2024-08-01 07:05

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Ivorian rice farmer Francois Kasse Yao has struggled to make ends meet with only one harvest per year before he planted a new variety, resistant to unpredictable weather conditions capable of producing larger yields. The grain, introduced as a part of a programme designed to increase output of the regional staple food and cut dependence on imports, allows rice growers to get two harvests per year, with a yield of up to 5 metric tons per hectare. This shift signals a potential boost for local farmers and the nation as a whole, which could reduce its reliance on foreign rice imports. Before the introduction of the new programme that includes better irrigation, mechanization and improved short-cycle drought-resistant seeds, farmers struggled to produce one metric ton per hectare in some areas. "Today's yields are better ... This time we've started with a new variety, so today we're doing just fine," the 52-year-old farmer harvesting rice in the village of Subiakro, over 14 km from the Ivorian capital Yamoussoukro, told Reuters. A farmer from another village, Hermane N'Guessan Kouame, praised the new variety's scent and flavour as well as its capacity to resist frequent water shortages - the qualities that make the grain highly prized on the local rice market. The average price for this type of milled rice is 650 CFA francs ($1.09) per kilogram, Kouame said. "When you plant it, no matter how the weather changes, it's always intact... It adapts to all climates," said the 50-year-old who farms a 44-hectare plot in Zatta located 20 km from Yamoussoukro. SELF-SUFFICIENT Ivorian production of local white rice currently stands at 1.4 million metric tons, far below the national consumption of 2.1 million, according to a managing director of the Agency for the development of the rice sector (Aderiz). To fully cover domestic demand, Ivory Coast imports rice mainly from countries such as India, Thailand and Pakistan. A decision by India to curb its exports last year has raised shortage concerns in several African countries. But Aderiz says the latest investment of 330 billion CFA francs ($551.38 million) made by the state, its partners and the private sector, will enable the country to self-sufficient in three years. Production could reach 2.2 million tons by 2027, Yacouba Dembele said. "We're going to make progress. We're going to go fast, especially with the system we've put in place," he added. ($1 = 598.5000 CFA francs) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ivorian-farmers-turn-new-rice-variety-increased-yields-profit-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 07:00

LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab reported second-quarter profit of $6.3 billion, a drop of 19% from the previous three months, as refining margins and oil and gas trading weakened, though still beating analysts' forecasts. The results were nearly 25% higher than a year earlier, however, in a sign that CEO Wael Sawan's drive to cut costs and improve performance is kicking in. The British company also said it would buy back a further $3.5 billion in shares over the next three months, at a similar rate to the previous quarter. It kept its dividend unchanged at 34 cents per share. On Tuesday, BP raised its dividend by 10% after reported forecast-beating earnings of $2.8 billion. Last week, France's TotalEnergies reported a 6% drop in second quarter profits hurt by weaker refining margins. Exxon Mobil and Chevron report on Friday. Under Sawan, who took office in January 2023, Shell has scaled back renewables and hydrogen operations, retreated from European and Chinese power markets and sold refineries in order to focus on higer margin businesses, primarily in oil and gas. Shell said it achieved cost reductions of $700 million in the first half of 2024, taking to $1.7 billion the total of such cuts since 2022, as part of a savings target of $2 billion to $3 billion by 2025. "Today’s results show continued strong operational performance," RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria said. WEAKER TRADING Shell's second-quarter adjusted earnings, its definition of net profit, exceeded analysts' expectations of $6 billion. They rose from $5.1 billion a year earlier but were lower than the $7.7 billion profit Shell booked in the first quarter. The quarterly fall reflected lower prices and sale volumes as well as weaker trading at Shell's flagship liquefied natural gas division, which were a result of seasonally lower demand. LNG volumes were also lower because of plant maintenance. Lower refining margins and weaker oil trading also weighed on the results, which were nevertheless offset by stronger-than-expected earnings in the oil and gas production and marketing divisions. Shell took an impairment of $708 million after the sale of its Singapore refinery. It also took a $783-million impairment after it paused construction of one of Europe's largest biofuel plants a year before it was planned to go online, citing weak market conditions. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-posts-q2-profit-63-bln-beating-forecasts-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 06:55

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - China had its hottest month in observed modern history in July, Chinese state media reported, mirroring record hot weather seen around the world last month. Temperatures averaged 23.21 degrees Celsius (73.78 degrees Fahrenheit) last month, eclipsing the 23.17C in July 2017, China's national television broadcaster reported on Thursday - the highest monthly average since the country began compiling comprehensive data in 1961. The world registered its hottest day on record on July 22, with the global average surface air temperature reaching 17.15C. What makes this year's record heat unusual is that - unlike in 2023 and 2016 - the El Nino climate pattern, which amplifies global temperatures owing to warmer-than-usual waters in the Eastern Pacific, ended in April but temperatures have not abated. That points to the greater-than-ever influence of climate change in boosting global temperatures, some scientists say. In July, all of China's provinces had average temperatures higher than the same month in previous years. Temperatures in the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan were the highest, followed by Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, according to China Central Television (CCTV). On Aug. 1, temperatures remained elevated in the Yangtze River delta, with Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou and other provincial capitals forecast to bake under high temperatures for the next seven days. Hangzhou may sizzle in record temperatures exceeding 40C, according to CCTV. Global warming has made weather events in China more intense and unpredictable. The world's second-largest economy has seen some of the most intense rainfall in recent history, triggering floods and landslides. China has seen 25 significant floods in major rivers in this year's flood season, more than any other year since 1998 when record-keeping began, the Ministry of Water Resources said on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/china-records-hottest-month-recent-history-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 06:54

