2025-10-17 12:33

China and India's seaborne Russian oil imports expected to rebound to about 3.1 million bpd in October India's Russian oil imports likely to decline from Dec; sources say Japan unlikely to halt Russian LNG imports NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE/TOKYO Oct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. and European pressure on Asian buyers of Russian energy could restrict India's oil imports from December, leading to cheaper supplies for China, while Japan is unlikely to halt its Sakhalin liquefied natural gas shipments for now, trade sources and analysts said. Washington is exerting pressure on China, India and Japan through trade talks to reduce their purchases of Russian oil and LNG, while Britain has just imposed sanctions on Chinese and Indian entities. More sanctions from the European Union could follow. Western nations say Moscow is using its energy revenues to fund the Ukraine war. Sign up here. The moves come after Russia ramped up crude exports this month as Ukrainian drone attacks on its refineries have reduced oil processing. China and India's seaborne imports of key Russian crude grades are expected to rebound to about 3.1 million barrels per day in October, the highest volume since June, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. These imports are expected to remain high through November given the sharp rise in exports from Russia, Kpler's senior oil analyst Muyu Xu said. "However, the sudden UK sanctions on Chinese and Indian refineries — and the possibility of more measures from the EU or even the U.S. — could prompt buyers to take a more cautious approach when placing new orders until further clarification emerges," she added. INDIA CUTS NOT YET VISIBLE A White House official said on Thursday that Indian refiners are already cutting Russian oil imports by 50%. Indian sources said the cut was not visible yet, though it could be reflected in import numbers for December or January. Refiners had already placed orders for November loading that included some cargoes for December arrival as well, multiple sources said. "We do not think India can stop Russian crude purchases overnight, even if it has agreed to do so, as at least 700,000 bpd of India imports of Russian crude are on a term basis," consultancy FGE said in a note. "Therefore, the maximum volume of Russian crude flows to India we see as potentially being at risk in the short term is the 0.8-1 million bpd of spot volumes that Indian refiners take," FGE analysts said. China could pick up some of the volumes backed out of India as Russian crude discounts will widen further, they added. Meanwhile, Indian refiners have bought rare Guyanese crude as they diversify purchases that would mitigate the impact on their operations if Russian supply was cut. SANCTIONS ON NAYARA, YULONG Britain slapped sanctions on India's Nayara refinery, which is already reeling from EU sanctions, and on Chinese refiner Yulong Petrochemical which operates a 400,000 barrels per day refinery in China's eastern Shandong province. The UK government has given Yulong until November 13 to complete outstanding transactions, allowing the refiner to handle its upcoming Middle Eastern imports, Kpler's Xu said. It's unclear if Yulong can establish a new supply chain to circumvent the sanctions, she added. "The move has undoubtedly sounded an alarm for other Russian oil buyers who may have previously overlooked sanctions from non-U.S. authorities," Xu said. June Goh, a senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities, said the UK sanctions are unlikely to significantly impact Yulong, but the refiner will find it hard to maintain operations if the EU and the U.S. follow suit. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Russian naphtha imports are set to fall after a group of non-governmental organisations criticised the island's continued business with Russia. However, Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, as well as a partial ban imposed by Moscow on Russian exports of gasoline and diesel, have already been capping Russian refined product shipments, traders said. JAPAN LNG IMPORTS The U.S. has also called on Japan to halt Russian energy imports, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's expected visit to Asia later this month. Tokyo has agreed with other G7 countries to phase out Russian oil imports in response to Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but it has exemptions to continue importing LNG from the Sakhalin-2 project under long-term contracts. An early termination of these contracts would result in various penalties, said Yuriy Humber, CEO of Tokyo-based consultancy Yuri Group. Also, securing an additional 6 million metric tons of LNG annually on the spot market to replace Russian supply would not be easy and is "massively expensive", he said. Russian LNG, which accounts for about 9% of Japanese imports, is an important stable supply source for Japan, Kingo Hayashi, chairman of Japan's Federation of Electric Power Companies, told reporters on Friday, adding that Japanese utilities want to continue using it. Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, said the U.S. needs to have a consistent and coherent policy on Russian LNG. "On the one side, they are pressuring their allies to stop importing Russian gas or LNG. But they are not implementing their own sanctions on Arctic LNG 2," she said, referring to Russia's large-scale LNG project in northern Siberia which is still delivering LNG to China despite being under U.S. sanctions. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/western-pressure-hit-asian-buying-russian-oil-december-sources-say-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 12:01

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The Bank of England will make changes to explain in more detail its decisions on interest rates and other monetary policy issues from next month, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Friday. The BoE was taking concrete steps in response to a review of how its forecasting should adapt to greater uncertainty in the world economy and its communication processes published last year by former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, Pill said. Sign up here. As a result, the Monetary Policy Committee will seek to explain the wider range of inputs used in its discussions via the increased use of explanatory boxes and a new section on risks and scenarios in its quarterly Monetary Policy Report. In another change, the minutes of MPC meetings will give space for each of its nine member to explain their own policy views, Pill said. "For sure, our progress thus far is not the final word," he said in a speech to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. "And as circumstances change and new challenges emerge – as they inevitably will – additions will be made to an already long 'to do' list." The BoE, like other central banks, came under heavy criticism of its forecasting and communications strategy when inflation peaked above 10% in 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine which sent energy prices in Europe soaring. The BoE's next monetary policy announcement is due on November 6 when it is widely expected to keep rates on hold as it awaits further clarity on the persistence of inflation pressures in the economy. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bank-england-explain-rates-decisions-more-detail-november-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 11:59

