2025-08-07 06:45
BHATWADI, India, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Indian rescuers used helicopters on Thursday to pluck to safety people stranded by flood waters in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, nearly two days after a sudden inundation and landslides killed four, with dozens still missing. Roads crumpled or blocked by boulders kept rescue teams from reaching the village of Dharali in the state's district of Uttarkashi, a tourist spot, after a wall of water hit the area, submerging homes and cars in sludge. Sign up here. The helicopter rescuers were given instructions needed to ensure the operation was effective, the state's chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said. "The heli-rescue operation ... started in the affected areas this morning," he added in a post on X. Army rescuers used their hands, as well as machinery, to shift boulders from roads turned into muddy, gushing rivers, in visuals from the region. About 200 people had been rescued over Tuesday and Wednesday, army and state officials said, but many more were feared stranded and missing. Dharali, a hamlet of about 200 people that stands more than 1,150 m (3,775 ft) above sea level, is a pit-stop for Hindu pilgrims climbing to the temple town of Gangotri. "We saw Dharali falling before our eyes," said Anamika Mehra, a pilgrim headed for Gangotri when the flooding hit. "We were very scared, but the locals helped us and the army reached the next day to rescue us," she told news agency ANI. Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/indian-helicopters-rescue-people-stranded-by-flooding-himalayan-state-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 06:43
SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE, France, Aug 7 (Reuters) - French firefighters battled for a second day on Thursday to contain its biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades, which has burnt over 16,000 hectares and killed one person. Reuters TV images showed plumes of smoke rising over the forest area in the region of Aude in southern France. Sign up here. "As of now, the fire has not been brought under control," Christophe Magny, one of the officials leading the firefighting operation, told BFM TV. The blaze near the border with Spain towards the Mediterranean Sea began earlier this week and has already swept through an area bigger than Paris. Officials have said it is France's biggest wildfire since 1949. Scientists say the Mediterranean region's hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/france-battles-huge-wildfire-second-day-row-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 06:41
Investors doubt anti-price war campaign will be effective Industrial stocks such as steelmakers, cement producers retreat after July rally Commodity prices snap back on weak real demand SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Fund manager Yang Tingwu was quick to harvest his gains after a furious July rally in Chinese steel and cement stocks, spurred by Beijing's campaign against price wars and excess industrial production. Yang, like many other investors, does not believe China's ambitious plan to pull producers out of a deflationary spiral will succeed. Sign up here. Reducing excessive capacity is hard to implement because closing factories "hits local tax revenues, employment, and GDP," said Yang, a vice general manager at Tongheng Investment. On the demand side, the property market crisis and the trade war mean "the price rebound is short-lived." Profit-takers like Yang threaten to kill a budding upturn in Chinese industrial stocks and commodities that was triggered by President Xi Jinping's call last month for regulating disorderly competition, or "involution". An index tracking Chinese steelmakers (.CSI930606) , opens new tab surged 16% in July but has softened since. Shares of cement producers (.CSI930706) , opens new tab shot up 23% last month but have pulled back. Share price rallies in coal, solar energy, and electric car sectors have also stalled. The snapback points to a lack of confidence among investors that Beijing's vow to tackle industrial overcapacity will carry much punch. The effect, if any, would also be muted by the economy's most serious consumer slowdown in years and the biggest global trade ructions in decades. Analysts draw parallels with China's supply-side reforms in 2016, which underpinned a two-year uptrend in the stock market (.SSEC) , opens new tab. But circumstances were hugely different then, with local households less indebted and more confident, a thriving property sector and no global trade tensions. Yuan Yuwei, hedge fund manager at Water Wisdom Asset Management, said the recent rally was driven merely by "animal spirits", or raw investor emotions. "This time is different," Yuan said. Alexis De Mones, a London-based portfolio manager at the Ashmore Group, said much depended on how the policy is implemented and whether it impacted overall output or helped reduce disinflationary pressures. "Is that a positive? Well, it could be positive for the stock market if it's positive for profits growth. The impact of the anti-involution policy is still very ambiguous, I think," he said. FRAGILE CONFIDENCE That lack of conviction in policy has meant prices of local commodities such as coal , glass , rebar and steel wired rod have all surrendered much of July's sharp gains. "Polysilicon prices jumped and then fell back. Coal prices jumped and then fell back. Why? Because there's a severe shortage of demand," said William Xin, chairman of Spring Mountain Pu Jiang Investment Management. "So it's just a quick trading opportunity." To be sure, some analysts are more upbeat, and look beyond just days, or weeks. They expect more concrete measures to curb price-cutting after China suffered from 33 consecutive months of factory-gate deflation. "Reflation appears to have gained importance on the policy agenda, with the aim of breaking the cycle of falling prices and weaker demand," Standard Chartered said in a note. Recent calls to rectify disorderly competition "are likely to be followed by more supply-side actions." The view was echoed by JPMorgan, whose analysts expect concerted efforts across China to restore pricing and investment returns to normality. A team of equity strategists led by Wendy Liu said in a report that loss-making sectors such as lithium and solar will "see more fixes" and "may see a broad-based rally." In other sectors such as coal and battery, leading players may gain market share due to industry consolidation, they said. "We see anti-involution as an 18-month trade." https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/sceptical-investors-call-time-chinas-anti-price-war-rally-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 06:25
