2025-10-16 11:56

LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Reserve managers tend to buy the dollar when it weakens and sell when it rises, suggesting they might play a lesser role in driving the greenback than private investors, Standard Chartered said in a note on Thursday. Demand from central banks managing trillions of dollars worth of currency reserves is seen as crucial to the dollar's position as the world's top safe-haven currency. Sign up here. But U.S. President Donald Trump's confrontations with longstanding allies over trade and security this year, along with his attacks on the Fed have raised concerns around the status of the dollar, which has slumped 9% this year . Standard Chartered's analysis, however, questioned whether reserves still make the dollar exceptional. It found that the levels of U.S. dollar reserves and the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, have moved in opposite directions for 17 of the last 20 quarters. It noted that the dollar fell 6.6% in the second quarter, which kicked off with Trump's Liberation Day tariff announcements that roiled markets, but dollar reserve holdings increased by around $50 billion. "This suggests that private-sector buying has driven USD, and reserve managers have been reactive," said Steve Englander, the bank's global head G10 FX research. Englander said reserve managers may be balancing competitiveness and portfolio considerations. "If the private sector is a net seller of USD, it is hard to see reserve managers piling on and really sinking the USD," he wrote. "On the other hand, when the private sector is buying USD, reserve managers take advantage to shrink their exposure, while avoiding selling if it looks as if their selling will heighten a competitiveness shock." The size of directional flows from private sector investors may have also grown relative to reserve managers, he noted, so are likely to outweigh them. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/fx-reserve-managers-react-not-drive-dollar-moves-stanchart-says-2025-10-16/

2025-10-16 11:54

Loan will be used to upgrade transmission lines in five states AEP says energy demand growth at levels not seen in a generation Upgrades will support data centers, AI, manufacturing Oct 16 (Reuters) - American Electric Power's (AEP.O) , opens new tab unit has secured a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to upgrade nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines across five states, the utility said on Thursday, as demand surges from power-hungry data centers. AEP Transmission will upgrade power lines in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia, primarily to support data centers, artificial intelligence and manufacturing. Sign up here. Power consumption is expected to hit record highs in 2025 and 2026, driven by a surge in demand from data centers needed to run artificial intelligence technologies, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. ENERGY DEMAND GROWTH AT LEVELS NOT SEEN IN A GENERATION "AEP is experiencing growth in energy demand that has not been seen in a generation ... the funds we will save through this program enable us to make additional investments," said CEO Bill Fehrman. Customers have committed to business expansions that will require an additional 24 gigawatts of electricity by the end of the decade, the utility said. Nearly 100 miles of transmission lines across Ohio and Oklahoma will be the first to be supported by the loan guarantee. AEP had received , opens new tab the conditional loan from former President Joe Biden’s administration. The loan stands to benefit customers in states that President Donald Trump won in last year's election. But despite Trump's declaring an "energy emergency" on his first day of his second term, his administration is not approving all grid loans. In July, the DOE canceled a $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express transmission project initiated by Biden, after opposition from farmers. It was meant to send power from wind and solar arrays in Kansas to Midwestern and Eastern cities. AEP said this year it was considering adding $10 billion to its $54 billion five-year capital plan to meet higher demand. The utility serves about 5.6 million customers in 11 states, and possesses the largest electric transmission system in the United States. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/aep-secures-16-billion-federal-loan-guarantee-upgrade-power-lines-2025-10-16/

2025-10-16 11:51

Guinea's bauxite exports rose 23% despite heavy rains, regulatory challenges Bauxite surge amid Simandou iron ore project ramp-up DAKAR, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Guinea’s bauxite exports surged 23% year-on-year in the third quarter, defying heavy rains and regulatory headwinds, official data showed. Shipments of the critical aluminium feedstock rose to 39.41 million metric tonnes, up from 32 million in Q3 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Geology reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday. Sign up here. The majority of the shipment went to China. Monthly shipments from Guinea, the world's second-largest bauxite producer, averaged 13.14 million tonnes in Q3, down nearly 19% from the first half as heavy rains disrupted mine access and slowed port operations, underscoring seasonal volatility in the country's supply chain. The rebound comes despite a crackdown by Guinea’s military-led government, which has revoked licences and pressed miners to build alumina refineries, creating operational uncertainty. “With these volumes, Guinea’s annual bauxite output is likely to land around 180 million tonnes – well below the pace set in the first half, but still more than 20% above last year’s record," said Bernabe Sanchez, an independent mineral economist focused on Guinea. CHINA DEEPENS GRIP Chinese firms controlled 54.6% of Guinea's Q3 exports, led by SMB-Winning (17.51m tonnes), CHALCO and CDM-CHINE, according to the Guinean ministry data. Guinea supplies roughly one-third of China’s bauxite imports, giving Beijing growing leverage over global aluminum supply chains. Despite a dip in steel output, China’s aluminum production stayed strong with primary production growing by 2.6% year-on-year in Q1 2025, driven by electric vehicle and infrastructure demand, according to Chinese official data. Guinea’s bauxite export surge comes as the long delayed Simandou iron ore project prepares for its first shipment, with most of the high-grade ore headed to China. The dual ramp-up in exports deepens Beijing’s grip on Guinea’s mining output and cements Conakry’s role as a key supplier to China’s industrial engine. Guinea exported just 78,000 tonnes of alumina in Q3 2025, the data showed despite the government's mounting pressure on miners to build domestic alumina plants. LME aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.4% to $2,747.50 a tonne. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/guinea-bauxite-exports-jump-23-3rd-quarter-despite-rains-regulatory-pressure-2025-10-16/

