2025-01-14 05:23

HONG KONG, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The average temperature in China's coastal waters rose for a second consecutive year in 2024 to a record 21.50 degrees Celsius (70.7 degrees Fahrenheit), authorities said, in a year that was the world's hottest since records began. China describes itself as one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, and is coming under increasing pressure to adapt to rapidly changing weather patterns and sea levels that are rising faster than the global average. The country faced a slew of extreme weather events last year, from the violent passage of Super Typhoon Yagi across southern Hainan in September to the strongest storm to strike Shanghai since 1949. The average annual sea surface temperature increased 0.15 C over 2023 and 1.16 C over what it called a normal year average from 1981 to 2010, China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting centre said on its official Wechat account on Jan. 10. Ocean warming will lead to "frequent extreme weather and climate events", the centre said, warning of the potential threat to livelihoods. "Ocean warming contributes to one-third of global sea level rise, and coastal and low-lying areas face increasingly serious risks related to sea level rise, such as land erosion," it said. The centre said it would "closely monitor" global sea temperatures in 2025. Global temperatures in 2024 exceeded 1.5 C above the pre-industrial era for the first time, bringing the world closer to breaching the pledge governments made under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, scientists said on Friday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/chinas-coastal-water-temperatures-hit-record-high-2024-2025-01-14/

2025-01-14 05:22

BENGALURU, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A slow ramp-up of electric vehicle sales for Hyundai and its affiliate Kia in India and increased sales of gasoline-engine SUVs are undermining their decarbonisation efforts, Greenpeace East Asia said on Tuesday. Hyundai (005380.KS) , opens new tab and Kia (000270.KS) , opens new tab saw their per-vehicle tailpipe emissions drop in their major markets of Europe and South Korea between 2018 and 2023, the environmental group said in a report. But their vehicle emissions rose in at least seven other regions including India, the world's third-largest auto market, over the same period, according to the report. The two firms together hold the No. 2 spot in India, their fourth-largest market. Hyundai, which last year listed its local unit there, is investing heavily in the country and a new plant is set to be operational from September. Greenpeace said the automakers had made "minimal electrification efforts" and boosted sales of larger vehicles such as SUVs. Hyundai and Kia did not reply to a request for comment. Hyundai sells six SUVs in India, one of them electric. Its number of SUVs is on par with market leader Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.NS) , opens new tab but SUVs account for two-thirds of Hyundai's India sales, more than Maruti's two-fifths. The adoption of EVs in India remains challenging for most automakers mainly due to high upfront costs, limited charging infrastructure and range anxiety. Hyundai and Kia together offer two imported EVs in India, faring better than rivals such as VW (VOWG_p.DE) , opens new tab, Renault (RENA.PA) , opens new tab and Toyota (7203.T) , opens new tab which have yet to begin EV sales. Hyundai plans to unveil its first locally made electric SUV called Creta on Friday and launch four more EVs by 2030. Kia plans to launch its first locally produced EV this year. EVs make up roughly 2% of India's total new car sales of 4 million. The government wants to increase that proportion to 30% by 2030. Greenpeace has also previously criticised other automakers such as Toyota and VW for their decarbonisation efforts. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/hyundais-slow-ev-ramp-up-india-hurts-its-decarbonisation-efforts-greenpeace-says-2025-01-14/

2025-01-14 05:12

MUMBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee edged higher on Tuesday, unable to benefit much from the Reserve Bank of India's strong intervention to blunt the effect of heightened interbank dollar demand. The rupee was at 86.54 as of 10:40 a.m. IST, up only marginally from its close at 86.5750 in the previous session. The RBI, traders said, likely sold dollars aggressively via state-run banks, just prior to the opening of the local spot market, amid strong interbank dollar demand spurred by the maturation of positions in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market. The rupee's 1-month implied volatility , a gauge of future expectations, rose to a 16-month peak of 4% on the day. The currency had weakened to its all-time low of 86.5825 on Monday and logged its worst one-day decline since February 2023, hurt by a surging dollar and outflows from local equities. Foreign investors have net sold more than $4 billion worth of local stocks and bonds over January so far. On the day, though, an uptick in most Asian peers and dollar offers from foreign banks aided the rupee slightly, a trader at a state-run bank said. "Some mild inflows seem to be present but demand (for USD) is strong enough to counter their impact," the trader said. The dollar index was up 0.1% at 109.6, hovering near a two-year peak, while Asian currencies were 0.1% to 0.3% higher. "We remain cautious on the INR and see the RBI's FX policy turning less interventionist and allowing INR to adjust weaker," MUFG Bank said in a note. Investors now await the release of U.S. wholesale and consumer price inflation data due on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, for cues on the path of U.S. monetary policy, which, in turn, affects the dollar. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rbis-heavy-intervention-blunted-by-dollar-buying-related-ndf-maturity-2025-01-14/