Oil prices rise on steady U.S. demand US crude inventories fall by 3 million barrels, exceed estimates Investors cautious amid more U.S. tariffs on India Aug 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday, recovering from a five-day losing streak, on signs of steady demand in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, although concerns over the economic impact of U.S. tariffs capped gains. Brent crude futures was up 41 cents, or 0.6%, at $67.3 a barrel, as of 0607 GMT. Sign up here. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.6% to $64.76, gaining 41 cents. Both benchmarks slid about 1% on Wednesday to their lowest levels in eight weeks following U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks on progress in talks with Moscow. Trump could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, a White House official said, though the U.S. continued preparations to impose secondary sanctions, including potentially on China, to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Russia is the world's second-biggest producer of crude after the United States. Still, oil markets found support from a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories last week. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell by 3 million barrels to 423.7 million barrels in the week ended August 1, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 591,000-barrel draw. Inventories fell as U.S. crude exports climbed and refinery runs climbed, with utilization on the Gulf Coast, the country's biggest refining region, and the West Coast climbing to their highest since 2023. Analysts at JP Morgan said in a note that global oil demand through August 5 has averaged 104.7 million barrels per day, tracking annual growth of 300,000 bpd, but 90,000 bpd below their forecast for the month. "Despite a slightly soft start to the month, relative to our expectations, high frequency indicators of oil demand suggest global oil consumption is likely to improve sequentially over the coming weeks," the analysts said, with jet fuel and petrochemical feedstocks anticipated to drive the consumption growth. Meanwhile, China's crude oil imports in July dipped 5.4% from June but were still up 11.5% year-on-year, with analysts expecting refining activity to remain firm in the near term. Still, global macroeconomic uncertainty after the U.S. ordered a fresh set of tariffs on Indian goods capped price gains. Trump on Wednesday imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing their continued imports of Russian oil. The new import tax will go into effect 21 days after August 7. "While these new duties (on India by the U.S.) are set to take effect in three weeks, markets are already pricing in the downstream ripple effects on trade flows, emerging market demand, and broader energy diplomacy," said Phillip Nova's senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva. Trump also said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25% duties announced earlier on India over its purchases of Russian oil. "Tariffs are likely to harm the global economy, which will ultimately affect fuel demand," said Phillip Nova's Sachdeva, adding that markets are overlooking the fact that its impact will still be much greater on the U.S. economy and inflation. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-rises-us-demand-strength-though-macroeconomic-uncertainty-looms-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 06:25
LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - British house prices rose by the most in six months in July when they increased by a slightly faster than expected 0.4% from June, according to figures from mortgage lender Halifax that add to signs of a stabilisation in the housing market. Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices to rise by 0.3% in month-on-month terms after a 0.1% gain in June. Sign up here. Halifax said on Thursday house prices were 2.4% higher compared with July last year, slowing from June's 2.7% increase. Britain's housing market has settled after a rush to beat the expiry in April of a tax break for some home buyers which depressed sales immediately after the deadline. "Challenges remain for those looking to move up or onto the property ladder. But with mortgage rates continuing to ease and wages still rising, the picture on affordability is gradually improving," Amanda Bryden, Halifax's head of mortgages, said. "We expect house prices to follow a steady path of modest gains through the rest of the year," she said. The Bank of England is widely expected to cut its main interest rate to 4% from 4.25% later on Thursday but the outlook for further reductions in borrowing costs is unclear due to persistent inflation pressures, even as the jobs market cools. Rival lender Nationwide said last week its measure of house prices rose by 0.6% in July compared with June. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uk-house-prices-rise-by-most-six-months-july-halifax-says-2025-08-07/
2025-08-07 06:23
Aug 7 (Reuters) - The Australian government said on Thursday it will invest A$50 million ($32.5 million) in Liontown Resources to help ramp up operations and transition to underground mining at its flagship Kathleen Valley project, in a bid to boost domestic minerals supply. The investment, which will be undertaken through the A$15 billion National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, underscores Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's efforts to back critical mineral projects and boost domestic manufacturing. Sign up here. "Lithium is a critical mineral that is central to both decarbonisation efforts and the government's Future Made in Australia strategy," NRFC CEO David Gall said , opens new tab. "Australia is well-positioned to be a competitive, long-term supplier of lithium to the rest of the world and local lithium production is important to the nation's economic security and resilience." In January, NRFC invested A$200 million , opens new tab in Arafura Rare Earths (ARU.AX) , opens new tab to develop a new mine and processing facility at its Nolans project in central Australia. Kathleen Valley has a multi-decade mine life and will produce 500,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum with potential for expansion, according to NRFC. Liontown (LTR.AX) , opens new tab is a key lithium supplier to Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab, Ford (F.N) , opens new tab and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) , opens new tab. The government's investment is part of Liontown's A$266 million institutional capital raise, priced at A$0.73 per share. Its shares were last trading at A$0.845 before being halted on Thursday pending the announcement. The miner will use also the capital to shore up its balance sheet. Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting is Liontown's top shareholder, with an 18% stake, as per LSEG data. Media reports , opens new tab indicate Hancock will not take part in the placement, which would dilute its stake. Hancock declined to comment, while Liontown did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment. ($1 = 1.5378 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australia-invest-33-million-boost-liontowns-kathleen-lithium-operations-2025-08-07/
