2024-11-25 07:28
Nominations to Austria unchanged in recent days Gazprom halted flow to Austria's OMV in mid-November MOSCOW/PRAGUE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Russian gas exports to Europe through Ukraine have been stable on Monday despite a contractual row between Kremlin-owned Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab and Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI) , opens new tab, which halted gas flows to the Vienna-based company this month. Russia stopped gas supplies to OMV in mid-November in a dispute over payments but was still pumping steady volumes to Europe via Ukraine after remaining buyers asked for more gas. Russian gas transit via neighboring Ukraine has been complicated by the war that erupted in February 2022. The current five-year gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine expires on Dec. 31 and Kyiv has repeatedly said it would not engage in talks with Moscow over an agreement extension. Gazprom said it would send 42 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, unchanged from Sunday. Nominations, or requests, for natural gas flows into Slovakia from Ukraine were steady on Monday while nominations for flows leaving Slovakia were largely at levels registered over the weekend, data from transmission system operator Eustream showed. Nominations for flows to Austria from Slovakia were similar to weekend levels but about 18% below last week's while nominations to the Czech Republic from Slovakia were down about 5% from the past week. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-gas-flows-europe-via-ukraine-stable-despite-gazprom-omv-row-2024-11-25/
2024-11-25 07:23
DHAKA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A Bangladesh government-appointed committee examining power generation contracts, including one with India’s Adani Power (ADAN.NS), has urged the interim government to hire a global legal firm to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation into deals under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime. The committee, led by Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, needs more time to analyse both solicited and unsolicited contracts from 2009 to 2024, a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. "External expertise will be crucial for conducting a comprehensive investigation that could potentially lead to the renegotiation or cancellation of certain agreements in line with international arbitration standards," said the official. Many of the reviewed contracts have sparked controversy due to their financial terms, environmental concerns, and doubts about long-term sustainability. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, has been indicted by U.S. prosecutors for his alleged involvement in a $265 million bribery scheme aimed at influencing Indian officials. The charges have sent shockwaves through his global business empire, valued at $142 billion and spanning industries from ports to soybeans. Other than the Adani power deal, the committee is also reviewing a joint-venture deal with a Chinese company that built a 1,320 MW coal-fired plant in Bangladesh, and six other agreements with local business groups. Last month, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Bangladesh was scrutinising its contract with Adani Power, as it was charging Bangladesh a rate nearly 27% higher than those of India's other private producers. Adani Power recently reduced the electricity supply to Bangladesh over an unpaid $800 million power bill. A Bangladesh Power Development Board official said that while paying such a large sum all at once is not feasible, the government plans to significantly increase its monthly payments to Adani Power, starting with up to $100 million per month. Adani Power, which operates a dedicated 1,600-megawatt (MW) Godda plant in Jharkhand, India, has been supplying electricity to Bangladesh since 2022. Bangladesh has been struggling to pay its bills due to costly fuel and goods imports since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The political turmoil that led to the ouster of Hasina in August has also compounded its troubles. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-panel-seeks-global-legal-firm-power-deals-probe-including-adani-2024-11-25/
2024-11-25 07:22
NAIROBI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was steady against the dollar on Monday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed. At 0714 GMT, the shilling traded at 129.00/130.00 to the dollar, the same as Friday's closing rate. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/kenyan-shilling-steady-versus-dollar-2024-11-25/
2024-11-25 06:59
Gold on track for its worst day since Jun.07 Israel says it's moving towards Lebanon ceasefire Trump nominates Scott Bessent for U.S. Treasury Secretary Fed’s Nov FOMC meeting minutes, GDP data, core PCE due this week Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices plunged over 3% on Monday, breaking a five-session rally to its highest in nearly three weeks, as reports of Israel nearing a ceasefire with Hezbollah, coupled with Trump's nomination of Scott Bessent as the U.S. Treasury Secretary soured the precious metal's safe-haven appeal. Spot gold fell 3.4% to $2,619.66 per ounce by 02:01 p.m. ET (1901 GMT), its biggest daily percentage decline since Jun.07. U.S. gold futures settled 3.5% lower to $2618.50. Gold prices were primed for a sell-off on buying exhaustion after last week's rally. Scott Bessent’s Treasury Secretary appointment further took away some of the risk premium associated with the U.S., said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities. "And even more so, reports that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to terms of an agreement to end the Israel and Hezbollah conflict have pushed gold prices even further (lower)." Gold is traditionally seen as a safe investment during economic and geopolitical uncertainty such as conventional or trade wars. Some market participants see Bessent as less negative for a trade war, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Bullion hit its highest since Nov. 6 in early Asian trade following last week's nearly 6% weekly surge, its best since March 2023, spurred by escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Traders are also gearing up for a pivotal week, with minutes from the Federal Reserve's November meeting, U.S. GDP revisions, and core PCE data expected to provide insights into the central bank’s policy outlook. "I still anticipate a 25 bps rate cut in December, but recent Fed speakers have taken on a more cautious tone heading into 2025, which could pose a bit of a headwind for gold," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Spot silver dropped 3.3% to $30.28 per ounce, platinum was down 2.6% to $938.57 while palladium slipped 3.1% to $977.94. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-prices-ease-three-week-peak-profit-taking-2024-11-25/
