2024-05-02 06:57

HYDERABAD, May 2 (Reuters) - India's food safety regulator said on Thursday it had ordered nationwide testing and inspections at all companies making spice mixes, widening a crackdown on the sector as global regulators investigate contamination issues with two popular local brands. Hong Kong last month suspended sales of three spice blends made by India's MDH and an Everest spice mix for fish curry. Singapore ordered a recall of the same Everest mix as well, flagging high levels of ethylene oxide, which is unfit for human consumption and a cancer risk with long exposure. MDH and Everest products are hugely popular in India and also sold in Europe, Asia and North America, and the companies have said they are safe. Still, U.S. and Australian food authorities said they are gathering more information on the matter, and India had already ordered testing of the two brands' products. The Indian regulator has now ordered officials to conduct "extensive inspections, sampling and testing at all the manufacturing units", for powdered spices, with a focus on those making curry powders and mixed spice blends for local and foreign sales. "Each of the product sampled will be analysed for the compliance with quality and safety parameters," the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said in a statement. The agency added checks would also be made for any presence of ethylene oxide, whose use is banned in India, and "appropriate actions will be initiated as fit" after testing was completed. India is the world's biggest exporter, producer and consumer of spices, and its domestic market for the products was valued at $10.44 billion in 2022, according to Zion Market Research. Beyond MDH and Everest, other major manufacturers include Madhusudan Masala (MADD.NS) New Tab, opens new tab, NHC Foods (NHCF.BO) New Tab, opens new tab and consumer giants Tata Consumer Products (TACN.NS) New Tab, opens new tab and ITC (ITC.NS) New Tab, opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-widens-spices-crackdown-with-nationwide-checks-all-manufacturers-2024-05-02/

2024-05-02 06:39

NEW DELHI, May 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday, rebounding from three days of losses, on expectations the lower levels may prompt the U.S., the world's biggest crude consumer, to start replenishing its strategic reserve, putting a floor under prices. Still, prices fell more than 3% on Wednesday to a seven-week after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, which may curtail economic growth this year and limit oil demand increases. Crude was also pressured by an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories and signs of an impending Israel-Hamas ceasefire that would ease Middle East supply concerns. Brent crude futures for July gained 58 cents, or 0.7%, to $84.02 a barrel by 0633 GMT on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June climbed 53 cents, or 0.7%, to $79.53 a barrel. "The oil market was supported by speculation that if WTI falls below $79, the U.S. will move to build up its strategic reserves," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities. The U.S. has said it aims to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after a historic sale from the emergency stockpile in 2022 and wants to buy back oil at $79 a barrel or less. In the Middle East, expectations grew that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas could be in sight following a renewed push led by Egypt. Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to go ahead with a long-promised assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah despite the U.S. position and a U.N. warning that it would lead to "tragedy". "As the impact of the U.S. crude stock-build and the Fed signalling higher-for-longer rates is close to being fully baked in, attention will turn towards the outcome of the Gaza talks," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights. "As long as the latest bout of optimism over a ceasefire sustains, I expect a continued downside bias in crude," Hari added. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories rose by 7.3 million barrels to 460.9 million barrels in the week ended April 26, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million-barrel draw. Crude stocks were at the highest point since June, the EIA said. The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and signalled it is still leaning towards eventual reductions in borrowing costs, but put a red flag on recent disappointing inflation readings. Any delay in rate cuts could slow economic growth and dampen demand for oil. Still, continuing supply reductions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, will support prices. Analysts at Citi Research expects OPEC+ to hold output cuts through the second half of the year as it meets on June 1. However, "if prices move to a bull case $90-100+ range, OPEC+ would likely ease cuts, providing a soft ceiling for oil," they said in a note. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-pick-up-prospect-us-replenishing-strategic-reserve-2024-05-02/

2024-05-02 06:33

Shell announces further $3.5 bln in buybacks Oil trading boosted by Red Sea, Russia disruptions LNG earnings beat expectations LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) New Tab, opens new tab reported first-quarter profit of $7.7 billion on Thursday, sharply beating expectations after disruptions in the Red Sea and Russia lifted oil refining and trading. The oil and gas company also said it will repurchase a further $3.5 billion of its shares over the next three months, at a similar rate to the previous quarter. Its dividend remained unchanged. "Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, demonstrating our continued focus on delivering more value with less emissions," CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement. Analysts had expected New Tab, opens new tab first-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.46 billion, against $9.65 billion a year earlier. The company had posted $7.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, boosted by strong LNG trading results. Shell's chemicals and products divisions, which include refining and oil trading, registered a more than threefold rise in adjusted earnings from the previous quarter to $2.8 billion, driven by strong gains from trading and refining. Refined oil product trading was boosted by disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea as well as outages at Russian refineries because of Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months, finance chief Sinead Gorman told reporters. Shell also timed maintenance at its refineries to the last quarter of 2023 while most of its peers typically perform such work in the first quarter of the year, giving Shell a further advantage in supplying oil products such as gasoline and diesel, Gorman said. Rivals Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) New Tab, opens new tab, Chevron (CVX.N) New Tab, opens new tab and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) New Tab, opens new tab last week reported a drop in profits from a year earlier, reflecting a sharp downturn in natural gas prices after a warmer than usual Northern Hemisphere winter cut demand and pushed up inventories. Shell shares were up 0.6% at 0713 GMT. STRONG LNG Shell shares have gained about 14% this year, buoyed by Sawan's efforts to cut costs and focus the company on its most profitable operations. On Wednesday Reuters reported that Shell had exited China's power market. Earnings at Shell's flagship liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading business were 7% below the previous quarter, when it had bumper trading results, but they still beat expectations. "Another strong quarter for Shell, with its crown jewel in the integrated gas segment reporting results well ahead of market expectations, similar to what we saw last quarter," RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria said. Shell's LNG production rose in the quarter by 7% from the previous three months to 7.58 million metric tons while sales dropped by 7% to 16.87 million tons. The company's overall oil and gas production rose by 3% in the quarter to 2.91 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-beats-expectations-with-77-bln-first-quarter-profit-2024-05-02/

