2024-03-28 09:16

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - The pound eased on Thursday after data confirmed the UK economy entered recession in the second half of last year and as the dollar put on a display of broad-based strength as the month and the quarter end. Action in the currency market has been dominated this week by the prospect of the Bank of Japan intervening to buy the yen, which has hit its weakest since 1990 against the dollar. Sterling was last down 0.2%, but was still on course for a 0.2% gain this week against the dollar, ahead of key U.S. inflation data on Friday. The pound held steady against the euro , which traded at 85.63 pence. The pound also fell against the yen , dropping 0.24% to 190.79 yen, having hit its highest against the Japanese currency since August 2015 this week. On the corporate front, Thames Water, Britain's largest utility, faced a new crisis after shareholders said they would not offer further funding. British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said the government would continue to monitor Thames Water "very carefully" and that it was still solvent. The government said last year it was ready for any outcome, including temporary state ownership, if needed, although Thursday's development had no direct impact on sterling. "I don’t think it's a huge story. The move we're seeing across the board is pretty broad-based dollar strength and cable is bearing the brunt of that," Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown said. "It's pretty much in line with the others so I wouldn't be too concerned about that." On the macro front, UK gross domestic product shrank by 0.1% in the third quarter and by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, unchanged from preliminary estimates, the Office for National Statistics said. Markets had already factored in a mild recession late last year and the numbers did not trigger an outsized reaction in the pound, or have any impact on expectations for monetary policy. Last week, the Bank of England opened the door to the prospect of a cut in interest rates, which has prompted a rally in UK government bonds, but undermined sterling. Two-year gilts , the most sensitive to changes in rate expectations, have fallen 25 basis points in March, heading for their first monthly drop since November. Futures markets show traders see a roughly 20% chance of the BoE cutting rates at its next meeting in May, although June's meeting is still the most likely point, with a 55% chance. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-bows-dollar-strength-after-uk-gdp-data-2024-03-28/

2024-03-28 07:42

March 28 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab, (AIRG.DE) , opens new tab Chief Financial Officer Thomas Toepfer stressed the importance of a stable relationship with supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N) , opens new tab, in a newspaper interview published on Thursday, as rival Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab mulls plans to buy the firm. "It is important that we have a stable relationship with this supplier," Toepfer told Switzerland's Boersen-Zeitung. "The timetable that Boeing has is difficult to predict," he said, when asked when he expects clarity on the deal. The U.S. planemaker is exploring offloading or redeploying specific Spirit businesses that supply key Airbus components if it reaches a deal, Reuters reported last week. When asked if Airbus would be interested in buying Spirit's Northern Ireland plant, which produces wings for its narrow-body A220 model, Toepfer said the European planemaker's team supports Spirit operationally, including joint work on improvements. "We are checking with Spirit what the best option is," he added. Airbus had a good start to the year, the finance chief told Boersen-Zeitung. The company delivered 79 civil aircraft in the first two months, 13 more than in the same period last year, Toepfer said, adding that this put Airbus on track for its annual target of 800 deliveries. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/important-have-stable-relations-with-spirit-airbus-cfo-says-2024-03-28/

2024-03-28 07:41

NAIROBI, March 28 (Reuters) - Kenya will allow landlocked Uganda's state oil firm to import petroleum products through its port of Mombasa, Uganda's energy ministry confirmed on Thursday, to end a row between the two neighbours. Uganda has been seeking alternative ways of importing petroleum products, including through a Tanzanian port, after its oil retailers for decades received their cargo through affiliated firms in Kenya. Solomon Muyita, spokesperson for Uganda's ministry of energy and minerals, said the first shipment under the new system was expected in May. "Kenya has agreed to give us a licence, UNOC (Uganda National Oil Company) is now free to import through Mombasa," he said. The Business Daily newspaper, which first reported the news, quoted Kenyan Energy Minister Davis Chirchir as saying UNOC would use the Kenya Pipeline Company to move the products, meaning that Kenya would still benefit from the arrangement. Uganda imported $1.6 billion worth of petroleum products in 2022, mostly originating from the Gulf. Some 90% of the products are imported through Kenya. It announced in November that it planned to hand over exclusive rights to supply all petroleum products to a unit of the global energy trader Vitol, which would then supply UNOC. Using Kenyan firms to import oil had "exposed Uganda to occasional supply vulnerabilities" where Ugandan retail companies were considered secondary whenever there were supply disruptions affecting retail prices, the government said at the time. Kenyan President William Ruto and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni met in Uganda last month and agreed to resolve the feud, Kenyan media outlets reported. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/kenya-resolves-its-oil-importation-row-with-uganda-report-2024-03-28/

2024-03-28 07:36

MOSCOW, March 28 (Reuters) - Water has almost completely flooded the Pioneer gold mine in Russia's Amur region, where 13 miners are stuck, Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency said on Thursday, citing emergency services. The miners became trapped on March 18 after a rock fall. The Pioneer mine is one of the largest gold mines in Russia. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-mine-with-13-trapped-miners-almost-completely-flooded-ria-reports-2024-03-28/

2024-03-28 07:31

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - More than a fifth of global oil refining capacity is at risk of closure, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie found in analysis published on Thursday, as gasoline margins weaken and the pressure to reduce carbon emissions mounts. Of 465 refining assets analysed, the consultancy ranked about 21% of 2023 global refining capacity at some risk of closure. Europe and China house the greatest number of high-risk sites, putting about 3.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity in jeopardy, Wood Mac found, based on its estimate of net cash margins, cost of carbon emissions, ownership, environmental investment and strategic value of refineries. There are 11 European sites that account for 45% of all high-risk plants, the report found. About 30 European refineries have already shut down since 2009, data from industry body Concawe shows, with nearly 90 still in operation. This spate of closures have been brought on by competition from newer and more complex plants in the Middle East and Asia as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gasoline margins are expected to weaken by the end of this decade as demand declines and sanctions on Russia ease while expected carbon taxes should also start to bite, the Wood Mac analysis showed. Operating costs could go up so much that "closure may be the only option", said Wood Mac senior oils and chemicals analyst Emma Fox. Meanwhile, Nigeria's huge Dangote oil refinery could bring to an end decades-long gasoline trade from Europe to Africa worth $17 billion a year, heaping pressure on European refineries already at risk of closure from heightened competition. The Dangote refinery, with capacity of up to 650,000 bpd, began production in January but was not included in Wood Mac's analysis. The seven high-risk sites in China are small-scale independent refineries. Sometimes called 'teapots', these refineries are subject to more stringent government regulations and compete with larger integrated sites that are typically state-owned and more complex. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/more-than-20-global-oil-refining-capacity-risk-analysis-finds-2024-03-28/

2024-03-28 07:27

March 28 (Reuters) - There will be no precious metals report on Friday, March 29 as most markets will be closed for Good Friday holiday. Reuters will resume coverage of the report on Monday, April 1. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-holds-steady-traders-await-us-data-more-fed-cues-2024-03-28/