2025-03-18 20:15
March 18 (Reuters) - Energy company NextDecade (NEXT.O) , opens new tab said on Tuesday that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia had revised its August 2024 judgment against the energy regulator's order allowing the construction of the company's LNG project in Texas. NextDecade's flagship facility has been in development for several years and has already suffered repeated delays. Sign up here. The revised court decision sends the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's order regarding the first five liquefaction trains at the Rio Grande LNG facility back for further review, while the order itself remains in place. "We are pleased with today's revised court judgment, which ensures construction at the Rio Grande LNG facility will not be impacted by the court," said chief executive officer Matt Schatzman. The court ruled last year to overturn the FERC's approval for the initial phase of the company's $18.4 billion Rio Grande LNG project. It ordered the regulator to reconsider the project's impact, which could require a new environmental impact statement and a public comment period. The first phase of the project, with a capacity of 17.61 million tons per annum of liquid gas, was scheduled to be completed by early 2029 at an estimated cost of $18 billion. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-court-revises-ferc-order-nextdecades-lng-facility-2025-03-18/
2025-03-18 20:10
WELLINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - Consumer confidence in New Zealand softened in the first quarter as global trade war risks and ongoing cost of living pressures weigh on confidence, a survey showed on Wednesday. The Westpac-McDermott Miller consumer confidence index fell to 89.2 from 97.5 in the previous quarter. A reading above 100 indicates more optimists than pessimists. Sign up here. Westpac said it’s been a rocky start to the year and household confidence levels across the country have taken a knock. “There are a range of concerns that are still worrying New Zealand households, and that’s likely to be a brake on spending for a few more months at least,” it added. https://www.reuters.com/markets/new-zealand-consumer-confidence-weakens-survey-says-2025-03-18/
2025-03-18 20:06
RIO DE JANEIRO, March 18 (Reuters) - Brazil could cut prices for firms to access gas pipelines and natural gas processing units, in a bid to lower consumer prices, Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira said on Tuesday. Silveira was speaking at an event hours before the government released a new study on the subject. Sign up here. State-run oil firm Petrobras is the leading operator of pipelines that transport the raw material produced offshore, where most of Brazil's production comes from. It also operates onshore gas processing units. In Brazil, offshore gas producers pay Petrobras and private firms to use their pipelines and processing infrastructure at a cost the government believes is too high, which is passed on to consumers. Without mentioning Petrobras or other energy companies, Silveira said the current system makes gas more expensive and added he was tasked by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to find ways to lower gas prices. The government's proposed changes and estimates on how much it would cut prices for access to gas pipelines and processing units are detailed in a study by Brazil's Energy Research Company (EPE), said Silveira. Petrobras did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/brazils-government-wants-lower-prices-natgas-pipeline-processing-minister-says-2025-03-18/
2025-03-18 19:47
Tinubu declares state of emergency in Rivers State Pipeline vandalism prompts federal intervention Political crisis in Rivers State involves PDP factions ABUJA, March 18 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in oil-producing Rivers State and suspended the state governor, his deputy and all lawmakers. Tinubu, in a television broadcast, said he had received security reports in the last two days of "disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them." Sign up here. "With all these and many more, no good and responsible president will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the constitution to address the situation in the state," added Tinubu. Police said earlier they were investigating the cause of a blast in Rivers state that resulted in a fire on Nigeria's Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal. Rivers, in the Niger Delta, is a major source of crude oil and militants have in the past blown up pipelines, hampering production and exports. The state has been embroiled in a political crisis pitting factions of the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) against each other. The state lawmakers had also threatened to impeach the governor and his deputy. Tinubu's state of emergency enables the federal government to make regulations to run the state and also allow authorities to easily deploy security forces to bring order if needed. Tinubu nominated a retired vice admiral as caretaker to run the affairs of Rivers State for an initial six months. The president said he had sent a copy of his proclamation to the National Assembly, which can endorse or reject his decision. "For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate," said Tinubu. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-president-declares-state-emergency-oil-producing-rivers-state-2025-03-18/
