2023-12-22 12:30
BENGALURU, Dec 22 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) rose for the fifth straight week, reaching an over 20-month high of $615.97 billion as of Dec. 15, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday. The reserves rose by $9.1 billion in the reporting week, after climbing by a total of $16.5 billion in the prior four weeks. Indian debt and equity markets have seen net inflows of $9.2 billion so far in December, after receiving $2.9 billion in November. Central bank intervention in forex markets along with valuation changes impact reserves. Changes in foreign currency assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in its reserves. Foreign exchange reserves also include India's Reserve Tranche position in the International Monetary Fund. For the week the forex reserves data pertains, the rupee traded in between 82.9400 and 83.4050 against the dollar, and logged its biggest weekly gain since Aug. 25. The currency settled at 83.14 on Friday, and posted its biggest weekly loss in over two months. FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (in million U.S. dollars) --------------------------------------------------------- Dec 15 Dec 08 2023 2023 --------------------------------------------------------- Foreign currency assets 545,048 536,699 Gold 47,577 47,130 SDRs 18,323 18,188 Reserve Tranche Position 5,023 4,842 ---------------------------------------------------------- Total 615,971 606,859 ---------------------------------------------------------- Source text: (https://bit.ly/3viYUYn) ((India Headline News Team; +91 80 6749 1310)) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-forex-reserves-hit-over-1-12-year-high-2023-12-22/
2023-12-22 11:53
CHENNAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - At least 31 people were killed in floods and heavy rain in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu this week, a top federal minister said on Friday, as rescuers struggled to reach scores still stranded in high waters. Heavy rains have paralysed several districts of the state, inundating entire neighbourhoods, roads and railway tracks, days after a cyclone hit India's south-eastern coast, causing widespread damage. "The (toll) number could change," federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman told reporters, adding that more than 40,000 people have been rescued so far and efforts are underway to reach those still stranded. The state is one of the major electronics and manufacturing hubs in India. Some southern neighbourhoods remained waterlogged on Friday. "We're struggling to get tractors and boats with food and essentials through water in the worst-affected areas," said M. Balamurugan, who along with other volunteers have been distributing foods and essentials. Tamil Nadu recorded over 64 mm of rainfall this week, more than triple the 20 mm that would be normal at this time of year, the weather department said, predicting more rainfall in parts of the state over the next five days. For some the floods are reminiscent of rains eight years ago in state capital Chennai that killed 290 people and inundated large swathes of the city. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/least-31-killed-floods-indias-tamil-nadu-2023-12-22/
2023-12-22 11:43
African ports struggle with red tape, congestion Hundreds of vessels rerouted by Houthi attacks Refuelling in South Africa a major challenge Maersk looks to Mauritius, Namibia ports for stopovers CAPE TOWN, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Shipping companies sailing around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Houthi attacks on the Red Sea face tough choices over where to refuel and restock, as African ports struggle with red tape, congestion and poor facilities, companies and analysts say. Hundreds of large vessels are rerouting around the southern tip of Africa, a longer route adding 10-14 days of travel, to escape drone and missile attacks by Yemeni Houthis that have pushed up oil prices and freight rates. The attacks by Iranian-backed militants have disrupted international trade through the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, which accounts for about a sixth of global traffic. South Africa's major ports, including Durban, one of Africa's largest in terms of container volumes handled, as well as Cape Town and Ngqura ports are among the worst performing globally, a World Bank 2022 index released in May found. "Even the state that Durban is in now, it is still the most advanced and largest port in Africa, so ships rerouting around the continent have very limited choices for berthing for replenishment," Alessio Lencioni, a logistics and supply chain consultant told Reuters. Other large African deep-water ports along the Cape route, such as Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania are too ill-equipped to handle the expected traffic over the next couple of weeks, Lencioni said. Maersk said vessels routed around the Cape will as far as possible try to fuel at origin or destination. "In case there is a need for bunkering en route, it would be decided on a case by case basis with Walvis Bay (Namibia) or Port Louis (Mauritius) being the top options," a spokesperson said. CAPE OF STORMS Rough weather with high seas, common at the 'Cape of Storms' as well as the cyclone-prone Mozambique Channel, mean ships could burn through their fuel quicker, making refuelling services crucial, shippers said. "In Singapore, we’re delivering larger bunker volumes to vessels that will now be sailing longer voyages," a spokesperson for TFG Marine, a unit of energy trader Trafigura, said. Bureaucracy is a concern. In September, South Africa's national revenue service detained five bunkering vessels in Algoa Bay on suspicion of contravening the Customs and Excise Act. BP, Trafigura and Mercuria have all been hit by suspensions pending audits. Since South Africa's first ship-to-ship offshore bunkering started in Algoa Bay in 2016, there has been a sharp rise in fuel volumes and vessels using it. A spokesperson for Heron Marine, the TFG Marine affiliate operating in Algoa Bay, said the company is working with customers to manage their bunkering requirements. Mercuria and BP (BP.L) did not immediately respond to questions. In anticipation of more marine fuel being needed, imports are expected to rise to around 230 kilotonnes in December, analysts say. "South Africa is expecting a record high of fuel oil imports for December," because of demand for refuelling linked to the Houthi crisis, Younes Azzouzi, market analyst at data and analytics specialist Kpler said. https://www.reuters.com/business/ships-rerouted-by-red-sea-crisis-face-overwhelmed-african-ports-2023-12-22/
