2025-11-21 10:08

Several data releases point to slowdown in economy Businesses and consumers show nervousness before budget Reeves is expected to raise taxes next week Borrowing data shows scale of public finance challenge LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Measures of Britain's businesses, consumers and public finances are all showing signs of deterioration in the run-up to next week's budget when finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes again. Data released on Friday suggested that worries about the budget are weighing on the world's sixth-biggest economy and underscored the scale of the challenge for Reeves as she tries to cut borrowing without further slowing already weak growth. Sign up here. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index preliminary survey for November showed companies were pausing their plans while they waited to see if their taxes will go up for a second year running. Reeves is due to announce her budget on Wednesday next week. She is expected to raise tens of billions of pounds in taxes to avoid a selloff in the bond market, but possibly at the price of further upsetting voters who are already unhappy with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government. REAL CHANCE OF A DOWNTURN The PMI survey showed the services and manufacturing sectors barely grew in November and fared worse than all economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll, suggesting growth of just 0.1% in the economy in the last three months of 2025. "There's a real chance this pause may turn into a downturn ... largely linked to speculation that further demand-dampening measures will be introduced in the Budget," S&P Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson said. Official data from the Office for National Statistics showed consumers shopped less in October, the first month-on-month drop in retail sales volumes since May. The ONS also said government borrowing in the April-to-October period was the biggest in records going back more than 30 years, apart from during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Reeves raised taxes by the most since 1993 in her first annual budget last year, with businesses bearing the brunt through higher payroll taxes. BUDGET MAY NEED TO RAISE 20-30 BILLION POUNDS This year, Reeves is expected to need to raise a further 20 billion-30 billion pounds ($26 billion-$39 billion) due to an expected growth downgrade from the government's budget watchdog, higher borrowing costs and an inability to pass planned welfare cuts through parliament. For much of the PMI survey period, Reeves indicated she was likely to break Labour's election promises and raise the main rate of income tax for the first time since the 1970s. Now she appears to favour a string of smaller measures. The survey showed private-sector employment fell at the fastest pace in four months and prices charged by businesses rose by the least since December 2020, likely boosting the chances the Bank of England will cut interest rates next month. Another data release on Friday showed consumers turned less confident in November. The GfK consumer confidence barometer, Britain's longest-running survey of household sentiment, dropped to -19 from -17. Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, described the figures as "a bleak set of results as we head towards next week's budget" although the level remained within its range of the past six months. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-economy-stumbles-run-up-next-weeks-budget-2025-11-21/

2025-11-21 07:59

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Tullow Oil (TLW.L) , opens new tab said on Friday it is in talks with bondholders, commodity traders and other funding sources to refinance its capital, while projecting 2025 production at the lower end of its 40,000-45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) range. Tullow also said next year's output could fall to 34,000-42,000 boepd as it grapples with natural declines in its existing wells. Sign up here. The company, which operates in countries such as Ghana, Gabon, and Côte d’Ivoire, said it is exploring funding options with some of its creditors, given risks related to its business performance, market uncertainty and its May 2026 bond maturity. It added that it expects 2025 year-end net debt of about $1.2 billion, up from its earlier forecast of $1.1 billion. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uks-tullow-oil-refinancing-talks-expects-2025-output-at-lower-end-range-2025-11-21/

2025-11-21 07:49

Niigata governor to approve partial restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant TEPCO is planning to restart Units No. 6 and No. 7, two biggest at the plant Restart a major step for Japan to strengthen energy security, lower energy import costs PM Takaichi endorses more nuclear energy roll outs TOKYO, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A Japanese regional governor said on Friday he would allow a partial restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's biggest, as Japan tries to revive its nuclear sector and reduce fossil fuel imports. Approval by Niigata Prefecture Governor Hideyo Hanazumi will remove the last major hurdle for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) (9501.T) , opens new tab to go ahead with plans to restart one or two of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa's biggest reactors. Sign up here. Hanazumi will still need to seek the prefectural assembly's vote of confidence on his decision during its regular session beginning on December 2. A restart would be the first for TEPCO since the March 2011 tsunami destroyed its Fukushima Daiichi power plant. It would also be a breakthrough for Japan, which after the disaster shut all 54 nuclear reactors in operation at the time, leaving it heavily reliant on fossil fuel imports vulnerable to production shocks and supply disruptions. Niigata residents remain divided between those supporting the restart and those opposing it, Hanazumi said, adding that providing accurate information about safety measures should help to raise awareness among those living in the area. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office last month, has said she supports more nuclear relaunches to strengthen energy security and to address the cost of imported energy, which accounts for 60% to 70% of Japan's electricity generation. Japan spent 10.7 trillion yen ($68 billion) last year on imported liquefied natural gas and coal, a tenth of its total import costs. "The restart ... is extremely important from the perspective of reducing ... electricity prices, and securing decarbonized power sources," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Friday. Of the 54 reactors in operation pre-Fukushima, Japan has restarted 14 of the 33 that remain operable. TEPCO is planning to bring online units No. 6 and No. 7, which together can produce 2,710 megawatts of electricity, or about a third of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa's total capacity of 8,212 MW. TEPCO has said it plans to decommission some of the other five units at the facility. In October, TEPCO finished checks at the No. 6 reactor after fuel loading, saying at the time that it had confirmed the main systems required for reactor startup were operating properly. Commodity analysts at Kpler have already lowered their estimates for LNG imports by Japan, the world's second-biggest buyer after China, by 3 million metric tons to 63 million tons for next year on potential nuclear restarts. In July, Kansai Electric Power (9503.T) , opens new tab, Japan's top nuclear power operator, said it would begin conducting surveys to investigate building a reactor in western Japan that would be the first new unit since the Fukushima disaster. TEPCO shares closed 1.9% down on Friday, paring losses after Japan's nuclear watchdog said on Thursday that confidential documents were mishandled at the plant. That was better than a 2.4% drop in the Nikkei index (.N225) , opens new tab. TEPCO continues to pay compensation for the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011, the world's worst nuclear power accident since Chernobyl in 1986. ($1 = 157.1800 yen) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/japans-biggest-nuclear-power-awaits-key-decision-regional-governor-2025-11-21/

