2024-05-13 20:17

OTTAWA, May 13 (Reuters) - The western oil- and grain-producing province of Alberta on Monday urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do all he could to head off potentially devastating strikes by railway and port workers. Staff represented by the Teamsters union voted overwhelmingly this month to strike as early as May 22. Railways are critical to Canada's economy, due to its vast geography and exports of grain, potash and coal. Further to the west, talks between management and unions at the port of Vancouver have hit an impasse. "Any work stoppage affecting our railways and ports would be crippling for our national economy and North American supply chains," Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a letter to Trudeau that was released by her office. Smith said Ottawa had to do all it could to help the parties in both disputes reach negotiated settlements. "In the event of a work stoppage, your government must be prepared to use all the tools at its disposal to terminate it rapidly, including, if necessary, back-to-work legislation," said Smith, one of Trudeau's main domestic political opponents. The ruling center-left Liberals could present a draft law to force striking workers back to work but in the past have shown little interest in doing so. Asked about a possible Vancouver port strike, the office of Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said: "Our government believes in collective bargaining." O'Regan last week asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to look at whether a rail strike might have safety implications. Until the board has issued a decision, the strike by workers at Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City cannot start. The board on Monday asked for submissions by the end of business on May 21 and could take weeks to act. The unions are currently negotiating contracts and asking for better wages and working conditions. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/alberta-urges-canada-pm-trudeau-head-off-port-rail-strikes-2024-05-13/

2024-05-13 20:01

Loonie trades in a range of 1.3661 to 1.3689 Speculators raise bearish bets on the currency Price of U.S. oil settles 1.1% higher 10-year yield was nearly unchanged at 3.693% TORONTO, May 13 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar steadied against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as investors turned attention to a key U.S. inflation report this week, with the currency unable to sustain the gains it made following recent domestic jobs data. The loonie was trading unchanged at 1.3670 to the U.S. dollar, or 73.15 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3661 to 1.3689. On Friday, the currency touched its strongest intraday level in one week at 1.3632, clawing back some of this year's decline, after data showed Canada's economy adding 90,400 jobs in April, five times the number that was forecast. "Last Friday's employment data for Canada was not enough to turn the trend," said Howard Du, an FX Strategist at BofA Securities, adding that slower wage growth supports prospects for a Bank of Canada interest rate cut. "We still think USD-CAD, this pair, is more driven by U.S. data than Canadian data," Du said. "So if U.S. CPI this week surprises to the downside then that could lead to a more material USD-CAD selloff." The U.S. consumer price index report, due on Wednesday, is expected to show core inflation slowing to 3.6% on an annual basis in April. The price of oil , one of Canada's major exports, settled 1.1% higher at $79.12 a barrel, with investors looking out for potential oil supply disruptions due to wildfires in Western Canada. Speculators have raised their bearish bets on the Canadian dollar, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. As of May 7, net short positions had increased to 69,221 contracts from 63,201 in the prior week. The Canadian 10-year yield was nearly unchanged at 3.693%, steadying after it touched a one-week high during Friday's session at 3.718%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/c-steadies-after-jobs-data-was-not-enough-spark-uptrend-2024-05-13/

2024-05-13 19:24

OTTAWA, May 13 (Reuters) - Firefighters on Monday battled a large wildfire heading towards a remote western Canadian town as winds and tinder dry conditions threatened to spread the flames further, a provincial minister said. The largely evacuated town of Fort Nelson in British Columbia is in the line of one of the season's first major wildfires that have spread to 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) across Western Canada and are sending smoke plumes over five provinces, as well as parts of the northern U.S. Bowinn Ma, British Columbia's minister of emergency management and climate readiness, said conditions in the north of the Pacific province - an area that includes Fort Nelson - were extremely challenging. "With no major precipitation in the forecast ahead and winds that can they can pick up at any time, we ... are extremely concerned," she told a televised briefing. "We may begin to see volatile wildfire activity later this afternoon." The fire, which started on Friday, covered over 5,280 hectares (13,050 acres) and had reached 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) west of Fort Nelson by Monday morning. After its worst-ever-wildfire season last year, Canada experienced one of its warmest winters with low to non-existent snow in many areas, raising fears of a hot summer triggering blazes in forests and wild lands amid an ongoing drought. Northeastern British Columbia and the northern region of neighboring Alberta are the heartland of Canada's energy industry. There have been no reports of any disruption to oil and gas extraction. In Alberta, authorities said there were two wildfires of note, including one near Fort McMurray. In 2016, a huge wildfire in the major oil town forced the evacuation of 90,000 residents and shut in more than a million barrels per day of oil output. Six crews of firefighters, back by 13 helicopters, worked on Monday to establish a containment line near Fort McMurray.  Helicopters equipped with night vision had dropped water on the fire with buckets overnight, the local municipality said. Residents were placed on an evacuation alert on Friday, though favorable weather conditions have kept the fire about 16 km away, officials said on Monday. Light rain showers were expected to aid firefighting, they added. "At the moment, the winds are not pushing in the direction of the community. But of course conditions are always subject to change," Alberta Wildfire official Christie Tucker told a televised briefing. The federal government last month said Canada faces another catastrophic wildfire season as it forecast higher-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadian-firefighters-battle-wildfire-sweeping-towards-bc-town-2024-05-13/