Oct 17 (Reuters) - SLB (SLB.N) , opens new tab beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Friday, as steady demand in North America and contributions from its recent ChampionX acquisition helped offset weakening oilfield activity in other regions. The U.S. oilfield market appears to be stabilizing after months of reduced spending, but international demand, historically SLB's major profit driver, remains tepid. Sign up here. Latest data from Baker Hughes backed higher oilfield activity in North America. It showed that total rig count, an indicator of future output, in the region rose 3% to 718 at the end of the July-September quarter from the prior three-month period, while international rig count was steady at 1080. CEO Olivier Le Peuch described the quarter as "resilient," given an oversupplied oil market and geopolitical uncertainty. Le Peuch said SLB expects international markets to rebound as supply and demand rebalance, supported by sustained investment in oil capacity, gas expansion projects and a constructive outlook for deepwater. International revenue, which accounts for about 80% of SLB's total, fell 7% to $6.92 billion in the third quarter, while North America revenue rose 14% to $1.93 billion. The completion of SLB's $7.75 billion acquisition of smaller peer ChampionX also added to its earnings in the latest quarter. Excluding the impact of this acquisition, SLB's third-quarter 2025 global revenue was down 9% from a year earlier. The company reported an adjusted profit of 69 cents per share for the quarter ended September 30, compared with analysts' estimate of 66 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/slb-beats-estimates-third-quarter-profit-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 11:58

NEW DELHI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Indian solar manufacturers have begun recalibrating their supply chains to maintain access to the lucrative United States market and offset higher tariffs, according to executives. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs of up to 50% on most exports from India, among the highest for any U.S. trading partner, went into effect on August 27. Sign up here. In a post-earnings call with analysts on Friday, Vikram Solar (VIKO.NS) , opens new tab, which has 15% of its current order book tied to the U.S., said it is navigating the tariff structure by sourcing solar cells from countries with lower duties. For solar modules, U.S. tariffs are based on the country where the solar cell was manufactured—specifically, where the cell's PN junction (the part that generates electricity) was formed. So even if a module is assembled in India, the U.S. will apply tariffs based on the country of origin of the cell inside. "We are exploring alternative supply chains from countries with significant cell capacities that have lesser levies than what India does," said Rinal Shah, a top executive at Vikram Solar. The company did not specify if the tariffs had any impact on its September quarter earnings, but expressed confidence in fulfilling U.S. orders despite the tariff headwinds. Waaree Energies (WAAN.NS) , opens new tab, India's top solar module maker and among the top exporters to the U.S., said it was not using domestically manufactured solar cells for the United States because that would attract higher tariffs. The company is also under investigation by the U.S., which has alleged that it sidestepped the country's tariffs on Chinese-made cells and panels by labelling them as made in India. Waaree has refuted these allegations. Waaree CEO Amit Paithankar said in an analyst call on Friday that the supply chain for the U.S. is completely China-free, and that the company abides by prevailing laws and rules. "We have also configured it in such a way that the tariff problems associated with that (exports) are the lowest," Paithankar said. Waaree added that its orders have not been impacted yet due to the tariffs and the U.S. trade investigation. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indian-solar-firms-tweaking-supply-chains-navigate-us-tariffs-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 11:56

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday that banks have ample reserves and that he was optimistic that credit markets could stay ahead of the curve. Markets should realize there is a new administration in the United States, Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said in an interview with Fox Business Network. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/white-houses-hassett-credit-markets-optimistic-we-can-stay-ahead-curve-2025-10-17/

2025-10-17 11:46

Polish court rules against sending Ukrainian suspect to Germany Volodymyr Z. wanted in connection with Nord Stream bombings Polish PM says he should not be given to Germany Warsaw is a long standing critic of Nord Stream WARSAW, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A Polish court on Friday ruled against handing over a Ukrainian suspect wanted by Germany in connection with the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions and ordered his immediate release from detention. Although Warsaw had said the decision over whether Volodymyr Z. should be transferred to Germany was one for the courts alone, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier this month that handing him over was not in Poland's interest. Sign up here. Tusk said the problem was not that the undersea pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany, were blown up in September 2022, but that they were built at all. "The person being prosecuted, if he was the perpetrator, is entitled to functional immunity, which covers an act committed in connection with his activities for the Ukrainian state," judge Dariusz Lubowski said in his verdict that ruled that the German application was not admissible. "If Ukraine was indeed the organiser of this act of aggression, then only Ukraine can be held responsible for this event." Ukraine has denied involvement in the explosions. "Polish court denied extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian national...And rightly so. The case is closed," Tusk said on X following the verdict. MAJOR ESCALATION The explosions largely severed Russian gas supplies to Europe, marking a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezing energy supplies. Germany's top prosecutors' office says Volodymyr Z. was one of a group suspected of renting a sailing yacht and planting explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm. He faces allegations of conspiring to commit an explosives attack and of "anti-constitutional sabotage". His Polish lawyer rejects the accusations and says Volodymyr Z. has done nothing wrong. He has also questioned whether a case concerning the destruction of Russian property by a Ukrainian at a time when the countries are at war is a criminal matter. A second Ukrainian suspect, Serhii K., won a reprieve on Wednesday when Italy's top court upheld an appeal against his transfer on procedural grounds. That case will have to go before court again. In Poland, courts can refuse to hand over suspects wanted under European arrest if this would violate their human rights or if criminal proceedings for the same offence are underway in Poland. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/polish-court-considers-sending-suspect-germany-disputed-nord-stream-case-2025-10-17/