2025-03-19 07:48

BI policy rate kept at 5.75%, as expected Indonesian stocks sharp drops on Tuesday Room for rate cut still there, governor says JAKARTA, March 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank kept policy rates unchanged for a second straight review on Wednesday, as expected, against a backdrop of turmoil in local markets on concerns about global trade wars and the government's fiscal policy. Bank Indonesia (BI) held the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab steady at 5.75%, as expected by 19 of 31 analysts polled by Reuters. The rest had expected a rate cut. Sign up here. The central bank also left its two other key policy rates unchanged. The decision came after the rupiah and Jakarta's main stock index had dropped sharply on Tuesday as traders worried about the government's fiscal strategy and the country's economic growth outlook. The rupiah was little changed at 16,520 per dollar - near to its lowest levels in five years - following the central bank decision on Wednesday. Governor Perry Warjiyo said the currency should be strengthening based on Indonesia's fundamentals, but was under pressure due to technical factors linked to global economic uncertainties. Trump's trade and fiscal policies in the U.S. have led to heightened global market instability and a shift of portfolio investment flows, and BI expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut rates only once this year. Warjiyo said BI still sees room for further interest rate cuts of its own, but was waiting for the right time. "The room for rate cut is still there. We will do it, but please be patient because the global condition is not allowing for that yet," Warjiyo said. February saw the first annual fall in Indonesia's consumer price index since March 2000, largely due to the government's substantial electricity price discount, which meant the index was well outside BI's inflation target range of 1.5% to 3.5%. Growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy has for years stuck around 5%. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has a target of lifting growth to 8% during his term, which runs until 2029. BI kept its growth outlook for 2025 at 4.7% to 5.5%. "While there remains significant ambiguity over the monetary policy reaction function – and thus the timing and magnitude of future rate cuts – our base case remains for BI to next cut its policy rate by 25 bps once this year in Q2 2025 and once more next year in Q2," said Barclays economist Brian Tan. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/indonesia-central-bank-holds-rates-amid-market-uncertainties-2025-03-19/

2025-03-19 07:39

JAKARTA, March 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank kept policy rates unchanged for a second straight review on Wednesday, as expected, against a backdrop of turmoil in local markets on concerns about global trade wars and the government's fiscal policy. Bank Indonesia held the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab steady at 5.75%, as expected by 19 of 31 analysts polled by Reuters. The rest had expected a rate cut. Sign up here. The central bank also left its overnight deposit facility (IDCBID=ECI) , opens new tab and lending facility rates (IDCBIL=ECI) , opens new tab unchanged at 5.00% and 6.50%, respectively. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/indonesia-central-bank-holds-rates-amid-market-volatility-2025-03-19/

2025-03-19 07:30

MILAN, March 19 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab has agreed to sell stakes in assets in Ivory Coast and the Republic of Congo to global energy trader Vitol for an aggregate value of $1.65 billion at January 1 2024, with cash adjustment at closing. Vitol will acquire an interest in oil and gas producing assets and blocks undergoing exploration, appraisal and development, Eni said in a statement on Wednesday. Sign up here. The deal includes the Baleine project in Ivory Coast, where Eni has a 77,25% ownership interest and Vitol will acquire a 30% stake, and the Congo LNG project in the Republic of Congo, where Eni has a 65% stake and Vitol will acquire a 25% participating interest. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eni-agrees-sell-vitol-stakes-ivory-coast-congo-upstream-assets-2025-03-19/

2025-03-19 07:05

TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Higher imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas would enhance Japan's supply stability and energy security, but they must be pursued in a mutually beneficial manner for both parties, the head of Japan's gas industry group said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing energy sales to Asian allies while threatening trade tariffs, reviving Alaska's stalled LNG ambitions. Sign up here. Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with Trump and discussed the 20-million-tons-per-year Alaska LNG project, which is meant to transport gas from Alaska's remote north via a $44 billion 1,300-km (800-mile) pipeline and ships the fuel to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. "Although it is not limited to Alaska, we can enhance Japan's stable energy supply and security by boosting LNG procurement from the U.S.," Japan Gas Association Chairman Takeshi Uchida told a news conference on Wednesday. "However, we need to proceed in a way that is beneficial to both sides," he said. Uchida, who is also the chairman of Japan's biggest city gas provider, Tokyo Gas (9531.T) , opens new tab, said the Alaska LNG project is expected to cost more than 6 trillion yen ($40 billion), twice the cost of conventional LNG development. "To make it profitable, careful consideration is essential," he said. The Japanese government has not approached gas companies about expanding purchases of U.S. LNG, Uchida said. Japan is the world's second-biggest LNG buyer after China. Asked about the Trump administration's tariffs, Uchida said he is concerned that further measures, including retaliatory and reciprocal tariffs, could weaken the global economy and lead to a downturn. He warned that if Japan exports fewer automobiles and other products to the United States, domestic production may decline, potentially reducing energy consumption and affecting. ($1 = 149.8600 yen) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/japan-gas-industry-head-says-higher-us-lng-imports-must-be-mutually-beneficial-2025-03-19/

