2025-06-18 07:56

June 18 (Reuters) - Investigators believe the Air India Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab Dreamliner had its emergency-power generator operating when it crashed last week in India's Ahmedabad, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the probe. Boeing said it will defer to India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau for comment. Engine maker GE Aerospace did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Sign up here. India's federal civil aviation ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' email seeking comment. Reuters couldn't immediately verify the WSJ report. The system, known as the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), generates electricity and hydraulic pressure to ensure pilots can control the plane even if both engines fail. The preliminary finding raise questions about whether the plane's engines functioned properly during takeoff, the report said. The Dreamliner was fitted with GE Aerospace's (GE.N) , opens new tab GEnx engines. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 people bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport began losing altitude seconds after takeoff. All but one passenger died in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade, with around 30 ground fatalities. India's aviation safety watchdog said on Tuesday that surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet revealed no major safety concerns. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-787s-emergency-power-system-likely-active-before-air-india-crash-wsj-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 07:47

Key benchmark rate kept at 5.50%, as expected Governor said monitoring for room to cut rates further May lending rate slowest in almost 2 years JAKARTA, June 18 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank paused its easing cycle on Wednesday, as expected, while urging commercial banks to reduce lending rates and boost credit growth to support the economy. Economists said the central bank was likely to continue its gradual pace of monetary easing, given headwinds from tariffs and geopolitical uncertainties on Southeast Asia's largest economy. Some predict a further 50 basis points of cuts in the second half of the year. Sign up here. On Wednesday, Bank Indonesia kept the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab at 5.50%, as expected by 21 of 31 economists polled by Reuters. Its two other main rates were also left unchanged. BI has cut interest rates three times since September and downgraded its economic growth outlook twice this year, listing challenges such as slowing domestic demand and shaky global growth due to the impact of U.S. tariffs and wars. BI maintained its 2025 growth forecast at 4.6% to 5.4%, anticipating improving economic activity in the second half. Governor Perry Warjiyo, speaking at a press conference, said BI remains open to further lowering borrowing costs, as inflation is expected to remain within target this year and next year, while household spending and investment need stimulus. "The (rate cut) timing of course will depend on global conditions, especially with regard to rupiah stability," he said. Warjiyo called on banks to align with BI's easing measures and lower their credit interest rates, highlighting that loan growth slowed to 8.43% in May. That rate was the slowest since June 2023, according to LSEG data. BI has relaxed banks' reserve requirements, a policy that has provided additional liquidity of 372 trillion rupiah ($22.83 billion) to lenders, Warjiyo said. Annual inflation was 1.6% in May, near the bottom of BI's target range of 1.5% to 3.5%, which some analysts say points to sluggish household spending. "Despite a benign inflation outlook, policymakers likely view the recent Middle East tensions and its impact on the regional currencies, with trepidation," said DBS economist Radhika Rao, who expects cuts of 50 basis points in total this year to a terminal rate of 5%. To stimulate demand, the government has launched a $1.5 billion incentive package, including transportation subsidies and cash and food handouts for June and July. ($1 = 16,295 rupiah) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-central-bank-keeps-rates-steady-expected-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 07:40

June 18 (Reuters) - Australia's Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab has entered an agreement with a unit of Malaysian state-owned oil and gas firm Petronas (IPO-PETO.KL) , opens new tab to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Malaysia starting 2028, the two companies said on Wednesday. Under the deal, Woodside Energy, Australia's largest independent oil and gas producer, will supply 1 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Malaysia for a period of 15 years. Sign up here. The LNG will be sourced from Woodside's global portfolio, including the recently approved Louisiana LNG project in the United States. The agreement is expected to support Petronas’ efforts to ensure secure and flexible LNG supply to meet growing demand in Peninsular Malaysia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, the companies said. On Tuesday, Petronas Chief Executive Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the company is planning to start importing LNG in four to five years. The companies said they are working to finalise the heads of agreement into a formal sales and purchase agreement. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/woodside-energy-signs-lng-supply-deal-with-petronas-unit-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 07:35

