2025-05-30 06:27

Debris left by collapsed glacier blocks path of river Damage seen running into hundreds of millions of Swiss francs Water getting through the debris and running off, spurring hope ZURICH, May 30 (Reuters) - A lake of water trapped behind a mass of glacial debris that buried a village and blocked a river in southern Switzerland this week has sparked fears of flooding in the Alpine valley, even as some water eased its way through the morass on Friday. A deluge of millions of cubic meters of ice, mud and rock crashed down a mountain on Wednesday, engulfing the village of Blatten. The few houses that remained intact were later flooded. Sign up here. The village's 300 residents had already been evacuated after part of the mountain behind the Birch Glacier began to crumble. Rescue teams were looking for a missing 64-year-old man but have suspended their search for now due to the difficult conditions. Flooding increased on Thursday as the mound of debris almost 2 km (1.2 miles) across clogged the path of the River Lonza, causing a lake to form amid the wreckage, raising fears that the morass could dislodge and trigger more evacuations. Late on Thursday, local authorities urged residents in Gampel and Steg, neighbouring and lower-lying villages several kilometres further downstream on the Lonza, to prepare for possible evacuation in case of emergency. Still, by Friday afternoon some of the accumulated water had made its way through the debris and run off, indicating that it could be finding a way back to the river without raising the danger level, Swiss officials said. Authorities are therefore sticking to safety measures put in place on Thursday and do not currently expect the situation to worsen, local official Christian Studer told a press conference. The army has been standing by with water pumps, diggers and other heavy equipment to help relieve pressure on the Lonza, a tributary of the River Rhone, once conditions allow. Residents have struggled to absorb the scale of destruction caused by the deluge, an event that scientists suspect is a dramatic example of the impact of climate change in the Alps. The Swiss Insurance Association said the damage would likely amount to several hundred million Swiss francs, and that it was too early for a more precise estimate. How many houses were insured in Blatten was unclear, it said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/flood-risk-threatens-swiss-valley-after-village-destroyed-by-glacier-2025-05-30/

2025-05-30 06:18

Trump's tariffs to remain in effect after appeals court decision US PCE price index report due at 1230 GMT Dollar up 0.3% May 30 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Friday as the U.S. dollar ticked higher and investors remained cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later in the day to gauge the Federal Reserve's monetary policy trajectory. Spot gold was down 0.7% at $3,292.28 an ounce as of 1145 GMT. Bullion is down 1.9% so far this week. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures fell 0.8% to $3,290.30. The dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab rose 0.3% and was on track for a weekly gain, making gold costlier for foreign buyers. "The U.S. dollar is up slightly, which could be a source of pressure for gold," said Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer. "Barring a major surprise to the PCE data, I would not expect gold to show a meaningful reaction. That said, the market seems to be a bit more nervous as of late, suggesting that volatility should stay high in the short-term," Menke said. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, is due at 1230 GMT. The data is likely to show that inflation rose 2.2% in April, according to economists polled by Reuters, compared with a 2.3% increase in March. "With U.S. core PCE looming large, there is some hesitance to take new long positions in gold," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. Investors are currently anticipating 50 basis points worth of Fed rate cuts by the end of this year, starting in October. Bullion, which is considered a hedge against economic and geopolitical uncertainty, tends to thrive in a low interest rate environment. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court temporarily reinstated the most sweeping of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Thursday, a day after a U.S. trade court ruled he had exceeded his authority and ordered an immediate block. Spot silver fell 0.6% to $33.14 an ounce, platinum eased 1.2% to $1,068.80 and palladium dropped 0.6% to $967.70. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-slips-dollar-ticks-higher-us-inflation-report-focus-2025-05-30/

2025-05-30 06:17

May 30 (Reuters) - British energy regulator Ofgem on Friday said three gas operators have agreed to pay a combined 8 million pounds ($10.78 million) for failing to meet emergency response targets within required timescales. Cadent Gas Limited, Scotland Gas Networks Plc (SGN Scotland) and Southern Gas Networks Plc (SGN Southern) will make the payment to the regulator's Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Fund, which funds projects to support energy consumers. Sign up here. ($1 = 0.7422 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/three-uk-gas-operators-pay-108-million-over-emergency-response-failures-2025-05-30/