2025-01-14 04:16

MUMBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Indian central bank intervened heavily before the opening of the local spot market on Tuesday, looking to support the rupee amid high demand for the dollar related to the maturity of positions in the non-deliverable forwards market, four traders told Reuters. The rupee was last quoted at 86.5150 per U.S. dollar as of 09:35 a.m. IST, up nearly 0.1% on the day. The currency had weakened to its all-time low of 86.5825 on Monday. A large state-run bank sold dollars aggressively, most likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, in the last few minutes leading up to the opening of the local spot market, a trader at bank said. Strong dollar bids related to the maturity of positions in the NDF market is likely to keep sizeable gains at bay for the rupee on Tuesday, a trader at a bank said. The dollar-rupee daily fix was last quoted at a 1 paisa premiums, per traders, signalling strong demand to buy dollars at the daily reference rate published by the RBI. The dollar index was up 0.1% at 109.6 while Asian currencies were mostly stronger. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/indian-central-bank-likely-sold-dollars-heavily-before-local-spot-market-open-2025-01-14/

2025-01-14 03:00

MUMBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee's spiral is likely to persist on Tuesday despite the mild recovery in its Asian peers and a pause in the dollar index's rally. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated that the rupee will open at 86.60 to the U.S. dollar, marking a new lifetime low and down from 86.5750 in the previous session. Asian currencies nudged higher and the dollar index was at 109.64, easing after scaling 110 on Monday. Brent crude was just shy of $81, having rallied 8% this month so far. The rupee slid 0.70% on Monday, the biggest drop in over two years and taking its decline to 1.1% this month. Its demand has been hurt by the dollar's overall strength in the lead-up to Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president next week, the possibility of India's central bank cutting rates next month to boost sluggish growth and an unexpected pickup in the currency's volatility. "Add to this the move higher in oil prices and it would seem that we will just keep moving higher (on dollar/rupee) pair," a currency trader at a bank said. "That obviously is not how things work. There will come a level, which I think is nearby, at which it no longer will make sense to long (buy dollar/rupee)." US INFLATION, TRUMP The dollar's direction over the next few weeks is likely to be dictated by the monthly U.S. inflation data due on Wednesday and what Trump does after he takes office on Jan. 20. The dollar rallied significantly on Trump's pledge that he would impose high tariffs on the country's trading partners. The extent to which Trump follows through will be a key for the dollar. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 86.88; onshore one-month forward premium at 25 paisa ** Dollar index at 109.64 ** Brent crude futures at $80.6 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.77% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $165.5mln worth of Indian shares on Jan. 12 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $12.1mln worth of Indian bonds on Jan. 12 Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-unlikely-find-support-asia-fxs-slight-recovery-2025-01-14/

2025-01-14 00:52

LIMA, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Rescue workers in northern Peru were searching for trapped miners at a small gold mine on Monday , after the mine was allegedly attacked by suspected illegal miners, a local mayor said. Segundo Armas, mayor of the Pataz district in the region of La Libertad, said that as many as 17 miners could be trapped at the small remote mine which collapsed after it was attacked on Sunday by "possibly rival miners." The mayor was unable to confirm how many workers had been able to escape. "The area is difficult to access and we are trying to confirm the number of those trapped," Armas said, adding that cellular service does not reach the mine. La Libertad is one of the regions with the highest gold production in Peru, and according to official reports at least 40% of the supply comes from artisanal or informal miners. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-rescue-workers-searching-trapped-miners-after-alleged-attack-gold-mine-2025-01-14/