2025-05-28 07:52

Trump says he is not yet prepared to order new sanctions Kremlin proposes June 2 direct talks with Ukraine Zelenskiy says Russia has gathered 50,000 troops near Sumy Germany and Ukraine to jointly produce long-range missiles WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump again expressed frustration on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the intensifying Ukraine conflict, a day after warning that Putin was "playing with fire" by resisting ceasefire talks while escalating drone and missile attacks. But Trump also told reporters in the Oval Office that he was not yet prepared to impose new sanctions on Russia because he did not want the penalties to scuttle a potential peace deal. Sign up here. Russia has proposed holding the next round of direct talks with Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Kyiv. The public squabble between the U.S. and Russia unfolded as the three-year-old war heats up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front. Delegates from Russia and Ukraine met earlier this month in Istanbul under pressure from Trump to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War Two, but the talks failed to yield the ceasefire that Kyiv and its Western allies have pushed for. Moscow said certain conditions needed to be met before a ceasefire agreement. Asked whether the Russian leader might be intentionally delaying negotiations, Trump said, "We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not, and if he is, we'll respond a little differently." After speaking to Trump on May 19, Putin said he had agreed to work with Ukraine on a memorandum which would set out the contours of a peace accord including the timing of a ceasefire. Ukraine has not yet officially agreed to Russia's proposed meeting on June 2. Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said on Wednesday that Kyiv had already submitted its memorandum on a potential settlement and called on Russia to produce its version immediately, rather than waiting until next week. "We are not opposed to further meetings with the Russians and are awaiting their 'memorandum', so that the meeting won’t be empty and can truly move us closer to ending the war," Umerov said. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday about Moscow's preparation of "concrete proposals" for upcoming talks in Istanbul but gave no details. Putin's demands for ending the war include a written pledge from Western leaders that NATO will not expand eastward to former Soviet republics such as Ukraine and Georgia and the lifting of some sanctions on Russia, according to Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations. In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump had warned Putin that he was "playing with fire" and that "really bad" things would have happened to Russia already if not for Trump himself. Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told a state TV reporter that Trump's remark suggested he is not well-briefed on the realities of the war. WAR HEATING UP Russia said on Wednesday it had downed 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions overnight, while Ukraine's military said it had struck several Russian weapon production sites. Ukraine said Russia had launched 88 drones and five ballistic missiles. After Russia said in late April it had ejected Ukrainian forces from the western Kursk region, Moscow's forces have pushed over the border into the neighbouring Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine and taken several villages there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia has gathered 50,000 troops near the northern Sumy region, but added that Kyiv had taken steps to prevent Moscow from conducting a large-scale offensive there. Speaking in Berlin during a visit by Zelenskiy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany and Ukraine will develop the joint production of long-range missiles, a move the Kremlin said was irresponsible and amounted to stoking the war. Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said that the U.S.-led NATO military alliance was using the Ukrainian crisis to build up its presence across eastern Europe and the Baltic but that Russia was advancing along the entire front in Ukraine. Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. Russia currently controls just under one fifth of Ukraine. Though Russian advances have accelerated over the past year, the war is costing both Russia and Ukraine dearly in terms of casualties and military spending. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-scolds-russia-stoking-ww3-fears-after-trumps-playing-with-fire-remark-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 07:14