2023-12-22 11:32
COPENHAGEN, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud is being towed to Bremerhafen in Germany after a violent North Sea storm shattered windows on the bridge, causing a power outage late on Thursday, Danish authorities said on Friday. The ship's 266 passengers and 131 crew members were safe, a spokesperson for the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (DJRC) told Reuters, adding that a vessel from civil rescue firm Esvagt had managed to connect a tow line to the cruise ship. "An Esvagt ship is towing it slowly towards Bremerhafen in Germany at around 8-9 knots," the spokesperson said. The vessel was sailing some 260 kilometres (162 miles) off Denmark's west coast and about 350 kilometres off Britain's east coast when water entered the bridge, resulting in a power outage. The vessel's main engine was still functioning, enabling the ship to be steered manually from the engine room. MS Maud, which belongs to cruise company HX, a unit of Norway's Hurtigruten Group, left Floroe in Norway on Thursday and was due to arrive in Tilbury in Britain on Friday. Hurtigruten confirmed in a statement on Friday that the vessel was heading to Bremerhafen for disembarkation. The company said the Maud had suffered "a temporary loss of power after encountering a rogue wave" and that the crew and passengers were safe. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norwegian-cruise-ship-remains-north-sea-following-storm-power-outage-2023-12-22/
2023-12-22 11:15
LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Global investors put a record $1.3 trillion into cash in 2023, according to a report from Bank of America and data provider EPFR on Friday. They also pumped a record $177 billion into U.S. Treasuries this year, though on a weekly basis the U.S. government bonds are in their third weekly outflow, the longest streak since February 2021. Outflows were seen across the board in the week to Wednesday when investors pulled $26.1 billion out of cash, in the form of money market funds, $21.3 billion from stocks, $2.1 billion from bonds and $300 million in gold, the report found. Investors shed stocks at the highest weekly rate since December 2022, and recorded their largest outflow from tech stocks in 15 weeks of $700 million. Corporate debt was one of the few asset classes that saw inflows in the latest week, with investment grade credit recording $400 million in inflows and high-yield logging $1.2 billion, the report showed. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/global-markets-flows-urgent-2023-12-22/
2023-12-22 11:13
WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order allowing Washington to impose sanctions on financial institutions that help Russia evade sanctions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. The executive order, part of a wider U.S. crackdown on sanctions evasion, also gives Washington the ability to ban products originating in Russia but processed in third countries, such as seafood and diamonds, Yellen said in a statement. "Today we are taking steps to level new and powerful tools against Russia’s war machine," Yellen said. "And we will not hesitate to use the new tools provided by this authority to take decisive and surgical action against financial institutions that facilitate the supply of Russia’s war machine.” Senior administration officials said the new executive order would make clear to financial institutions that they must either stop allowing their companies to ship components and goods to the Russian defense sector, or face significant sanctions. The United States and its allies, including the European Union and Britain, imposed sanctions on Russia after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and have continued to ratchet up pressure on Moscow, targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, the financial sector and dozens of oligarchs. The order is being issued in coordination with allies. The United States has repeatedly warned companies against evading U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia, and has targeted firms in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and elsewhere that it has accused of helping Moscow skirt the measures. Senior U.S. officials have also traveled to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other countries to warn that businesses could lose access to G7 markets if they do business with entities subject to U.S. curbs. CHOKE POINT One of the senior officials said Washington's initial sanctions and export controls have had a meaningful impact, with Russia's economy now 5% smaller than predicted before the war and grappling with a benchmark interest rate of 16%. The new order would give Treasury and its allies new tools to target the networks Moscow was trying to put in place to circumvent these sanctions through the use of front companies and "witting and unwitting financial intermediaries," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We've sanctioned a number of these companies that we've found, but ultimately the choke point for these companies and Russia's ability to continue to try and circumvent our sanctions is the financial system," one of the senior officials said. "What this tool allows us to do is to target those institutions and give them a very stark choice." The provisions will take effect immediately after Biden signs the executive order on Friday. The officials said they were not aware of any U.S. or European institutions that were in violation of the order, noting that most U.S. and European firms had already scaled back their business with Russia dramatically. The executive order will also give Washington the ability to ban products that originated in Russia but were "substantially transformed" outside of the country, including diamonds, a second senior administration official said. The action comes after the Group of Seven countries earlier this month announced a direct ban on Russian diamonds starting Jan. 1 followed by phased-in restrictions on indirect imports of Russian gems from around March 1. The United States has already banned the direct import of non-industrial Russian diamonds, but this measure would extend the ban to cover Russian-origin diamonds processed elsewhere, the official said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-takes-aim-financial-institutions-with-new-russia-sanctions-authority-2023-12-22/