MUMBAI, June 18 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee remained largely unchanged on Wednesday as pressure from elevated oil prices amid escalating Israel-Iran tensions offset mild foreign portfolio inflows, traders said. The rupee was at 86.3225 against the U.S. dollar as of 1:00 PM IST, down slightly from its close at 86.24 in the previous session. Sign up here. While the rupee opened weaker, it pared declines following dollar sales from at least two foreign banks, likely on behalf of custodial clients, a Mumbai-based bank trader said. Asian currencies were largely rangebound, save for the Philippine peso, that fell more than 1% with analysts pointing to vulnerability from elevated oil prices and a potential rate cut by the country's central bank. Oil prices have climbed more than 17% this month as tensions in the Middle East escalated. The Israel and Iran air war entered its sixth day on Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump calling for Iran's unconditional surrender. "A prolonged conflict in the Middle East could further hurt global risk sentiment," MUFG Bank said in a note, adding that geopolitical developments would continue to dominate FX moves across Asia. Asian equities were mostly lower on Wednesday reflecting the tepid risk appetite. India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab, down about 0.3% each as well. Investors' focus is now on the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision, due later in the day. While the central bank is widely expected to maintain rates unchanged, investors will monitor changes to future policy rate projections and commentary from Chair Jerome Powell. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-little-changed-inflows-cushion-pressure-elevated-oil-prices-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 07:30

LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - The pound edged higher on Wednesday as investor nervousness over the escalating conflict in the Middle East weighed on the dollar and after UK data showed consumer inflation barely moved in May, undermining the case for prompt rate cuts. The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that consumer prices rose in annual terms by 3.4% in May, in line with forecasts and down from April's 3.5% rate. Sign up here. May's decline was the result of a drop in airfares, which leapt in April and the correction of a tax data error, while food prices shot up at the fastest rate in more than a year. Sterling was last up 0.26% at $1.3462 having edged higher from around $1.3443 before the data. The pound fell 1.09% against the dollar on Tuesday, its largest one-day decline since early April, as fighting between Israel and Iran raged for a fifth day, while the U.S. military moved fighter jets to the region. The increasing intensity of the conflict ignited a fresh wave of risk aversion among investors that drew flows into the U.S. currency. By Wednesday, the pound had recovered some of these losses, as investors briefly shifted their focus to the outlook for UK monetary policy. "Consumer price inflation hasn't budged in the UK, coming in at 3.4% for May. This was expected and although this is a slightly better scenario than another ramp up in price increases, it's unlikely to persuade more decision makers to vote for a rate cut tomorrow," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. One element that could give Bank of England policymakers, who will publish their decision on borrowing costs on Thursday, some comfort was a decline in the rate of service sector inflation. Services price inflation - a crucial metric for the BoE - cooled to 4.7% from 5.4% in April, matching the BoE's forecast for May. A Reuters poll had pointed to a reading of 4.8%. Money markets show traders do not expect the BoE to cut UK rates until at least September, with the possibility of one more quarter-point cut by December. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-edges-up-after-uk-data-shows-jump-food-inflation-2025-06-18/

2025-06-18 07:22

SEOUL, June 18 (Reuters) - South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS) , opens new tab said on Wednesday that two orders from Russia's Zvezda worth a total of 4.85 trillion won ($3.54 billion) for icebreaker ships were cancelled due to "illegal termination by the shipowner". Samsung Heavy said in regulatory filings that in June 2024, Zvezda shipyard unilaterally informed the South Korean company of the contract termination and insisted on the return of advance payments. Sign up here. In July, Samsung filed an arbitration request with the Singapore arbitration court to affirm the illegality of the termination, while engaging in negotiations with Zvezda. However, as the war between Russia and Ukraine dragged on, uncertainties over contract execution and business increased, and Samsung Heavy decided to terminate the contract and claim damages to protect its rights, it said. The orders were to supply parts and blocks for 10 icebreaker LNG carriers and 7 icebreaker shuttle tankers, won in 2020 and 2021. ($1 = 1,370.3800 won) https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/samsung-heavy-says-354-billion-icebreaker-orders-russias-zvezda-cancelled-2025-06-18/