2025-11-21 07:23

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Millions of British households will see energy bills edge higher next year after regulator Ofgem said it would increase its domestic price cap by 0.2% from January due to higher policy costs. The rise, though small, will be a blow for the government which has pledged to reduce energy prices and is under pressure to next week unveil measures in the budget to help cut household bills. Sign up here. The rise is partly due to the addition of a nearly 1 pound per month cost added to bills to help pay for the new Sizewell C nuclear plant which is expected to cost some 38 billion pounds ($50 billion) and comes despite a 4% fall in wholesale energy costs. Wholesale gas and power prices are a major part of the formula Ofgem uses to calculate the price cap, but network and policy costs are becoming a larger part of the bill as the network is upgraded and more social and environmental levies are added to bills. The new cap of 1,758 pounds ($2,300) a year for average use of electricity and gas is up around 3 pounds from the previous cap for the period from October to the end of December. ($1 = 0.7639 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/uk-energy-watchdog-ofgem-raises-price-cap-by-02-january-2025-11-21/

2025-11-21 07:16

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Britain's borrowing in the first seven months of the financial year was the highest on record except during the COVID pandemic, according to data published ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves budget next week which is expected to raise taxes. Government borrowing between April and October totalled 116.8 billion pounds ($152.90 billion), about 10 billion pounds more than forecast by Britain's budget watchdog earlier this year. Sign up here. It was the highest borrowing since the same period in 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the ONS said. In October alone, the government borrowed a bigger than expected 17.4 billion pounds. The government's forecasters at the Office for Budget Responsibility had pencilled in an overshoot of 14.4 billion pounds for October. A Reuters poll of economists showed a median forecast of a 15 billion-pound deficit. The ONS said it had revised down government borrowing in the first six months of the financial year by a relatively small 400 million pounds. ($1 = 0.7639 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-borrows-higher-than-expected-174-billion-pounds-october-ons-says-2025-11-21/

2025-11-21 07:15

BANGKOK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Thailand's economic stability is underpinned by strong financial and fiscal fundamentals, and government stimulus measures will give growth a boost in the final quarter of 2025, the finance minister said on Friday. Inflation and unemployment were both under 1%, Ekniti Nitithanprapas told a business forum, and public debt at 64% of gross domestic product was not high and would be kept below a legislated ceiling of 70%. Sign up here. Further, banks have capital reserve levels higher than minimum requirements, and the country's international reserves are three times larger than short-term external debt, he said. "I believe the economy will recover in the fourth quarter," Ekniti said. Economic growth was just 1.2% on an annual basis in the third quarter, the weakest pace in four years. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which has lagged peers since the pandemic, has faced multiple headwinds this year, including U.S. tariffs, high household debt, and a strong baht . TRADE TALKS ONGOING In a bid to stimulate the economy, the government has rolled out a 44 billion baht ($1.36 billion) consumer subsidy scheme, among other measures. Ekniti said that next week the government will offer a new package to support smaller businesses and consider steps to fast-track major investment projects, aimed at boosting investments by 200 billion baht to 300 billion baht in 2026. Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun said the government was trying to increase trade competitiveness as Thai export growth is expected to slow in 2026. "We still have the issue of the strong baht. If it cannot be addressed or if it remains significantly strong, it will certainly impact exports," she told the forum. The baht has strengthened by 5.6% against the U.S. dollar so far this year, making it Asia's second-best-performing currency after Malaysia's ringgit. Suphajee said negotiations on a trade deal with the U.S. were ongoing, with Thailand working on what products it wanted to be exempted from tariffs that Washington has imposed. She said exporters needed to be aware of U.S. concerns about transshipment, where a third country routes exports through Thailand to avoid tariffs. "The world is shifting, and more investors are looking to invest in Thailand. But they need to increase their use of local content," she said. ($1 = 32.4500 baht) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/finance-minister-says-thai-economy-is-stable-sees-q4-growth-picking-up-2025-11-21/