2025-03-21 07:30
LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - The fire at a sub-station near Heathrow Airport was described as "catastrophic" by Britain's energy minister, who said that the back-up generator for the airport had also been affected by the blaze. He said there was a further back-up system which National Grid was seeking to use to restore power. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-energy-minister-says-heathrow-fire-catastrophic-2025-03-21/
2025-03-21 07:30
March 21 (Reuters) - India's Adani Energy Solutions (ADAI.NS) , opens new tab, the power transmission arm of billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Group, has won a 28 billion rupee ($325 million) project in the western state of Gujarat, it said on Friday. The project will create a power transmission system for a green hydrogen/ammonia manufacturing unit in Mundra, Gujarat and will be completed in three years, the company said in an exchange filing. Sign up here. The company's total orderbook stands at 575.61 billion rupees, it said. India is aiming to produce 5 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen by 2030 and will need 125 gigawatts of renewable energy for that. The government is targeting at least 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity by 2030, up from 165 GW currently. However, a lack of power transmission infrastructure is leading to delays in setting up renewable energy projects and cancellation of projects. ($1 = 86.1500 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-adani-energy-solutions-wins-325-million-transmission-project-2025-03-21/
2025-03-21 07:29
BERLIN, March 21 (Reuters) - Germany seized a decrepit tanker found adrift off its northern coast in January that is believed to be part of a shadow fleet used by Russia to circumvent oil sanctions, Spiegel news magazine reported on Friday, citing security sources. The Panama-flagged ship, called Eventin, was secured by German maritime authorities after being found off the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, prompting Berlin to sharply rebuke Moscow. The tanker had been heading from Russia to Egypt. Sign up here. Spiegel reported that a confiscation order has been issued for the tanker, meaning the vessel and its cargo of around 100,000 metric tons of oil, worth some 40 million euros ($43.33 million), now become German property. The German finance ministry, which oversees the customs authorities, declined to comment in detail on the matter given the current security situation, a spokesperson said in Berlin, alluding to high Russian-Western tensions over the war in Ukraine. "Customs measures are currently under way." The local customs authority said in a statement that the measures had not yet been made legally binding, without commenting further on the case. Moscow has no information about the ship and no knowledge about its owner or reasons for its seizure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, responding to a Reuters query. Eventin was included in the European Union's 16th package of sanctions targeting Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The package aimed to put extra pressure on Russia's "shadow fleet" - vessels used by Russia to move oil, arms and grains around in violation of sanctions. The vessels are not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers. Germany continues to work with its partners on closing this loophole, which Russia uses to finance its war in Ukraine, a spokesperson for the German foreign office said. ($1 = 0.9231 euros) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-confiscates-tanker-belonging-russian-shadow-fleet-spiegel-reports-2025-03-21/
2025-03-21 07:18
COPENHAGEN, March 21 (Reuters) - Norwegian aluminium producer Hydro (NHY.OL) , opens new tab said on Friday it will invest 1.65 billion crowns ($156.29 million) in a new facility at its aluminium smelter in Karmoy, Norway, to supply aluminium wire for power cables in Europe. The new wire rod casthouse in Karmoy will have a capacity of 110,000 tonnes per year, Hydro said in a statement. Sign up here. Completion of the casthouse is scheduled for the first quarter of 2028 and production is expected to start the same year, according to Hydro. "By expanding the capacity to deliver low-carbon aluminium from Norway to the EU, we help ensure that the infrastructure, the very backbone of the future energy system, supports both Europe's security and climate policy goals," Hydro CEO Eivind Kallevik said. Norway currently accounts for 40 percent of the aluminium produced in Europe, the company added. ($1 = 10.5570 Norwegian crowns) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/norways-hydro-invests-156-mln-new-aluminium-wire-facility-2025-03-21/
2025-03-21 07:11
MUMBAI, March 21 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee inched up on Friday, maintaining its weekly upward trend, with dollar inflows helping mitigate the impact of the decline in Asian peers. The rupee was up 0.25% at 86.1475 to the U.S. dollar at 12:16 p.m. IST, extending its weekly advance to 0.72%. Sign up here. The local currency is on course for its best weekly performance in two years on the back of inflows via foreign banks and amid traders unwinding speculative long-dollar positions. Large foreign banks were "privy" to a major flow this week and have been on the offer on dollar/rupee "all through" this week, a currency trader at a bank said. It was likely that the inflow is related to the possible dollar funds raised in the lead to the Reserve Bank of India's next week FX swap, he said, adding that the rupee will face "stiff resistance" at the current level and "may not able to take it out". On Friday, bankers mentioned equity inflow related to the rebalancing of the FTSE's All-World Index is likely to have boosted the rupee in the face of weak Asian cues. The rebalancing, which will take effect from Friday, is expected to garner inflows of about $1.5 billion. The majority of Asian currencies declined on Friday, while the dollar index inched up tentatively. The primary focus for Asian currency traders remains on U.S. trade policy and the trajectory of U.S. economic growth. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/indian-rupee-set-best-week-2-years-dollar-inflows-2025-03-21/
2025-03-21 07:02
MUMBAI, March 21 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee's recent rally and a sizeable decline in hedging costs are expected to catalyze the participation of companies in the Reserve Bank of India's $10 billion FX swap next week. On Wednesday, the RBI will absorb $10 billion from the market and inject an equivalent amount of rupees in the banking system, with the reversal set to take place after three years. Bidding for the swap will be held on Monday. Sign up here. The RBI conducted a swap of a similar size and duration late last month. These swaps are part of the central bank's efforts over the last two months to boost rupee liquidity in the banking system amid slowing economic growth. At the time, the rupee was at 87.30/87.40 against the U.S. dollar and the three-year hedging cost, or long-term forward points, was at 6.70/6.90 rupees. The rupee has rallied since then, hitting a two-month high of 86.20 this week, while hedging costs have declined to 6.00/6.20 rupees, resulting in a more favourable environment for firms seeking to hedge their long-term dollar exposures and secure rupee funding. The current rates "are quite attractive for corporates to lock into fully-hedged rupee cost, which is lower than borrowing in rupees directly," said B. Prasanna, head - treasury, at ICICI Bank. "Apart from fresh external commercial borrowing (ECB) hedging demand, there will be demand for hedging old ones that were being hedged by rolling over short-term FX swaps." Bankers have said that the extended window between the RBI's swap announcement and the bid submission date, compared to the previous auction, will allow corporates and asset-liability desks of banks more time to secure dollar liabilities and hedge them through the RBI auction. A "lot of corporates" would be interested, with larger and more active corporate treasuries waiting to take advantage of the lower rate expected in the RBI auction, Prasanna said. Ritesh Bhusari, joint general manager for Treasury at South Indian Bank, concurred, saying that the rally in the rupee and decline in forward points, "bodes well" for the participation of corporates at the swap auction. Bankers expect a cutoff rate in the range of 5.70 to 5.90 rupees at the swap auction, a decline from the 6.55-rupee cutoff in the prior auction. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/indian-rupee-rally-lower-hedging-costs-spur-corporate-interest-central-banks-fx-2025-03-21/
