2025-11-26 04:39
Lotte to spin off Daesan business, merge with HD Hyundai Chemical Plan aims to ease overcapacity in South Korea's petrochemical sector Industry ministry to review restructuring plan for tax waivers and legal support SEOUL, Nov 26 (Reuters) - South Korea's HD Hyundai and Lotte Chemical have submitted a plan to the industry ministry on restructuring their petrochemical businesses, the companies said in separate regulatory filings on Wednesday. Under the plan, Lotte will spin off its business in Daesan city, South Korea, and merge it with HD Hyundai Chemical, in an effort to ease overcapacity at naphtha-cracking centres in the industry, the companies said. Sign up here. The plan is part of an industry-wide effort to ease a supply glut in South Korea's petrochemical sector. In August, President Lee Jae Myung's administration pushed firms to cut as much as 25% of the country's annual capacity, saying the sector was in "crisis" and needed to boost efficiency and raise margins. Ten petrochemical firms agreed on the goal at the time and were asked to come up with their own plans. The government aims to cut naphtha-cracking capacity by up to 3.7 million metric tons per year to resolve oversupply and improve profit margins by merging production or shutting smaller companies and has required firms to submit plans by year-end. Lotte said the merger is to increase efficiency and the stability of operations at their naphtha-cracking centres, without elaborating. The companies said they will also adjust business portfolios to focus on core businesses. The industry ministry said in a separate statement on Wednesday that the companies will "adjust some facilities" at naphtha-cracking centres and those for other products to help ease the supply glut in the industry. The ministry will review the plan in order to decide whether to offer tax waivers and legal support for the restructuring. Lotte's naphtha-cracking facilities in Daesan have a capacity of 1.1 million tons, while HD Hyundai's operations have a capacity of 850,000 tons. HD Hyundai Chemical is a joint venture created by HD Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical in 2014. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-hd-hyundai-lotte-chemical-submit-plan-restructure-petrochemical-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 04:38
US crude inventories rise by 2.8 million barrels Ukraine peace deal likely to drag down prices OPEC+ likely to leave output levels unchanged NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled up on Wednesday, bouncing back from one-month lows in the previous session, as investors assessed prospects of oversupply and talks over a Russia-Ukraine peace deal ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Brent crude futures settled 65 cents, or 1.04%, higher to $63.13 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 70 cents, or 1.21%, at $58.65. Sign up here. U.S. crude inventories climbed by 2.8 million barrels to 426.9 million barrels last week as imports surged, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a 55,000-barrel rise. "We are definitely on the road to a rather healthy supply glut, there is no doubt about it, and the crude build is indicative of that," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil rigs by 12 to 407 this week, their lowest since September 2021, energy services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab said on Wednesday. OPEC+ is likely to leave output levels unchanged at its meeting on Sunday, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Offering some support to crude prices were rising expectations for a potential U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December. Lower rates would stimulate economic growth and bolster demand for oil. DOUBTS LINGER Investors awaited more clarity on Russia and Ukraine negotiations on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told European leaders on Tuesday that he was ready to advance a U.S.-backed framework for ending the war with Russia, driving both Brent crude and WTI down to one-month lows. "The bottom line is, there's still no peace agreement and it's going to be difficult to satisfy all the parties to come to the table and sign one," Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. U.S. President Donald Trump said he directed his representatives to meet separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian officials. A Ukrainian official said Zelenskiy could visit the United States in the next few days to finalize a deal. "If finalized, the deal could rapidly dismantle Western sanctions on Russian energy exports," potentially driving WTI prices to about $55, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a client note. "For now, the market waits for more clarity, but the risk appears to be for lower prices unless talks falter." The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which handles about 1.5% of global oil, said it resumed oil loadings overnight, having suspended loadings after a Ukrainian drone attack earlier in the week. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-stabilises-after-ukraine-peace-talks-push-prices-one-month-lows-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 04:14
WELLINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - New Zealand's central bank said on Monday it had filed civil proceedings against ASB Bank Ltd for breaches of core requirements under the anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism rules. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said in a statement ASB, owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) , opens new tab, has co-operated with the RBNZ and has admitted liability for all seven causes of action. Sign up here. ASB Chief Executive Vittoria Shortt said the bank's transaction monitoring and customer due diligence systems and processes had shortcomings, and it did not act fast enough to resolve these. "We didn’t get this right and I apologise for that," she said. “We cleared all backlogs of transaction monitoring alerts by February 2024. We have uplifted, and continue to uplift, our processes to improve our AML-CFT capability.” Acting Assistant Governor of Financial Stability Angus McGregor said this action is an important reminder to industry that serious non-compliance with the act is unacceptable. The act "has been in place for well over a decade now and the Reserve Bank expects banks to have the systems and resources in place to be fully compliant with these requirement," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nz-central-bank-cuts-cash-rate-by-25-bps-225-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 04:08
