2025-09-26 11:33
MANILA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has ordered to extend the country's ban on rice imports beyond 60 days, his office said on Friday, but it did not specify how long the extension would last. Marcos had earlier ordered a 60-day suspension of rice imports starting from September 1 in an effort to protect farmers during the local harvest and keep rice prices in check. The order covers the import of regular milled and well-milled rice and excludes varieties not commonly produced locally. Sign up here. "Under the President's directive, the two-month import suspension will be extended," the Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro told a press briefing. The Philippines, one of the world's largest rice importers, shipped in 4.8 million metric tons of rice last year, mostly from Vietnam and Thailand. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel has said he plans to recommend to the president that the moratorium should be extended by another 15 to 30 days, and that the ministry was also looking at increasing tariffs on imported rice. The annual rate of increase in rice prices in the Philippines hit a 15-year high of 24.4% in March last year, but has since reversed course and declined by 17% in August. It helped to tame inflation, which averaged 1.7% in the eight-month period, below the government's 2.0% to 4.0% target. The Philippines has lowered tariffs on rice and extended existing tariff cuts on some other commodities to combat inflation and ensure supplies are ample. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/philippines-extend-60-day-ban-rice-imports-2025-09-26/
2025-09-26 11:31
PARIS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Workers at French LNG terminals will continue to block ships from discharging until their salary demands are met, two representatives with the CGT union said on Friday. The blockade at three out of four of the country's terminals has reduced gas outflows from one of Europe's top gas buyers and lifted prices this week. Sign up here. LNG terminal operator Elengy has invoked force majeure at its three sites in France because of the month-long strikes and said no ships can discharge until October 2. Reduced deliveries from French LNG terminals contributed to a 1.3% rise in the price of the Dutch TTF front-month benchmark European gas contract on Thursday, though the impact was muted on Friday due to increased flows from Norway, where a maintenance period is ending, analysts said. Unions could continue their blockades beyond October 2 if conditions are not met, the union representatives said, potentially further lifting prices. France is Europe's fourth largest gas importer, with much of the supply sent to neighbouring countries. Its exports have jumped since 2022 when Russian piped gas to the European Union was shut off following the invasion of Ukraine. France is also the largest importer of Russian LNG in Europe, buying around 4 million tons in the first eight months of the year with a significant portion going through Elengy's Montoir terminal on the west coast. Both of Elengy's Fos terminals in the south are currently blocked from sending out gas, with reduced outflows from the Montoir terminal, a spokesperson said. The last ship to dock and offload in Fos was on September 12 while the last to discharge in Montoir was on September 21, LSEG data showed. Three full LNG carriers are currently anchored near the ports waiting to discharge, LSEG data showed. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/strike-prompts-force-majeure-three-french-lng-terminals-2025-09-26/
2025-09-26 11:31
SINGAPORE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Terminal operators in a major oil port in east China's Shandong province are set to introduce measures to ban shadow fleet vessels and curb visits by other old tankers, according to an official notice seen by Reuters and a tanker tracker. The measures, to take effect from November 1, would ban vessels using fake International Maritime Organization numbers and ships of 31 years or older, which traders said would target what is known as the shadow fleet that transports oil under Western sanctions. Sign up here. Four terminal operators at Huangdao Port last week issued the notice, seen by Reuters, a month after the United States designated an oil terminal in nearby Dongjiakou port as receiving Iranian oil carried by vessels under sanctions. Both Huangdao and Dongjiakou are in the broader Qingdao port area, the largest Chinese entry point for Iranian oil. China, Iran's biggest oil client, has repeatedly defended its oil transactions with Iran and opposed unilateral Western sanctions. NO IMMEDIATE COMMENT Qingdao Shihua did not immediately comment, and calls to the other three companies involved were not answered. "The new tanker risk-rating rules appear to be a precautionary step driven by environmental concerns and rising U.S. sanctions pressure, even though the latter is not explicitly mentioned in the notice," said Emma Li, China analyst with tanker tracker Vortexa Analytics. However, the impact is likely to be limited because Huangdao has only a minor role in handling high-risk tankers compared with other Shandong ports, Li