2025-02-11 10:18
DUBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. tariffs are an "evolving story" and it is too early to assess their impact on the world economy, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday. "It is an evolving story... What we have are elements of trade policy that we expected would come, that was announced in the election campaign, but there are many, many unknowns", she told the World Government Summit in Dubai. "So when I think of the impact on the world economy, my answer to you would be today, it's too early to say." Georgieva said the world economy appeared remarkably resilient, despite a series of unprecedented shocks. The outlook for inflation was hard to predict, she suggested. "Even on that, we just need to see how things evolve. Because if we are in the situation in which, in some parts of the world, there is a slowdown that may push central banks to bring interest rates down, that may actually not be inflationary." U.S. President Donald Trump substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday to a flat 25%, a move he hopes will aid the struggling industries in the United States but which also risks sparking a multi-front trade war. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/too-early-assess-us-tariffs-impact-world-economy-imf-managing-director-says-2025-02-11/
2025-02-11 10:06
MUMBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee rallied on Tuesday on the back of strong intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, which traders said could deter heavy speculative positioning against the currency in the near term. The rupee closed 0.7% higher at 86.8275 against the U.S. dollar, logging its biggest one-day gain since March 2023. The RBI likely sold between $4 billion and $7 billion to shore up the currency on Monday to help it hold above the 88 handle and the intervention continued on Tuesday, traders said. The currency hit its all-time low of 87.95 in the previous session. The intervention "overpowered the market and led to cutting of long positions (on USD/INR)," a trader at a mid-sized foreign bank said, noting that trading volumes on the day were "quite huge." Concerns about a potential trade war, persistent foreign selling from domestic stocks and policy easing by the RBI have weighed on the rupee this year and prompted speculators to wager against the currency. Foreign investors have net sold nearly $10 billion of local stocks so far this year, while the RBI cut policy rates last week for the first time in nearly five years to shore up growth in a sluggish economy. While the RBI's intervention helped the rupee on Tuesday, it has declined over 1% in 2025 so far and is among Asia's worst-performing currencies. The way the RBI interventions have panned out over the last two days, it would be better to "go with the flow" on the rupee, said Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities. On a technical basis though, Parmar expects the rupee to find resistance near 86.30 and pegged support for the currency at 87.40. Meanwhile, the dollar index dipped to 108.2 as focus turned to remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-rallies-most-nearly-2-years-heavy-central-bank-intervention-2025-02-11/
2025-02-11 09:43
NAIROBI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed. At 0931 GMT, the shilling was quoted at 128.90/129.40 per dollar, the same level it closed at on Monday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyan-shilling-flat-against-dollar-lseg-data-shows-2025-02-11/
2025-02-11 09:23
Feb 11 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange platform BestChange has said it is unsure why its website was blocked by Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, but that it is in touch with the central bank to try to lift the ban. Circulating and advertising digital currencies is banned in Russia, although using cryptocurrency for international payments is now legal, as is cryptocurrency mining. "bestchange.ru has been restricted in Russia by Roskomnadzor," the platform said late on Monday in response to a request for comment. "Unfortunately, we cannot account for the exact reason why this has happened. "We are communicating with the central bank to pinpoint the reason and interacting with the regulator to clarify the situation and lift the block." Roskomnadzor's website lists bestchange.ru as blocked. The RIA news agency cited Roskomnadzor as saying that the ban was due to legal violations "in the financial sphere". Roskomnadzor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BestChange said new regulations around crypto could be behind the ban, or an issue with an entity using its service. Last year, Russia legalised cryptocurrency mining and introduced taxes that could bring in up to 200 billion roubles ($2 billion) a year from miners. Moscow has since restricted crypto mining in some Siberian regions to prevent power shortages. As part of that legislation, Russia has allowed businesses to use cryptocurrencies in international trade as Moscow looks to circumvent Western sanctions causing payment delays, although a trial period is yet to get under way. ($1 = 96.2000 roubles) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-exchange-platform-bestchange-dark-over-russia-block-2025-02-11/
2025-02-11 07:58
