2024-03-19 11:49
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, March 19 (Reuters) - Leading Indian steel producers, including JSW Steel Ltd (JSTL.NS) , opens new tab and Tata Steel Ltd (TISC.NS) , opens new tab, are expected to invest billions in a record capacity increase to benefit from rising domestic demand in one of the world's fastest growing economies. A spurt in economic activity and a revamp of broader infrastructure have drawn steel makers from around the world to India, where demand is rising. In Europe and the United States, it is falling. Analysts and company data showed major mills were planning to increase capacity by at least 22 million metric tons in the fiscal year beginning April 2024. Jindal Steel and Power (JNSP.NS) , opens new tab is expected to add 6 million metric tons to existing capacity of around 9.6 million metric tons and Tata Steel said it was adding 5 million tons to its capacity of 21 million tons. JSW Steel, India's largest steel maker, has said in results reports it aims to increase capacity to 38.5 million tons by 2024/25, up from 27.5 million tons domestic capacity now. None of the companies has said how much it will be spending on capacity, although analysts, who said the expansion was unprecedented, predicted it would be billions. "We expect JSW Steel will spend $2-$2.2 billion a year towards brownfield expansions, scaling up its iron mining capacities in Odisha, raw material efficiency projects and downstream projects," Hui Ting Sim, an assistant vice president, Moody's Ratings in Singapore, said referring to the eastern Indian state. Together with Japan's JFE Steel, JSW Steel said in February it would invest 55 billion rupees ($662.85 million) in an Indian joint venture to produce grain-oriented electrical steel, used in manufacturing transformers. Tata Steel meanwhile, is expected to spend between $1.21-$1.51 billion in 2024/25, Lakshmanan R, head of South & Southeast Asia corporates at CreditSights in Singapore, said. Anshuman Bharati, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings in Singapore, meanwhile, expected India's steel consumption would grow between 8% to 10% in 2024/25. During April-January, India's steel consumption rose by 14.5% to a six-year high of 112.5 million metric tons. ($1 = 82.97 rupees) 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/indias-steel-majors-invest-billions-meet-buoyant-local-demand-2024-03-19/
2024-03-19 11:43
MOSCOW, March 19 (Reuters) - Russian wholesale domestic gasoline and diesel prices rose on Tuesday as refining capacity has been reduced by drone attacks. Gasoline Ai-92 grade prices rose 1.92% to 52,410 roubles ($567.07) per metric ton, data from the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) showed. Diesel prices increased by 1.28% on the day to 66,434 roubles per ton, the exchange data showed. Russian oil refining capacity shut down in the wake of Ukrainian drone attacks in the first quarter amounts to about 4.6 million tons (370,500 barrels per day), or some 7% of the total, Reuters calculations show. ($1 = 92.4225 roubles) 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/damaged-refining-capacity-drives-up-russias-gasoline-diesel-prices-2024-03-19/
2024-03-19 11:24
March 19 (Reuters) - Pembina Pipeline (PPL.TO) , opens new tab said on Tuesday the Canadian Competition Bureau has approved its proposed C$3.1 billion ($2.28 billion) acquisition of Enbridge's (ENB.TO) , opens new tab interests in the Alliance, Aux Sable, and NRGreen joint ventures. The deal is expected to close on April 1, Pembina said. Alliance delivers liquids-rich natural gas sourced in Northeast B.C., Northwest Alberta and the Bakken region to Chicago. Aux Sable operates natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction and fractionation facilities in both Canada and the U.S., with extraction rights on Alliance, offering connectivity to key U.S. NGL hubs. Enbridge announced the deal in December to reduce its debt following its $14 billion offer for three of Dominion Energy's (D.N) , opens new tab natural gas distribution companies in September. ($1 = 1.3568 Canadian dollars) Get U.S. personal finance tips and insight straight to your inbox with the Reuters On the Money newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/pembina-pipeline-gets-regulatory-approval-buy-enbridges-jv-interests-2024-03-19/
2024-03-19 11:19
NEW DELHI, March 19 (Reuters) - India's main reservoirs have hit their lowest March levels in five years, government data showed, indicating a possible squeeze on drinking water and power availability this summer. In major centres such as India's 'Silicon Valley' Bengaluru, home to firms like Google (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab, water supply is already being curtailed. The 150 reservoirs monitored by the federal government -which supply water for drinking and irrigation and are the country's key source of hydro-electricity - were filled to just 40% of capacity last week, government data showed. In the southern state of Karnataka, home to Bengaluru, the main reservoir was down to 16% capacity. Water reserves are the lowest for March since 2019, when reservoir capacity fell to 35% and saw southern cities such as Chennai run out of water. The situation could escalate the crisis in central and southern cities which face extreme heatwaves in April and May. India's water resources get replenished only around June with pre-monsoon and monsoon rains. In other industrial states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and