2024-11-26 06:43

NAIROBI, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was unchanged against the dollar on Tuesday, as dollar inflows from remittances matched rising importer demand, one trader said. The shilling traded at 129.00/130.00 at 0633 GMT, according to LSEG data, the same as Monday's closing rate. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/kenyan-shilling-steady-remittances-meet-importer-fx-demand-2024-11-26/

2024-11-26 06:38

Families use buckets, trenches to shield from rain Price of tents and plastic sheeting soars 'I was scared of life or death, now we worry about the rain', says mother UNRWA warns of increased suffering with rain and strikes Israel intensifies strikes, causing casualties, destruction CAIRO/GAZA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Heavy rains flooded tent encampments of displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Monday, adding seasonal winter misery to communities already devastated by 13 months of war, as Israeli forces stepped up strikes in the enclave. Downpours overnight inundated tents and in some places washed away the plastic and cloth shelters used by displaced Gazans, most of whom have been uprooted several times during the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. Some placed water buckets on the ground to protect mats from leaks and dug trenches to drain water away from their tents. Many tents used early in the war have now worn out and no longer offer protection, but the price of new tents and plastic sheeting has shot up beyond the means of displaced families. Suad Al-Sabea, a mother of six from northern Gaza, now lives inside a classroom with broken windows at a school housing displaced families in Khan Younis in the south of the Strip. Sabea sells the bread she bakes in a wood-fueled earth oven to make a living for her children. But rainwater spoiled the flour and damaged the oven, threatening to put her out of work. "I was scared of life or death, now we worry about the rain," she said. "The dough drowned in water, and many mattresses drowned in water. It was raining on top of my head and I kept baking to provide for my children," Sabea told Reuters. Some other encampments closer to the beach were flooded, and some tents were swept away by high waves. "The sea took away my little daughter, thank God we were able to rescue her," said Mariam Abu Saqer, who used to live in a tent by the beach before it was flooded by seawater. "Where should we go, wherever we go, they tell us there is no space," she said. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said around 10,000 tents were either washed away or damaged due to the winter storm, appealing for international help to provide displaced families with tents to shield them against the rain floods. "According to government field assessment teams, 81% of the displaced persons’ tents are no longer usable. Out of 135,000 tents, 110,000 are completely worn out and urgently need replacement," it said in a statement. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said thousands of displaced people were affected by seasonal flooding and demanded new tents and caravans from aid donors to shield them. The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said in a post on X that winter's first rains mean even more suffering. "Around half a million people are at risk in areas of flooding," it said. "The situation will only get worse with every drop of rain, every bomb, every strike." ISRAEL UPS STRIKE ON GAZA Meanwhile, Israeli military strikes intensified across the enclave. In Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, an Israeli airstrike killed at least four people, medics said, while tanks deepened their incursions in the northern edge of two towns of Beit Hanoun, and in Beit Lahiya, and Jabalia, the largest of the enclave's eight historic refugee camps. Medics said seven Palestinians were killed by two Israeli airstrikes in the area of Jabalia. On Monday, residents said Israeli planes dropped new leaflets on Beit Lahiya ordering remaining residents to leave to the south, saying the area would come under attack and providing them with a map. Residents said Israeli forces had blown up hundreds of houses since renewing operations in an area that Israel said months ago had been cleared of militants. Palestinians say Israel appears determined to depopulate the area permanently to create a buffer zone along the northern edge of Gaza, an accusation Israel denies. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,200 people, and uprooted nearly the entire population at least once, according to Gaza officials, while reducing wide swathes of the narrow coastal territory to rubble. The war erupted in response to a cross-border attack by Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023 in which gunmen killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/rainstorms-flood-tents-gazas-displaced-israel-steps-up-strikes-2024-11-25/

