2025-11-20 04:55
MUMBAI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee closed slightly weaker on Thursday, pressured by broad-based strength in the dollar on a hawkish reassessment of policy easing by the Federal Reserve, while modest portfolio inflows helped limit the currency's decline. The rupee closed at 88.7050 against the U.S. dollar, down about 0.1% on the day. Sign up here. The dollar index held above the 100-handle, while Asian currencies were down between 0.1% and 0.3% as traders scaled back wagers on a U.S. rate cut next month. Minutes from the Fed's October policy meeting showed that many policymakers were opposed to a December rate cut, prompting a pullback in money market odds of a reduction to under 30% from 50% a week earlier. Even though the hawkish turn weighed on regional currencies, global equities found comfort in Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab market-topping earnings, lifting the MSCI's gauge of Asian equities outside of Japan by 1%. India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab, rose about 0.5% each as well, boosted by heavyweight Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) , opens new tab. Dollar sales from foreign banks picked up in the latter half of the trading session, signalling likely inflows, a trader at a state-run bank said. The indexes are within touching distance of their record highs hit in September last year, with HSBC expecting the Sensex to rise to 94,000 by the end of 2026, an upside of about 10% from current levels. Analysts reckon that a breakthrough in U.S.-India trade negotiations could spur inflows into local stocks and a rally in the rupee. Wall Street banks have recently been pitching option strategies on the rupee to position for the same. "The momentum is gradually shifting in favour of the rupee. Positive cues from U.S.–India trade developments, lower crude costs, and gains in domestic equities are gradually strengthening sentiment," Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex, said. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/dollar-strength-set-challenge-rupees-tentative-recovery-hawkish-fed-outlook-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 04:28
Brent and WTI benchmarks fall from earlier gains US crude stocks fall; gasoline and distillate inventories rise HOUSTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pushed for Ukraine's acceptance of a peace agreement with Russia to end a war that has gone on for more than three years. Brent crude futures settled at $63.38 a barrel, down 13 cents, or 0.2%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $59.14 a barrel, down 30 cents, or 0.5%. Sign up here. Both benchmarks rose earlier in Thursday's session on a larger-than-expected draw on U.S. crude supplies, reported on Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S.-Russia peace proposal includes concessions of Ukrainian territory to Russia and reductions in Ukraine's armed forces, both of which Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has previously rejected. On Thursday, Zelenskiy said he would look over the proposal and confer with the United States about the peace plan. "A lot of people thought this new proposal would be dead on arrival with Zelenskiy, but he didn't dismiss it out of hand," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. "Now the billion-dollar question is are the sanctions going to go into effect tomorrow? If they are close they might get lifted or delayed." U.S. sanctions on trading with Russian oil companies Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab come into effect on Friday, while Lukoil has until December 13 to sell its sprawling international portfolio. The bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles reflected increased refining in response to strong margins and export demand for U.S. crude. Crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels to 424.2 million in the week ended November 14, the Energy Information Administration said, against a draw of 603,000 barrels projected by analysts in a Reuters poll. That said, analysts also noted that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles increased for the first time in more than a month, suggesting slowing consumption. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-rebounds-deadline-us-sanctions-waiver-looms-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 04:24
TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at its upcoming December meeting, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll, pushing through with its aim of normalising monetary policy, backed by the yen's recent decline. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a proponent of expansionary fiscal and monetary policy who came into office a month ago, has urged the BOJ to cooperate with government efforts to reflate the economy and to tread cautiously in hiking rates. Sign up here. Still, economists say the conditions for a rate hike are falling into place, with the yen's depreciation strengthening the case. The yen this week has tumbled to a 10-month low against the dollar and the weakest level ever against the euro . The BOJ last raised rates by 25 basis points in January. In a November 11-18 poll, 53% of economists, or 43 of 81, expected the Japanese central bank to raise short-term interest rates to 0.75% from 0.50% at its December 18-19 policy meeting. All 69 respondents who provided forecasts predicted borrowing costs would reach at least 0.75% by the end of March. "With the yen sliding, there are also concerns about upside pressure on prices through imported inflation," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research. "We expect an early rate hike, positioned as a fine-tuning of the degree of monetary easing." The yen has been by far the worst-performing G10 currency in recent months, raising the prospect of Japanese authorities intervening to lend it some support. Although Japan logged its first economic contraction in six quarters for July-September, that was largely due to special factors, and underlying private demand remained firm, Minami said. The median prediction for the end-2026 rate was 1.00%, unchanged from last month's survey. After its last policy meeting in October, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda suggested the initial momentum of next spring's annual labour-management wage negotiations was key to rate hike timing. If wage momentum is confirmed and coordination with the Takaichi administration is smooth, a December hike appears very likely, said Harumi Taguchi, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. In the poll, 81% of economists who answered an extra question, 25 of 31, said they did not think the rate of pay increase in next year's labour-management negotiations would exceed this year's 5.25%. That was up from 76% in September. The median of 28 economists who offered their view on the rate was 4.9%, compared with September's 4.8%. The pace of wage increases will remain high in 2026 backed by strong corporate earnings, said Jun Inoue, senior economist at Mizuho Research & Technologies. "However, with manufacturing profits likely to come in below expectations, overall corporate earnings are seen dipping slightly, and therefore the scale of wage hikes in 2026 is expected to slow compared with 2025," he said. (For other stories from the Reuters global economic poll:) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/boj-set-hike-interest-rates-december-decision-knife-edge-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 04:20
