2024-04-24 12:44

MOSCOW, April 24 (Reuters) - Russia's agriculture minister on Wednesday discussed deepening ties with North Korea with one of Pyongyang's top agriculture officials, the Russian ministry said. Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev was shown greeting vice premier of the cabinet, Ri Chol Man, in Moscow, along with Russian officials from other agricultural agencies. "The Russian Federation and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have long-standing friendly relations," Patrushev said. "Currently, we note the intensification of contacts, including in most areas of agriculture." North Korea has long grappled with food shortages, in part due to prolonged U.N. sanctions over its weapons programmes and seasonal natural disasters. China is the world's biggest wheat producer but Russia is usually the top exporter of wheat. Russian total agricultural exports totalled more than $45 billion in 2023, a record. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russia-north-korea-discuss-agriculture-2024-04-24/

2024-04-24 12:43

April 24 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday announced new rules limiting the sugar and sodium content of meals served to millions of children at U.S. public schools. The standards unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are part of President Joe Biden's broader effort to combat diet-related disease such as childhood obesity. "We all share the goal of helping children reach their full potential," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in announcing the new standards. The plan will, for the first time, require schools to limit added sugars in meals nationwide by 2027, as well as slightly reduce sodium content, according to the USDA. It also seeks to make it easier for schools to offer protein-rich and vegetarian options and encourage districts to buy locally grown or raised foods. Starting in 2025, the standards will also impose limits on the percentage of food grown or raised outside the United States, the USDA said – a move aimed at supporting U.S. farmers. "The new standards build on the great progress that school meals have made already and address remaining challenges," said USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long. U.S. public schools serve breakfast and lunch to about 30 million children daily, according to the USDA. Some school nutrition directors have warned that stricter meal guidelines could force schools to scale back menus, inadvertently pushing students to less healthy food choices. They have also pointed out that inflated food prices and labor shortages can make new regulations difficult to implement. The debate over school nutrition has spanned several administrations. The Obama administration raised standards, requiring schools to serve fruits and vegetables daily and offer more whole grains. Under the Trump administration, some of those requirements were rolled back. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-administration-toughens-school-nutrition-standards-2024-04-24/

2024-04-24 12:37

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Global natural gas prices will come under pressure through the end of the decade as supply and shipping infrastructure grow rapidly, particularly in Qatar and the U.S., J.P. Morgan said in a report. The growth in gas output and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, which allow tankers to transport the fuel around the world, will boost efforts to switch industries from highly polluting coal to gas, which can cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as half, the report said. The U.S. investment bank forecasts a 2% annual growth in natural gas production by 2030 to 4,600 billion cubic metres (bcm) from 4,000 bcm in 2022, which will lead to an oversupply of 63 bcm by the end of the decade. LNG exporting infrastructure is expected to grow by 156 bcm by 2030 from nearly 600 bcm in 2024. The primary sources of production growth are expected to encompass the U.S., the Middle East and to a lesser extent Russia, the report said. "We see a downward global LNG price trajectory with increased volatility driven by a structurally oversupplied market," J.P. Morgan Global chief global energy strategist Christyan Malek told Reuters. The world's leading oil companies including Shell (SHEL.L) New Tab, opens new tab, BP (BP.L) New Tab, opens new tab and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) New Tab, opens new tab are betting on growing demand for gas and LNG as economies grow and switch from coal to natural gas as part of their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The sharp growth in gas supply and the drop in prices could lead to a rapid conversion from coal to gas that could save up to around 17% of global emissions, the report said. "While the risks of over supply in global LNG towards the end of the decade are well understood, we believe the upside potential of coal to gas switching on LNG demand has been underestimated," Malek said. The European oil companies' plans to grow gas and LNG output will however have a minimal impact on their plans to reduce carbon emission intensity of their business by 2030, research firm Accela said in a recent report. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/pressure-gas-lng-prices-help-switch-coal-says-jp-morgan-2024-04-24/

2024-04-24 12:27

WARSAW, April 24 (Reuters) - The National Bank of Poland (NBP) made a loss of 20.8 billion zlotys ($5.2 billion) in 2023 compared to a loss of 16.9 billion zlotys the previous year, it said in its financial report on Wednesday, later citing the impact of a strong zloty. The zloty, which has firmed since an October parliamentary election and is currently worth about 25 cents, has had a significant impact on the central bank's financial results as it influences the amount of reserves held, including those in foreign currencies. The central bank said in a statement released later on Wednesday that the negative result from exchange rate differences on the 2023 result amounted to 31.0 billion zlotys. Poland's new ruling coalition, which took power late last year, wants to bring NBP chief Adam Glapinski before a state tribunal, partly over the bank's performance. Glapinski has been accused by the new government of not being sufficiently independent of the nationalist previous government. He also faces accusations of breaking constitutional rules that prevented the bank from financing government borrowing during the COVID-19 pandemic, misleading the finance ministry about the bank's results, and telling the finance ministry last August that the bank may make a 6-billion-zloty profit in 2023. Glapinski says he has always done his job independently of political influence. He says the difference between the August estimate of the bank's results and the bank's eventual loss was caused by the zloty strengthening since the election. ($1 = 4.0409 zlotys) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polish-central-bank-reports-loss-5-bln-dollars-2023-2024-04-24/