2025-05-30 06:16

Woodside's project could emit 4.3 billion tons of carbon Australia sees gas as transitional fuel Extension 'slap in the face' for Pacific nations, Vanuatu says SYDNEY, May 30 (Reuters) - Australia's approval of a 40-year extension for a huge gas project has overshadowed its bid to host a United Nations climate summit next year and tarnishes its green credentials, experts and two Pacific climate ministers said. This week's decision by the centre-left government, which took power in 2022 with a mandate for climate reform, clears Woodside Energy’s North West Shelf project to run until 2070, subject to a final review. Sign up here. The step was hailed by the company and the energy industry, which see continued operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants as a cleaner alternative to fuels such as coal. But it was criticised by climate ministers from Tuvalu and Vanuatu, who say the project's emissions could put at risk their nations' very existence, as well as by climate scientists worried about Australia's role in global emissions. "It’s just a staggering number of extra emissions," said Malte Meinshausen, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne. Woodside estimates the extension will pump out a further 4.3 billion tons of carbon emissions over the plant's lifetime. That is equivalent to 200 years of combined emissions from 14 Pacific island nations, says the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, backed by 11 Pacific island nations and territories. "This goes beyond politics," said Tuvalu's Climate Minister Maina Talia. "It is about the moral clarity to stand with those most affected by climate change." The comment signals possible fallout for Canberra from Pacific island neighbours, such as Tuvalu and Vanuatu, in its bid to co-host the United Nations' COP31 climate summit next year with the region. Australia projects it will cut emissions to 42.7% below 2005 levels by 2030, on the path to a globally agreed target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Gas from the North West Shelf is primarily destined for export markets, meaning that most emissions will not count towards Australia’s domestic net zero target. But Meinshausen, a contributor to past reports by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said Australia could not ignore its role in supplying fossil fuels causing global warming. "It's like the drug dealer’s excuse saying, 'Well, we sell this stuff, but somebody else burns it,'" he said. "That doesn't work anymore in a world where you want to have a responsibility for your actions and being part of the international solution to climate change." In a statement, Australian Environment Minister Murray Watt, who unveiled the extension on Wednesday, said he would not comment further until the review process , opens new tab was complete. GREEN TRANSITION Australia sees gas as a transitional fuel on its path to full use of renewable sources of energy. "I think the penny is starting to drop with many around the importance of gas," Woodside Chief Executive Meg O’Neill told reporters after the decision. Extending the project has been a politically sensitive issue for the incumbent Labor Party, which was seen as hostile to gas when it took power but has since warmed to the industry. The decision was delayed until after a state election in Western Australia and a federal poll won decisively by Labor, which took seats from the environmentalist Greens, who had strongly opposed extension of the project. A regional diplomatic bloc of 18 countries, the Pacific Islands Forum, is backing Australia's bid to co-host the U.N.'s Conference of the Parties COP31 climate summit next year, with a decision seen imminent, despite some critical views. Before the project decision, Talia had called for Australia to block the extension if it wanted to co-host COP31 with the Pacific. After the decision, Vanuatu Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu called the extension "a slap in the face" for Pacific island nations, while speaking to Australian state broadcaster ABC. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/australias-bet-natural-gas-endangers-its-climate-credentials-experts-say-2025-05-30/

