2025-07-07 12:19
July 7 (Reuters) - Camp Mystic said on Monday that 27 campers and counselors died in catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River in central Texas. "Camp Mystic is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors following the catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River," the camp said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/camp-mystic-says-27-campers-counselors-dead-texas-flooding-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 12:00
LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 7 (Reuters) - Two questions stand out after the decision by OPEC+ to accelerate increases in crude oil output: who is going to buy the extra crude, and will the group actually export the additional barrels they say they are going to produce? OPEC+ agreed at a weekend meeting to raise production by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, up from the 411,000 bpd the group had approved for May, June and July, and 138,000 bpd for April. Sign up here. The production boost will come from eight members of the group - Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Algeria. The increase for August means that the eight will have unwound 1.919 million bpd of the voluntary 2.2 million bpd they had imposed last year in a bid to support crude prices. OPEC+ cited what it called "steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals" in the statement announcing the increased August output, sticking to a theme from its recent communiques that the oil market is in fine shape. However, the reality may not be quite as rosy as OPEC+ paints, with tepid demand growth in major consumers such as China, the world's top oil importer. China's crude imports barely rose in the first five months of the year, with official data showing a gain of 0.3%, or 28,500 bpd, to 11.1 million bpd. The growth rate will likely tick up when June data is released next week, with LSEG Oil Research expecting imports of 11.96 million bpd for the month, up from the customs number of 11.30 million bpd for June 2024. While China's imports are likely to have been strong in June, the reason why is not quite so bullish. It is likely that refiners were buying more crude than they intended to process because prices were lower at the time when June-arriving cargoes were arranged. Global benchmark Brent futures hit a four-year low of $58.50 a barrel on May 5 and had been trending lower since early April, the time period when June-arriving cargoes would have been bought. The weakness in prices has seen oil imports by Asia, which buys about 60% of seaborne crude, rise in June, with LSEG estimating arrivals of 28.65 million bpd, the most since January 2023. The higher June imports lifted Asia's arrivals for the first half of 2025 to 27.36 million bpd, up 620,000 bpd for the same period last year. Coincidentally this is largely in line with the demand growth forecasts for the region by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, with the group's June monthly report forecasting demand growth of 630,000 bpd for non-OECD Asia in 2025. PRICES KEY The question is whether the second half will see higher imports in Asia, or if the momentum seen in June will dissipate. Much will depend on prices, as history suggests that when prices rise importers such as China and India tend to trim imports and use up stockpiles. The brief surge in prices in mid-June sparked by Israel's attacks on Iran, later joined by the United States, will probably be enough to see China lower imports in August and perhaps September. For imports to rise in the fourth quarter, it will likely take lower oil prices to encourage buying and inventory builds. In that case the ball is largely in OPEC+'s court. If the group starts producing what their quotas allow, and furthermore actually exports this oil, then it's likely that prices will continue to soften, thereby encouraging buying. So far, it appears that actual output has lagged the higher quotas, with the five OPEC members of OPEC+ raising output by 267,000 bpd in June, short of the 313,000 bpd allowed, according to a Reuters survey released on July 4. Much will depend on what Saudi Arabia does, given that OPEC+'s largest exporter is the producer with the most spare capacity and the most ability to raise output. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X , opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/opec-is-pumping-more-oil-is-it-needed-what-price-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 11:53
July 7 (Reuters) - Dow (DOW.N) , opens new tab will shut down three upstream plants in Europe and cut around 800 jobs in response to structural challenges in the region, the chemicals company said on Monday, sending its shares down 2.5% in morning trade. The company said the shutdowns will remove higher-cost, energy-intensive portions of Dow's portfolio in Europe. Sign up here. Global chemical companies are feeling the pressure to reassess strategies, with the European Union's increasing production costs, lackluster demand and stringent environmental regulations. Last year, Dow had said that it had started a review of some of its European assets. An Ethylene cracker in Böhlen, Germany, Chlor-alkali & vinyl assets in Schkopau, Germany and a Basics siloxanes plant in Barry, UK will be shut in the next two years, the chemicals company said on Monday. The Midland, Michigan-based company said the 800 impacted jobs is in addition to the reduction of about 1,500 Dow roles globally, announced in January as part of a $1 billion cost savings plan. The company had nearly 36,000 employees as of September 2024. "While this decision is costly and will take some time to play out, we see this as positive for Dow given the run-rate EBITDA and free cash flow improvement," said TPH Energy Research analyst Matthew Blair. Such actions should improve the balance between supply and demand in the commodity chemical market, Blair added. Dow will record charges ranging from $630 million to $790 million, for items including disposal of assets and severance. The shutdown is expected to begin in mid-2026 and is estimated to be complete by the end of 2027, with potential decommissioning and demolition to stretch into 2029 as needed, the company added. In April, Dow had said it expects extended pressure on earnings due to uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting trade policies. https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/dow-close-three-european-chemical-plants-cut-800-jobs-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 11:41