agricultural states Uttar Pradesh and Punjab levels are below their 10-year averages. Longer term, there is a risk of water wars if governments do not act now, said Sandeep Anirudhan, convener of the Coalition for Water Security. The low water levels follow a monsoon season last year that saw the lightest rains since 2018, after the El Nino weather pattern made last August the driest in more than a century. The monsoon was also uneven, with some areas receiving more rain than others. A senior official in the federal power ministry said the ministry is monitoring reservoir levels but does not yet anticipate a situation that could lead to a shutdown of plants. "If the situation becomes worse due to lack of rains, drinking water supply will get priority over power generation," he said. The federal water resources ministry and the water commission did not respond to e-mailed requests for immediate comment. India's hydro generation in the 10 months from the beginning of the current financial year which began last April is down 17% despite strong electricity demand. Hydropower generation in Asia has plunged at the fastest rate in decades amid sharp declines in China and India. 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/environment/india-stares-summer-water-crisis-reservoir-levels-slide-2024-03-19/
2024-03-19 11:16
TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Japan's industry ministry will send senior officials to Niigata prefecture on Thursday to seek local support for restarting Tokyo Electric Power's (Tepco's) (9501.T) , opens new tab Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, the minister said on Tuesday. The move comes after Japan's nuclear power regulator in December lifted an operating ban on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, allowing it to work towards gaining local permission to restart. Tepco has been eager to bring the world's largest atomic power plant back online to cut operating costs, but that needs the consent of the local governments of Niigata prefecture, Kashiwazaki city and Kariwa village, where it is located. Industry minister Ken Saito said he called the heads of the local governments late Monday to explain the ministry's nuclear power policy, and would dispatch Yoshifumi Murase, commissioner of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, and others to Niigata to seek their support in obtaining local consent. "We intend to proceed carefully, taking into account local circumstances," Saito told a news conference on Tuesday. Murase will meet Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi while another senior official will meet the heads of Kashiwazaki city and Kariwa village. Asked when the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant might restart, Saito said he could not comment on the timing. With a capacity of 8,212 megawatts (MW), the plant has been offline since 2012 after the Fukushima disaster a year earlier led to the shutdown of all nuclear plants in Japan at the time. Resources-poor Japan is eager to bring more of its nuclear plants online to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/japans-industry-ministry-seeks-local-support-restart-tepco-nuclear-plant-2024-03-19/
2024-03-19 11:05
LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - The pound slipped against the dollar and the euro on Tuesday, and jumped against the yen, after the Bank of Japan's decision to ditch negative interest rates after eight years. Sterling was last down 0.45% at $1.2672, while the euro rose 0.1% against the pound to 85.54 pence. Against the yen , sterling rose 0.5% to 190.70, just shy of late February's 8-1/2 year high of 191.32. On Tuesday, the BOJ delivered its first rate hike in 17 years. The decision was widely expected and interest rates are still around zero, meaning other higher-yielding currencies such as the pound retain their allure, while the yen was widely sold off across. The pound has risen by nearly 18% against the yen in the last 12 months, well ahead of the 15% gain in the euro against the Japanese currency, or even the 10% rise in the New Zealand dollar, which has the highest interest rates within the G10. The Bank of England will deliver its decision on interest rates on Thursday. It is not expected to make any change to the Bank Rate, but investors will scour the central bank's statement for any indication of when monetary policy might change. Wednesday brings data on UK inflation, which is expected to have cooled in February. A Reuters poll of economists offers a median forecast for a rise of 3.5% in the headline consumer price index from January's 4% rate, while the core rate is expected to have slowed to 4.6% from 5.1%. "A consensus CPI figure should be just strong enough to keep the BoE's messaging on hold and we suspect that the risks are tilted to the upside for sterling from an uneventful policy statement," Kyle Chapman, FX market analyst at broker Ballinger. Markets are pricing in at least two rate cuts by the BoE this year, with the jury out on a third. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are expected to deliver around three cuts in 2024, which theoretically gives the pound an edge over the dollar and the euro. Investors have enthusiastically bought sterling this year, driving the value of the existing net long position - one that assumes the pound will rise against the dollar - to its largest on record, at $5.632 billion. 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-jumps-vs-yen-after-bojs-radical-policy-shift-2024-03-19/