2024-05-13 19:18

KINSHASA, May 13 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government has lifted a suspension order on a Congolese copper and cobalt operation majority-owned by China's Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd (601899.SS) New Tab, opens new tab, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday. Congo's mines ministry last month halted the activities of the COMMUS project, in which Zijin owns a 72% stake, to investigate mineral products returned from South Africa due to overly high radiation levels. The mines ministry on Monday confirmed a letter to the director general of COMMUS dated May 10, in which it wrote that it had received a report on the investigation's findings and that the suspension was lifted. Mining operations could resume as long as the company scrupulously ensured radiation levels remained in line with national and international standards, it said. COMMUS said via email that it had received the ministry's letter, and that both production and exports had fully resumed. The company was not sent the report mentioned in the letter, it added. Congo is the world's third-largest copper producer and its top producer of cobalt, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones. COMMUS, based near Congo's southern city of Kolwezi, produced 129,000 tonnes of copper and about 2,200 tons of cobalt in 2023, ministry data shows. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dr-congo-allows-zijin-mine-resume-operations-mines-ministry-letter-says-2024-05-13/

2024-05-13 18:49

N'DJAMENA, May 13 (Reuters) - The Paris Court of Arbitration has rejected a bid by Savannah Energy Plc (SAVES.L) New Tab, opens new tab to freeze COTCO oil pipeline company's accounts after Chad nationalised its upstream assets in the country, Chad's transitional government said on Monday. London-listed Savannah said in March last year that it planned to pursue all its legal rights to contest Chad's move to nationalise its upstream assets in the central African country. In December, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) New Tab, opens new tab closed the sale of its operations in Chad and Cameroon, including COTCO, to Africa-focussed oil and gas producer Savannah in a $407 million deal, but the Chadian government challenged the agreement. The Paris Court of Arbitration ruled against Savannah on May 8, Chad's transitional government said in a statement on Monday. Savannah owns a 40% interest in the Doba Oil Project in Chad, comprising seven producing oilfields with combined output of 28,000 barrels per day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/savannah-energy-loses-legal-bid-freeze-oil-pipeline-company-accounts-chad-2024-05-13/

2024-05-13 18:05

ZURICH, May 13 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence is hitting the global labour market "like a tsunami" International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday. Artificial intelligence is likely to impact 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% of jobs around the world in the next two years, Georgieva told an event in Zurich. "We have very little time to get people ready for it, businesses ready for it," she told the event organised by the Swiss Institute of International Studies, associated to the University of Zurich. "It could bring tremendous increase in productivity if we manage it well, but it can also lead to more misinformation and, of course, more inequality in our society." Georgieva said the world economy had become more prone to shocks in recent years, citing the global pandemic in 2020, as well as the war in Ukraine. Although she expected more shocks, particularly due to the climate crisis, remained remarkably resilient, she said. "We are not in global recession," said Georgieva, who was heckled by protesters calling for action on climate change and tackling developing world debt. "Last year there were fears that most economies would slip into recession, that didn't happen," she said. "Inflation that has hit us with a very strong force is on the decline, almost everywhere." Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan, who also spoke at the event, said the fight against inflation in Switzerland was now far advanced. Inflation rose to 1.4% in April, the 11th month in a row that price rises have been within the SNB's 0-2% target range. "The outlook for inflation is much better. It looks that for the next few years, inflation could be really in the same range of price stability," Jordan said. "But there is a lot of uncertainty." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence-hitting-labour-forces-like-tsunami-imf-chief-2024-05-13/