2026-01-29 07:15
HONG KONG, Jan 29 (Reuters) - China's national average annual temperature hit a record for a second year at 10.9 degrees Celsius (51.6 degrees Fahrenheit), with the most high-temperature days ever recorded, the country's Meteorological Administration said on Thursday. The announcement was made at a press conference where the administration released its 2025 climate bulletin. Sign up here. Last year was among the planet's three warmest on record, the World Meteorological Organisation said in January. China's average annual temperature has risen over recent decades, and 2025 was the warmest year since nationwide records began in 1961, the administration said. Heavy rainfall and extreme heat have become more intense, increasing risks such as flooding and natural disasters. The country's 2025 temperature of 10.9 C tied with 2024 for the highest on record, the administration said. China describes high-temperature days as days at or above 35 C. From late June to early September there were sustained high temperatures across central and eastern China and average precipitation was 4.5% higher than normal, it said. The amount and duration of rain were also the highest on record in northern China, while the autumn rains in western China were the heaviest on record, the administration said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/china-sees-most-high-temperature-days-record-2025-2026-01-29/
2026-01-29 06:49
MOSCOW/ALMATY, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan said on Thursday that U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab had assured the government it would take measures to ensure the reliable and safe operation of facilities at the Tengiz oilfield. Kazakhstan said on Wednesday it was restarting the huge Tengiz oilfield in stages, aiming to reach full production in a week after three unexplained electrical fires earlier this month cost it 7.2 million barrels of oil. Sign up here. Kazakhstan's oil sector, which accounts for around 2% of daily global supply, has been hit by a series of setbacks in recent months, with the outage at Tengiz compounded by the fallout from drone strikes on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries the bulk of Kazakh oil exports out via Russia. At a meeting with Derek Magness, managing director of Chevron's Eurasia Business Unit, Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar expressed concern about the incidents at the Tengiz field, which led to a temporary halt in production, the government said. "Chevron management provided information on the measures taken to eliminate the consequences of the incidents and gradually increase oil production," it said. "Chevron management also assured that it would take specific actions to prevent similar situations in the future and ensure the reliable and safe operation of facilities." Tengiz is operated by Tengizchevroil, a joint venture between Chevron, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, KazMunayGas (KMGZ.KZ) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab. Chevron owns 50%, Exxon Mobil 25%, Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas 20% and Russia's Lukoil 5%. On Monday, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met with Exxon Mobil, urging the U.S. energy company to accelerate work to deal with the Tengiz outage and prevent similar incidents in future. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kazakhstan-says-chevron-promises-tengiz-will-be-operated-reliably-safely-2026-01-29/
2026-01-29 06:31
Reuters Open Interest (ROI) is your essential source for global financial commentary. LAUNCESTON, Australia, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The massive surge in gold and silver in recent months has been grabbing headlines, but behind the precious metal hype the less glamorous industrial metals have also been putting in strong performances. Copper, aluminium and nickel have posted strong gains, reaching either record or multi-year highs even though the underlying fundamentals appear to lack sufficient justification for the rallies. Sign up here. There are some solid reasons why base metals should be showing some strength, most of them related to either Chinese import demand or easing exports. But it's also likely that metals are benefiting from the same speculative dynamics driving gold and silver, namely a desire to hold real assets amid investor uncertainty over the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. The weakening U.S. dollar also explains some of the higher prices for metals, but it's worth noting that prices in other major world currencies have also been surging. Spot gold hit a fresh record high of $5,400.91 an ounce on Wednesday, and has jumped 39% since its most recent low of $3,886.02 on October 28. The surge in silver has been more impressive, with a gain of 158% from the October 28 low of $45.51 an ounce to the high of $117.41 on Wednesday, just shy of the all-time peak of $117.69 reached on January 26. Silver has also benefited from concern that China's new licensing rules for exports may lead to lower shipments, with just 44 companies allowed to export the metal this year and next. Restrictions on silver exports have yet to emerge, with China shipping about 5,100 metric tons of the metal last year, the most since 2008. But given silver's use in solar panels there is concern that China will prioritise domestic consumption, resulting in lower quantities available for export. ALUMINIUM