2024-07-24 00:46

NEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE, July 24 (Reuters) - The dollar fell to its lowest in more than two months against the yen on Wednesday as short-yen carry trades were unwound ahead of next week's Bank of Japan meeting, with investors girding for a hawkish monetary officials to tighten policy. The yen also rose to its highest since mid-May against the euro amid expectations that yield differentials that have made it costly for foreign investors to hold yen securities will narrow. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, including the yen and the euro, fell 0.12% to 104.35. It pared losses a bit after S&P Global said that its flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index tracking the manufacturing and services sectors edged up to 55.0 this month, the highest level since April 2022. "We're just looking at concerns over global growth and we're going to see through the rest of this week if that's going to continue, if the U.S. is going to fare differently," said Helen Given, associate director of trading at Monex USA, in Washington DC, highlighting China's surprise rate cuts this week as a catalyst for those worries. "PMIs for U.S. this morning were fairly positive, but not blowing anything out of the water," she continued. The main macro news of the week comes Thursday, with the first estimate of U.S. second quarter GDP, and Friday, with the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which the Federal Reserve relies on to gauge inflation. Sources told Reuters earlier in the day said the Japanese central bank is likely to debate at its July 30-31 meeting whether to raise interest rates, and unveil a plan to roughly halve bond purchases in coming years. The Fed holds its meeting the same days. While few expect it to begin lowering rates this month, there is a good chance Fed messaging for a pivot in September will become stronger, given months of declining inflation and slower growth. Over three-quarters of economists polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to stand pat this month and possibly next move in September or October. Recent rounds of suspected currency intervention have speculators rushing to close what had been profitable carry trades, where they borrowed in low-yielding yen and invested in assets of currencies with higher rates. The yen is the best performing G-10 currency against the dollar in July so far. The dollar weakened 1.07% to 153.92, hitting its lowest since May 6. The euro marked its lowest price since May 8 and was down 1.16% at 166.915 yen. "Even if the BOJ delivers something that's not quite as hawkish as the markets are now expecting, there is still the risk that the Ministry of Finance could step in and prevent weakness in the yen if it should occur," said Brian Daingerfield, FX strategist at NatWest Markets in Stamford, Connecticut. "There is of course the reality that the Fed appears to be closing in on the potential to start an easing cycle of its own here." The euro fell 0.11% to $1.0839. Sterling was unchanged in late trade at $1.2905. Commodity-linked currencies fell to multi-week lows. Oil prices are at their lowest in a month and a half and industrial metals like iron ore and copper hit 3-1/2-month lows on a gloomy outlook for Chinese demand. The Australian dollar fell as much as 0.5% and wrapping up US$0.6584 was near a low hit in early June. The Canadian dollar weakened to 1.3808 per US dollar. The New Zealand dollar fell to US$0.5927, trading at levels last seen in early May. "We're seeing softer demand in China and Asia in general and the kiwi and Aussie just being pulled down," said Jason Wong, senior markets strategist at BNZ in Wellington. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 0.69% to $66,290.00. Ethereum declined 2.38% to $3,399.80. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-firms-commodities-slide-carry-unwinds-2024-07-24/

2024-07-24 00:30

BRUSSELS, July 23 (Reuters) - Five young people are withdrawing climate-change complaints at Europe's top human rights court after a wave of governments agreed to exit an international energy investment treaty. The plaintiffs filed the cases in 2022 at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), seeking to force Austria and 11 other European countries to leave the Energy Charter Treaty, which protects energy investments including those in fossil fuels. Clémentine Baldon, the lawyer working on the five cases, told Reuters on Tuesday the plaintiffs had notified the ECHR of their intention to withdraw, and were now awaiting the court's confirmation that the cases would be shelved. The 1998 treaty allows energy companies to sue governments over policies that damage their investments. In recent years some firms have used it to launch billion-dollar lawsuits against government measures to shut or restrict fossil fuel projects as part of efforts to shift to cleaner energy. Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change. The 27-country European Union agreed in May to leave the treaty over climate change concerns. About 10 national governments including France, Germany, Poland and non-EU member Britain, have also started the formal process to quit the pact. "In light of the progress achieved, the plaintiffs have decided to withdraw their complaint," the Veblen Institute, a French think-tank that has supported the complaints, said in a statement. "Nevertheless they reserve the right to take new legal action against states that do not withdraw from the ECT or other climate-damaging investment protection treaties," it said. The plaintiffs were young people who said they were adversely affected by climate change. They argued that the treaty had violated their human rights by preventing governments from taking immediate measures to address climate change. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/plaintiffs-drop-5-climate-cases-europes-human-rights-court-2024-07-23/

