2025-10-15 12:32

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Wednesday that core inflation remained high due to persistent underlying pressures and noted that the central bank was acting accordingly with its restrictive stance. The remarks were made in a written statement marking Brazil's participation in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's annual meetings in Washington. Sign up here. After highlighting a favorable medium-term outlook for Latin America's largest economy, Haddad acknowledged that "core inflation remains relatively elevated," citing headline inflation expectations above the 3% target. "Accordingly, monetary policy remains in contractionary territory, underscoring the central bank of Brazil's unwavering commitment to delivering on the target and reanchoring expectations," he added. Haddad did not travel to Washington, instead remaining in Brazil to debate alternatives to a key fiscal measure that expired in Congress last week. His statement serves as guidance for the ministry's delegation. Last week, the minister criticized Brazil's interest rates as "excessively restrictive" but stressed that was a personal view and not a challenge to the central bank's autonomy. The bank held its benchmark rate steady at 15% - its highest level in nearly two decades - in September for a second straight meeting and signaled it would remain there for a prolonged period to bring inflation back to the target. Consumer prices rose 5.17% in the 12 months through September, up from 5.13% in August. Haddad said economic activity is now near its potential after outperforming expectations in recent years, and inflation is gradually converging towards the official goal. He also noted that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration will continue using fiscal policy to promote social justice and well-being, while considering the economic cycle. Amid global trade tensions, Haddad also called for the removal of unilateral trade restrictions and the restoration of predictable, rules-based frameworks to safeguard global growth. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-core-inflation-still-high-central-bank-acting-accordingly-finance-2025-10-15/

2025-10-15 12:06

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Vertical Semiconductor, a startup spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on Wednesday said it raised $11 million in funding to commercialize chip technology that can deliver electricity to artificial intelligence servers more efficiently. Vertical makes chips out of a material called gallium nitride, an alternative to silicon which is becoming central to an effort led by chip designer Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab to rework auxiliary chips inside AI data centers to direct electricity and convert it into the form needed by Nvidia's chips. Sign up here. Those data centers currently consume as much power as some cities. However, when converting huge voltages from power stations to the tiny voltages needed by microchips, much of that electricity simply generates heat. That has spurred a frenzy of investment and interest in reducing that loss. "That is power you are not delivering to (computing tasks) - it straight turns into heat," Matt Hersenson, a partner with Playground Global, the venture capital firm that led the funding round, said in an interview. Established chipmakers such as Renesas (6723.T) , opens new tab, Infineon (IFXGn.DE) , opens new tab and Power Integrations (POWI.O) , opens new tab are all working with Nvidia to develop power chips made of gallium nitride, known as "GaN" in the chip industry, for AI data centers. But Vertical, which plans to deliver prototypes this year and to deliver chips next year, has a different approach that it hopes will make its chips smaller and cooler. On most existing GaN chips, the transistors - the fundamental building blocks of chips - are laid out horizontally. Vertical, as its name suggests, stacks the parts of the transistor on top of one another, leading to more compact chips. The approach came out of work at MIT led by Tomas Palacios, a professor at the school who co-founded the firm, and developed by Joshua Perozek, whose doctoral research focused on the technology. Cynthia Liao, who joined as CEO from MIT's Sloan School of Management, said the startup hopes to compete against established players by offering better cost savings to data center owners over time than more established technologies. "We do believe we offer a compelling next-generation solution that is not just a couple of percentage points here and there, but actually a step-wise transformation," Liao said in an interview. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mit-spinout-vertical-semiconductor-raises-11-million-ai-power-chip-tech-2025-10-15/

