2025-01-16 12:56

Moscow blames Moldova, Ukraine for energy crisis Moldovan government, separatists accuse each other of scuttling talks to tackle shortages MOSCOW, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to provide gas to Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, but needed logistical support from Moldova to make that happen. Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the separatist enclave supported by Moscow, said on Wednesday that he expected Transdniestria to receive Russian gas again soon. On Thursday, Moldova and the separatist region launched new accusations at each other, with a proposal collapsing to hold talks to tackle the energy crisis. Tens of thousands of people in Transdniestria have been without gas or heating since Jan. 1, when Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab suspended gas exports to the region, citing an unpaid Moldovan debt of $709 million. Authorities in Chisinau contest that sum. Moscow blames the suspension of gas supplies on pro-Western Moldova and Kyiv, which refused to extend a five-year gas transit deal that expired on Dec. 31 because the proceeds help fund Russia's war in Ukraine. Moldova's authorities have said that despite a valid contract and the option of an alternative transit route, Gazprom is refusing to supply gas in order to destabilise its government ahead of this year's parliamentary elections. Asked on Thursday about Moscow's plans, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia is prepared to provide gas, but needs Moldova to cooperate from a technical point of view. "Yes, Moscow will be ready and is ready to provide assistance to Transdniestria, but at the same time, purely logistically, of course, actions must be taken on the part of Moldova that ensure gas supply and contracting," Peskov told reporters. "We have not heard any statements (from Moldova) about their readiness to do this." Transdniestria and Moldova accused each other of torpedoing a proposed meeting to tackle the situation. Moldova's Bureau for Reintegration, which oversees efforts to end the separatist dispute, said Transdniestria had rejected Chisinau's proposal for talks to be held on Friday, including a proposal for Ukraine to supply coal. Transdniestria's Foreign Ministry accused Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister for Integration, Oleg Serebrian, of torpedoing the meeting. The separatist side appeared to have objected to Serebrian's call for Transdniestria to end the long-running practice of "humanitarian gas" - receiving shipments free of charge from Russia - and to work towards "energy independence". Transdniestria, a tiny pro-Russian and mainly Russian-speaking separatist region along the Dniester River and the border with Ukraine, received about 2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year via Ukraine. It used the fuel to heat homes and generate electricity, which it sold to government-controlled areas of Moldova at a rate 30% to 40% cheaper than authorities pay to buy power from European countries. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-is-ready-provide-gas-transdniestria-needs-action-moldova-2025-01-16/

2025-01-16 12:52

BRASILIA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Economic activity in Brazil exceeded market expectations in November, official data showed on Thursday, adding to a string of stronger-than-anticipated performances despite the central bank's ongoing monetary tightening cycle. The IBC-Br index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product (GDP), rose 0.1% in seasonally adjusted terms from October, while economists polled by Reuters had expected no change. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the index - which incorporates proxies for output in agriculture, industry, and services, as well as tax data on production - climbed 4.1% compared to November 2023 and increased 3.6% over 12 months. The positive performance came despite weaker-than-expected data in November for the service sector, the main driver of Brazil's economy, along with negative readings for retail sales and industrial output. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has stated that Latin America's largest economy likely expanded 3.6% in 2024, more than double the forecasts by private economists at the beginning of last year. The expansion has been fueled by strong household consumption and rising investment amid a tight labor market. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/brazil-economic-activity-beats-forecasts-november-despite-monetary-tightening-2025-01-16/

2025-01-16 12:51

TSX ends up 0.2% at 24,846.20 Financials add 0.7% Utilities end up 2% Energy falls 1.8% as oil prices drop Jan 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a one-week high on Thursday, adding to the previous day's solid gains, as investors cheered U.S. bank earnings and a drop in long-term borrowing costs. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 56.90 points, or 0.2%, at 24,846.20, its highest closing level since Jan. 9. On Wednesday, the index posted its biggest gain since November. "You had good bank earnings which continued today out of the U.S. but you also had interest sensitive stocks rallying on this notion that (U.S.) inflation numbers came in maybe slightly better than expected, and that rally has continued today," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor of the Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth. The financials sector, which accounts for 31% of the TSX's weighting, added 0.7% and technology was up 0.9%. Utilities climbed 2%. The sector contains many high-dividend stocks that become more attractive when bond yields fall. Canada's 10-year yield fell for a second straight day, declining 7.7 basis points to 3.342%, as investors braced for expected U.S. trade tariffs and the Bank of Canada said it would end its quantitative tightening program in the coming months. The central bank is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.00% when it meets later this month, according to a Reuters poll of economists. A sharp decline in energy limited the TSX's gains. The sector was down 1.8% as the price of oil settled 1.7% lower at $78.68 a barrel on expectations that Yemen's Houthi militia will halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/higher-gold-prices-push-tsx-futures-up-2025-01-16/

