2025-12-16 07:19

COPENHAGEN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Norwegian police said on Tuesday they have fined Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor (EQNR.OL) , opens new tab over pollution at the group's Mongstad refinery on Norway's west coast. The fine, based on "years of inadequate maintenance" was set at 220 million Norwegian crowns ($21.66 million) while a further 500 million crowns would be confiscated, the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime said in a statement. Sign up here. Equinor said it contested the decision and plans to challenge the penalty in court. "We disagree that the company has failed to fulfil its duty of proper maintenance of the plant over several decades and that the company has saved cost through inadequate maintenance," the company said in a statement. ($1 = 10.1572 Norwegian crowns) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/norway-police-fine-equinor-over-pollution-mongstad-refinery-2025-12-16/

2025-12-16 07:08

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Australia's South32 (S32.AX) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it will place the Mozal aluminium smelter in Mozambique under care and maintenance by March, incurring a $60 million one-off cost, after failing to secure a power deal with the government. Negotiations between the Perth-based firm and Mozambique's government and power suppliers have been going on for several years to reach an agreement for the smelter's energy-intensive operations. Sign up here. "The parties remained deadlocked on an appropriate electricity price, which was exacerbated by ongoing drought conditions affecting electricity supply from HCB," said South32's CEO, Graham Kerr, referring to hydroelectric producer Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa. Under the current power-supply deal, when primary power provider HCB is unable to meet all of Mozal's electricity requirements, South African utility Eskom will step in. As the deal is due to expire by March, South32 has not procured raw materials required to sustain operations beyond that period, it said. Producing aluminium is energy-intensive, making affordable power supply a key concern for aluminium producers such as South32. The Mozal smelter, in which South32 holds a 63.7% stake, has been a significant contributor to the company's aluminium output, accounting for just over 29% of its total aluminium production in fiscal 2025. South32 had flagged a $372 million impairment for the Mozal smelter in its fiscal year 2025 results, reflecting the financial impact of the anticipated shutdown. Its shares ended the day 2% lower, a few minutes before the update was made public. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south32-mothball-mozambique-smelter-march-power-talks-collapse-2025-12-16/

2025-12-16 07:02

Platinum rises to highest level since 2011 US Nov non-farm payrolls, unemployment rate data due at 1330 GMT CPI and PCE data due later this week Dec 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Tuesday as investors grew cautious ahead of key U.S. jobs data due later in the day, as it is expected to shed light on future Federal Reserve interest rate cut prospects. Spot gold lost 0.6% to $4,277.20 per ounce, as of 1102 GMT. Bullion has rallied 64% year-to-date. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures were down 0.7% at $4,305.30. "Gold is on the back foot this morning as investors take profit ahead of key U.S. data that will shape Fed rate expectations next year," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, adding that weakness below the psychological $4,300 mark is also keeping bears in the picture. The combined employment reports for October and November are in focus, though a number of key details will be missing due to a lack of data collection following the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown. U.S. nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 50,000 jobs in November following an anticipated decline in October, a Reuters survey of economists predicted, while the unemployment rate was estimated to come in at 4.4% last month. Investors will also scrutinize November's Consumer Price index and Personal Consumption Expenditures index, due later this week, for further clues on monetary policy next year. Non-yielding bullion typically thrives in lower-rate environments. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 1.5% to $62.98 an ounce, after touching a record high of $64.65 on Friday. "Silver remains influenced by the same forces pressuring gold - a wave of profit-taking and ETF outflows ahead of high-impact US economic releases," said Otunuga. However, the metal is up 118% for the year, buoyed by physical market tightness, the same macro-economic factors supporting gold, industrial demand and its inclusion in the U.S. critical minerals list. Elsewhere, spot platinum rose 1.3% to $1,805.85, its highest level since September 2011, while palladium edged lower by 0.2% to $1,563.69, but hovered near a two-month high. The European Commission is set to backtrack on the EU's ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035, a move that is "likely to be supportive for internal combustion vehicles, which use platinum and palladium," said Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree. This year's gold and silver rally has also drawn investor attention to platinum and palladium, he added. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-edges-higher-dollar-eases-ahead-year-end-us-jobs-data-2025-12-16/