2025-03-18 19:11
Canadian dollar falls 0.1% against the greenback Touches a 12-day intraday high at 1.4271 Canada's inflation rate increases to 2.6% Bond yields trade mixed across the curve TORONTO, March 18 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, pulling back from an earlier 12-day high, as equity markets fell and investors looked past hotter-than-expected Canadian inflation data. The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.4305 per U.S. dollar, or 69.91 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since March 6 at 1.4271. Sign up here. Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 2.6% in February, surpassing expectations for a rate of 2.2%, as a sales tax break that ended in the middle of the month pushed prices higher amid an already broad-based increase. "The Canadian dollar jumped and then gave it right back," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive. "I think the market is a little bit more concerned about growth right now." Investors see a 38% chance of a Bank of Canada interest rate cut at its next policy decision on April 16, slightly less than before the data. Wall Street's main indexes were lower on worries about the economic impact of U.S. tariff policies ahead of a monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve. Canada is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to be sensitive to the signal that equities send about the economic outlook. The price of oil , one of Canada's major exports, settled 1% lower at $66.90 a barrel as Ukraine peace talks offset worries about Mideast instability. Canadian government bond yields were mixed across the curve. The 10-year was up less than half a basis point at 3.017% after pulling back from an earlier high of 3.110%. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-dips-after-short-lived-boost-inflation-data-2025-03-18/
2025-03-18 17:58
Argentina cenbank speeds up FX sales to support currency Pressure on peso has risen amid IMF deal uncertainty Government has rebuilt reserves, but they remain in the red BUENOS AIRES, March 18 (Reuters) - Argentina's central bank is being forced to sell dollars at an accelerated rate to prop up the peso amid rising global uncertainty, including questions over a new deal with the International Monetary Fund. The bank, which has been battling for over a year to reverse a deep deficit in foreign currency reserves, sold off over half a billion dollars in the latest two rounds of interventions, breaking a six-week streak of net dollar purchases. Sign up here. Argentina's government has won over markets and investors since libertarian President Javier Milei took office in late 2023 with a tough "zero deficit" austerity program, but rebuilding depleted reserves has been slow. Milei is seeking a new IMF program to bolster state finances battered by years of overspending and deep fiscal deficits. However, key program details remain uncertain and the plan faces potential pushback in Congress. That uncertainty has pressured the peso this year after a strong 2024, re-widening the gap between the tightly controlled official exchange rate and popular parallel rates used by many Argentines. On Tuesday the official rate dipped to 1,068.5 per dollar while the black market rate hit 1,260 per dollar, with a gap of around 18%. That gap almost disappeared late last year, after widening to almost 200% in recent years. "The market is showing uncertainty regarding the exchange rate pattern for the coming months, with parallel dollars in demand," said Juan Franco, chief economist at Grupo SBS. "In addition we're seeing some pressure on the prices of dollar futures contracts, which show implied increases greater than the 1% monthly crawling peg (controlled devaluation) mandated by the government." On Friday the bank sold $474 million, its second biggest single day of sales under Milei. That was "one of the worst days of the Milei era," said Roberto Geretto, co-head portfolio manager of Adcap Asset Management in Buenos Aires. However, he suggested it could be a one-off event and that "a stumble is not a fall." "This doesn't overshadow the fact that it has already purchased more than $3 billion this year, marking one of the best starts since records began. Therefore, what happened on Friday is unlikely to be the start of a new trend." In a recent decree, the government said net foreign currency reserves were negative $11.2 billion when it took office in December 2023. A $7 billion improvement since then left reserves at around $4 billion in the red as of March 6. In that decree, Milei preemptively promoted a new loan program with the IMF that would reduce Treasury debt with the central bank. The deal has not yet been agreed with the IMF, though the fund has said talks have been positive. The government has pledged to eventually undo tight capital controls, which could be aided by new IMF funds. However, it needs to keep bringing down inflation, which has slid under Milei but remained over 2% monthly in recent months. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/argentina-central-bank-speeds-up-fx-sales-prop-up-peso-2025-03-18/
