2025-10-03 11:21

NEW DELHI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - India’s electricity generation slowed in September, reflecting a decline in industrial activity and prolonged monsoon conditions that reduced cooling demand. Power output rose 3.2% year-on-year but fell short of August’s 4% growth, marking the first monthly drop in three months, according to daily analysis of Grid India data. Sign up here. The moderation coincided with a slowdown in manufacturing expansion and continued rainfall, which curbed energy consumption. Industries account for nearly half of India’s domestic power use. Coal-fired generation, which typically contributes about three-quarters of India’s annual electricity output, declined in September compared to August. Production and supply by the country’s largest coal miner also fell, aligning with the dip in overall power output. Coal India’s (COAL.NS) , opens new tab production in September dropped by approximately 4%, while supply declined by 1.1%, company data showed. "Industrial demand and thermal power consumption remain subdued ... Coal power plant inventories have dipped slightly but remain adequate for near-term requirements,” said Vasudev Pamnani, director at I-Energy Natural Resources, a coal trading firm. Despite the slowdown in thermal generation, renewable energy and hydropower continued to expand. Solar and wind output increased, supported by strong capacity additions. India added a record 30 gigawatts of new solar and wind capacity in the first eight months of 2025 and aims to reach 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. The sustained growth in renewable energy has helped reduce India’s reliance on coal for electricity generation this year. A 16% increase in generation from renewable sources such as solar and wind, along with a 7.4% annual rise in hydropower output, contributed to total electricity generation of 156.52 billion kilowatt hours in September, the data showed. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indias-power-output-growth-slows-september-industrial-momentum-eases-2025-10-03/

2025-10-03 11:20

Oct 3 (Reuters) - South Africa's Tharisa Plc (THST.L) , opens new tab announced plans on Friday to spend $547 million on an underground platinum group metals mining project over the next decade, betting on the metals being integral to the global shift to cleaner energy technologies. The company will transition its depleting open pit PGM and chrome co-producing Tharisa mine on South Africa's Bushveld complex to underground mining within the next 10 years, it said. Sign up here. "The underground project is the natural progression for our operations and has been established to increase the life-of-mine development to access the multi-generational mineral resource base," CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said during a call. He added that PGMs remained "critical metals and minerals that the world has realised are a necessity to transition to a future world". Despite concerns that PGMs, mainly used in autocatalysts that help curb vehicle emissions, were under threat from the growth in electric vehicle usage, the metals are considered to be useful in fuel cell technologies and clean hydrogen. Tharisa's mechanised underground operations, which are expected to start delivering ore from the first of two shafts during the second quarter of 2026, will enhance efficiencies, lower costs and raise output, Pouroulis said. At steady state, the underground operations are expected to deliver at least 200,000 ounces of PGMs and more than 2 million metric tons of chrome concentrate, annually. Tharisa has projected between 140,000 and 160,000 ounces of PGMs and 1.65 million to 1.8 million tons of chrome concentrates in its 2025 financial year. The company is also developing the 226,000 ounce-per-year open pit Karo platinum mine in Zimbabwe, just one of two greenfield mine development projects in the platinum industry, along with Ivanhoe's (IVN.TO) , opens new tab Platreef mine in South Africa. Miners have been wary of developing new platinum mines due to the advance of EVs and South African platinum miner Northam (NPHJ.J) , opens new tab has said the number of PGM shafts has fallen to 53 from 81 in 2008. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tharisa-plans-spend-547-million-underground-platinum-mine-project-2025-10-03/

