2025-03-17 10:12

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Britain's economy will grow more slowly than previously expected in 2025 and 2026 as global growth is hit by uncertainty, the OECD said on Monday, underscoring the challenge facing finance minister Rachel Reeves in her budget update speech next week. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development lowered its forecast for British growth this year to 1.4% from its December forecast of 1.7%. Growth in 2026 was trimmed to 1.2% from 1.3%. Sign up here. The Paris-based organisation cut its outlook for many other leading economies citing the rise in uncertainty and "significant changes" in trade policies. U.S. President Donald Trump has introduced import tariffs for many trading partners of the United States and has threatened to go further. Other countries have retaliated. Reeves is expected to announce a lowering of Britain's official economic forecasts in her budget update speech on March 26 that is likely to include spending cuts to keep her on track to meet her budget rules. Those official forecasts currently suggest Britain's economy will grow by 2% this year, far above most other estimates. The Bank of England recently halved its projection to 0.75%. "This report shows the world is changing, and increased global headwinds such as trade uncertainty are being felt across the board," Reeves said in response to the OECD forecasts. She highlighted how the OECD expected the UK to grow more quickly than France, Germany and Italy in 2025 and 2026 and would have the second-fastest growth in the Group of Seven economies after the United States. The OECD said British inflation was likely to average 2.7% in 2025 and 2.3% in 2026, unchanged from its December forecast but higher than in other big European economies. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/oecd-cuts-uk-growth-forecasts-reeves-readies-budget-update-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 09:40

MADRID, March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy has made the European Central Bank's monetary policy decisions more difficult, its Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Monday. The increased uncertainty caused by Trump's tariffs "has reduced the clarity regarding future decisions," de Guindos said in an interview with Spanish radio station Onda Cero. "You move in a situation much more opaque than just six months ago." Sign up here. Inflation will probably hit the ECB's 2% target in the first quarter of 2026, later than the previously expected date of mid-2025 due to higher energy prices, de Guindos said. But de Guindos insisted that "everything is moving in the right direction." Any direct effect on consumer prices from tariffs could be offset in the longer term by slower economic activity, he said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ecbs-de-guindos-trump-trade-policy-making-situation-more-opaque-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 07:52

JAKARTA, March 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia will issue Freeport Indonesia a six-month permit to export copper concentrate while its smelter is repaired, which will also ensure the government continues to receive royalty payments, the energy minister said on Monday. Freeport has been seeking the permit after it was forced to stop copper cathode production at its new smelter in Gresik, in East Java province, after a fire damaged the plant last October. Sign up here. "We are giving six months so that they can expeditiously fix the smelter so that Indonesia can get state revenues from the royalties," Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said. The company obtained a quota of about 1.27 million metric tons to export its copper concentrate, chief executive Tony Wenas was quoted by news website Bisnis.com as saying, adding the company will now seek a formal export permit from the country's trade ministry. A trade ministry spokesperson said Freeport Indonesia had submitted its request to them. Freeport has not exported copper concentrate since its last permit expired at the end of 2024. It has said its mining operation was running at 40% capacity due to a rising stockpile of copper concentrate, which has reached 400,000 metric tons. Last week, Freeport said it would seek to export 1.2 million tons of concentrate. Freeport Indonesia and Indonesia's energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Resource-rich Indonesia has imposed an export ban on unprocessed minerals, such as copper and nickel, to promote the development of a domestic processing industry. Bahlil was speaking on Monday at the launch of Freeport Indonesia's precious metals refinery, which is in the Gresik smelter complex. The $630 million refinery processes gold, silver, platinum and palladium, according to the presentation shown at the livestreamed event. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indonesia-extends-freeport-indonesias-copper-export-permit-six-months-minister-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 07:45

Also signs long-term offtake contract for dysprosium and terbium Secures 50% of Caremag's heavy rare earths oxides production Deal ensures 20% of Japan's future demand for two minerals TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) - Japan's state-owned JOGMEC, tasked with ensuring minerals and energy security, and gas firm Iwatani (8088.T) , opens new tab said on Monday they will invest up to 110 million euros ($120 million) in a French rare earths refining project to diversify procurement. The move is part of efforts by Japan and its allies to strengthen the supply chains of critical minerals, essential for electric vehicles (EVs) and other advanced technologies, while cutting dependence on China. Sign up here. In a joint statement, the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and Iwatani said they would provide up to 110 million euros in equity and debt financing to Caremag, a unit of France's Carester. The investment would go through a joint venture, Japan France Rare Earths, they added, but gave no timeframe and declined to comment on the size of their stakes in Caremag. They have also signed a long-term offtake contract with Caremag to secure half its output of heavy rare earth oxides, primarily dysprosium and terbium, used in magnets for EV motors, offshore wind turbines and electronic components. Caremag is building a rare earth refining plant in France's southwestern region of Pyrenées-Atlantiques, which is expected to produce more than 1,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides mainly from recycled magnets. Initially it will also process mining concentrates, however. Its production capacity include 500 tons of dysprosium and 90 tons of terbium, a JOGMEC official said. The deal is expected to secure about 20% of Japan's future demand for the two minerals, an industry ministry official said. Japan now relies mostly on China for supply of the two minerals. The investment support from JOGMEC is its first for a stand-alone refinery project, made possible by the revision of the JOGMEC Act in the fiscal year 2020. Iwatani, which has been importing rare earths and supplying them to the Japanese market since the 1990s, aims to strengthen the rare earth supply chain. Earlier on Monday, the Nikkei business daily said Japan's government planned to invest in Carester's rare earths project, while the French government would also provide about 100 million euros in financial support. ($1=0.9188 euros) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/japan-invest-100-million-euros-french-rare-earths-project-government-official-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 07:43