2024-05-02 06:22

May 2 (Reuters) - A collapse of an expressway section in China's Guangdong province caused vehicles to plunge and killed 36 people while injuring another 30, state media reported on Thursday, as millions in the country travel for the May Day holiday break. The collapse, triggered by heavy rain, occurred at around 2:10 a.m. on Wednesday on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway, Xinhua news agency reported, adding that the collapsed section was 17.9 meters in length and caused 23 vehicles to plunge. Meizhou is one of the areas in southern China's Guangdong that has been badly hit by heavy rain and hail since late April which set off dangerous mudslides, inundated homes and destroyed bridges. President Xi Jinping called for the utmost efforts to save lives and eliminate dangers as the rainy weather continued in the region, according to a Xinhua report. Task forces from the central and local governments have been dispatched for the rescue work, the report added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/road-collapse-southern-china-kills-36-reports-state-media-2024-05-02/

2024-05-02 06:02

LITTLETON, Colorado, May 2 (Reuters) - The four-month window from May through August marks the high point for power generation and demand in the state of Texas, the largest U.S. user of fossil fuels for power generation and the country's top power sector emitter. A key driver of Texas power demand is an annual climb in air conditioner use by homes and businesses during the hottest time of year, when average temperatures can climb above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) with high humidity. To meet the demand surge, power producers in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system must frequently lift generation by more than 30% from the output levels during the opening four months of the year. Such high levels of output - which must be sustained round the clock to prevent system load strain and potential outages - often require power firms to deploy high volumes of coal and natural gas to ensure adequate baseload power availability. Utilities also try to deploy maximum volumes of power from renewable sources during the summer peak, but often encounter a dip in wind farm output during that period that can exacerbate power shortages and add to system strain. In 2024, ERCOT solar generation levels are expected to hit fresh records thanks to new and expanded solar farms, but use of coal and gas may also hit new highs if both overall demand and wind farm output follow their usual seasonal trends. POWERING UP Total power generation by the ERCOT system over the opening four months of 2024 was 5.57 million megawatt hours (MWh), according to LSEG, the highest in at least three years for that time slot and nearly 7% above the total for that period in 2023. A nearly 50% rise in solar generation from the first four months of 2023 was a major contributor to the growth in ERCOT total output. But a nearly 5% slide in output from ERCOT nuclear plants and declines from both wind and hydro sources resulted in power firms deploying the highest combined quantity of coal and gas-fired power since at least 2021 during the opening four months of 2024, LSEG data shows. Total generation from coal and natural gas plants was 2.88 million MWh through April 2024, 11% more than during the opening four months of 2023. This means even before entering the peak generation season, ERCOT power firms have already deployed the highest volume of fossil fuels in generation in more than three years. PEAK PERIOD ERCOT power generation totals during the middle four months of the calendar year have averaged 35% more than during the opening four months from 2021 to 2023, LSEG data shows. In 2023, total power output from May through August was 40% more than the total generated from January through April. If power needs during May to August 2024 rise by a similar degree, generation will need to reach 7.8 million MWh during that period. That total would be 6% more than during May to August 2023, and may require generators to crank output from both coal and gas-fired plants, especially at night when solar production stops. In 2023, total output from ERCOT gas and coal plants amounted to 4.8 million MWh during the May to August window, and the highest since at least 2021. Total power sector emissions during that period were 71.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to energy think tank Ember, which was 20 million tons or 40% more than during the opening four months of 2023. If ERCOT power firms must meet the 6% rise in demand entirely from coal and gas plants from May to August 2024, that would equate to 5.13 million MWh from fossil fuels and could result in close to 75 million tons in related emissions. Consistently above-normal wind speeds during the summer could help power firms cut some use of coal and gas plants, and may lead to lower overall emissions. But if wind generation trends follow their normal pattern, power firms may have no choice but to lift coal and gas-fired output, raising emissions along with it. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-enters-peak-season-power-output-emissions-maguire-2024-05-02/

2024-05-02 05:55

May 2 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal (MT.LU) New Tab, opens new tab, the world's second-largest steelmaker, on Thursday reiterated it expects global steel demand outside China to grow 3-4% this year as it reported first-quarter earnings ahead of analyst expectations. Economic sentiment appears to have reached a floor and given the low inventories, particularly in Europe, as soon as real demand begins to gradually improve, apparent demand is expected to rebound, it said in a statement. The steel industry has been suffering from weaker construction activity in Europe and problems in the real estate sector in China, the world's top consumer and producer of the metal. In the U.S., interest rate hikes have dented demand. Steel demand in Europe, which has been challenged by high inflation and tighter monetary policy, is expected to show very modest growth this year before a 5.3% projected gain in 2025, the World Steel Association said last month . The Luxembourg-based company said its first quarter core profit (EBITDA) was $1.96 billion, higher than the average forecast in a company poll of $1.81 billion, but lower than a year before. Profit growth in the quarter was primarily driven by improved results in North America, Brazil, Europe, India and from its joint ventures, offset by lower mining segment results, the company said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/arcelormittal-q1-profit-tops-expectations-2024-05-02/