2024-04-24 12:00

LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 24 (Reuters) - There are early signs that the rise in the spot price for liquefied natural gas (LNG) for delivery to Asia to a three-month high is starting to crimp demand from price-sensitive buyers such as India. The spot LNG price rose to $10.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the week ended April 19, the most since Jan. 19, and up 26.5% from the low so far in 2024 of $8.30, reached in early March. The recent increase in the price has been driven more by supply concerns, with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East fuelling concerns that shipments from Qatar, the world's third-largest LNG exporter, may be disrupted. So far these fears have yet to be realised, but there have been increased costs for LNG shipments as vessels bound for Europe avoid the Red Sea, where Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group has launched missile strikes against several vessels, although none of these were LNG carriers. With the spot price once again above $10 per mmBtu, it has reached levels that have in the past resulted in buyers such as India, and even China, the world's top LNG importer, pulling back on purchases. This is because at these price levels imported LNG finds it hard to compete with other fuels in domestic markets. India's LNG imports for April are estimated at 1.90 million metric tons by commodity analysts Kpler, which is down from 2.26 million in March and also below the 1.98 million from April last year. LSEG data pegs India's April LNG arrivals at 1.79 million tons, a four-month low and down from 2.27 million in March and 1.88 million in April 2023. China's imports of the super-chilled fuel are estimated at 6.14 million tons in April by Kpler, down from 6.64 million in March, but above the 5.31 million in April last year. China's LNG imports in the first quarter of 2024 were strong, most likely as a result of the cheaper spot prices that prevailed for much of the buying period, but also because of the recovery of parts of the economy, especially manufacturing. The official Purchasing Managers' Index rose to a 13-month high of 51.6 in March, and has now spent the last five months in positive territory above the 50-level that separates expansion from contraction. The improving economic backdrop in China may serve to bolster demand for LNG, but the stronger price is also likely an obstacle. Much will depend on the availability of alternatives, and it's interesting to note that China's domestic output of natural gas has also been rising strongly, with production in the first quarter rising to 63.19 billion cubic metres, up 5.2% from the same period in 2023. JAPAN STEADY Developed economies in Asia that import LNG tend to be less sensitive to rising prices as the bulk of imports are secured under long-term contracts, and LNG imports are largely stable. Japan, the world's second-biggest LNG buyer, is estimated by Kpler to have imported of 5.12 million tons in April, down from 5.96 million in March, but above the 4.98 million in April last year. Japan's LNG imports usually follow a seasonal pattern of rising during the peak winter and summer demand periods, but tailing off during the shoulder seasons. South Korea, the world's third-biggest LNG importer, is expected to have arrivals of 4.12 million tons in April, up from 3.93 million in March and 3.23 million in April last year. Similar to Japan, South Korea's imports may decline next month due to seasonal buying patterns. The overall picture is that Asia's LNG import volumes are likely to decline in coming months, as a result of both the usual seasonal decline in demand from developed economies, and also the higher spot prices deterring purchases from some developing nations. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/rising-spot-lng-prices-starting-bite-some-asian-buyers-russell-2024-04-24/

2024-04-24 11:54

SINGAPORE, April 24 (Reuters) - Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power ships will rise this year on attractive prices, while more dual-fuel vessels join the global fleet, industry executives said. Prices of LNG delivered as marine fuel at the world's largest bunker hub Singapore are at steep discounts of nearly $100 per metric ton compared with conventional 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), industry sources said. That is a far cry from record premiums of more than $1,000 a ton seen in September 2023, based on data from S&P Global Platts published on industry coalition SEA-LNG's website, after Russia sparked a global gas crisis in 2022 by reducing piped supplies to Western Europe after its invasion of Ukraine. LNG prices have since stabilised at lower levels with ample supply as winter demand eases. Consultancy Rystad expects discounts to persist at least through the third quarter of this year, barring major market disruption, said Junlin Yu, a senior analyst on shipping supply chains. Global LNG bunker sales in the first three months of 2024 reached 1.9 million cubic meters (855,000 tons) and could surpass 7 million by the end of the year, Rystad forecasts show, up from 4.7 million cubic meters in 2023. In Singapore, LNG bunker sales rose for a fourth straight month to a record 38,600 tons in March, data from the Maritime and Port Authority showed. Global mining giant BHP, which operates five dual-fuelled bulk carriers, is refuelling its ships with 100% LNG in Singapore on the route between Port Hedland, Australia, and China, Rashpal Singh Bhatti, vice president of maritime and supply chain excellence at BHP, told Reuters. "We rode out the (previous) uptick in LNG prices and now we are taking full advantage," he said, adding that LNG also reduces emissions by 30% compared with fuel oil. Deliveries of new dual-fuel vessels, mostly container ships, car carriers and tankers, are also set to add to LNG bunker demand in coming years. SEA-LNG Chief Operating Officer Steve Esau expects there will be more than 1,000 dual-fuel LNG vessels operating by the end of 2027, compared with around 400 now, which Reuters calculates accounts for less than 1% of the global merchant fleet. Esau called for more investment in barges dedicated to delivering LNG with limited lifting capacity in Singapore, where three firms are licensed to supply LNG as bunker fuel according to the port authority. Globally, LNG is available mainly at major bunker ports, with infrastructure still lagging in scale compared to conventional marine fuel facilities. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/steep-discounts-new-vessels-spur-demand-lng-power-ships-2024-04-24/