2025-12-16 06:59

BERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The European Commission is weighing a new compensation scheme that could allow car makers to sell combustion-engine vehicles beyond 2035, Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing senior Commission sources. Under the proposed framework, up to 30% of climate targets could be met through alternative fuels, while approximately 70% would be achieved using green steel, the report said. Sign up here. Discussions over the precise accounting rules are ongoing, Handelsblatt quoted sources close to the negotiations as saying. The report comes ahead of the Commission's official legislative proposal, also due on Tuesday, following lobbying efforts from Germany, Italy, and the automotive industry that prompted Brussels to ease its proposal for a full ban on new combustion-engine cars. The mechanism under consideration could result in effective emissions reductions of 90%, Handelsblatt said, with CO2 offsets allowing the continued sales of combustion-engine vehicles. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-weighs-scheme-allow-combustion-engine-vehicles-after-2035-handelsblatt-2025-12-16/

2025-12-16 06:52

INR down 6% YTD, worst performing currency in Asia Reversal of INR's fortunes hinges on US-India trade talks MUFG expects weakness to persist near term MUMBAI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee breached the 91-per-dollar threshold for the first time on Tuesday, pressured by increased hedging activity and portfolio outflows amid a deadlock in trade negotiations between the U.S. and India. The currency fell 0.3% to 91.0750, hitting a record low for a fourth consecutive session. The rupee had declined past 90 for the first time on December 3. Sign up here. The rupee has fallen more than 6% against the dollar so far in 2025, making it one of the worst-performing emerging market currencies, as steep U.S. tariffs on Indian exports hurt trade and portfolio flows. Overseas investors have net sold over $18 billion of local stocks this year, and are on track for the largest annual outflows ever. India's benchmark equity indexes, BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab were down about 0.6% each on the day. While the likely maturity of positions in the non-deliverable forwards market put pressure on the rupee, dollar sales by state-run banks, most likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, helped slow the slide, traders said. India's central bank will tolerate a weaker rupee as the country's external sector confronts multiple headwinds, Reuters reported earlier this month. The rupee is down over 8.5% from its year-to-date peak of 83.77 hit in May. Analysts say a reversal in the rupee's fortunes is unlikely unless there is a breakthrough in U.S.-India trade negotiations. "The path of least resistance is still for USD/INR to rise from here given uncertainty around tariffs, but we are hesitant to chase USD/INR higher at these elevated levels," MUFG said in a note on Tuesday. A rebound in India's exports in November and resilient economic growth have helped blunt the impact of steep U.S. tariffs, easing immediate pressure on New Delhi to clinch a trade deal, analysts say. India's trade secretary said on Monday that the Asian country is engaged with the U.S. to see if they can close the deal "sooner than later". Shipments to the U.S. grew 21% year-on-year in November, helping narrow India's merchandise trade deficit (INTRD=ECI) , opens new tab to a five-month low of $24.53 billion. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-hits-record-low-pressured-by-persistent-outflows-ndf-maturities-2025-12-16/

2025-12-16 06:36

MUMBAI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee's near one-way slide over the past month, with the currency repeatedly touching all-time lows regardless of broader Asian market cues, is fuelling talk among bankers of heavier pushback from the central bank. The rupee has fallen about 2.5% over the past month, driven by a persistent imbalance in dollar flows, with the lack of a U.S.-India trade deal weighing on sentiment. Importer hedging has intensified and foreign investors have remained cautious on Indian equities, keeping the currency under constant strain. Sign up here. The dominance of flows has dulled the rupee's sensitivity to daily swings in its Asian peers, allowing the downside momentum to build and raising expectations of further depreciation and speculative activity. In previous bouts of rupee weakness this year, when the currency weakened persistently irrespective of Asian cues and signs of speculative positioning building, the Reserve Bank of India stepped in with heavier-than-usual intervention to curb the slide. For instance, the RBI intervened forcefully in both the spot and non-deliverable forward markets on two occasions last month to put the brakes on the rupee’s slide. It had intervened in a similar way in October and earlier in February. "Those were not routine interventions - the RBI came in with size to break the move and bring two-way trade back,” a banker said. "With how one-way the rupee has been, it's reasonable to think the RBI could be back the same way." A trader at a state-run bank echoed the view, saying that with market consensus building around further depreciation, the probability of heavier intervention has increased. The Indian currency declined past the 91 handle against the U.S. dollar for the first time on Tuesday, down 0.3% on the day. The rupee's weakness has stood out, with most Asian currencies advancing over the past month. The Thai baht has climbed over 3%, while the yuan, ringgit and Singapore dollar have all appreciated by at least 1%. The contrast in performance has left the rupee notably weaker against its peers, with the currency sliding to all-time lows against its peers. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-rupees-relentless-slide-fuels-talk-rbi-pushback-bankers-say-2025-12-16/