2024-11-25 06:56
MELBOURNE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A lithium technology startup backed by Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab, (RIO.L) , opens new tab expects to finalise a funding round in the next week to raise A$27.5 million ($17.8), even as the global lithium market struggles, its Melbourne-based CEO told Reuters. ElectraLith is developing a filtration technology that can extract lithium from brine deposits without using water or chemicals, which would be key in arid areas like Chile's Atacama desert, and needs only small amounts of energy. "The lithium market is not great, venture capital markets aren’t great, (so) the fact we are about to close this round with an oversubscribed investor base ... for us that’s fantastic," CEO Charlie McGill told Reuters. Several companies, including Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, are competing to commercialise their own direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies in an industry that is expected to grow to more than $10 billion in annual revenue within the next decade. DLE is expected to reshape the lithium market by speeding the production process of the metal used in EV batteries and electronics to hours or days, compared with months or longer with large evaporation ponds and open pit mines. ElectraLith's DLE-R process, for which the company holds commercialisation rights, filters brine through two membranes that extract lithium and turn it into lithium hydroxide, before injecting the remaining brine back into the aquifer. The group is working on how to scale the membrane for large projects while maintaining its properties, McGill said, and retains all commercial rights. ElectraLith plans to use funds raised to build its first pilot plant at Rio Tinto’s Rincon operations in Argentina, he said, adding the project is about a year from being ready to pilot. Two more pilot plants are set to follow. The firm is currently owned by venture capital firm IP Group, Rio Tinto and Monash University, where its membrane technology was developed under Professor Huanting Wang. By producing lithium hydroxide without water or chemicals, ElectraLith says it can compete at around half the cost of rivals, McGill said. "The availability of water in the regions where there are lithium mines is a major problem," he said. In Utah, where it is working on a project with Australia-listed Mandrake Resources, (MAN.AX) , opens new tab water from the Colorado River basin has to flow to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. "You can’t get a water permit," McGill said. "So we show up and we are like, 'We don’t need water.'" ($1 = 1.5349 Australian dollars) ($1 = 1.5456 Australian dollars) (This story has been corrected to rectify the figure to A$27.5 million, from A$29 million, in paragraph 1) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/rio-tinto-backed-lithium-tech-startup-set-raise-second-round-funds-2024-11-25/
2024-11-25 06:49
SINGAPORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - China has issued an additional crude oil import quota of at least 5.84 million metric tons (116,800 barrels per day) to independent refiners for cargoes arriving by end-2024 and in early 2025, people familiar with the situation said on Monday. The quotas are likely to lift China's crude imports heading into next year, after purchases rebounded in November, driven by sharp price cuts for shipments from Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Refiners, including Hengli Petrochemical (600346.SS) , opens new tab and some independents in eastern Shandong province, also known as teapots, have been notified that they will receive additional quota volumes for 2024, they said. Of these, an estimated 3.84 million tons (76,800 bpd) were given to Shandong-based teapots, while Hengli received 2 million tons, the sources said. These quotas are expected to be utilized by the end of this year, according to traders. It was not immediately clear if the new quota counts as volumes for 2024 or 2025. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media. China's Ministry of Commerce, which regulates crude oil imports quota, did not immediately respond to a fax for comment by Reuters. Some teapots, hit by poor profit margins caused by weak demand this year, had been lamenting about insufficient quota which constrained their imports of feedstock for production. The operation rates among teapots ramped up in the past three weeks as maintenance came to an end, and their margins improved thanks to rising production of gasoline and diesel, local consultancy Oilchem said on Friday. China has set the import quota for crude oil at 243 million tons for non state-owned firms in 2024 and raised it to 257 million tons for 2025. "The additional quotas will stir up some interest in prompt cargoes, particularly Iranian oil, which remains in the trading cycle for December arrivals," said Xu Muyu, a senior analyst at Kpler. Prices of Iranian oil to China rose to multi-year highs this month as lower exports drove up prices amid concerns that Middle East tensions may disrupt supply. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-issues-extra-crude-oil-import-quota-independent-refineries-sources-say-2024-11-25/