2025-01-16 12:37

Police cut off water, food to illegal mine for months Aim was to force miners out to arrest them 78 corpses, 246 survivors pulled out in three-day rescue Labour union: this was a state-sponsored massacre STILFONTEIN, South Africa, Jan 16 (Reuters) - South African rescuers were making final efforts on Thursday to ascertain whether anyone was left in an illegal gold mine deep underground where at least 78 people died during a police siege, in what a labour union called a state-sponsored massacre. Police had encircled the mine since August and cut off food and water supplies in an attempt to force the miners up to the surface so they could be arrested as part of a crackdown on illegal mining, which the government calls a war on the economy. Since Monday, rescuers have used a cylindrical metal cage to pull up 78 dead bodies and 246 survivors, some of them emaciated and disorientated, in a court-ordered operation. The survivors, who are mostly from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho, have been arrested and charged with illegal immigration and mining. The GIWUSA labour union called the events at the mine in Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, "the worst state-sponsored massacre since the end of apartheid". "These miners died en masse due to a series of decisions and brutal crackdown by the operational management of the police, with the approval, and cheering of the political establishment and top echelons of the state," it said late on Wednesday. At the site on Thursday morning, the cage was lowered with no one in it but a camera, which police described as a way of verifying information from volunteers who went down on Wednesday evening and said they could see no one left in the mine. Throughout the rescue operation, police and contractors operating the cage have not been going down themselves but rather have relied on volunteers from the community in the local township where most of the undocumented miners were living. Police have not explained why they were not going down themselves but Mannas Fourie, CEO of a rescue services company that is involved in the operation, said it was better for the volunteers to go because they knew the miners and could gain their trust. "There is a risk as well where our people could be taken ransom," he told Reuters at the scene. NO WAY TO KNOW IF BODIES LOST UNDERGROUND Fourie said the volunteers had gone down as deep as 2,200 metres into the shaft and there was only water that far down. Asked whether there could still be bodies in the tunnels, he said: "It's difficult to confirm. If somebody got lost, you will never know whether somebody got left behind." The president of GIWASU, Mametlwe Sebei, has alleged that during the siege the police removed a pulley system the miners had previously been using to get in and out, leaving them with no realistic prospect of getting out safely. Sebei, who has been present at the Stilfontein site, said many miners had died crawling through flooded tunnels to try and reach another shaft to climb out. The police have denied blocking the miners' exit and said more than 1,500 miners did get out by their own means between the start of the siege in August and the rescue operation, which began on Monday. Only two of the 78 recovered bodies have been identified so far because many of the illegal miners were undocumented and some of the bodies had decomposed, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said. As the death toll mounted during the three days of rescue, so did criticism of the authorities, but the government has defended its actions as necessary to protect the economy and combat crime. The mines minister has said the illicit precious metals trade cost South Africa more than $3 billion last year. Mathe said police were trying to identify the kingpins behind the illegal mining at Stilfontein and hoped there would be arrests soon. Illegal mining is common in parts of gold-rich South Africa. Typically, undocumented miners known as zama zamas - from an isiZulu expression for "taking a chance" - move into mines abandoned by commercial miners and seek to extract whatever is left. Some are under the control of violent criminal gangs. Of the 246 survivors brought to the surface from Monday to Wednesday, nine had been hospitalised for medical treatment and were under police guard, Mathe said. The others were in custody. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-african-police-lower-cage-into-mine-check-if-anyone-left-after-78-died-2025-01-16/

