2025-03-31 17:41

LIMA, March 31 (Reuters) - Members of Indigenous communities blocked access to Glencore's (GLEN.L) , opens new tab Antapaccay copper mine in Peru's Cusco region to protest an expansion plan at the site, a local community leader said on Monday. Local residents in the Espinar province, within the Cusco region, on Sunday began blocking roads and calling for a meeting with government mining officials over fears of environmental damage from the expansion plan, community leader Flavio Huanque said in an interview. He said the protesters represented ten different communities. Sign up here. A source close to the company confirmed that protests had blocked access to mine vehicles. Glencore said production had not been impacted, and that the protest demands were related to what it called administrative procedures. It said it was open to dialogue with each of the communities. "We express our concern regarding the recent blockade of certain public highways by small groups of protesters from a number of communities in the province of Espinar," the company said in a statement. "We respect communities' right to express their concerns in a legitimate manner and not in a way that poses a risk to themselves or others." Images from a local online news program showed small groups of people at different points in the road, holding signs. Antapaccay is the seventh largest copper mine in Peru, the world's third-biggest producer of the red metal. The mine has faced protests by local Indigenous groups over environmental concerns in past years as well. Peru's mining sector as a whole has also faced disruptive, at times violent, protests across many of its major mines. Peru's Mining Ministry said in a social media post on Friday that it had met with Glencore executives overseeing Antapaccay's expansion plans. According to the ministry, the company representatives said the expansion represented a $1.8 billion investment, and the miner would work on agreements with the Huano Huano, Huini Coroccohuayco and Pacopata communities. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the protests. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indigenous-groups-peru-protest-glencores-antapaccay-mine-2025-03-31/

2025-03-31 17:18

BOGOTA, March 31 (Reuters) - Inflation in Colombia likely eased in March, after increasing in the first two months of the year due to higher minimum wages and gas tariffs subsidies, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. According to the median estimates from 22 analysts surveyed, consumer prices for the third month of the year will have reached 0.58%, lower than the 0.70% in March last year and also below 1.14% in February. Sign up here. Analyst estimates ranged from 0.21% to 0.69%. If the forecast is met, annual inflation through March would reach 5.15%, still above the Central Bank's 3% target. Meanwhile, inflation expectations for year-end rose to 4.42%, up from 4.22% in February, marking the fifth consecutive year Colombia is expected to miss its inflation target. For 2026, the projections rose to 3.61% from 3.50% in the previous survey. Persistent inflationary pressures have reduced the national bank's room for maneuver in monetary policy, which in January led to pause the cycle of interest rate cuts and keep it at 9.50%. However, most analysts in a recent Reuters poll believed that the monetary authority will cut its benchmark rate at its meeting later on Monday. The country's DANE statistical agency will release its official inflation March report on April 7. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-inflation-seen-easing-march-rising-2025-2026-2025-03-31/

2025-03-31 15:20

BRASILIA, March 31 (Reuters) - Brazilian central bank director Nilton David signaled on Monday that policymakers will monitor inflation expectations when determining their next steps, anticipating that inflation will remain persistent in the coming months. Earlier this month, the central bank raised interest rates by 100 basis points for the third consecutive time, sticking to previous guidance, and penciled in a smaller hike in May. Sign up here. The decision was made with "strong conviction" that the tightening cycle was not over but that the next move should be of a lesser magnitude, the bank's director of monetary policy said at an event hosted by Itau BBA. "It was more appropriate for us to provide this signaling to ensure a smoother exit from forward guidance," said David. The key question now is how the next few months will unfold, with inflation readings expected to remain high for the next three to five months, he said, adding that policymakers would also closely monitor market inflation expectations and economic agents' behavior. "We will calibrate (our policy) based on these factors. We don't have a precise formula, but these are the key conditions or at least the inputs we use to fine-tune our approach," he said. The director stressed that monetary policy is guided by inflation, not economic activity, and noted that policymakers "strongly believe" long-term unanchored inflation expectations stem from concerns over potential fiscal surprises. Despite the Brazilian real appreciating nearly 8% this year, inflation expectations have only moved further away from the official 3% target, he said. Market participants surveyed weekly by the central bank project inflation at 5.65% this year, 4.50% in 2026, 4.00% in 2027, and 3.78% in 2028. The director also said the central bank has yet to reach a firm conclusion on the impact of new rules for payroll-deductible loans to formal workers. One possibility, he noted, is that borrowers will refinance expensive debt with cheaper credit, while another is that they will take on new debt. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-central-bank-sees-unanchored-inflation-expectations-due-fiscal-concerns-2025-03-31/