2024-11-26 06:36

TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The Japanese government maintained its assessment that the economy is recovering moderately on Tuesday, while cautioning about the potential impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies on the economic outlook. "Trends in the U.S. economy can have a direct or indirect impact on the Japanese economy, and we also need to be aware of the possibility of an impact through fluctuations in financial and capital markets," a Cabinet Office official said upon the release of the monthly economic report for November. Trump has promised that on his first day in office he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. Risks such as higher interest rates abroad and a stagnant Chinese real estate market were also identified as potential threats to Japan's economy. The Cabinet Office said the Japanese economy was recovering moderately although it remains pausing in parts, keeping the assessment unchanged for a fourth straight month. The government's view on most of the key sub-sectors, including consumption and capital investment, was maintained. It raised its evaluation on imports while it downgraded its assessment on public investment. The Cabinet Office also revised its view on domestic corporate goods prices to "gradually rising recently" and consumer prices to "rising recently," reflecting increases in rice, raw material costs due to a weak yen and logistic expenses because of labour shortage. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of economic output, continued to recover bolstered by wage increases, strong summertime bonuses and temporary income tax cuts, the government said. The report was presented on Tuesday at a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. Japan's economy expanded an annualised 0.9% in the July-September quarter, slowing from the previous three months on tepid capital spending. However, an unexpected pick-up in consumption was a bright spot. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-keeps-economic-recovery-view-flags-us-policy-risks-2024-11-26/

2024-11-26 06:35

Gold hits lowest since Nov. 18 after Monday's over 3% decline Trump pledges fresh tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China Israel agrees to ceasefire deal with Lebanon Nov 26 (Reuters) - Gold prices were caught in a tug-of-war on Tuesday, dipping to a week's low as safe-haven demand softened as Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal with Lebanon, while concern over Ukraine and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans limited declines. Spot gold was steady at $2,626.83 per ounce as of 02:07 p.m. ET (1906 GMT), erasing some of the earlier losses when prices hit their lowest since Nov. 18. U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% higher at $2,621.30. This follows Monday's dramatic $100 plunge, when gold retreated from a three-week high. The sell-off was fueled by Israel and Hezbollah ceasefire optimism and further pressured by Trump's nomination of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, which tempered demand for gold as a safe haven. Israel's security cabinet has agreed a ceasefire deal with Lebanon, Channel 12 reported on Tuesday. "It's probably some realization that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah only modestly mitigates overall geopolitical risks, certainly there's some optimism there," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Concern over the wider fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to remain very high, however, Grant said adding that gold will likely experience choppy consolidation in the near term, ranging between $2,575-$2,750. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe investment during economic and geopolitical uncertainty such as trade wars. Trump’s pledge of big tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China loom large. While they could spark trade wars and bolster gold’s appeal, the resulting inflation risks might tamper Federal Reserve rate cuts, potentially weighing on prices, analysts said. Markets are now focused on Fed November meeting minutes later in the day. With a 56% chance of a December rate cut being priced in, investors remain cautious. Minutes of the Federal Reserve's Nov. 6-7 meeting showed, officials expressed differing views on potential future rate cuts. However, they collectively decided to withhold specific guidance on the likely direction of U.S. monetary policy. Some participants suggested a pause in rate easing if inflation stays high, while others proposed accelerated cuts if the labor market or economic activity weakens. Spot silver rose 0.4% to $30.40 per ounce and palladium gained 1% to $982.87. Platinum lost 1.3% to $926.35, with Commerzbank analysts forecasting platinum prices to hit $1,100 in 2025. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-prices-hold-steady-after-trumps-tariff-pledge-2024-11-26/