SUPPLY China is also having an impact on global aluminium markets by shipping less of the industrial metal. Exports of unwrought aluminium and products dropped 8% in 2025 from the prior year to 6.13 million tons, according to customs data. The loss of some supply from the world's biggest producer resulted in aluminium prices rallying, with London contracts on a rising trend since April. From the most recent low of $2,805 a ton on November 17, aluminium has jumped 16.1% to end at $3,257 on Wednesday, the highest close since April 2022. Copper's gains have been more impressive, with London futures gaining 24% from the recent low of $10,580 a ton on November 5 to the close of $13,086.50 on Wednesday, which is down slightly from the record high of $13,407 hit on January 14. China has been importing more copper, especially in the second half of 2025, with December arrivals of 437,000 tons being up 2.3% from the prior month. However, much of copper's rally last year was built around the flow of metal into the United States amid fears that Trump would impose import tariffs, with those concerns easing after duties were imposed only on some copper products. Nickel is another industrial metal that has turned in some impressive gains in recent months, rising 27.5% from a low of $14,330 a ton on November 21 to end at $18,270 on Wednesday, close to the 21-month high of $19,160 from January 26. The question for markets is whether the gains in copper, aluminium and nickel can be justified by supply and demand fundamentals and the outlook for the rest of 2026, or whether they are being driven by speculation. Most analysts see copper and aluminium as fairly well-balanced markets from a supply and demand view in 2026, while nickel is likely to remain in oversupply. This means the recent rally is more likely to be industrial metals hanging on the coattails of the gains in precious metals. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X , opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/trump-china-metals-rally-extends-beyond-gold-silver-2026-01-29/
2026-01-29 06:24
India confirmed two infections in late December India says no outbreak, no need for screening at its airports A number of Asian nations have tightened screening Nipah has high mortality rate but not easily transmitted LAHORE/HANOI/HYDERABAD, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Authorities in Pakistan have ordered enhanced screening of people entering the country for signs of infections of the deadly Nipah virus after India confirmed two cases, adding to the number of Asian countries stepping up controls. Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have also tightened screening at airports. But an Indian official said there were no plans to introduce screening at the country's airports and said there was no sign of any outbreak. Sign up here. The Nipah virus can cause fever and brain inflammation and has a high mortality rate. There is also no vaccine. But transmission from person to person is not easy and typically requires prolonged contact with an infected individual. PAKISTAN SEEKS TRANSIT HISTORY "It has become imperative to strengthen preventative and surveillance measures at Pakistan's borders," the Border Health Services department said in a statement. "All travelers shall undergo thermal screening and clinical assessment at the Point of Entry," which includes seaports, land borders and airports, the department added. The agency said travellers would need to provide transit history for the preceding 21-day period to check whether they had been through "Nipah-affected or high-risk regions". There are no direct flights between Pakistan and India and travel between them is extremely limited, particularly since their worst fighting in decades erupted last May. In Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital's health department on Wednesday also ordered the screening of incoming passengers at Noi Bai airport, particularly those arriving from India and the eastern state of West Bengal, where the two health workers were confirmed to have the virus in late December. Passengers will be checked with body temperature scanners. "This allows for timely isolation, epidemiological investigation," the department said in a statement. That follows measures by authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest city, who said they had tightened health controls at international border crossings. NO OUTBREAK, NO WORRY, SAYS INDIA India's health ministry said this week that authorities have identified and traced 196 contacts linked to the two cases with none showing symptoms and all testing negative for the virus. The two infected people are health workers, with the male patient doing well and likely to be discharged from hospital soon, while the female patient remains critical and under treatment, the chief district medical officer in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal told Reuters on Thursday. Indian health authorities have repeatedly sought to reassure people that the infection has been contained and that there is no reason to fear an outbreak. Federal health authorities also said there was no need to screen passengers at Indian airports. "There is no outbreak, there were just two cases in one district in (West) Bengal and there is no spread," a federal health ministry official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There is no consideration for screening at airports in India because there appears to