First officer, Indonesian crew member arrested Vessel believed to be on auto pilot in narrow, busy channel Incident rekindles memories of 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 SEOUL, Nov 20 (Reuters) - South Korea's coast guard launched an investigation on Thursday into a ferry that ran aground overnight, arresting the first officer and an Indonesian crew member for suspected gross negligence, officers said. The two were at the helm of the vessel and are suspected of waiting too long to override the autopilot, allowing the ship to run into an uninhabited island in a busy passage approaching the southwestern port of Mokpo, the coast guard officers said. Sign up here. The 26,546-tonne ship, with a passenger capacity of 1,010 and multiple decks for cargo and passenger vehicles, ran aground as it approached Mokpo from the southern island of Jeju but remained upright as all 267 people on board were rescued. The incident rekindled memories in South Korea of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people, many of whom were children on a school trip. The Sewol sank in the same area but further out to sea. A coast guard investigator in Mokpo told a briefing that the crew members in the latest incident had given conflicting testimony. "Whatever their testimonies so far, we're looking at gross negligence," Kim Hwang-gyun said. In initial testimony, the first officer said he was watching news on his phone at the time of the incident. Kim said the investigation would include a forensic examination of the crew members' phones, the ferry's navigation data and vessel traffic control in the area. The operator of the ferry, Seaworld, did not answer telephone calls seeking comment at its Mokpo office. Several people received medical attention but no lives were in danger and the ferry sustained minor damage to the hull, other coast guard officials have said. The vessel did not veer off course and was sailing at 22 knots (40 kph) within regulation when it failed to make a turn, Kim, the coast guard investigator, said. Authorities will examine whether the ship was unable to change course in time in the area's narrow navigation channels. Ships are usually steered manually, rather than with autopilot, in the area, a narrow sea channel surrounded by small islands near the shore, according to another coast guard official. "Because it is a narrow coastal area, it is a route that requires careful navigation," Choi Jae-gon said earlier. The crew members were not intoxicated, officials said. The ferry was towed to Mokpo port with its steel surface crumpled and scratch marks on the hull, according to photographs presented by the coast guard. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/stricken-ferry-south-korea-towed-port-authorities-launch-probe-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 04:19
LAS VEGAS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - McLaren's Formula One leader Lando Norris and other top drivers braced for a cold and wet start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend on Wednesday but hoped for better weather on race night. Forecasts predicted a high likelihood of rainfall in the Nevada city on Thursday and Friday after storms, flash floods and lightning on Wednesday. Sign up here. "From what I'm aware of, I think it's just going to rain on Thursday and a bit into Friday for maybe FP3 (final practice)," Norris told reporters on a chilly media day. "I think it will be an incredibly difficult track in the rain. Yeah, pretty nasty. It's going to be a hell of a challenge. Obviously not a lot of room for error," added the Briton, who leads Australian teammate Oscar Piastri by 24 points with three rounds remaining. "You've got the white lines, all the paint and stuff ... it's pretty horrible at times when you're in the car feeling these kind of things. It will be a pretty insane challenge, I think, if it stays wet." George Russell, winner in Las Vegas last year in a Mercedes one-two, also preferred a dry race. The Briton added, however, that rain always opened up opportunities and Mercedes saw Las Vegas as a clear one. "If we were to pinpoint one race on the calendar where we think we can fight for victory, this would be the race," said Russell, a winner of two races so far this season. "So, out of all the races, I would choose for this one not to be wet." Russell said he expected McLaren to struggle with the circuit characteristics, given their past form in Canada and Baku, but was also open to being surprised even if Red Bull probably had a better chance. Red Bull's four-times world champion Max Verstappen, third overall behind the McLaren pair, said he was not looking forward to lapping in the wet and likely on cold tyres. "I prefer to just have a dry race," said the Dutch driver. "It's already hard enough to get everything working here or understanding at least something. "I mean if the track floods, maybe less practice. That's also not a bad thing." https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/f1-drivers-wary-wet-start-vegas-weekend-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 04:16
BEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - China's rare earth magnet exports in October fell 5.2% from a month earlier, customs data showed on Thursday, down for a second month, but shipments to the United States surged to a nine-month high. Beijing announced earlier this month it would suspend the rare earth export control measures it announced on October 9 for one year as part of its pledge to Washington at a summit in Busan, South Korea, in late October to de-escalate their trade war. Sign up here. For October, outbound shipments from the world's largest producer and exporter of rare earth magnets, used in a wide array of technology from cars to weapons, were 5,473 metric tons last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. That was down from 5,774 tons in September but was up 15.8%from 4,725 tons in the same month in 2024. Exports to the U.S. in October, however, jumped by 56.1% from the prior month to 656 tons, the highest since January. China has begun designing a new rare earth licensing regime that could speed up shipments, but it is unlikely to amount to a complete rollback of restrictions as hoped by Washington, industry sources said. By country, Germany, the U.S., South Korea, Vietnam and India were the top five export destinations for Chinese rare earth magnets by volume last month. Year to date, China's rare earth magnet exports totaled 45,290 tons, an annual decline of 5.2%. Exports hit a seven-month high in August. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-october-rare-earth-magnet-exports-fall-second-month-us-shipments-surge-2025-11-20/