2025-03-19 06:35

SEOUL, March 19 (Reuters) - A board member of South Korea's central bank said on Wednesday household debt growth could take centre stage in policy discussions again amid an upswing in property prices, adding to views that the current easing cycle may end sooner than expected. "The interest rate cut cycle has begun and we may be able to (additionally) cut rates without harming price stability but we might be brought back into discussions about (stabilising) home prices and household debt as we did before," Chang Yong-sung, one of the Bank of Korea's seven voting board members told a news conference. Sign up here. "In fact the FX market situation is still on (our) mind too." The BOK on February 25 cut interest rates by 25 basis points (KROCRT=ECI) , opens new tab to 2.75%, the third reduction since it started cutting borrowing costs from a 15-year high in October, positioning Korean rates around 150 basis points below the U.S. Federal Reserve's target range of 4.25-4.50%. Most analysts anticipate two more rate cuts to 2.25% by the end of the year, despite the consensus that the Federal Reserve will likely implement fewer or no cuts in the coming months. South Korea is grappling with the economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff war, which is likely to undermine corporate profits. Domestic political unrest, following the brief declaration of martial law by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol in December, also continues to dampen consumer sentiment. On Wednesday, the government said it will tighten property market trading rules in wealthy parts of Seoul to stem any speculative transactions that have been boosting home prices in the country's capital. South Korea's household debt grew 2.2% in 2024 - the fastest pace in more than two years - to 1,927.3 trillion won ($1.34 trillion), prompting the financial regulator to announce plans to tighten borrowing rules in the second half of this year. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/bank-koreas-chang-says-need-monitor-household-debt-growth-2025-03-19/

2025-03-19 06:32

Trump, Zelenskiy say they have positive phone call Zelenskiy asks for additional US air defence support Trump briefs Ukrainian leader on his call with Putin Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of air attacks Prisoner swap facilitated by UAE goes ahead WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed on Wednesday to work together to end Russia's war with Ukraine, in what the White House described as a "fantastic" one-hour phone call. In their first conversation since an Oval Office shouting match on February 28, Zelenskiy thanked Trump for U.S. support and the two leaders agreed that technical teams would meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days. Sign up here. Zelenskiy asked Trump for more air defence support to protect his country against Russian attacks and the U.S. president said he would help locate the necessary military equipment in Europe, the White House said. Trump briefed Zelenskiy on his phone call on Tuesday with Vladimir Putin, in which the Russian president rejected a proposed full 30-day ceasefire sought by Trump that Ukraine said it would be prepared to accept, but agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure. That narrowly defined pause appeared in doubt on Wednesday, however, with Moscow saying Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia while Kyiv said Russia had struck hospitals and homes, and knocked out power to some railways. Still, the two sides carried out a prisoner exchange, each releasing 175 troops in a deal facilitated by the United Arab Emirates. Moscow said it freed an additional 22 wounded Ukrainians as a goodwill gesture. Zelenskiy, describing his conversation with Trump as "positive, very substantive and frank," said he had confirmed Kyiv's readiness to halt strikes on Russian infrastructure and to accept an unconditional frontline ceasefire as the U.S. proposed earlier. "One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it," he said on social media. Later, the Ukrainian president told reporters in a video call that Trump understands Kyiv will not recognize occupied land as Russian. Zelenskiy said the Russian strikes, which he said were carried out since Trump's call with Putin, showed that Russia was not ready for peace. He said the U.S. should be in charge of monitoring any ceasefire, adding a halt to infrastructure attacks could be quickly established. The Kremlin said it had called off planned attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, including by shooting down seven of Russia's own drones heading towards Ukraine. It accused Kyiv of failing to call off its own attacks in what it called an attempt to sabotage the agreement. Trump suggested to Zelenskiy the U.S. could help run, and possibly own, Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, according to a statement by the U.S. administration. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, has been shut down since Russian troops occupied it in 2022. Zelenskiy said Ukraine has begun talks with the U.S. about its possible involvement in restoring the Zaporizhzhia plant. EUROPEANS WARY Trump has long promised to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. But his outreach to Putin has unnerved European allies, who fear it heralds a fundamental shift after 80 years in which defending Europe from Russian expansionism was the core mission of U.S. foreign policy. Some European leaders said Putin's rejection of Trump's proposed full truce was proof Moscow was not seeking peace. The offer to temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities counted for "nothing" and Trump would have to win greater concessions, Germany's defence minister said. "Putin is playing a game here and I'm sure that the American president won't be able to sit and watch for much longer," Boris Pistorius told German broadcaster ZDF. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would present a proposal to European leaders in Brussels on Thursday to provide Ukraine with 2 million rounds of large-calibre artillery ammunition, according to a letter seen by Reuters. SCORES OF ATTACKS For most of the past three years, Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine's power grid, arguing that civilian infrastructure is a legitimate target because it facilitates Kyiv's fighting capabilities. Ukrainians say such attacks have subsided in recent months. Kyiv has steadily developed capabilities to mount long-range attacks into Russia, frequently using drones to target distant oil and gas sites, which it says provide fuel for Russia's troops and income to fund the war. In the attacks overnight, Ukrainian regional authorities said Russian drones damaged two hospitals in the northeastern Sumy region, causing no injuries but forcing the evacuation of patients and staff. Near Kyiv, a 60-year-old man was injured and airstrikes hit homes and businesses in the Bucha district north of the capital. Attacks damaged power systems for railways in Dnipropetrovsk in the south on Wednesday, the state railway said. Authorities in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar said a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot near the village of Kavkazskaya. No one was injured. The depot is a rail terminal for Russian oil supplies to a pipeline linking Kazakhstan to the Black Sea. A representative of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium operator said oil flows were stable. Two industry sources said the attack could reduce Russian supplies to the pipeline. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-trade-accusations-infrastructure-attacks-after-putin-trump-call-2025-03-19/