Universities plan to upgrade dorms with air conditioning One staff member died after 'physical distress' Concerns over China's readiness for extreme heat BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters) - Universities in eastern China scrambled to upgrade their dorms with air conditioning, and one let students sleep in cooler libraries, after near record temperatures raised concerns about the health of students and staff. One student at Qingdao University in Shandong suffered from heat stroke, and the school would upgrade its student accommodation over the summer break, Jimu News, an arm of state-run Hubei Daily, reported. Sign up here. One member of staff there died on Sunday morning after showing signs of "physical distress", the university said, without saying whether that was linked to the heatwave. The staff member was a dormitory supervisor, Jimu News said. A total of 28 locations across central Henan and eastern Shandong provinces issued their most severe alerts for extreme heat on Monday. Parts of the coastal city of Qingdao saw temperatures soar to 40.5 degrees Celsius (104.9 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend, just 0.5C below the highest recorded there since records began in 1961, according to the official Qingdao Daily. Qingdao University, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, was one of at least six colleges in Shandong to announce plans to upgrade student accommodation in recent days. Yantai Nanshan University, also in Shandong, said on Monday it would let students stay overnight in libraries as it prepared to work on the student halls. Video footage posted by Jimu News showed scores of students sitting on the floor in air-conditioned supermarkets to escape the heat. The heatwave has piled pressure onto China's power grid. The national electricity load surged to a record 1.47 billion kilowatts on Friday as demand for air conditioning spiked, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The announcements will fuel concerns over Chinese institutions' preparedness for extreme weather events, which scientists say are exacerbated by global warming. In 2022, China was hit by the worst heatwaves since 1961, with many parts enduring a 79-day hot spell from mid-June to late August. According a 2023 report published in the medical journal The Lancet, there were about 50,900 heatwave-related deaths in China that year. No official death toll was disclosed at the time. China does not provide regular tallies of heat-related deaths. (This story has been corrected to clarify the source in paragraph 2) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/students-shelter-libraries-heatwave-hits-eastern-china-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 11:33
Detentions spark fears of political instability Lira, international bonds weaken amid widening swoop on political opposition Central bank's expected rate cut in question ISTANBUL/LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Turkey's international bonds and lira currency weakened on Monday, and the cost of insuring government debt against default rose, following weekend detentions of opposition mayors. The detentions, which prosecutors say are part of anti-corruption investigations, are seen by the opposition and some foreign leaders as an effort by President Tayyip Erdogan to weaken the Republic People's Party (CHP). Sign up here. Jamie Fallon of Tellimer said the detentions had "fuelled fears around the rule of law and political instability". Turkish assets are notably sensitive to domestic politics, with foreign investors crowding back in after Erdogan's return to orthodox economic policies in 2023, but prepared to ditch them if the latest political developments impact those policies - or the economy more broadly. The lira slid by some 0.2% to beyond 40 against the dollar, before clawing back some of the losses, to trade at 39.99 at 1025 GMT, still weaker than its close on Friday. Turkey's international dollar bonds also slid, with the 2045 maturity shedding nearly 1 cent to be bid at 85 cents on the dollar. And the country's 5-year credit default swap, an indication of the cost of insuring its debt against default, widened by 13 basis points from Friday's close to 292 bps. The mayors of the big southern cities of Adana, Adiyaman and Antalya were taken into custody as part of a corruption investigation, expanding a months-long legal crackdown well beyond its origins in Istanbul. Istanbul's benchmark BIST 100 index (.XU100) , opens new tab was down 1.25% at 1050 GMT. The banking index (.XBANK) , opens new tab was down 0.58% at the same time, after an earlier drop of 1.68%. The lira has weakened some 11% so far this year on concerns over domestic politics and conflicts in neighbouring countries. There are expectations that Turkey's central bank would begin cutting rates again this month, but the lira's weakness - and the economic impact of the political developments - has thrown that prospect into question. Hilmi Yavas, an Istanbul-based independent macro strategist, said the bank's efforts to stabilize the economy were already under pressure. "High real interest rates still seem necessary to contain domestic demand for foreign currency, while services inflation remains more elevated than a central banker would find comfortable," Yavas said. "Meanwhile, tight monetary policy is placing increasing strain on the real economy." https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-assets-slide-political-crackdown-widens-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 11:29
July 7 (Reuters) - The World Bank said on Monday that Syria’s gross domestic product is expected to grow modestly by 1% in 2025, following a contraction of 1.5% in 2024. "The easing of sanctions provides some upside potential; however, progress remains limited as frozen assets and restricted access to international banking continue to hinder energy supply, foreign assistance, humanitarian support, and trade and investment," the World Bank said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/world-bank-expects-syrias-gdp-grow-1-2025-2025-07-07/