2025-10-16 11:46

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Thursday she would like to have a bigger fiscal buffer to cope with volatile global markets, but that creating one in her budget next month would involve trade-offs on tax and spending. "Would I like more headroom? Of course I would. But that does come with trade-offs because more headroom requires more tax revenue or less spending on public services like the NHS," Reeves told reporters in Washington where she is attending meetings of world finance officials. Sign up here. "So you've got to get the balance right there," Reeves told reporters. On Wednesday she said she was looking at tax and spending measures for her next budget on November 26, having raised taxes by 40 billion pounds in her first fiscal plan last year. Asked about the possibility of higher taxes on banks to help raise the revenues she is likely to need, Reeves said she wanted to ensure that Britain is "a great place to do business" and she highlighted recent investments by U.S. financial firms. "It's not all about tax, but I do want to have a competitive environment for all businesses in Britain," adding that she did not dispute industry assessments that British taxes on financial services were relatively high. "Of course, though, we do want to make sure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes, and you've got to get the balance right there," she added. She repeated a previous comment that she did not plan to introduce a new wealth tax in her budget. "I want Britain to be a great place for talent, for entrepreneurs, for successful individuals to come, and that requires getting the balance right," Reeves said. "But I do think that those with the broadest shoulders should pay their fair share of tax, and you can see that through my actions last year at the budget," she said. https://www.reuters.com/business/uks-reeves-says-she-would-like-bigger-fiscal-buffer-that-means-trade-offs-2025-10-16/

2025-10-16 11:43

Oct 16 (Reuters) - Gemfields Group (GEMGE.L) , opens new tab, said on Thursday a group of illegal miners had invaded its Montepuez ruby mine in northern Mozambique on Monday and killed two police officers guarding the site. "A group of approximately 40 illegal miners marched on the mine gate at Montepuez Ruby Mining," Gemfields said in a statement. Sign up here. "They proceeded to attack Mozambican police officers present at the gate, killing two, one of whom was a commander of Mozambique's Natural Resources Protection Force," the company added. No company employees or contractors were injured in the attack and the site has since been calm, Gemfields added. The attack has been linked to a violent confrontation, earlier that day, between district immigration authorities and suspected illegal immigrants in a local village, Gemfields said. One person was reported to have died in that clash, it added. The company has delayed the commissioning of its second processing plant at the mine, saying hordes of illegal miners were sabotaging plant supply infrastructure. As a result, Gemfields has had to defer its usual November/December ruby auction to January/February 2026. Gemfields' Montepuez mine halted operations in October 2022 after an attack at a nearby ruby mine attributed to insurgent activity. No connection has been made between the latest attack and the Islamist insurgency, which broke out in 2017 and has claimed thousands of lives while disrupting multibillion-dollar natural gas and mining projects. Apart from the insurgency, Mozambican authorities in the Cabo Delgado province are also battling the digging and smuggling of gemstones from the region by illegal immigrants. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gemfields-says-illegal-miners-killed-two-police-guards-mozambique-mine-2025-10-16/

2025-10-16 11:34

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said economic growth for the coming year could turn on whether the escalating risks around U.S.-China trade are realized or defused. "We will have to see how the next few weeks play out," Miran said on Fox Business's Mornings with Maria of China's new restrictions on exports or critical rare earth minerals and President Donald Trump's threat to retaliate. Sign up here. "It could all go away in the next few days. If it goes away we have a good scenario for growth," Miran said. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/feds-miran-growth-next-year-could-hinge-how-us-china-tensions-are-resolved-fox-2025-10-16/