2023-11-17 10:16
MUMBAI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended slightly weaker on Friday as buoyant U.S. dollar demand from local companies offset the positive cues from strength in its Asian peers. The rupee closed at 83.27 compared with its close of 83.2325 in the previous session. The currency was rangebound between 83.01 and 83.3325 this week and ended largely unchanged from last Friday. Asian currencies rose amid a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields after economic data aided expectations that the U.S. labour market is cooling. The 10-year U.S. bond yield last quoted at 4.39%, its lowest level since September. Brent crude oil futures were up slightly on Friday but the contract has fallen over 11% so far in November because of concerns about weaker global demand. The rupee has been unable to gain from these favourable cues in the face of persistent dollar demand from local importers, traders said. A sizeable drop in the dollar-rupee pair is unlikely anytime soon as the pair is likely to remain "bought on dips", a foreign exchange trader at a state-run bank said. "The rupee should continue consolidating between 83 and 83.30 in the near-term but is likely to head lower eventually," said Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities. The dollar index was on course to register a weekly drop of over 1% as investors raised bets that the Federal Reserve would begin easing policy rates next year. Market participants are pricing in rate cuts of 100 basis points in 2024, beginning from May. Investors await the minutes of the Fed's October meeting, which are due on Tuesday, and could offer cues on the central bank's thinking on future policy rates. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/india-rupee-closes-slightly-lower-little-changed-week-2023-11-17/
2023-11-17 09:59
Tankers shipped Sokol crude to state refiner IOC NS Century scheduled to offload crude at Vadinar Nov. 25 SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Three oil tankers, newly sanctioned by Washington, regularly shipped Sokol crude from Russia's Far East to Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), the country's top refiner, in recent months, according to shiptracking data from LSEG, Kpler and trade sources. The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on maritime companies and vessels for shipping Russian oil sold above the Group of Seven's price cap, as Washington seeks to close loopholes in the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine. The Liberian-flagged ships hit with sanctions are the Kazan, Ligovsky Prospect and NS Century, according to the Treasury Department. All three Aframax-sized tankers discharged Russian Sokol crude in India in September while two of them made the trip in October, the data showed. In the short-term, sanctions may reduce the number of ships carrying Russian oil and prompt India to seek supplies elsewhere, but they are unlikely to stop the trade altogether due to its lucrative nature, several traders who declined to be named, said. As long as there are willing buyers, sellers and shippers will always find a way to make the oil flow, one trader said. One trader also said India may seek supply from the Mediterranean and North Sea to replace Russian Sokol. NS Century is currently on its way to discharge Sokol crude at Vadinar port in Gujarat for Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Nov. 25, LSEG and Kpler data showed. IOC buys Sokol under an annual contract with Russian oil major Rosneft (ROSN.MM). A spike in global prices led to Russian oil being sold at above the price caps imposed by western nations of $60 a barrel. The three vessels last year obtained safety certification from the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), according to its website. Ligovsky Prospect and Kazan, managed by Oil Tanker (SCF) Management-FZCO, were certified on Sept. 14, and May 7 last year, according to IRClass website. NS Century, managed by Dubai-based Sun Ship management (D) Ltd was certified on Sept. 15, 2022. Societies such as London-headquartered Lloyd's Register, the American Bureau of Shipping and IRClass provide services, such as seaworthiness checks and certification, which are vital for securing insurance and entry to ports. IOC and IRClass did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sokol crude is produced at the Sakhalin-1 project, managed by a Rosneft subsidiary after the exit of ExxonMobil (XOM.N). Prior to sanctions and restructuring of the project's ownership, India's ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS), and Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co (SODECO), a consortium of Japanese firms had a stake in the project. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-sanctioned-tankers-shipped-russian-sokol-crude-india-data-2023-11-17/
2023-11-17 06:53
Czech energy firm Sev.en in talks for AES's 51% stake US energy firm AES wants to sell all coal assets by end of 2025 Korea's Posco is planning to sell its 30% stake - spokesperson China sovereign wealth fund CIC holds 19% stake in the plant HANOI/PRAGUE/SEOUL, Nov 17 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firm AES Corp. (AES.N) is in talks to sell its majority stake in one of Vietnam's largest coal-fired power plants, two people familiar with the discussions said, as part of its global strategy to divest coal assets by the end of 2025. AES is discussing the sale with Sev.en Global Investments, the financial vehicle for foreign acquisitions of Czech energy firm Sev.en Group, ultimately owned by billionaire Pavel Tykac, the two people told Reuters, declining to be named because no deal had been finalised yet. It was not clear if AES was in talks with other potential buyers. The plant's second-largest shareholder, South Korea's energy firm Posco International (047050.KS), told Reuters it was also considering selling its 30% stake, but did not elaborate further. AES had no immediate comment. Sev.en declined to comment. AES is one of the U.S. largest investors in Vietnam, mostly involved in the coal power business there. Its divestment would come as chipmaker Intel (INTC.O), which also runs a major operation in the Southeast Asian nation, shelved a planned expansion there. U.S. President Joe Biden visited Vietnam in September and signed deals to boost investments in the country. AES wants to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and gas-fired power plant in Vietnam. AES had tried to sell its 51% stake in the 1.2 gigawatt Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant in 2021 but the deal fell through after the company said it signed a sale agreement with a consortium led by an undisclosed "U.S.