2025-10-03 11:15

Oct 3 (Reuters) - The pound firmed slightly against a broadly weaker dollar on Friday, with traders digesting news that business activity growth was slowing while they awaited remarks from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. They were also looking ahead to British finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget due in eight weeks. Sign up here. At 1040 GMT, the pound was up 0.1% against the dollar at $1.3449 , and 0.1% lower versus the euro at 87.25 pence . A PMI survey published Friday showed British business activity grew at the slowest pace in five months in September as companies and consumers put big spending decisions on hold as they waited to see if they would be hit by tax rises in November's budget. It follows a Bank of England survey that on Thursday showed British businesses have the joint weakest hiring intentions since 2020 and expect the fastest consumer price inflation since early 2024. Market players will be listening carefully when governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey delivers a keynote speech at a farewell symposium for Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot later on Friday. "If he does indeed touch on monetary policy, we think that he will side with the hawks and indicate to markets that persistent inflation pressures are likely to put pay to further cuts during the rest of the year," said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at Ebury. Traders are betting on no change to interest rates at the BoE's next meeting on November 6, and on a further two cuts next year. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said that cable remained unappealing due to budget pressures, and pointed to elevated yields on British gilts that are also diverging from U.S. 10-year yields. "That’s a drag on sterling, as higher yields narrow fiscal headroom, raise the chance of further tax hikes or spending cuts, and lower UK growth expectations," wrote Ozkardeskaya. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-firms-traders-digest-pmis-await-bailey-speech-2025-10-03/

2025-10-03 10:44

LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Anna Szymanski, Editor-in-Charge, Reuters Open Interest Sign up here. Hello Morning Bid readers! Global equity markets mostly shrugged off the U.S. government shutdown this week, with all three major U.S. indices recording record highs on Thursday and Asian and European markets on track to deliver weekly gains early on Friday. While history suggests markets may be right not to panic, this shutdown will likely delay the release of vital government data, making the Federal Reserve’s job even more challenging. The Fed already faces a head-scratching economic environment, with almost 4% annualized growth and little job creation, something that might be explained by the artificial intelligence boom. Staying on the AI theme, ROI Financial Markets Editor-at-Large Mike Dolan argues that if the AI equity “bubble” bursts, it might take the U.S. economy down with it. Private payrolls for September were released on Wednesday. While economists tend not to put too much stock in this data, investors took note of the biggest monthly drop in employment in over two years. Meanwhile, hopes for continued Fed easing helped put gold on track for its seventh consecutive weekly gain. In the energy markets, oil prices fell throughout much of the week on expectations of rising supply, including possible accelerated production increases from OPEC+ , opens new tab, but Brent crude was down 1% early on Friday following news of a fire at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery, one of the largest on the U.S. West Coast. Zooming out, ROI Energy Columnist Ron Bousso argues that Big Oil is becoming increasingly bullish about the future outlook even as it grows ever more bearish about the near term. Predicting what’s going to happen in oil markets this year has become quite tricky, argues ROI Asia Commodities Columnist Clyde Russell, given that three of the biggest current drivers of crude prices are the unwinding of OPEC+ production cuts, China storage flows and geopolitical tensions , opens new tab – all of which are challenging to forecast accurately. On the renewables side, ROI Energy Transition Columnist Gavin Maguire explains why Italy’s economic woes may have a climate upside. And Clyde Russell discusses critical minerals and why the weak pricing for many of them does not reflect their supposed importance to the global energy transition. And, finally, over in the metals world, ROI Metals Columnist Andy Home looks at the fragility of the copper supply chain, highlighting the catastrophic events at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine last month. As we head into the weekend, check out the ROI team’s recommendations for what you should read, listen to, and watch to stay informed and ready for the week ahead. I’d love to hear from you, so please reach out to me at [email protected] , opens new tab . , opens new tab This weekend, we're reading... GAVIN MAGUIRE, ROI Global Energy Transition Columnist: This analysis by Carbon Brief , opens new tabexplains that electricity demand in Great Britain was fully covered by clean energy sources for a record long stretch in 2025. That's pretty impressive for a country that was over 75% powered by fossil fuels up to 2010. ANDY HOME, ROI Metals Columnist: My read of the week comes courtesy of Anjana Ahuja in the Financial Times. , opens new tab She writes about ground-breaking work on the concept of black hole stars, which pose the cosmological question of which came first: galaxies full of matter or black holes? RON BOUSSO, ROI Energy Columnist: The book More and More and More by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz , opens new tab is a fascinating overview of the history of energy through the centuries. It argues that the idea of an energy transition is false, suggesting instead that the world has always been adding new sources of energy. JAMIE MCGEEVER, ROI Markets Columnist: United States, Inc. , opens new tab is a collection of four Project Syndicate articles highlighting several fundamental flaws in trying to run the U.S. government like a business. We're listening to... ANNA SZYMANSKI, ROI Editor-in-Charge: Reuters' newest podcast, On Assignment, , opens new tab does a deep dive on the UN General Assembly. From broken escalators to high-stakes diplomacy, Reuters correspondents explore the challenges facing global multilateralism at a challenging moment in history. MIKE DOLAN, ROI Financial Markets Editor-at-Large: "Facing Coming Storms" is a podcast by the British Army's Centre for Historical and Conflict Research and the Project for Study of the 21st Century. In this episode, Reuters columnist and PS21 executive director Peter Apps speaks with Admiral Nils Vang, former head of the Danish Navy, about the future of naval warfare in an era defined by drones, AI, and hybrid threats , opens new tab. And we're watching... ANNA SZYMANSKI, ROI Editor-in-Charge: In the latest episode of AI Weekly , opens new tab, Reuters rounds up some of the week's biggest stories from this space, including Amazon's goals for AI and how military drones could reshape the future of air combat. Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the authors. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-10-03/

