesses rare earths such as lanthanum and cerium, used in TVs and lighting; neodymium, used in wind turbines and EV batteries; and erbium and yttrium, whose applications range from nuclear power to lasers. EU-funded research also indicates that Ukraine has scandium reserves. Detailed data are classified. The World Economic Forum has said Ukraine is also a key potential supplier of lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite and nickel. The State Geological Service said Ukraine has one of Europe's largest confirmed reserves, estimated at 500,000 metric tons, of lithium - vital for batteries, ceramics, and glass. The country has titanium reserves, mostly located in its northwestern and central regions, while lithium is found in the centre, east and southeast. Ukraine's reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20% of global resources. The deposits are in the centre and west. Ukraine also has significant coal reserves, though most are now under the control of Russia in occupied territory. WHAT HAS UKRAINE SAID ABOUT RARE EARTHS? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters on February 7 that he was ready to do a deal with Trump that includes U.S. involvement in developing Ukraine's huge deposits of critical minerals, including rare earths. Zelenskiy originally aired the idea in his "victory plan" strategy, presented to Kyiv's allies last autumn. The text of a memorandum of intent, published by the Ukrainian government on April 18, paves the way for an economic partnership deal with the U.S. and the setting-up of an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Mining analysts and economists say Ukraine currently has no commercially operational rare earth mines. China, with whom Trump has threatened a trade war, is the world's largest producer of rare earths and many other critical minerals. WHICH UKRAINIAN RESOURCES ARE UNDER KYIV'S CONTROL? The war has caused widespread damage across Ukraine, and Russia now controls around a fifth of its territory. The bulk of Ukraine’s coal deposits, which powered its steel industry before the war, are concentrated in the east and have been lost. About 40% of Ukraine's metal resources are now under Russian occupation, according to estimates by Ukrainian think-tanks We Build Ukraine and the National Institute of Strategic Studies, citing data up to the first half of 2024. They provided no detailed breakdown. Since then, Russian troops have continued to advance steadily in the eastern Donetsk region. In January, Ukraine closed its only coking coal mine outside the city of Pokrovsk, which Moscow's forces are trying to capture. Russia has occupied at least two Ukrainian lithium deposits during the war - one in Donetsk and another in the Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast. Kyiv still controls lithium deposits in the central Kyrovohrad region. WHAT MINING OPPORTUNITIES DOES UKRAINE OFFER? Oleksiy Sobolev, first deputy economy minister, said in January that the government was working on deals with Western allies including the United States, Britain, France and Italy on projects related to exploiting critical materials. The government estimates the sector's total investment potential at about $12-15 billion by 2033. The State Geological Service said the government was preparing about 100 sites to be jointly licensed and developed but provided no further details. Although Ukraine has a highly qualified and relatively inexpensive labour force and developed infrastructure, investors highlight a number of barriers to investment. These include inefficient and complex regulatory processes as well as difficulty accessing geological data and obtaining land plots. Such projects would take years to develop and require considerable up-front investment, they said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/what-are-ukraines-critical-minerals-why-does-trump-want-them-2025-02-12/