-based investor". The sources did not say how much AES's stake could be valued at under the current deal being considered. Posco's 30% stake was valued at $185 million when it had tried to sell in 2021, according to a regulatory filing from the company. That deal, which collapsed like the AES one did, would have valued the plant at over $600 million. Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC), which owns the remaining 19% stake in the plant, is considering selling under the terms agreed by AES with potential buyers, one of the sources said. It is unclear whether CIC was also considering a potential sale to a possible buyer of Posco's stake. CIC did not reply to a request for comment. The ownership of the Mong Duong 2 plant is scheduled to be transferred to the Vietnamese state by 2040, a quarter of a century after it began operations. Vietnam wants to end power generation from coal by 2050, under commitments that have attracted funding pledges from Group of Seven (G7) members and are expected to be fine tuned at the UN Climate Change Conference which begins on Nov. 30 in Dubai. Sev.en is focussed on acquiring coal assets and other fossil industries as their prices drop amid the global trend to phasing them out - a business strategy that environmental activist Greenpeace said made the company a "climate change villain" . "Without doubt this will end one day, but at the moment there are opportunities in this sector," Tykac, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $8 billion, told Reuters in May. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/aes-talks-sell-major-coal-fired-power-plant-vietnam-sources-2023-11-17/
2023-11-17 06:45
PARIS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - French construction group Eiffage (FOUG.PA) late on Thursday said it won a contract worth more than 4 billion euros ($4.34 billion) to carry out the main civil engineering works surrounding two planned nuclear reactors. For each reactor, Eiffage will build several dozen of buildings, including the giant concrete domes containing the reactor, the turbine halls and a six-level operation building. The deal for the would-be EPR2 reactors state-owned utility EDF is building at its Penly site in northern France, will involve almost 4,000 people and generate 1.3 million working hours, Eiffage said. Preparatory works are due to start in mid-2024, once EDF has obtained all necessary permits to kick off the construction. ($1 = 0.9215 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eiffage-wins-4-bln-euro-order-french-next-generation-nuclear-plants-2023-11-17/
2023-11-17 06:44
Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden signed on Thursday a stopgap spending bill to avert government shutdown, the White House said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/uss-biden-signs-stopgap-spending-bill-white-house-says-2023-11-17/
2023-11-17 06:26
Asian stock markets: Oil prices rebound from four-month low Bonds rally as softer U.S. data hardens rate-cut bets NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - World stocks steadied near two-month peaks on Friday and Treasury yields briefly touched two-month lows as investors held fast to the belief that U.S. interest rates have peaked and might even fall next year. But a reality check came when Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said on Friday that while evidence is growing that inflation is easing, she was not yet ready to rule out more rate hikes should they be needed. That put a damper on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) finished flat, and the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up just 0.13%. Despite sluggishness on Wall Street, MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) added 0.34%, helped in part by European shares that rallied 1% (.STOXX). In line with U.S. rate expectations, the dollar index fell 0.48%, and was on track for one of its steepest weekly declines this year. A falling dollar helped the yen to strengthen sharply to trade below 150 per dollar. Oil prices rebounded from a four-month low, with U.S. crude and Brent jumping 4% on the day. A softer tone to U.S. economic data this week has fueled rate-cuts bets, pushing Treasury yields down and lifting equity markets. November so far has seen one of the strongest performances for stock markets this year, with MSCI's world stock index and the S&P 500 index both up more than 7%. "We're still in this environment where we are late cycle and flirting with the idea of whether we go into a recession or not," said Justin Onuekwusi, chief investment officer at investment firm St. James's Place. "This is the key reason why central bank expectations have become a key driver to risk and right now it's hard to look beyond near-term." BOND BULLS OUT Global bond markets were in a bullish mood. The steep decline in U.S. Treasury yields since the start of November continued on Friday with the benchmark 10-year note yield briefly falling to a two-month low. Later, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note was little changed at 4.439%, from 4.445% late on Thursday, and the two-year note was last up 6.1 basis points to yield 4.9025%, from 4.842%. The gap widened between yields on two- and 10-year Treasury notes , an indicator of expectations the economy is slowing. The curve inversion was around -46.0 basis points on Friday, compared with -38 basis points the day before, and remains near its deepest point since early October. Rate-sensitive two-year bond yields in Germany and Britain fell to their lowest levels since June , with money markets now pricing in roughly 100 basis points worth of rate cuts in the United States and the euro area. In Asia, shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) eased 0.45%, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) closed up 0.48%, firming about 3% for the week, helped by the Bank of Japan's reassurance that it was sticking with its super loose policy. Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) fell 0.12%, having missed on the general rally so far this week. Sentiment in Asia had been supported by the apparent easing of U.S.-China tensions, with the Chinese press lauding the meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden. Gold was unchanged at $1,980.17 an ounce. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2023-11-17/