India's state wheat purchases hit four-year high State reserves to reach around 44 million tons this year This year's wheat harvest about 4 million tons bigger than last India to boost wheat stocks, won't resume exports, official says INDORE, India, May 28 (Reuters) - A strong wheat harvest in India is rapidly replenishing stocks, meaning the country will be able to meet domestic demand without imports this year, contrary to market talk that it would need overseas supplies, and a potential drag on global prices. India banned exports of the staple in 2022 and extended the prohibition as extreme heat shrivelled crops again in 2023 and 2024, draining reserves, pushing prices to record highs and fuelling speculation it would need imports for the first time since 2017. Sign up here. But things are improving for the world's No.2 wheat producer, with early state inventory purchases signalling that this year's crop is about 4 million tons bigger than last year's, six industry and government officials said. "After barely scraping through without imports in recent years, the country finally seems to be out of the woods and free from the fear of having to import wheat," said Amit Takkar, chief of New Delhi-based farm consultancy Conifer Commodities. The Food Corporation of India, the state stockpiler, has bought 29.7 million metric tons of new-season wheat from domestic farmers - the most in four years - after missing procurement targets for three consecutive years. FCI's total wheat purchases could rise to 32 million-32.5 million tons this year, food minister Pralhad Joshi said earlier this month, adding to the 11.8 million tons in stock at the start of the marketing year on April 1. That stockpile of roughly 44 million tons would significantly exceed FCI's annual requirement of 18.4 million tons to run the world's largest food welfare programme, which provides free grain to nearly 800 million people. FCI's surging wheat stocks are sufficient to dispel the prospect of imports that has kept the global trading community guessing, the six industry and government officials said. With the world's second-largest wheat consumer not needing imports, global prices for the grain are likely to come under pressure, as output remains strong in top exporting countries such as Argentina, Australia and Canada, while import demand from top consumer China has weakened. Global wheat prices have more than halved from the record highs of 2022, sliding earlier this month to their lowest level in nearly five years. IMPORTS AVERTED Better weather, higher-yielding climate-resilient seeds, and adequate soil moisture from last year's plentiful monsoon rains helped improve this year's wheat output in India. A nearly 15% rise in wheat prices over the past year - driven by consecutive poor harvests - also encouraged farmers to switch to wheat. Farmers in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, known for premium wheat that goes into pizzas and pastas, said crop yields were higher this year thanks to a milder March. "The weather was better this year compared to last year," said farmer Sunil Dubey, as he steered his tractor trolley brimming with brown sacks of wheat into the dusty, bustling wholesale market of Indore. Dubey and many other farmers have sold their entire harvest to the FCI this year. FCI's robust stockbuilding means that it can release wheat onto the open market in the event of a domestic price spike. In the fiscal year to March 2024, the FCI released more than 10 million tons of wheat into the open market - a record - to tame rising prices. However, lower inventories prevented it from selling large quantities the following year, and Indian wheat prices jumped to an all-time high in early 2025. The government is now far more confident about domestic wheat supplies and prices. India has no plans to lower or remove the 40% wheat import tax, nor is it considering importing wheat through diplomatic channels, as it had discussed earlier, said a senior government official. "Because of good production and procurement, we have ample quantities in hand," said the official who declined to be named, citing government rules. "There will not be any imports." At the same time, India is not considering allowing exports, the official said, preferring instead to build stocks. The government has forecast this year's output at a record 115.4 million tons, although the Roller Flour Millers Federation of India has pegged production at 109.63 million tons. Both estimates were made before the April harvest. In 2024, India produced 105.85 million tons of wheat, according to the flour millers' body, below the government's 113.29 million tons figure. Trade and industry officials have in recent years said the farm ministry's wheat output estimates are overly optimistic and create market uncertainty. "Despite our conservative estimate, we know that production will be around 4 million tons higher than last year," said Navneet Chitlangia, president of the Roller Flour Millers Federation of India. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/no-imports-needed-indias-wheat-harvest-defies-market-speculation-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 06:56

SINGAPORE, May 28 (Reuters) - China says it wants to cut crude steel output this year but traders and steelmakers are betting Beijing won't follow through as industry profitability improves and trade tensions weigh on the economy. The world's largest steel producer in March unveiled plans to cut output and restructure its giant steel sector to address overcapacity which has long plagued the industry and is spilling over into export markets and angering trade partners. Sign up here. But at the flagship Singapore International Ferrous Week conference, conversations with fifteen traders, steelmakers, analysts and hedge funds all had the same message: the cuts are unlikely to be enforced. Profitability is improving across the industry driven by unexpectedly strong demand, undercutting some of the logic of reining in output in the first place, they said. In the year to April industry profits hit 16.9 billion yuan , opens new tab ($2.35 billion), versus a loss , opens new tab of 22.2 billion yuan in the same period last year. Participants bet the turnaround will make Beijing less likely to crack down, especially as the trade war with the United States makes policymakers sensitive about maintaining economic growth. There's even less incentive for the local governments where many of these steel mills are an important contributor to the growth targets officials are assessed against. "When mills could make some money after grappling with survival in the past two years, no one has the motivation to slash output," said a manager from a medium-scale Chinese steelmaker on condition of anonymity. Chinese crude steel output rose 0.4% between January and April this year. In China, the absence of public orders from Beijing since the March announcement was a sign for many at the conference that the output cuts will be limited or only halfheartedly enforced. Chinese consultancy Fubao said in late April that while provincial targets for output cuts had been finalised, there were doubts about whether steel mills would actually follow through. "Some provincial governments will rely on steel to help with GDP," said Mengtian Jiang, chief ferrous metals analyst of Harizon Insights. "Steel mills are making money especially with domestic coking price having almost halved, so I do not see that China's steel output will be down much." Steel exports may fall 3%-4% this year, but that will not impact China's steel output much, she added. ($1 = 7.1976 Chinese yuan renminbi) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/steel-industry-doubts-china-will-enforce-output-cut-plans-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 06:51

