2025-02-28 14:29
MUMBAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee logged its fifth straight monthly fall in February, weighed down by foreign portfolio outflows and increased hedging in the onshore and the non-deliverable forward market. The rupee ended at 87.4950 against the U.S. dollar compared with 87.20 in the previous session. The domestic unit fell 1% in February, and slipped to an all-time low of 87.95 during the month. However, periodic intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) largely curbed one-way moves on the domestic unit and prevented speculators from betting against the rupee. The RBI conducted a three-year dollar-rupee buy-sell swap auction on Friday, drawing bids 1.6 times the $10 billion notified amount, following a $5 billion six-month swap in January. India's sluggish economic growth, uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and rising possibility of a global trade war have hit foreign investors' demand for Indian financial assets. Foreign investors have net sold nearly $3.5 billion of local stocks so far in February, taking the total outflows to about $12.5 billion in 2025. The benchmark BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and the broader NSE Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab fell 5.6% and 5.9%, respectively, during the month. "The outlook continues to favour dollar bulls, supported by sustained demand from importers and continued foreign portfolio investor outflows," said Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities. The dollar-rupee pair faces "strong" resistance around 88 levels, Parmar said. Asian currencies were volatile during the month while the dollar index dropped. On Thursday, Trump said his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on March 4 along with an extra 10% duty on Chinese imports. "We expect a peak protectionism risk premium in FX in the second quarter, which implies a stronger dollar and a weakening of developed European and emerging Asia currencies," ING Bank said in a note. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-falls-fifth-straight-month-february-outflows-hedging-demand-2025-02-28/
2025-02-28 14:12
Russia's inflation seen at a median of 7% in 2025 Russia's 2025 GDP growth seen at 1.7% Russia's central bank seen keeping rates on hold in March MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Russian central bank is seen keeping the key interest rate on hold at 21% at its meeting on March 21 while the rouble is seen retreating after the rally at the start of the year, a Reuters poll of 11 economists showed on Friday. The central bank's governor Elvira Nabiullina said this week that the interest rate is at the appropriate level to stop inflation from accelerating, while a turnaround in factors affecting prices is being observed. The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 21% last year, the highest since the early 2000s, to cool the economy and reduce inflation, which is currently running at about 10%. Economists saw the rate of inflation falling to a median of 7% by the end of the year from the current rate of around 10%, compared with 6.8% seen in the previous poll. The Russian rouble has strengthened by around 22% against the dollar so far this year and by 10% since the start of February, mostly due to expectations of better relations with the United States and an eventual peaceful settlement in Ukraine. "Any positive geopolitical news will be an important disinflationary factor," said Dmitry Polevoy of Astra Asset Management. The rouble is seen retreating from the multi-month highs of around 87 to the dollar it had reached during the rally to a median of 93 to the dollar by the end of March and to 105 to the dollar in 12 months from now. "In January-February, the rouble exhibited abnormal strength. We expect that in the coming weeks the rouble will stay possessed by the geopolitical headlines and volatility," Rosbank's Evgeny Koshelev said. Economic growth is seen slowing down to 1.7% in 2025, the same as in the previous poll. The Russian economy grew by 4.1% in 2024. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/russias-central-bank-seen-keeping-key-interest-rate-hold-march-meeting-2025-02-28/
2025-02-28 12:56
Feb 28 (Reuters) - Midstream company MPLX (MPLX.N) , opens new tab said on Friday it would buy the remaining 55% interest in the BANGL natural gas pipeline from the affiliates of WhiteWater and Diamondback Energy (FANG.O) , opens new tab for $715 million, as it looks to increase its Permian footprint. Dealmaking in the pipeline sector has been picking up pace as some companies look to cut costs or add scale and gain access to attractive oil and gas producing regions and export facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The 425-mile BANGL pipeline transports natural gas liquids from the Permian basin of Texas to fractionation markets along the Gulf Coast. It will help liquids to reach MPLX's Gulf Coast fractionation complex, which is expected in service in 2028. Natural gas liquids include a group of hydrocarbons extracted from natural gas in a processing plant, and are used as feedstocks in petrochemical plants, for heating, cooking and various other applications. The BANGL pipeline currently moves 250,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids. Earlier this month, an expansion of the pipeline was sanctioned to increase its capacity to 300,000 bpd, expected to come online in the second half of next year. MPLX, the operator of the pipeline, will own BANGL as a subsidiary if the deal closes by July this year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/mplx-buy-remaining-interest-bangl-natural-gas-pipeline-715-million-2025-02-28/
2025-02-28 12:52
Steelmaker says ban threatens dozens of projects Rare clash between leading company and regional boss Row highlights Russia's labour shortage problems MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russian steelmaker Severstal (CHMF.MM) , opens new tab on Friday slammed a decision by a regional governor to ban migrant workers in the construction industry and said the move could cause serious harm to industrial projects. The company reacted swiftly and sharply to the ban, announced in a decree on Thursday by Georgy Filimonov, governor of the Vologda region northwest of Moscow. The rare public clash between a powerful regional politician and a major business highlights Russia's reliance on migrant workers and the difficulties that companies are facing as the country grapples with a widespread shortage of labour. "Such measures jeopardise the implementation of dozens of construction projects, both in the region's industrial and social spheres," Severstal said in a statement on the ban. It said the move would "seriously complicate" its plan to build a low-pollution iron ore factory in