2024-11-26 06:34

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Nov 26 (Reuters) - China's seaborne imports of thermal coal are on track to surge to an all-time high in November as the world's biggest buyer of the power station fuel ramps up electricity generation. But the strong appetite for imports isn't driving up the prices of seaborne grades, which are being kept low by falling prices for China's domestic supplies. Imports of thermal coal are estimated at 37.5 million metric tons for November, up from 32.12 million in October and the highest in data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler going back to 2017. The spike in seaborne thermal coal imports comes ahead of peak winter demand and as the world's second-biggest economy increases coal-fired generation amid weaker output from hydropower plants. However, the strength in China's demand for seaborne thermal coal isn't being matched by the rest of Asia, with other top importers such as India and Japan showing steady to slightly weaker arrivals in recent months. Top thermal coal exporters Indonesia and Australia are also having to compete against China's domestic supplies, and the local price has been trending lower as production rises. The price of thermal coal at China's Qinhuangdao , as assessed by consultants SteelHome, dropped to 830 yuan ($114.64) a ton on Monday, down from 835 yuan at the previous close. The benchmark grade has been trending lower since early October, and is now down 5.1% from the recent peak of 875 yuan a ton on Oct. 9. The softer domestic price has meant that seaborne prices have been unable to move higher, despite the strong import demand from China. Indonesian coal with an energy content of 4,200 kilocalories per kilogram (kcal/kg) , as assessed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, ended last week at $52.19 a ton, down from $52.34 the prior week. The price has shifted slightly higher, gaining 4.2% since hitting a 41-month low of $50.08 a ton in late August. The modest increase in the price contrasts with the strong gain in volumes, with China's imports of Indonesian thermal coal poised to hit a record 25.32 million tons in November, up from 22.24 million in October, according to Kpler data. AUSTRALIAN COAL China is also snapping up cargoes from Australia, the second-biggest exporter of thermal coal behind Indonesia, with November imports estimated at a record 7.84 million tons, up from 5.35 million in October. China tends to favour Australian coal priced against the 5,500 kcal/kg benchmark , which fell to $87.60 a ton in the week to Nov. 22, down from $88.12 the prior week and down 3.7% since the recent peak of $90.97 in early October. It appears that Indonesian and Australian exporters are choosing to keep their prices competitive in the China market in order to ensure strong growth in export volumes. China may well continue to import high volumes of thermal coal given rising electricity output, with thermal generation, which is mainly coal-fired, gaining 1.8% in October from the same month in 2023, according to official data released on Nov. 15. The increase in thermal power output came as hydropower slid 14.9% in October year-on-year, the second straight month of decline. China's output of coal also increased in October, gaining 4.6% from the same month in 2023 to 411.8 million tons. It's likely that coal miners will try to further lift production this month and next after the state-owned asset regulator urged higher output to meet winter demand. The overall picture is one of strength for China's coal sector, with rising domestic production and surging imports being sufficient to meet demand and thereby prevent a rally in prices. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-sucks-up-seaborne-thermal-coal-domestic-output-caps-prices-russell-2024-11-26/

2024-11-26 06:27

Record attack coincides with Russian push in Ukraine's east Power knocked in most of western region Residential buildings damaged near Kyiv KYIV, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Russian forces staged their largest ever drone attack on Ukraine overnight, cutting power to much of the western region of Ternopil and damaging residential buildings in Kyiv region, Ukraine's officials said on Tuesday. Intensified nightly drone attacks on Ukrainian cities are coinciding with a major push by Russia along frontlines in Ukraine's east, where Russian forces have made some of the largest monthly territorial gains since 2022. Of 188 drones used overnight, Ukraine shot down 76 and lost track of 96, likely due to active electronic warfare, the air force said. Five drones headed towards Belarus. "The enemy launched a record number of Shahed attack UAVs and unidentified drones ...," it said, in addition to using four Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Russia uses cheaply-produced "suicide" drones and low-cost "decoy" drones, which tie up Ukrainian air defences. "Unfortunately, there were hits to critical infrastructure facilities, and private and apartment buildings were damaged in several regions due to the massive drone attack," an air force statement said, adding that no casualties had been reported. The attack damaged the power grid in Ternopil, a major city in western Ukraine, and cut power to around 70% of the region, governor Vyacheslav Nehoda said on national television. Ternopil, some 220 km (134 miles) east of NATO-member Poland, and the surrounding region had a population of more than a million before the February 2022 Russian invasion, which drove many Ukrainians west. "The consequences are bad because the facility was significantly affected and this will have impact on the power supply of the entire region for a long time," Nehoda said. WATER CUT OFF The attack also cut off water and disrupted heat supplies, the head of the regional defence headquarters Serhiy Nadal said via the Telegram messaging app. Nehoda said the emergency services had mostly restored the water supply by morning and the local authorities were planning to introduce planned power cuts in the attack's aftermath. Ukraine's national power grid operator Ukrenergo said emergency power cuts were in effect in the region and that engineers were working to restore power supply. Electric buses that service the city would be replaced with regular buses and generators would help with power shortages in schools, hospitals and government institutions, Nadal said. Russia also targeted the capital Kyiv overnight, the military administration of the city said on Telegram, adding that air defence units destroyed more than 10 Russian drones. Falling debris damaged four private residences, two high-rise apartment buildings, two garages and a car in the region surrounding the capital, its governor Ruslan Kravchenko said. The drones approached Kyiv in waves and from different directions, but there was no damage or injuries in the city, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration said on Telegram. Most of Ukraine was under overnight air raid alert for hours, air force data showed. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-kyiv-under-multi-wave-russian-drone-attacks-mayor-says-2024-11-25/