COPENHAGEN, May 28 (Reuters) - Norway's Okea (OKEA.OL) , opens new tab has discovered oil in the Prince prospect in the North Sea, the Norwegian offshore directorate said on Wednesday. Preliminary estimates indicate a discovery of between 0.29 million and 2.79 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent, corresponding to between 1.9 million and 17.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, the directorate said. Sign up here. It said in a statement the oil was discovered along the eastern flank of the Brage field in the northern part of the North Sea. Okea is the operator and owns 35.2% of the licence while Lime Petroleum holds 33.84%, DNO (DNO.OL) , opens new tab 14.26%, Petrolia Novo 12.26% and M Vest Energy holds the remaining 4.44%%, the directorate says on its website. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/norways-okea-makes-oil-find-north-sea-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 06:50

OPEC+ keeps output policy unchanged Eight OPEC+ members expected to agree to output boost Saturday Goldman Sachs sees OPEC+ keeping output steady after July hike Chevron's Venezuelan oil curbs, Canadian wildfires limit price downside NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - Oil prices gained more than 1% on Wednesday on supply concerns as OPEC+ agreed to leave their output policy unchanged and as the U.S. barred Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab from exporting Venezuelan crude. Investors previously anticipated members of OPEC+ would agree to a production increase later this week. Sign up here. Brent crude futures settled up 81 cents, or 1.26%, to $64.90 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 95 cents, or 1.56%, to stand at $61.84 a barrel. OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, did not change output policy. It agreed to establish a mechanism for setting baselines for its 2027 oil production. Most oil-producing countries at the meeting do not have flexibility to adjust their output, said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. "They were hoping to slow the pace of production increases and stop the slide in price. But that's not the way it panned out," he added. A separate meeting on Saturday of eight OPEC+ countries is expected to decide on an increase in oil output for July. Goldman Sachs analysts saw the group of eight keeping production steady after the July hike. "However, we see the risks to our OPEC8+ supply path as skewed to the upside, especially if compliance doesn't improve or if hard demand data surprise further to the upside," they added. Coming demand for the summer driving season is significant, and with non-OPEC+ crude output flat in the first half of the year, coupled with risks of Canadian wildfires hurting supply, the call on crude is stronger from OPEC+, said Janiv Shah, vice president of oil commodity markets analysis at Rystad Energy. On Wednesday, Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab terminated the oil production, service and procurement contracts it had to operate in Venezuela, but it plans to retain its direct staff in the country, sources said. Both benchmarks ticked up in the previous session on concerns of tighter supply after the U.S. barred Chevron from exporting crude from Venezuela under a new authorization on its assets there. Analysts also said prices could respond positively if there was progress on global trade talks or resolving U.S.-Iranian friction. Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said on Wednesday it might allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog to send U.S. inspectors to visit nuclear sites if Tehran's talks with Washington succeed. U.S. crude stocks fell by 4.24 million barrels last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. Market participants now await government data on crude inventories due Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-inch-up-us-bans-chevron-exporting-venezuelan-crude-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 06:46

HONG KONG, May 28 (Reuters) - China's National Meteorological Centre on Wednesday issued alerts for heavy rain and flooding in southern regions, forecasting the most intense storms of the year so far. The NMC flagged a high risk of mountain floods, geological disasters and localised flooding in southern provinces and regions due to strong rainfall including in Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong and Guizhou. Sign up here. In Jiangxi, forecasts showed torrential rain in some areas may reach more than 150 millimetres (5.9 inches), while in Guangxi, authorities braced for flash floods, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In the southern city of Shenzhen, several trains were suspended from operation over May 28-29 due to heavy rain, railway authorities said. China faces longer, more intense heat waves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain which meteorologists attributed to climate change. The country is especially vulnerable to climate change, authorities have said, because of its huge population. Heavy rain in southern Guangdong province, the Guangxi region and southwestern Guizhou province, has led to the deaths of at least 13 people and disappearance of several others. Dozens of people became trapped after landslides in Guizhou, prompting authorities to send the military to assist in their rescue. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/china-issues-flood-warnings-after-heavy-rain-southern-regions-2025-05-28/