2024-10-22 06:58

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - China's third-quarter economic losses due to natural disasters, from super typhoons to floods, more than doubled from the first six months of 2024. Direct economic losses in July to September reached 230 billion yuan ($32.3 billion), according to Reuters calculations based on nine-month data released by the Ministry of Emergency Management on Tuesday. That is more than two times the 93.16 billion yuan in losses in the first half of this year. The numbers highlight how China is increasingly exposed to destructive weather phenomena that is amplified by climate change. In September, the financial hub of Shanghai was brought to a standstill by Typhoon Bebinca, the most powerful tropical cyclone to directly hit the city in 70 years. Earlier that month, Super Typhoon Yagi - the strongest typhoon on record - tore through Hainan, knocking down power supply to nearly 1 million households in the province. Record rainfall and powerful typhoons over the summer have disrupted supplies of foodstuffs, raising consumer prices and dampening agricultural output. Direct economic losses hit 323.2 billion yuan in the first three quarters, higher than 308.3 billion yuan a year earlier, according to the ministry's data. Increasingly disruptive weather has deepened the cost to China's economy. The country launched a nationwide adaptation strategy more than two years ago, but the economic losses show China has still to become sufficiently resilient to the growing impact of natural disasters. In the first nine months, more than 84 million people were affected, with the number of people dead or missing totalling 836, while nearly 3.35 million people needed urgent resettlement, the ministry said. The ministry counted 50,000 collapsed homes and 630,000 that were damaged. About 9.05 million hectares of crops were impacted. The ministry called the natural disasters this year "complex and severe", with relief work facing great challenges. Twenty-three disaster relief responses have been initiated, it said, the most in nearly a decade. Vulnerabilities to climate change effects remain prevalent even as China pushes for better monitoring and prediction of extreme weather, and a building of resilience in the agriculture industry, infrastructure and urban environment. ($1 = 7.1229 Chinese yuan renminbi) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-q3-economic-losses-natural-calamities-surge-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 06:52

Enagas cuts net debt by almost 1 billion euros Group will present a strategic update next year Company is on track to beat revised targets MADRID, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Spanish gas grid operator Enagas (ENAG.MC) , opens new tab said on Tuesday its net debt was on track to reach its lowest since 2008 as it prepared to invest billions of euros in hydrogen projects. The sale earlier this year of its 30.2% stake in U.S. energy infrastructure company Tallgrass Energy allowed Enagas to cut debt by roughly 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) to around 2.4 billion euros, a level expected to be maintained until 2026. The U.S. disposal followed other asset sales in Chile and Mexico as the company refocuses on Spain and Europe. With Spanish gas demand falling in the past two years, the firm is moving to diversify from its traditional gas business to managing a network of hydrogen infrastructure. This will require gross investments of almost 6 billion euros, including in a planned hydrogen network in Spain and its flagship trans-European H2Med corridor aimed at connecting Iberia's hydrogen networks with northwest Europe. Including subsidies, it expects to make net investments of around 3.2 billion euros through 2030. To help fund the plan, the company has already slashed its dividends. Enagas - in which the state owns a 5% stake - will sound out potential interest in the H2Med hydrogen corridor by launching a call for interest along with its partners on Nov. 7. A new strategic plan will be presented with first-quarter results next year, it said. Enagas' strategy is in line with the Spanish government's ambition of making the country a European green hydrogen leader. The company said it was on track to beat the targets it revised in July after posting a loss of 130.2 million euros for the first nine months of the year. It said in July it expected to post a loss of between 80 million and 90 million euros for 2024 as a whole, after a capital hit resulting from the sale of the U.S. asset. In the first nine months of last year, the company had a profit of 258.9 million euros. ($1 = 0.9243 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/spains-enagas-track-beat-revised-target-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 06:20

Revised 2024 production cost, capex guidance down Maintains fourth-quarter dividend at $270 million Aims to boost output to around 400,000 boed by end-2025 OSLO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Oslo-listed Vaar Energi (VAR.OL) , opens new tab, majority-owned by Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab, on Tuesday reported a stronger than expected third-quarter operating profit, while guiding for lower capital expenditure and production costs in 2024 than previously seen. Its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the April-June quarter fell to $740 million from $907 million a year earlier, but exceeded the $702 million average forecast in a company-provided poll , opens new tab of 13 analysts. "We're showing strong cost discipline, lowering capital spend and production cost guidance for the year, as we enter a more volatile price environment," CEO Nick Walker said in a statement. Vaar now expects its production costs for the full year to be below $13 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) compared to previous guidance of $13.5-$14.5 per boe. It lowered its full-year capital spending estimate, excluding exploration and abandonment, to below $2.6 billion from $2.7 billion-$2.9 billion. Vaar maintained a quarterly cash dividend of $270 million, or around $0.11 per share, for the fourth quarter. The company confirmed its plan to increase production to around 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) by the end of 2025, up from 280,000-290,000 boed seen in 2024. It plans to add some net 150,000 boed over the next three quarters, mainly from three new projects - Equinor-operated Johan Castberg, Halten East and Vaar's Balder X - coming on stream over the same period. Vaar also said it had decided to invest $620 million in the Balder Phase V project that would add some net 30,000 boed for the company, helping to sustain production beyond 2025. Vaar's Oslo-listed shares were expected to outperform the market by 1-2% on Tuesday due to better than expected results and its reduced cost guidance, DNB Markets analysts said in a note. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/vaar-energi-q3-operating-profit-beats-expectations-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 06:16