added. Vessels holding invalid or expired certificates from various international agencies will be banned from calling and those with a record of pollution or accident in the previous three years will also be barred, according to the document reviewed by Reuters. The terminal operators are also introducing a scoring system that rates vessels' level of risk: the older the vessel, the lower the score. With a full mark at 100, vessels rated below 55 are considered high risk and will be barred from anchoring. The scoring system also takes into account a ship's classification society and pollution liability cover, the document shows. The terminal operators are Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal Co, Qingdao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co, Qingdao Gangxin Oil Products Co and Qingdao Lixing Logistics Co. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-oil-port-set-introduce-measures-ban-shadow-fleet-2025-09-26/
2025-09-26 11:26
MUMBAI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - India's edible oil imports in 2025/26 are projected to rise 4.6% to a record 17.1 million metric tons, driven by higher palm oil purchases by the world's largest vegetable oil buyer, industry analyst Dorab Mistry said on Friday. Higher palm oil purchases by India will help top producer Indonesia and Malaysia to bring down stocks and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures . Sign up here. Palm oil imports are likely to jump 13.4% to 9.3 million tons while soyoil imports are likely to dip to 5 million tons in the new marketing year from November 1, Mistry told delegates at an industry conference Globoil India. Sunflower oil imports in the new season are likely to fall to 2.7 million tons from 3 million tons this year, Mistry said. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia while importing soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. Global palm oil production growth is slowing, with output in 2025/26 projected to rise by only 1 million tons even as demand for food and biofuels climbs, Mistry said. Malaysian palm oil futures are expected to rise once the peak production period ends in October and could surpass 5,000 ringgit ($1,185) a ton in November–December, he said. Prices could extend the rally further, reaching a more than three-year high of 5,500 ringgit a ton in January–March 2026 on supplies tightened by increased biodiesel consumption in top producer Indonesia. The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange eased 43 ringgit, or 0.97%, to 4,396 ringgit a ton on Friday. ($1 = 4.2190 ringgit) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-edible-oil-imports-jump-record-higher-palm-buying-analyst-mistry-says-2025-09-26/
2025-09-26 11:22
OSLO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Crude oil exports from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to Turkey were scheduled to restart at 0600 local time (0300 GMT) on Saturday, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Friday. Eight oil companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, representing over 90% of production, reached agreements in principle on Wednesday with Iraq's federal and Kurdistan Regional Government to resume exports. Sign up here. Iraq's state oil company SOMO, which will transport crude oil via pipeline to Ceyhan port in Turkey, was not immediately available for comment. One of the sources said the Kurdistan's Ministry for Natural Resources sent a notification to oil companies operating in Kurdistan about the planned startup. The Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraq's Federal Oil Ministry did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline have been shut since March 2023, when the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Turkey to pay Iraq $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorised exports by the Kurdish regional authorities. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/crude-oil-exports-iraqs-kurdistan-restart-early-saturday-sources-say-2025-09-26/
2025-09-26 11:14
LONDON/LAGOS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery has fired some of its workers, according to a copy of a letter from the company seen by Reuters and an official at the PENGASSAN oil union on Friday. The refinery is Africa's biggest by far with crude processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and has the potential to reshape global fuel trading dynamics by creating a new swing supplier in the Atlantic Basin. Sign up here. It was not immediately possible to confirm how many workers have lost their jobs or whether the layoffs would affect production. The letter said the dismissals would be by the evening of September 25. Dangote shut its gasoline unit in late August for repairs likely to take 2-3 months. The refinery did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The plant, which began processing crude in January 2024, exported a higher volume of fuel oil in September, according to Kpler. Modern oil refineries typically export higher volumes of fuel oil when they have an outage or maintenance. https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/nigerias-dangote-refinery-is-firing-some-nigerian-workers-2025-09-26/