2025-05-30 05:50

US inflation eased in April Investors expect tariffs to remain in some form Dollar poised for monthly gain against Japanese yen NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - The dollar was mixed on Friday but on track for the first monthly gain against the Japanese yen this year as investors factored in the likelihood of trade tariffs remaining in some form, even as U.S. President Donald Trump faces a court battle over his authority to impose them. A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated the most sweeping of Trump's tariffs on Thursday, a day after a U.S. trade court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them. Sign up here. While the exact level of tariffs that will remain on trading partners is unknown, traders expect the levies to persist in some form. “We're going to have some tariffing. Maybe not as exciting as was announced on April the 2nd, but we're still going to get it,” said Steve Englander, head of global G10 FX research and North America macro strategy at Standard Chartered Bank NY Branch. “The one thing that the court ruling may have done is limited the amount of shocks that Trump can unleash with a headline or with a comment at a press conference,” Englander said. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Thursday that the Trump administration will seek to enact tariffs through other means if it ultimately loses the court fights over its trade policy. Investors are concerned that tariffs will slow growth and reignite inflation, though deals to drop tariff increases on China and the European Union as they negotiate trading terms have reduced pessimism over the U.S. economic outlook. The dollar briefly bounced on Friday after Trump said that China had violated an agreement on tariffs with the United States. A day earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that trade talks between the U.S. and China were “a bit stalled.” Trump later on Friday said he will speak to China's President Xi Jinping and hopefully work out their differences on trade and tariffs. Tariffs are seen as a key source of revenue as Congress works on a bill to reduce some income taxes. The dollar showed little reaction to data on Friday showing that U.S. consumer spending increased marginally in April as a rush to beat higher prices from import duties slowed, while inflation eased during the month. A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed sharply in April as the boost from the front-running of imports ahead of tariffs faded. “Nothing in the data was such a clear surprise relative to expectations that would generate a definitive market move,” said Englander. May’s jobs report due for release next Friday will be closely watched for any indications that the labor market is weakening, after data on Thursday showed a bigger-than-expected jump in jobless claims in the latest week. "Further USD weakness needs weaker data," Bank of America analysts Athanasios Vamvakidis and Claudio Piron said in a report on Friday. "If somehow the US economy keeps defying gravity, we would expect investors to start ignoring the policy noise and go back to buying US assets, supporting the USD; US exceptionalism would be back. However, if the US economy has a proper landing, we would expect the USD to weaken further to new lows for the year," they said. The euro was last down 0.12% at $1.1356. It is on pace for a 0.27% monthly gain, the smallest since February. German inflation eased further in May, bringing it closer to the European Central Bank's 2% target and bolstering the case for an interest rate cut next week. The dollar weakened 0.21% to 143.88 Japanese yen . The greenback is on track for a monthly increase of 0.6% against the Japanese currency, the first green month since December. Core inflation in Japan's capital hit a more than two-year high on persistent rises in food costs, data showed on Friday, keeping the central bank under pressure to hike interest rates further. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-poised-fifth-straight-monthly-drop-trade-fiscal-uncertainty-2025-05-30/

2025-05-30 05:45

India dealers offer $31/oz discount this week Premiums of $0.30-$1.30/oz charged in Hong Kong May 30 (Reuters) - Physical gold demand in India was subdued this week, as an uptick in domestic prices and a winding up of wedding season kept buyers at bay, while premiums slipped in top consumer China. This week, Indian dealers were offering a discount of up to $31 an ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, down from last week's discount of up to $49. Sign up here. "The wedding season is wrapping up and the monsoon has kicked in, so jewellers are expecting a seasonal dip in demand. That's why they're holding off on making new purchases," said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank. Domestic gold prices were trading around 94,900 rupees per 10 grams on Friday after hitting a one-month low of 90,890 rupees earlier this month. In China, bullion changed hands at par to a $15 premium an ounce over the global benchmark spot price, compared with premiums of $16-$30 last week. "Shanghai Gold Exchange drawdowns have eased to the lows of this year while imports in the last few weeks have been exceptionally high, suggesting the Chinese domestic market may be overstocked just now," said Ross Norman, an independent analyst. China's total gold imports via Hong Kong nearly tripled month on month in April, hitting their highest level in more than a year, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed on Monday. "Gold bullish bets remain predominant on the SHFE despite lower trading volume," said Hugo Pascal, a precious metals trader at InProved. In Hong Kong, gold was sold at a premium of $0.30 to $1.30, while in Singapore gold traded between at-par prices and a $2.50 premium. In Japan, bullion was sold at par to a premium of $0.50. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/asia-gold-india-gold-demand-lags-prices-rise-wedding-buying-cools-2025-05-30/