World oil supply, demand to hit record highs, US EIA says Trump imposes 25% import tariffs on steel, aluminium Economists expect Fed to wait to cut until next quarter NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up to a two-week high on Tuesday as sanctions raised concerns about Russian and Iranian oil supplies and on rising Middle East tensions, outweighing worries that trade tariffs would boost inflation and dampen global economic growth. Brent futures rose $1.13, or 1.5%, to settle at $77.00 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.00, or 1.4%, to settle at $73.32. That put both crude benchmarks up for a third day and at their highest closes since Jan. 28. "With the U.S. bearing down on Iranian exports and sanctions still biting into Russian flows, Asian crude grades remain firm and underpin the rally from yesterday," PVM oil analyst John Evans said. U.S. sanctions targeting tankers, producers and insurers have significantly disrupted shipments of Russian oil to leading importers China and India. Also supporting crude prices were U.S. sanctions on networks shipping Iranian oil to China after U.S. President Donald Trump restored his "maximum pressure" on Iranian oil exports last week. Adding to supply jitters is the possibility of renewed fighting in the oil-rich Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if Hamas did not release Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday a fragile ceasefire in Gaza would end. Those comments followed a demand by Trump on Monday for Hamas to release all hostages by midday Saturday or he would propose cancelling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and "let hell break out." Trump also said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if they do not take Palestinian refugees being relocated from Gaza. Trump is meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah on Tuesday. TARIFFS WEIGH ON PRICES Oil price gains were kept in check by fears that Trump's latest tariffs could dampen global growth and energy demand. On Monday, Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the United States to 25% "without exceptions or exemptions." Mexico, Canada and the European Union condemned Trump's decision to impose tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports next month, a move that has fanned fears of a trade war. "Tariffs and counter-tariffs have the potential to weigh on the oil-intensive part of the global economy in particular, creating uncertainty over demand," Morgan Stanley said in a note. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers that free trade still makes sense, though it was not the central bank's role to comment on tariff or trade policy but to react to how it impacts the economy. A majority of economists in a Reuters poll forecast the Fed would wait until the next quarter before cutting interest rates again. Tariffs can cause prices and inflation to rise. The Fed uses higher interest rates to combat rising prices. So long as the Fed and other central banks keep interest rates higher for longer, borrowing costs will remain elevated, which can slow economic growth and ultimately demand for oil. SUPPLY, DEMAND AND INVENTORIES World oil supply and demand will both rise to record highs in 2025 and 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). EIA projected total world petroleum production would rise to 104.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 and 106.2 million bpd in 2026 from a record 102.8 million bpd in 2024. It also projected total world petroleum consumption would rise to 104.1 million bpd in 2025 and 105.2 million bpd in 2026 from a record 102.8 million bpd in 2024. The market is waiting for the American Petroleum Institute trade group to release U.S. oil inventory data on Tuesday, with the EIA to report official data on Wednesday. , Analysts forecast energy firms added about 3.0 million barrels of oil to U.S. stockpiles during the week ended Feb. 7. If correct, that would be the first time energy firms added oil into storage for three weeks in a row since mid-November. That compares with an increase of 12.0 million barrels during the same week last year and an average build of 4.9 million barrels over the past five years (2020-2024). Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-steady-investors-digest-new-us-steel-aluminium-tariffs-2025-02-11/
2025-02-11 07:57
DUBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Dubai-owned ports and logistics company DP World's CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump expects other markets to be open if the United States is. Trump is looking for fair trade, not free trade, he said during the World Government Summit in Dubai. The U.S. leader substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on Monday to a flat 25% in a move he hopes will aid the struggling industries in the United States but which also risks sparking a multi-front trade war. The tariffs will apply to millions of tons of steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and other countries. The move will simplify tariffs on the metals "so that everyone can understand exactly what it means", Trump told reporters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/dp-world-ceo-trump-expects-other-markets-be-open-if-us-is-2025-02-11/