Australia's October CPI rises 3.8% y/y, beats 3.6% forecast Trimmed mean also rises to 3.3% y/y, both trending up since June First release of new, complete monthly series SYDNEY, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Australian consumer inflation accelerated for a fourth straight month in October, a new data series showed on Wednesday, a hot result that has markets giving up hopes of more policy easing and even flirting with the idea of a hike. The Australian dollar rose 0.5% to $0.6502, while three-year government bond yields spiked 11 basis points to 3.855%, the highest since February. Sign up here. Investors sharply pared bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will be able to deliver one last rate cut in May next year to just 8%, from 40% before, and there is now a 32% chance of a rate hike by the end of next year. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed its monthly consumer price index (CPI) in October rose 3.8% from a year earlier, the highest in 10 months and above median forecasts of 3.6%. That marked a steady pick-up from the trough in June when inflation hit a low of 1.9%. The trimmed mean measure of core inflation ran at an annual 3.3% in October, up from 3.2% in September, also not going in the RBA's desired direction. "All up, it's a pretty ugly inflation print," said Harry Murphy Cruise, head of economic research for Oxford Economics Australia. "For the RBA, this keeps cuts off the table. In fact, a hike can't be ruled out." This is the first complete monthly CPI report published by ABS, replacing the old and partial monthly series. However, the RBA has said it still prefers the quarterly prints for a better gauge of inflation trends given the new data can be volatile. Headline inflation surged in the last quarter to 3.2%, back above the target band of 2-3%, fuelling concerns that monetary policy might not be restrictive after three rate cuts this year. Home loans jumped and the consumer mood turned optimistic for the first time in four years. Details of the report suggested the pick-up in inflation has been broad-based, with price pressures in the services sector accelerating. Services inflation ran at an annual rate of 3.9% last month, up from 3.5% in September. Housing inflation advanced to 5.9% in the 12 months to October, from 5.7% before, even though the government's electricity rebates have flowed through to some households and brought the costs down for the month. "The Reserve Bank needs to reverse the recent trend and get inflation moving back to the midpoint of the target band, while knowing that the full impact of the three rate cuts delivered this year so far have not been fully felt," said Cherelle Murphy, EY chief economist. "A rate hike may even be considered (in December) given the next Monetary Policy Board meeting is not until February." https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-inflation-picks-up-october-rate-cut-bets-fade-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 00:28
Nov 25 (Reuters) - Seth Meyer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief economist since 2021, will leave the agency to work for the University of Missouri's food and agricultural policy institute, the university said on Tuesday. Meyer's departure comes after the USDA has lost thousands of research staff to President Donald Trump's effort to shrink the federal government. Sign up here. Meyer has been the head of the USDA office responsible for assessing crops globally and publishing a monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report that can swing crop prices. The report is considered one of the most influential sources of supply and demand data for agricultural commodities worldwide. Starting on January 1, Meyer will join the University of Missouri to lead its Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, according to the university. In a statement from the university, he said the job was an opportunity to support the farm sector with agricultural policy development and to return home to Missouri. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said Meyer made a lasting impact at the agency. "Secretary Rollins is deeply grateful for Seth Meyer's many years of dedicated service at USDA," she said in a statement. The USDA suspended the release of key reports, including weekly data on U.S. grain export sales, during the record-long government shutdown that ended this month. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-chief-economist-seth-meyer-step-down-2025-11-26/
2025-11-26 00:07
Nov 25 (Reuters) - Venture Global (VG.N) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it has signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement, or SPA, with Japan's capital city gas supplier, Tokyo Gas (9531.T) , opens new tab, to supply it with 1 million metric tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas, starting in 2030. The agreement marks Venture Global's fourth long-term contract with a Japanese company and the U.S. LNG exporter has in the last six months signed SPAs for 7.75 million tonnes per annum of the superchilled gas, the company said in a statement. Sign up here. Venture Global is the U.S.' second-largest LNG exporter and last month was responsible for 30% of the U.S. total LNG output, according to data compiled by LSEG. The U.S. remains the world's largest exporter of the superchilled gas. Global LNG demand has surged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prompting buyers in Europe and Asia to secure long-term supply deals with U.S. exporters. Japan, the world's second-largest importer of LNG after China, is seeking stable and flexible energy supplies to support the expansion of data centers. Earlier this month, Venture Global signed a deal with Mitsui (8031.T) , opens new tab, following an agreement with JERA in 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venture-global-tokyo-gas-sign-20-year-lng-supply-deal-2025-11-26/
