2025-09-30 03:06

MUMBAI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is likely to hover near its lifetime low at open on Tuesday, dragged by weakness across Asia and persistent U.S. trade tensions that have strained New Delhi’s economic ties with Washington. Non-deliverable forwards indicated the rupee would open at 88.74–88.78 to the dollar, little changed from Monday’s 88.76 level and near the lifetime trough of 88.7975 struck last week. Sign up here. Persistent strain on the rupee has built up in recent weeks, driven by the drag from U.S.-India trade frictions. Washington’s 50% punitive tariffs on Indian goods and the hike in H-1B visa fees, which is expected to hit India harder than any other country, have driven foreign investors to pull money out of equities. Last week, foreign investors pulled out $1.8 billion, with preliminary data showing more than $300 million sold on Monday. "Most were thinking the 50% tariff would come down to 25% through talks - looks like that’s not happening anytime soon," a currency trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. "Then you throw in the H-1B visa news, and the pick up in equity outflows," keeping the rupee under persistent strain, he added. The Reserve Bank of India has been stepping in to slow the rupee's slide without which, bankers say, the Indian currency would have fallen much more. ASIA FALTERS At Tuesday’s open, the rupee faces pressure from weaker Asian peers and a modest rise in the dollar index. Investors are wary of a potential U.S. government shutdown, which could delay key economic data, including this week’s key jobs report. Economists at Morgan Stanley expect each week of a shutdown to shave about 10 basis points off real U.S. GDP. U.S. long maturity Treasuries rallied on Monday. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 88.9; onshore one-month forward premium at 15.5 paise ** Dollar index up at 98.00 ** Brent crude futures down 0.6% at $67.6 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.14% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $561.2mln worth of Indian shares on Sep. 28 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $50.5mln worth of Indian bonds on Sep. 28 https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-pinned-near-all-time-low-weak-asia-enduring-us-trade-troubles-2025-09-30/

2025-09-30 02:06

SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - A top U.S. securities regulator known for her supportive stance on the cryptocurrency industry said on Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is open to working with industry participants on tokenising products. "We are willing to work with people who want to tokenise, we urge them to come talk to us," said Hester Peirce, a Republican commissioner on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who was speaking virtually at the Digital Assets Summit in Singapore. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-sec-commissioner-says-regulator-willing-work-with-those-who-want-tokenise-2025-09-30/

2025-09-30 00:53

OPEC+ plans larger increase to output in November, sources say Iraq's Kurdistan crude oil flows via Turkey resume Netanyahu supports US-backed Gaza peace proposal US crude stocks fall, fuel inventories rise, API data show HOUSTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday as investors braced for a supply surplus due to potential OPEC+ plans for a larger output hike next month and the resumption of oil exports from Iraq's Kurdistan region via Turkey. Brent crude futures for November delivery , expiring on Tuesday, settled down 95 cents, or 1.4%, at $67.02 a barrel. The more active December contract settled at $66.03. Sign up here. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $62.37 a barrel, down $1.08, or 1.7%. On Monday, Brent and WTI both settled more than 3% lower, their sharpest daily declines since August 1. At its meeting next Sunday, OPEC+ may speed up production increases in November from the 137,000 barrels per day hike it made for October, as its leader Saudi Arabia pushes to regain market share, three sources familiar with the talks said. Eight members of OPEC+ could agree to raise production in November by 274,000-411,000 bpd, or two or three times higher than the October increase, two of the three sources said. OPEC+ pumps about half of the world's oil. The increase could be as big as 500,000 bpd, one of the three sources said. Earlier on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that OPEC+ was considering accelerating its increases by 500,000 bpd. OPEC in a post on X said it rejected media reports for plans to raise output by 500,000 bpd, calling them inaccurate and misleading. "This (OPEC+) strategy could significantly squeeze margins for high-cost U.S. shale producers, potentially forcing them to scale back the record-level output they've maintained," said StoneX analyst Alex Hodes. Meanwhile, crude oil flowed on Saturday through a pipeline from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to Turkey for the first time in two-and-a-half years, after an interim deal broke a deadlock, Iraq's oil ministry said. "Oil prices are under pressure in anticipation of OPEC+ deciding to restore additional quantities of oil back to market, along with the resumption of Kurdish exports, so additional supplies are weighing on market prices," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. The market has remained cautious in recent weeks, balancing supply risks, which mainly arise from Ukraine's drone attacks on Russian refineries, with expectations of oversupply and weak demand. Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump won Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's support for a U.S.-backed Gaza peace proposal, but the stance of Hamas was uncertain. In an ideal scenario, shipping traffic through the Suez Canal would return to normal following a Gaza peace deal, which would remove a significant portion of the geopolitical risk premium, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said. Adding to the bearish sentiment, the potential risk of a U.S. government shutdown has raised demand concerns, said ANZ analysts in a note. U.S. crude production rose to a fresh monthly high of 13.64 million bpd in July, up 109,000 bpd from the previous record in June, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Tuesday. U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Crude stocks fell by 3.67 million barrels in the week ended September 26, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels, while distillate inventories rose by 3 million barrels from last week, the sources said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-falls-opec-plans-further-increase-output-2025-09-30/