be no need for it." Asked about Indian passengers being screened at airports across Asia, the official said it was the sovereign right of countries to do what they think is best. HIGH FATALITY RATE Nipah is a rare viral infection that spreads largely from infected animals, mainly fruit bats, to humans. It can be asymptomatic but it is often very dangerous, with a case fatality rate of 40% to 75%, depending on the local healthcare system's capacity for detection and management, according to the World Health Organization. The virus was first identified just over 25 years ago during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore, although scientists believe it has circulated in flying foxes, or fruit bats, for thousands of years. The WHO classifies Nipah as a priority pathogen. India regularly reports sporadic infections, particularly in the southern state of Kerala, regarded as one of the world's highest-risk regions for Nipah. As of December 2025, there have been 750 confirmed Nipah infections globally, with 415 deaths, according to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which is funding a vaccine trial to help stop Nipah. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pakistan-becomes-latest-asian-country-introduce-checks-deadly-nipah-virus-2026-01-29/
2026-01-29 06:20
GOA, India, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Three companies are competing for GAIL India's (GAIL.NS) , opens new tab tender to acquire up to a 26% stake in a liquefied natural gas project in the United States, its Chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta said on Thursday. Last year, GAIL issued a tender to buy up to a 26% stake in an LNG project in the United States, combined with a 15-year gas import deal. Sign up here. India's largest gas distributor invited initial bids from companies as it seeks to buy equity in an existing LNG liquefaction project or a new project that would be commissioned by 2030 at the latest. The United States is already the second-biggest supplier to India, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, while Qatar is its largest LNG supplier. State-run GAIL wants 1 million metric tons of LNG per year from a U.S. plant on a free-on-board basis for 15 years, and has said the deal could be extended by five to 10 years. India is the world's fourth-largest LNG importer and aims to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from 6% currently. More supplies are likely to come into the market as prices are "normalising," Gupta said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week conference. "Supply is not a concern, as more volumes are coming in from Argentina, Canada, Alaska and Qatar," he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/three-firms-vie-indian-gas-firm-gails-tender-buy-into-us-lng-project-2026-01-29/
2026-01-29 06:06
Investment overtook jewellery as top gold demand category Total investment demand up 84% y/y in 2025, led by ETFs Gold jewellery fabrication fell 19%, to remain weak in 2026 Buying by central banks fell 21% to 863 tons, WGC estimates LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Gold demand hit an all-time high last year as jitters over instability and trade sparked a surge in investment, even as a series of record price peaks kept jewellery buyers from the tills. Global gold demand rose by 1% in 2025 to 5,002 metric tons, the highest number on record, the World Gold Council said on Thursday. Sign up here. Prices of the metal jumped above $5,300 per ounce for the first time on Wednesday and are up 22% so far this year after a 64% jump in 2025 on safe-haven demand driven by geopolitical tensions and more recently weakening confidence in the U.S. dollar. "The biggest question this year will be whether investment demand is going to be strong enough to maintain the strength of the gold market," said John Reade, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council. GOLD INVESTMENT AT A RECORD HIGH The WGC expects another year of strong inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds and robust demand for bars and coins. ETFs saw inflows of 801 tons of gold in 2025, while demand for bars and coins jumped 16% to a 12-year high. Overall gold investment demand soared 84% to a record high of 2,175 tons in 2025. However, the WGC expects record-high prices to hit jewellery demand this year and will slow down purchases by central banks to 850 tons from 863 tons in 2025, even though their buying remains elevated when compared to the pre-2022 level. Gold jewellery demand fell 18% in 2025, with buying in China down 24% at its lowest since 2009. After a gold price rally and active purchases by central banks in 2022-2025, the share of gold in foreign currency holdings around the globe is now approaching early-1990s levels, "a period with more concentrated ownership and arguably fewer incentives for gold ownership than today," the WGC said. Its estimate is based on officially reported gold purchases by central banks and an assessment of unreported buying by consultancy Metals Focus. "Many banks manage gold outside their formal reserve frameworks; some likely target volumes rather than values. This makes it ineffective to identify a single 'satiation point' for aggregate demand," the WGC added. Gold supply and demand by WGC*: *Source: Metals Focus, ICE Benchmark Administration, World Gold Council https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-gold-demand-hits-record-high-2025-wgc-says-2026-01-29/