Alaska wants investors for proposed $44 billion LNG pipeline Japanese firms have yet to commit to Alaska LNG project Trump's Japan ambassador says he will pursue LNG commitment TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) - Alaska's governor and state representatives will visit Japan and three other Asian countries starting this week to court investors for a natural gas project President Donald Trump says could pump trillions of dollars into the U.S., although Japanese energy firms remain sceptical. Officials from the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) and development partner Glenfarne Group will visit allied Asian countries "to update industry leaders on Alaska LNG's economic and strategic competitive advantages, and discuss opportunities for participation", said AGDC spokesperson Tim Fitzpatrick. Sign up here. The officials want to transport gas south from Alaska's remote north via a $44 billion 1,300-km (800-mile) pipeline, to be shipped as liquefied natural gas to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The trip, which Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy will also be taking, runs from March 19 to March 30 with visits to Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Japan. "He's going to be going over there to hold high-level discussions with the leaders in all those countries and corporate executives to talk about the pipeline," said Jeff Turner, Dunleavy's spokesperson. "If we can get a pipeline project going, we can certainly be a steady supplier of LNG to the Pacific Rim." Dunleavy said last week that exports could begin by 2030 and deliver about 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Trump is pushing energy sales to Asian allies while threatening trade tariffs, reviving Alaska's stalled LNG ambitions. On February 7, he asked Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for support and on March 4 South Korea agreed to discuss the project. The same day Trump told Congress that Japan and South Korea wanted to partner on Alaskan LNG. Trump's support will be "helpful to the accelerated advancement of the project", Glenfarne said in an email. South Korea's industry ministry said AGDC had asked for a meeting, but that nothing has been decided. RESERVATIONS Despite Trump's claim that Japan wants in, Japanese energy firms have yet to commit. "Companies are interested in it, but still have a lot of reservations," said Hiroshi Hashimoto, a senior analyst at the government-affiliated Institute of Energy Economics, adding that the project's higher costs had been a focal point for years. Potential investors include Japan's biggest oil and gas explorer Inpex Corp (1605.T) , opens new tab, trading firms Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) , opens new tab and Mitsui & Co (8031.T) , opens new tab, top LNG buyer JERA, and the government's Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and the Japan Bank of International Cooperation, which finance overseas energy projects, two sources familiar with AGDC's outreach said on condition of anonymity. "The question is whether it can be economically sustainable," Inpex CEO Takayuki Ueda said at a briefing last month. Alaska's extreme cold and the pipeline's scale had hindered progress, he added. The government, Inpex's largest shareholder, has not given any guidance on Alaska, a company spokesperson said. The companies, including Inpex, and the banks declined to say whether they will meet the Alaskan representatives in Tokyo. Fitzpatrick said the natural gas feedstock is inexpensive in Alaska which means the project can compete with projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast, despite the initial costs. Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure on Ishiba to ease trade frictions with U.S. gas imports looks set to intensify. "Japan has committed to reduce the trade deficit with us and its reliance on Russia by purchasing U.S. liquefied natural gas. I will hold them to that promise," George Glass, Trump's pick for Japan ambassador, said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/alaskan-officials-seek-investors-japan-trump-touts-lng-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 07:42

March 17 (Reuters) - A deal for Carlyle (CG.O) , opens new tab to buy assets from Energean (ENOG.L) , opens new tab for up to $945 million is at risk of collapsing as some regulatory hurdles have not been cleared ahead of a deadline this week, Energean said on Monday. The two companies reached an agreement last June which would allow private equity fund Carlyle to form a new Mediterranean-focused oil and gas company led by former BP (BP.L) , opens new tab CEO Tony Hayward on the basis of Energean assets in Egypt, Italy and Croatia. Sign up here. "Certain regulatory approvals in Italy and Egypt have not yet been obtained by Carlyle (or waived) and the Company has no assurance that such conditions will be satisfied on or before 20 March 2025 in accordance with the terms of the binding Sale and Purchase Agreement," Energean said. It added that no extension has yet been agreed upon. "Therefore, (absent an extension being agreed) the transaction may be terminated." https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/carlyle-deal-buy-energean-assets-risk-collapsing-2025-03-17/