2024-07-24 00:23

Taiwan shuts financial markets, cancels flights ahead of typhoon More than 4,000 evacuated from high-risk landslide areas Taiwan puts 29,000 soldiers on stand-by for relief efforts One person killed by falling tree TSMC expects normal factory production during typhoon YILAN, Taiwan, July 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan hunkered down on Wednesday for the arrival of a strengthening Typhoon Gaemi, with financial markets shut, flights cancelled and one person killed, while the military went on stand-by amid torrential rain. Gaemi, expected to be the strongest storm to hit Taiwan in eight years, is set to make landfall on the east coast late on Wednesday evening, weather authorities said. Its eye was hovering off Hualien county as of 7:15 p.m. (1115GMT). They upgraded its status to a strong typhoon, packing gusts of up to 227 kph (141 mph) near its centre. After crossing the Taiwan Strait, it is likely to hit the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian late on Thursday afternoon. Financial markets will remain closed on Thursday, with work and school suspended for a second day, the government said. One person died, crushed by a falling tree, in the southern city of Kaohsiung, the fire department said. It also reported another 58 people were injured. "The next 24 hours will present a very severe challenge," Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai told a televised meeting of the emergency response centre. In rural Yilan county, where the typhoon will first hit land, wind and rain gathered strength, shutting eateries as most roads emptied out. "This could be the biggest typhoon in recent years," fishing boat captain Hung Chun told Reuters, adding that Yilan's harbour of Suao was packed with boats seeking shelter. "It's charging directly towards the east coast and if it makes landfall here, the damage would be enormous." The government said more than 4,000 people had been evacuated from sparsely populated mountain areas at high risk of landslides from the "extremely torrential rain". Almost all domestic flights had been cancelled, along with 227 international flights, the transport ministry said. On Thursday, all domestic flights will stop, and 185 international flights will be cancelled, it added. However, TSMC (2330.TW) , opens new tab, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab, said it expected its factories to maintain normal production during the typhoon, after it activated routine preparations. Japanese media said the typhoon also cancelled all flights departing from and arriving at Miyako and Ishigaki in Japan's Okinawa prefecture, which lies in the storm's path. SOLDIERS STANDING BY The typhoon is expected to bring rain of up to 1,800 mm (70 inches) to some mountainous counties in central and southern Taiwan, weather officials said. Taiwan's defence ministry said it had put 29,000 soldiers on stand-by for disaster relief efforts. The typhoon has severely curtailed this year's annual Han Kuang war games, but they have not been cancelled, with scheduled live fire drills held on the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. Gaemi is expected to bring heavy to very intense rains over vast swathes of China from Thursday, the water resources ministry warned. The rains are expected to last until July 31, fuelled by the typhoon's abundant moisture, it added. Gaemi and a southwest monsoon brought heavy rain on Wednesday to the Philippine capital region and northern provinces, bringing work and schools to a halt, with stock and foreign exchange trading suspended. The storm killed 12 people. While typhoons can be very destructive, Taiwan relies on them to replenish reservoirs after traditionally drier winters, especially in its south. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-hunkers-down-ahead-arrival-typhoon-gaemi-2024-07-24/