Cherepovets, a major city in the region, where it plans to invest over 120 billion roubles ($1.36 billion) this year, and could jeopardise a contract with a Chinese supplier. Heavy recruitment by the armed forces and defence industries has drawn workers away from civilian enterprises, and hundreds of thousands of Russians have left the country since President Vladimir Putin sent his army into Ukraine in 2022. With unemployment at a record low of 2.3%, Putin has flagged labour shortages as a major economic problem. Filimonov, the Vologda governor, did not state the grounds for the migrant ban, but he has publicly questioned why businesses cannot recruit local workers. Migrant workers from Central Asia have described growing hostility towards them in Russia since Islamist militants from Tajikistan attacked the Crocus City Hall, a concert venue near Moscow, killing 145 people, in March 2024. Nationalist politicians are ratcheting up rhetoric against foreigners and pushing legislation that impacts the lives of migrants working in Russia or those wanting to do so. Filimonov in October published a video showing workers putting the finishing touches to a new, life-sized statue of Soviet-era leader Josef Stalin. Videos previously published by Filimonov demonstrate an affinity for Soviet leaders, and photographs of secret police chiefs Lavrentiy Beria and Felix Dzerzhinsky hang on the walls of his office. He has dubbed a painting of himself shaking hands with Stalin, which hangs in his reception room, as "conceptual". Severstal said its repeated efforts to engage with the regional administration had been rebuffed. "Instead of constructive interaction, we were confronted with the distortion of facts, manipulation and a refusal to comply with agreements already reached," Severstal said. ($1 = 88.4500 roubles) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russias-severstal-warns-construction-risks-region-bans-migrant-labour-2025-02-28/
2025-02-28 12:41
Avalanche hits construction workers' camp, trapping 57 At least 16 people rescued so far Rain and snowfall hindering rescue work, officials say NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - At least 41 people remain trapped under snow after an avalanche struck the Indian Himalayan mountain state of Uttarakhand, authorities said on Friday, following recent heavy snowfall in the region. The avalanche occurred near a highway in the state's Chamoli region, adjoining Tibet, and less than 5 km (3 miles) from the Hindu temple of Badrinath, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of devotees every year. It struck a labour site of the federal Border Roads Organisation (BRO), where eight containers and one shed, with 57 workers inside, were buried under the snow, according to an Indian army statement. Five of the containers had been located, the statement said, and the search for the remaining three was ongoing. At least sixteen workers had so far been rescued, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters. There was no indication of any casualties. Chamoli's District Administrator Sandeep Tiwari said that rain and snowfall were limiting mobility and the use of helicopter services. Members of the army were seen carrying a person on a stretcher through knee-deep snow, in images shared on X, as more snow continued to fall. India's weather department expects "heavy to very heavy" snowfall - defined as at least 12 centimetres (5 inches) of snow - over the state through Friday and to then subside "significantly". Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed for the rescue operation were also facing delays in reaching the workers, senior NDRF official Mohsen Shahedi told Reuters. Uttarakhand, which is located in the Himalayas, is increasingly prone to flash floods and landslides due to rising global temperatures, and environmentalists have urged a review of power projects and other development work there. At least 80 people were killed and more than 200 reported missing when a part of a glacier in the state broke away in February 2021. An avalanche in 2022 killed 16 people. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/least-47-people-feared-trapped-after-glacier-burst-indian-himalayas-tv-reports-2025-02-28/
2025-02-28 12:25
LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The pound eased on Friday as nervy investors flocked to the dollar in light of growing pessimism over the outlook for the U.S. economy as President Donald Trump's tariffs are about to come into force. That said, sterling was still heading for its first monthly rise since September, driven less by optimism over the UK economy and more by the prospect of UK rates taking longer to fall than those elsewhere. Sterling was down 0.2% on the day at $1.259, having risen 1.6% in February, the most in a month since September's 1.9% gain. Traders expect both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England to deliver around two rate cuts this year, with a growing chance of a third. They currently believe U.S. rates will end the year at 3.73%, compared with 3.8% in Britain, according to the interest-rate futures market. The difference is starker with the European Central Bank, which is expected to cut euro zone rates at least three more times before the year is out, which would leave rates below 2%. The euro has also been under broader pressure after Trump threatened to apply a 25% tariff to European Union exports of cars and other goods. The possibility of U.S. duties on EU goods, in addition to those on Mexico, Canada and China, has been on the cards for some time, but now appears to be closer. This week, the euro has fallen to its weakest against the pound since mid-December, having lost over 2.5% since Trump took office on January 20. On Friday, it was roughly flat on the day at 82.56 pence. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Trump in Washington for the first time on Thursday to discuss a range of topics, including peace in Ukraine, as well as European spending on defence and tariffs. The UK is less exposed to the risk of tariffs than the EU, given that it boasts a trade surplus with the U.S. and most exports are in the form of services. Trump and Starmer said they had discussed a trade deal and the U.S. president suggested Britain could be spared. "Sterling could continue to outperform in the short run, particularly against the euro and riskier currencies, although a lot is already priced in," BBVA strategists said in a note. The next risk event for currencies is the release of the U.S. personal consumption expenditures index (PCE), which reflects broad consumer price pressures and could prove key in setting expectations for where U.S. interest rates may head in the first half of the year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-set-first-monthly-rise-since-september-2025-02-28/