2025-09-30 00:28

One opinion said 'time to raise rates again' Another opinion called for rate hike at regular intervals Some called for caution, wanted to see 'a little more hard data' Sept hawkish split, Noguchi speech raise Oct rate-hike bets BOJ tankan, Ueda's speech in focus for clues on rate-hike timing TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan board members debated the feasibility of raising interest rates in the near term with some suggesting the time for such a move may be approaching, a summary of opinions at the central bank's September policy meeting showed on Tuesday. Many opinions at the meeting called for vigilance over mounting inflationary pressure, the summary showed, adding to signs of a hawkish shift on the board that heightens the chance of a rate increase in October. Sign up here. "Judging solely from the perspective of Japan's economic conditions, it may be time to consider raising the policy interest rate again, given that it has been more than six months since the last rate hike," one opinion was quoted as saying. With uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and other external headwinds receding, the BOJ has scope to raise Japan's real interest rate that remains low by global standards, another opinion said, according to the summary. At the September 18-19 meeting, the BOJ kept interest rates steady at 0.5%, but two of the nine board members dissented and instead unsuccessfully called for a hike to 0.75%. The last time it raised rates was in January. Since then, the BOJ has signalled a pause to scrutinise the impact of U.S. tariffs on Japan's export-reliant economy. The dissent by board members Hajime Takata and Naoki Tamura was seen by markets as a prelude to a near-term increase in borrowing costs. In a speech on Monday, dovish member Asahi Noguchi said the need for a rate hike was increasing "more than ever." Markets are now pricing in roughly a 60% chance of a rate hike at the BOJ's next meeting on October 29-30. Investors are focusing on the BOJ's "tankan" quarterly business survey, due on Wednesday, and Governor Kazuo Ueda's speech on Friday, for clues on the timing of the next rate hike. If economic and price developments do not deviate much from the anticipated path, the BOJ should raise rates at "somewhat regular intervals," a third opinion said, adding the tankan and corporate first-half earnings reports may help to decide whether a hike would be appropriate. Of the opinions on monetary policy, five suggested resuming rate hikes in the foreseeable future in a sign of broadening calls within the board for a near-term increase. Some, however, called for caution. One member said it would not be too late to raise rates after assessing "a little more hard data" as Japan's domestic demand tends to be vulnerable to external shocks, the summary showed. "A rate hike at this point, which would come as a surprise to the market, should be avoided," another opinion showed. On the price outlook, many pointed to inflationary pressure with one saying firms were continuing to increase prices even as rises in import costs dissipate, the summary showed. "There seems to be a higher likelihood the cost pass-through to food prices will continue, taking into account data and anecdotal information," another opinion showed. Prices of 20,381 food items are expected to rise this year, up 62.8% from last year, a survey by private think tank Teikoku Databank showed on Wednesday, a sign food inflation was accelerating, adding to the strain on household budgets. The BOJ's summary, released several market days after each policy meeting, does not identify the names of the members who made the comments. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/boj-board-debated-possibility-near-term-rate-hike-meeting-summary-shows-2025-09-30/

2025-09-30 00:01

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Liontown Resources (LTR.AX) , opens new tab said on Tuesday that it has agreed with Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab to make changes to the pricing mechanism in their long-term offtake agreement. The pricing changes come as the lithium miner looks to move away from lithium hydroxide indices to spodumene concentrate, part of its bigger goal to be exposed to a "basket" of pricing references across main lithium products such as lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate and spodumene concentrate. Sign up here. Liontown clarified that there will not be any changes to the remaining volumes under the agreement for the remainder of the term, which ends in 2029. The company is also in talks with Ford Motor (F.N) , opens new tab to revise their offtake and loan agreements, which Liontown said could change contract quantities, purchase commitments for future deliveries, and re-profiling of debt arrangements. https://www.reuters.com/en/australias-liontown-resources-revise-tesla-offtake-deal-pricing-talks-with-ford-2025-09-29/

2025-09-29 23:10

LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Prices at British retailers rose at the fastest pace since February 2024 this month as food costs continued to increase rapidly and a decline for non-food items appeared close to an end, industry data showed on Tuesday. Overall shop prices in September were 1.4% higher than a year earlier, up from a 0.9% inflation rate in August, the British Retail Consortium said, potentially adding to Britain's broader inflation problem. Sign up here. Food price growth remained at 4.2% while non-food prices dropped by 0.1%, a smaller annual decline than the 0.8% fall recorded in August. "Households are finding shopping increasingly expensive," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said. "The impact on retailers and their supply chain of both global factors and higher national insurance and wage costs is playing out in prices for consumers." Finance minister Rachel Reeves announced an increase in employers' mandatory social security contributions in her annual budget last year, drawing widespread complaints from retailers. The BRC urged Reeves to avoid fresh levies that would push up prices in her next budget in November. The Bank of England forecasts that the broader consumer prices index - which covers a wider range of goods and services than the BRC measure - will rise to 4% this month, up from 3.8% in August and double the central bank's target. Policymakers are divided about whether a slowing jobs market is enough to ensure inflation will return to target, or if they need to slow or stop their cuts to interest rates. BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said on Monday that food prices seemed to be having an outsize effect on public perceptions of inflation, especially since a surge in 2022. Dairy and beef prices appeared most affected by farms' rising energy and labour costs, while a new government levy on packaging would push up prices in October, the BRC said. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-shop-prices-rise-fastest-pace-since-february-2024-2025-09-29/