2025-01-16 12:30

Codelco workers, analysts call production unsustainable Maintenance delays reported at Chuquicamata and El Teniente Long-term projects face delays, impacting production goals SANTIAGO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Codelco pushed hard to lift its copper production from a 25-year-low at the end of 2024, but union workers and analysts question whether its tactics are sustainable as it targets annual output of 1.7 million metric tons by the end of the decade. Codelco's production reached 1.328 million tons in 2024, at the low end of its target range and just about 3,500 tons higher than the quarter-century low in 2023, an internal document seen by Reuters showed. Four workers interviewed by Reuters said the world's largest copper producer had shortened downtime, changed shift schedules and intensified production targets while delaying some needed maintenance until 2025, in its second-half push. Analysts, meanwhile, questioned how deeply Codelco tapped its reserves to make its numbers, and said new mines or sources of copper are needed to compensate for degradation of minerals at aging facilities. An equipment operator at one of Codelco's largest mines, Chuquicamata, said there was more pressure in the second half of 2024 to reduce routine stoppages and avoid incidents that could cause a stoppage. The worker, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to talk about internal operations, said Codelco has yet to fix bottlenecks in transporting minerals in the mine. Codelco said in February 2024 that it needed to stop ore transport at Chuquicamata to replace conveyor belts. That maintenance was expected this year. Workers said maintenance was delayed at smelters in Chuquicamata and El Teniente, another key mine. Codelco said in a statement that it had carried out scheduled maintenance on the Chuquicamata smelter in December, while maintenance at the Caletones smelter at El Teniente began last month and would continue until February. "This does not imply a stoppage for the entire period, because one of its two lines remains operational most of the time," Codelco said. It added maintenance at the huge Chuquicamata underground mine was planned for the second quarter, which would involve around 1,000 people working for "about a month" due to the challenging and unique nature of the mine. "The first stage of the process has already been completed, so the new belt has already arrived at the site. Precautions are being taken for the treatment of minerals from other divisions to meet the production goals for 2025," it said. Chairman Maximo Pacheco said Codelco produced 160,000 tons of copper in December, its biggest month since 2019. Miners typically dip into reserves to increase December production, yet analysts said Codelco may have tapped them more than usual. "Although it is normal for production to increase in December, we believe this huge jump can be attributed to a very aggressive reduction in inventories," said Juan Carlos Guajardo, head of the consultancy firm Plusmining. "Codelco will have to replenish these inventories at some point." LONG-TERM ISSUES "The real battle will continue to be the advancement of the larger projects like Chuquicamata Underground or El Teniente, because these are the projects that will get the company to the level of 1.7 million tons per year," Guajardo said. These large mine overhaul projects have been plagued by delays, accidents and construction mistakes. In its latest results, Codelco said two new phases of El Teniente will start later than expected. Andesita, which had been scheduled to begin extraction in October, will now start "in the coming months." It said Andes Norte, originally slated for December, will start extracting in the first quarter. Cristian Cifuentes, an analyst at the Center for Copper Studies (CESCO), said that the Ministro Hales mine is still at reduced capacity and the ramp up of Chuquicamata Underground has been "slower than we all thought." "You can see the difficulties when you add all these things together," Cifuentes said, adding he thinks production will increase, but not at the levels Codelco wants. Company data indicated that much of Codelco's 2024 win could be attributed to its small Salvador mine coming online, which added 2,800 tons in October and November. One analyst, who asked not to be named, said Codelco will show more output stemming from its purchase of 10% of Teck's Quebrada Blanca mine. "I don't see how they will address (mineral) degradation except by entering new areas," the analyst said. "Every year Codelco invests between $4 and $4.5 billion and figures are still falling." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/codelco-boosts-2024-copper-output-late-push-strains-workers-delays-maintenance-2025-01-16/

2025-01-16 12:24

China launches probe into U.S. chip subsidies China alleges subsidies have harmed Chinese mature node chipmakers Probe latest Chinese retaliation against U.S. chip export controls BEIJING, Jan 16 (Reuters) - China will launch an investigation into U.S. government subsidies to its semiconductor sector over alleged harm caused to Chinese mature node chipmakers, the commerce ministry said on Thursday. Unlike the cutting-edge chips that power artificial intelligence models, mature node chips are cheaper, easier to manufacture, and used for less complex tasks, including home appliances and communications systems. The investigation is the latest salvo in Beijing's policy of retaliating against Washington's ever-broadening scope of restrictions targeting China's semiconductor industry, which the Biden administration has alleged could go on to dominate global supply chains and help the Chinese military become technologically superior to its U.S. counterpart. "The Biden administration has given a large amount of subsidies to the chip industry, and U.S. enterprises have thus gained an unfair competitive advantage and exported relevant mature node chip products to China at low prices, which has undermined the legitimate rights and interests of China's domestic industry," China's commerce ministry said in a statement. Soon after the commerce ministry's announcement, the China Semiconductor Industry Association published its own statement supporting the probe. The association, whose board is made up of executives from the country's largest chip companies, said the Biden administration's CHIPS and Science Act, which in 2022 pledged $52.7 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production, research, and workforce development, "seriously violated the basic laws of the market economy". Beijing's accusation echoes the Biden administration's reasoning for announcing a tariff hike on all Chinese chip imports in September, and a probe into China's mature chip node industry last month, which U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said had expanded capacity, artificially lowered prices and hurt competition using Chinese state funds. Washington has also over the past three years tightened export controls targeting the sale of advanced U.S.-made AI chips to China. It is unclear what retaliatory action will come out of the Chinese government's probe but U.S. firms such as Intel (INTC.O) , opens new tab that sell mature node chips to the Chinese market could be affected. Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While China's semiconductor industry overall lags behind that of the United States, Beijing is widely seen to have retaliated against Washington's chip curbs using measures such as limiting exports of rare earth metals and launching an investigation into U.S. AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab over suspected violations of its anti-monopoly laws. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-investigate-us-subsidies-mature-node-chips-2025-01-16/