2025-03-31 12:37

Russian aluminium stocks in LME warehouses slide Turkey and China are alternative markets for Russian aluminium Aluminium prices fall on concern about global trade war LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Major commodity traders Gunvor and Vitol are waiting to withdraw large volumes of Russian-produced aluminium from London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses in the South Korean port of Gwangyang, three sources familiar with the matter said. Gunvor and Vitol mostly focus on energy, but oil and gas trading giants more broadly have made significant moves into metals markets to explore opportunities offered by the global clean energy transition. Sign up here. It is not known why Gunvor or Vitol want the aluminium in LME warehouses in Gwangyang, where the lion's share of metal is mostly of Russian origin - deposited after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 as consumers shunned the metal. Vitol and Gunvor declined to comment. LME data shows metal earmarked to leave warehouses in Gwangyang run by ISTIM - a major operator of LME depositories in the port - at 97,750 metric tons at end-February, worth more than $250 million. Queuing time to take delivery was 81 calendar days, or more than 11 weeks, the data showed. Queues typically only form when large amounts of metal warrants, title documents conferring ownership, are cancelled in a short period of time. The sources said Vitol has already taken delivery of some aluminium from LME warehouses in Gwangyang. Gunvor has not yet taken any, other sources said. In late December, 84,000 tons of aluminium stored in LME warehouses in Gwangyang was cancelled, according to LME data, which also shows another 21,150 was cancelled in January and February. A small proportion was loaded out in January, while in February, 33,200 tons was removed and 26,800 tons of aluminium has been removed from LME warehouses in Gwangyang so far in March. Cancelled warrants at 30% of Gwangyang's total stocks of 123,325 tons on March 28 suggest another 37,125 tons of aluminium is due to leave the LME system. Russian President Vladimir Putin in February offered the U.S. the opportunity for joint exploration of the country's rare earth metals deposits, as well as the supply of aluminium to the U.S. domestic market, under a future economic deal. Putin said Russian companies could supply up to two million metric tons annually of the metal used in the transport, construction and packaging industries. Industry sources say major destinations for Russian-origin aluminium are China and Turkey, where users accept sanctioned metal produced in Russia. The U.S. Treasury Department and the British government in April last year banned the 148-year-old LME and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) from holding Russian aluminium, copper and nickel produced from April 13. Aluminium in Russia is produced by Rusal, which last year supplied nearly four million tons or more than 5% of the global total estimated at around 74 million tons. Aluminium prices on the LME held up for a few weeks after Donald Trump became U.S. president, but have dropped 7% since March 12 to around $2,540 a metric ton on concern about U.S. tariffs and a global trade war. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/commodity-traders-gunvor-vitol-queue-stock-up-russian-aluminium-lme-storage-2025-03-31/

2025-03-31 12:32

NEW DELHI, March 31 (Reuters) - India has raised the price of its locally produced gas from oil fields by nearly 4% to $6.75 per million metric British thermal units (mmBtu) for April, compared with $6.50/mmBtu for the previous month, a government website showed on Monday. It is the first revision in two years in the price of gas produced from old fields. In 2023, India fixed a cap of $6.50 per mmBtu for two years with a provision of an annual upward revision of 25 cents from the third year. Sign up here. India has also set the ceiling price for gas to be produced from difficult fields at $10.04 per mmBtu for April-September, compared to $10.16 per mmBtu in the previous six months, the website of the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the oil ministry showed. The prices will be applicable on a gross heat value basis. Higher prices of gas produced from oil fields will lead to higher earnings for Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Oil India while raising the prices for industrial buyers and companies in the fertiliser and city gas distribution sectors. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/india-raises-gas-prices-april-2025-03-31/