Gold has risen 32% so far this year We should see silver cross above $35/oZ - analyst Oct 22 (Reuters) - Gold climbed on Tuesday, trading not too far away from the record peak it hit in the last session, as concerns over rising geopolitical tensions, U.S. election uncertainties and prospects of central banks lowering interest rates boosted demand. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,732.06 per ounce by 1143 GMT and U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $2,746.50. Bullion, considered a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainties, hit an all-time high of $2,740.37 on Monday. The non-yielding asset has gained 32% so far this year. "Uncertainty is the key word at the moment and safe-haven like gold is actually the most important refuge asset possibly in traders' portfolios at the moment," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades. "I wouldn't be surprised to see the $2,800 being touched at some point," Evangelista said, adding that rate cuts, purchases from some central banks, geopolitical instability and uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election are boosting demand for the metal. Gold's rally comes despite a firmer U.S. dollar and Treasury yields, and the strength of gold's momentum has outweighed weaker physical demand and higher supply, analysts said. "The precious metal could keep printing never-before-seen prices as long as markets can keep shrugging off the ongoing rebound in U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group. "Sustained net inflows into bullion-backed ETFs should also preserve the upside momentum in spot gold." Global physically-backed gold ETFs saw their fifth consecutive monthly inflow in September, attracting $1.4 billion, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). From the technical point of view, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), currently at 74, suggests that gold prices moved into "overbought" territory. An RSI above 70 indicates a commodity is overbought. TECH/ Spot silver rose 1.9% to $34.39 per ounce after hitting its highest since late-2012 in the last session. "We should see silver cross above $35 before the November 5th polling day, provided the tailwinds for precious metals remain intact," Tan added. Platinum rose about 1.2% to $1,015.33 per ounce. Palladium added 2% to $1,072.35. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-hovers-near-record-high-safe-haven-demand-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 06:11

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Ambuja Cements (ABUJ.NS) , opens new tab, India's No.2 cement maker, said on Tuesday that it would buy a nearly 47% stake in rival Orient Cement (ORCE.NS) , opens new tab for 37.91 billion rupees ($451 million), but analysts said there were doubts about the deal receiving regulatory approval. Ambuja -- which along with ACC (ACC.NS) , opens new tab are the two cement companies controlled by the Adani conglomerate -- said it would pay 395.40 rupees per Orient share, which is a premium of more than 12% to the stock's closing price on Monday. The deal will help increase Adani's market share by 2%, said Karan Adani, director of Ambuja Cements, and values Orient, which is based in the south Indian state of Telangana, at 81 billion rupees. However, while Orient's stock initially jumped 7.5% to a record high of 379 rupees, it soon reversed course to trade 0.7% lower at 350.6 rupees, which analysts said was a sign of worries about potential regulatory concerns. "Considering the backdrop of a slew of deals in recent past, especially in the southern region of India, investors are concerned if the deal will receive approval from the country's competition regulator," Ashutosh Murarka, a research analyst at Choice Broking, said. India's cement sector has seen a host of deals since the Adani group's entry in 2022, as billionaire Gautam Adani's ports-to-power conglomerate aims to challenge UltraTech Cement's (ULTC.NS) , opens new tab pole position in the sector. The deals include Ambuja's deal with Penna and UltraTech's deals with Kesoram and India Cements, both focussed on south India. ($1 = 84.0675 Indian rupees) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indias-ambuja-cements-buy-468-stake-orient-cement-964-mln-2024-10-22/

2024-10-22 06:04

SINGAPORE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The next wave of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply will come online from 2027, later than the earlier forecast of 2025, due to project delays, TotalEnergies' Senior Vice President for LNG Gregory Joffroy said on Tuesday. "On the mid-term (outlook), we see some LNG projects that were due to come onstream in the coming months have been delayed. The exact start date will impact the gas balances and supplies," Joffroy said at the Asia Gas Markets conference. "On the long-term, it is clear that we will have a new supply wave by 2027 (through to) 2030." In the U.S., a shortage of skilled labour, inflation from strong wage growth and equipment shortages have pressured LNG developers and delayed some projects there, while President Joe Biden's January pause on approvals for new LNG export projects has also created uncertainty. Joffroy said he expects LNG demand to be higher in 2035 from current consumption levels, as utilities that are still consuming coal will switch to gas-fired power generation and with the development of renewables. "With the development of renewables, people need a solution to resolve intermittency issues, and gas is a perfect solution." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/next-wave-lng-supply-delayed-2027-due-project-hold-ups-totalenergies-says-2024-10-22/