NEW YORK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The dollar gained on Thursday as rising geopolitical tensions drove a safe-haven boost, while the British pound fell after the Bank of England cut interest rates from a 16-year high. Concerns about a widening conflict in the Middle East intensified after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday morning, drawing threats of revenge on Israel. "We are looking at the threat of outright conflict breaking out in the Middle East," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. "That is supporting the dollar's safe-haven appeal." The dollar also bounced as a selloff on Wednesday following dovish comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the conclusion of the U.S. central bank's two-day meeting was seen as possibly overdone. "Although Jerome Powell was extremely dovish in the press conference, the statement released by the Federal Open Market Committee really sounded more balanced," said Schamotta. Powell said that interest rates could be cut as soon as September if the U.S. economy follows its expected path. The Fed's policy statement on Wednesday cited "some further progress toward the (Federal Open Market) Committee's 2% objective," while noting that the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, "remains low." Traders are now fully pricing in three 25-basis-point rate cuts by year-end, indicating one cut at each of the Fed's September, November and December meetings. The next major U.S. economic release that is likely to drive Fed policy will be Friday’s jobs report for July. It is expected to show that employers added 175,000 jobs during the month, while the unemployment rate is expected to stay steady at 4.1%. (USNFAR=ECI) , opens new tab, (USUNR=ECI) , opens new tab Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased to an 11-month high last week. The dollar index was last up 0.35% at 104.41. Tumbling stocks also likely boosted the safe-haven appeal of the U.S. currency. Sterling slipped 0.96% to $1.2733, the lowest level since July 3, after the Bank of England cut interest rates following a tight vote by policymakers, who were split over whether inflation pressures had eased sufficiently. Governor Andrew Bailey led the 5-4 decision to reduce rates by a quarter-point to 5%, and he said the BoE would move cautiously going forward. "If you look at the headlines that Bailey produced: caution on cutting too quickly or by too much, it implies to me that they're looking at sort of a steady quarterly pace of reductions," said Colin Asher, economist at Mizuho. The euro touched a three-week low of $1.07775 and was last down 0.36% at $1.07865. The Japanese yen edged higher, a day after a dramatic rally following the Bank of Japan’s decision to hike rates to 0.25%, the highest since 2008. The yen has gained since hitting a 38-year low of 161.96 against the dollar on July 3, boosted by interventions by Japanese authorities and by traders unwinding carry trades in which they were short the yen and long U.S. dollar assets. The dollar was last down 0.21% at 149.65 yen . It earlier reached 148.51, the lowest since March 15. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 2.68% to $62,848. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-nurses-losses-after-fed-hints-rate-cuts-way-yen-firms-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 06:36

NEW DELHI, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Emergency workers rescued nearly 1,000 people who were stranded in different parts of the Himalayas following torrential rainfall in northern India, which caused widespread damage and left at least 12 people dead, officials said on Thursday. The capital Delhi received intense rainfall late on Wednesday, totalling 147 mm (5.8 inches) in eastern parts of the city and its suburbs, the India Meteorological Department said. At least seven people died in Delhi, according to local media. Three people died and parts of two bridges washed away after a cloudburst - a massive amount of rain in a brief period - in Uttarakhand state, officials said, and bad weather was hampering communications in the hilly terrain. Rescue workers saved over 1,000 people who were stranded in different locations on the Kedarnath route - a trek to a Hindu pilgrimage site - and a patch of the national highway was washed out, district official Saurabh Gaharwar said by phone. Uttarakhand, which is prone to flash floods and landslides, was ravaged by record rainfall in 2013, and nearly 6,000 Hindu devotees on pilgrimages went missing. In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh state, two people died and nearly 50 were missing after flooding caused by rains, authorities said. Photos shared by the state chief minister showed rescue workers crossing streams by rope, as muddy water gushed through rocks between hills. "The situation is quite bad there and we are trying to pull out people, dead bodies (if any) from the debris," Jyoti Rana, a district official in the capital Shimla, told Reuters. Some climate experts have attributed the extreme rainfall, flash floods and deadly landslides seen in the mountains of India, Pakistan and Nepal over the past few years to climate change. Earlier this week, landslides swept through tea estates and villages in southern India's Kerala state, killing at least 178 people after unexpectedly heavy rain. In Delhi, water leaked from the glass dome of a newly constructed parliament building, opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav said on X. The leak was later repaired. Delhi has experienced a series of extreme weather events in the past few months, from scorching temperatures to floods and rainfall that caused a roof collapse at the city's airport. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/least-two-dead-indias-capital-schools-shut-after-heavy-rain-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 06:32

TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi (8058.T) , opens new tab posted a 12% year-on-year increase in first-quarter net profit to 354.4 billion yen ($2.37 billion) on Thursday thanks to asset sales and weaker yen, beating estimates. Mitsubishi had been expected to post a net profit of 290.8 billion yen, according to a LSEG poll of analysts, beating the forecast thanks to the sale of two metallurgical coal mines and depreciation of the yen. ($1 = 149.8400 yen) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japans-mitsubishi-q1-net-profit-up-12-yy-asset-sales-weaker-yen-2024-08-01/