2025-03-31 12:24

Skyscraper collapse killed 11, scores still missing Government had threatened to cancel construction contract, official says Investigating whether sub-standard steel was used, government minister says BANGKOK, March 31 (Reuters) - An anti-corruption watchdog had flagged irregularities in the construction of a Bangkok skyscraper that collapsed in an earthquake last week and killed at least 11 people, the head of the monitoring group told Reuters. The government had threatened to cancel the project earlier this year because of delays, Mana Nimitmongkol, president of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, said on Sunday. Sign up here. The government has announced an investigation into the cause of the collapse of the tower, which was being built by a Chinese company and a long-established Thai construction firm. Rescuers were still desperately searching on Monday for 76 more people feared trapped under the rubble of the unfinished 30-storey tower for Thailand's State Audit Office. The unfinished tower was the only Bangkok building that completely crumbled when a 7.7 magnitude quake struck central Myanmar on Friday and rattled neighbouring countries. Construction of the building, which began in 2020, is being carried out by a joint venture between Italian Thai Development PCL (ITD.BK) , opens new tab and a local subsidiary of China's state-owned China Railway Group (601390.SS) , opens new tab, the China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Ltd. Italian Thai Development and China Railway Group did not immediately comment when contacted by Reuters. The audit office has said that it will investigate the cause of the building collapse. It did not answer e-mailed questions from Reuters whether it had threatened to cancel the construction contract. The tower was originally slated for completion by 2026 but was behind schedule. The deputy auditor general, Sutthipong Boonnithi, told reporters on Saturday that construction was only "30% completed" before it collapsed. Site visits to the project during construction by the anti-corruption group had raised concerns about delays, worker shortages and possible corner-cutting, Mana said. "Sometimes the number of workers on site were much fewer than there should be, causing delays," he said. "Potentially there was a rush to complete the project towards the end, which could cause a drop in the standard of work." Mana, whose organisation scrutinises some 170 government projects around the country, said the construction delay was so severe that the audit office had threatened to cancel the contract with the two construction companies in January. Share prices of ITD tumbled 30% when markets opened on Monday against a benchmark (.SETI) , opens new tab drop of 1%. NO OTHER BUILDING COLLAPSED Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra ordered government agencies on Saturday to investigate the root cause of the building collapse within one week. The official Thai investigation is looking into the construction plan, the standard of the material used as well as possible unsafe action during the construction of the building. Han Zhinqiang, China's ambassador to Thailand, said on Sunday that China would cooperate in the investigation. Thai Industry Minister Akanat Promphan told Reuters that he was concerned sub-standard steel may have been used in the construction of the building as he led the team collecting samples from the rubble on Sunday. The material gathered was being tested at the site, and results were expected to be announced on Monday afternoon. The ministry has been cracking down on companies that have produced sub-standard steel over the past six months, shutting down seven factories and seizing 360 million baht (about $10 million) worth of assets from these steel companies, he said. "Many of these factories used an old production process and equipment relocated from China," Akanat said, adding: "This has led to sub-standard steel." Experts from the council of engineers that is assisting the government in surveying buildings around the Thai capital for earthquake damages speculated that the skyscraper could have collapsed due to unsafe material or poor planning in the building process. "It is strange that no other buildings suffered like this," Anek Siripanichgorn, a board member of the Council of Engineers Thailand told Reuters. "Even other tall buildings under construction, they did not collapse," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-watchdog-had-flagged-concerns-building-that-collapsed-earthquake-2025-03-31/