2025-10-03 10:38

MUMBAI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - India's central bank on Friday proposed linking corporate foreign borrowing limits to financial strength and scrapping cost caps on most such debt in a push to improve funding flows under wider measures unveiled this week by Governor Sanjay Malhotra. The RBI's proposal allows firms to raise up to $1 billion or 300% of net worth, whichever is higher. This replaces the earlier $1.5 billion cap under the automatic route, which needed specific approval for larger sums. Sign up here. The central bank also suggested scrapping cost caps, permitting external commercial borrowings at market-determined interest rates, instead of the previous ceiling of a global benchmark, plus 500–550 basis points. For borrowings of less than three year maturity, costs will be capped in line with those applicable for trade credit. Along with that, the RBI also proposed widening the pool of eligible borrowers and lenders and easing restrictions on the use of such borrowings. The central bank proposed allowing any India-incorporated entity, including firms under restructuring or investigation, to tap external borrowings. Companies under restructuring would need approval under a resolution plan, while those under investigation could borrow with adequate disclosures. Previously, only entities eligible for foreign direct investment could access overseas debt. The RBI has invited feedback on the proposals until Oct. 24 before finalising the rules. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-central-bank-proposes-ease-external-borrowing-rules-boost-credit-flow-2025-10-03/

2025-10-03 10:07

MUMBAI, October 3 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee closed slightly weaker on Friday, steadying just above its all-time low, but sentiment remained skewed against the currency on the back of ongoing U.S.-India trade frictions and portfolio outflows. The currency remained under pressure even as the dollar was on course to notch its worst week since August against major peers as investors held firm to expectations of policy easing by the Federal Reserve, despite a government shutdown delaying key economic data releases. Sign up here. The rupee closed at 88.7725 against the U.S. dollar, down marginally on the week but within touching distance of its all-time low of 88.80 hit on Tuesday. A fortnightly Reuters poll of forecasters released on Thursday showed that the rupee was the most-shorted currency among major Asian peers. On the day, competing forces drove the rupee's price action with traders pointing to sustained dollar demand from local importers alongside activity from state-run banks near Friday's trough of 88.7825. The rupee is biased towards further depreciation but there is limited appetite to initiate wagers against the currency in case the central bank steps in more strongly to defend these levels, a trader at a mid-sized private bank said. Frequent interventions by the Reserve Bank of India helped the rupee avert steeper losses this week. "We continue to forecast INR underperforming core G10 and Asian currencies, and see USD/INR rising above 89.00 over time," analysts at MUFG said in a note. Meanwhile, India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab closed slightly stronger on the day and notched a weekly gain of nearly 1%. Foreign investors net sold over $2.5 billion of local stocks in September. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-caps-rough-week-quiet-note-pressure-likely-persist-2025-10-03/