2024-07-24 00:13

Residents suffer from floods, heavy rains President Marcos orders rapid assistance Philippines sees an average of 20 typhoons yearly MANILA, July 24 (Reuters) - Heavy rain from Typhoon Gaemi has flooded the Philippine capital Manila and nearby cities, forcing authorities to shut schools, offices and cancel flights on Wednesday and declare a state of calamity in a region that is home to 13 million people. The storm, which is strengthening as it gusts towards Taiwan, did not make landfall in the Philippines but has intensified seasonal monsoon rains, causing landslides and flooding over the past few days. At least 12 people have died and more than 600,000 are displaced due to the storm, known locally as Typhoon Carina, the national disaster agency said. Water in some areas is neck-high. The Philippine coastguard said 260 passengers and 16 vessels were stranded in ports while airlines cancelled 114 flights out of Manila on Wednesday, the airport authority said. The financial markets were also closed. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told the disaster relief agencies to provide assistance and prepare supplies for isolated communities during a briefing on Wednesday, and the mayors of 16 cities in the Greater Manila region have asked for emergency funding, officials said. In the riverside city of Marikina, emergency workers waded through waist-deep waters and used rubber dinghies to rescue residents from their inundated homes. Some people sheltered in churches among the statues of Catholic saints. "The flood reached the second floor of our house, all our things are ruined, everything got wet, nothing was saved," Ladylyn Bernas, an evacuee at a nearby church, told Reuters. Social media posts showed several vehicles stuck in water or floating down streets and highways. The Philippines sees an average of 20 tropical storms annually, causing floods and deadly landslides. (This story has been refiled to add the word 'an' in paragraph 9) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/typhoon-gaemi-forces-philippines-halt-work-market-trading-2024-07-24/

2024-07-23 23:34

LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Britain's national gas network is ready to accommodate hydrogen as a fuel to power homes and industry, a report based on a trial carried out by National Gas showed on Wednesday, which owns and operates the gas transmission network. Replacing natural gas with hydrogen is viewed as a way to help reduce carbon emissions and dependency on fossil fuels. The previous UK government supported blending up to 20% of hydrogen by volume in the gas distribution network if enabled. The trial tested the blending of hydrogen into previously operational assets from the national transmission network over the last 12 months, scaling from a 2% blend of hydrogen with natural gas up to 100%. A report based on the trial's findings showed there were "no issues" during the first phase of the project and no major obstacles to repurposing the network for hydrogen. The project has now moved into its second phase, which will look into the challenges associated with the compression of hydrogen using existing assets – including demonstrating the potential to repurpose gas turbines for hydrogen use at compressor stations. "Today’s report presents a promising picture on hydrogen blending, which can help the government meet its ambition of making the country a clean energy superpower as we progress to 100% green hydrogen, and all while using our existing infrastructure," said Jon Butterwork, chief executive of National Gas. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/britains-gas-network-ready-hydrogen-fuel-report-says-2024-07-23/

2024-07-23 23:29

NEW DELHI, July 23 (Reuters) - Pernod Ricard's (PERP.PA) , opens new tab latest attempt to obtain a licence to sell alcohol in India's capital has been rejected, with New Delhi authorities citing investigations into suspected violations of the city's liquor policy, an excise department order shows. The rejection adds to Pernod's India woes, with the French drinks group facing two antitrust cases in India while it also contests a tax demand for nearly $250 million for alleged undervaluation of imports. Pernod's brands, including Chivas Regal and Absolut vodka, have not been available in the city since late 2022 after a previous licence application was rejected in April last year. The company has denied any wrongdoing and said it is eligible for a licence. India is a key market for Pernod, where it has a 17% share and competes with rival Diageo (DGE.L) , opens new tab. As an urban tourist hub, New Delhi serves as a showcase market for premium brands, making it critical for any liquor company. But in Tuesday's 24-page order, which was not public but has been seen by Reuters, New Delhi Excise Commissioner Krishna Mohan Uppu rejected Pernod's appeal against the rejection of its previous licence application, noting the investigations against the company. Pernod did not respond to a request for comment. Tuesday's order showed that Pernod's appeal argued that the company had fulfilled all requirements for the city licence and that city officials were pre-empting ongoing criminal proceedings. The order cited an ongoing investigation by India's federal financial crime agency, which has accused Pernod of illegally profiting by giving false information to Delhi officials in 2021 and violating rules by financially supporting retailers in exchange for them stocking more of its brands. Pernod has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. India accounts for 10% of Pernod's group sales. The Delhi business has in the past accounted for 5% of Pernod's sales in India, CFO Helene de Tissot said last year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/new-delhi-city-rejects-pernod-liquor-licence-appeal-document-shows-2024-07-23/