2025-10-15 12:05

Key Rhone pipeline out of action for the winter Outage to reduce France's LNG import capacity Outage comes as LNG terminals also disrupted by strikes Oct 15 (Reuters) - France's LNG import capacity will be restricted this winter by a pipeline outage on the Rhone link, operator NaTran said on Wednesday, limiting the country's energy flexibility as Europe prepares for more supplies of the super-chilled gas. The outage could reduce total supplies by about 43.5 terawatt hours over the winter, equivalent to around 11 days of France’s total winter gas demand. Sign up here. "Transit on the Rhone artery has been interrupted until at least the end of the coming winter following an incident on the network on 26 September," a NaTran spokesperson said. The company did not give details of the incident. STRIKES ALSO DISRUPTING LNG FLOWS With a capacity of 160 gigawatt hours per day, the pipeline allows gas converted from LNG at Fos-sur-mer's two terminals to enter the transmission network and be moved around France. The incident comes on top of ongoing strikes at the Fos-sur-mer and Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminals over pay. The strikes have disrupted cargoes to the terminals, operated by Elengy, over the last six weeks, with flows from Fos Cavaou resuming on September 28 after a request from NaTran to Elengy to avert supply risks, said S&P analyst Diane Elijah. Combined flows from the Fos Cavaou and Fos Tonkin terminals fell month-on-month, but that was more than offset by higher flows from terminals at Dunkirk and Montoir, she said. Deliveries at Montoir have continued during the disruption. The strike at Fos is scheduled to end on Wednesday, with flows expected to resume Thursday, while Montoir's stoppage is set to end Thursday. "The end of strike actions at Montoir and Fos is expected to bring more predictability as the market moves deeper into the winter season," said LSEG analyst Yuriy Onyshkiv. However, a meeting will be held on Thursday to decide whether the strikes will continue, a union representative at the Elengy terminals told Reuters. Even if the disputes are resolved, the Rhone pipeline outage will restrict Fos' flows for months, curbing France's regasification potential, Onyshkiv said. A market message from EU gas network operator ENTSOG on October 6 indicated that flows through the impacted entry point would be capped at around 239 GWh per day – roughly half of Fos's technical capacity. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/rhone-pipeline-outage-limit-french-lng-imports-this-winter-2025-10-15/

2025-10-15 11:59

Analysts expect rise in US crude inventories US-China trade tensions risk disrupting global oil freight IEA predicts oil surplus in 2026 due to OPEC+ output rise NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Wednesday to a five-month low on escalating U.S.-China trade tensions and the International Energy Agency's prediction of a supply surplus in 2026. Brent crude futures fell 48 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $61.91 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 43 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $58.27. Those were the lowest settlements for both benchmarks since May 7 for a second day in a row. Sign up here. Bank of America said Brent prices could slip below $50 a barrel if U.S.-China trade tensions intensify while OPEC+ production ramps up. The world's two largest oil consumers have renewed their trade war over the last week, with the U.S. and China imposing additional port fees on ships carrying cargo between them. The tit-for-tat moves could disrupt global freight flows. Last week, China announced it would increase rare earth export controls and U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 100% and tighten software export curbs from November 1. On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted that Washington did not want to escalate the trade conflict, addingTrump is ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month. Deflationary pressures persisted in China, with both consumer and producer prices falling in September. A prolonged property market slump and trade tensions also weighed. Renewed pose a "material" downside risk to the economic outlook, making it more important that the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate, Fed Governor Stephen Miran said on Wednesday. Looser economic policies can boost economic growth and demand for oil. U.S. retail sales excluding motor vehicles and parts likely posted further gains in September, data from the Chicago Fed showed, though part of the rise probably reflected higher prices. On Tuesday, the IEA said the global oil market could face a surplus next year of up to 4 million barrels per day, wider than its previous forecast, as OPEC+ and others raise output and demand remains sluggish. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies like Russia and Azerbaijan. Britain on Wednesday targeted Russia's two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and 51 shadow fleet tankers in what it described as a new bid to tighten energy sanctions and choke off Kremlin revenues. Russia was the second-biggest producer of crude oil in the world after the U.S. in 2024, according to U.S. energy data. Any increase in sanctions due to Moscow's war with Ukraine should keep more of that oil out of global markets. In Azerbaijan, oil output fell by 4.2% to 20.7 million metric tons in January-September from 21.6 million metric tons a year earlier, the energy ministry said on Wednesday. US OIL INVENTORIES The American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) are due to release weekly U.S. inventory data on Wednesday and Thursday, , a day later than usual due to the U.S. Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day holiday on Monday. Analysts forecast U.S. crude stockpiles rose by about 0.3 million barrels last week. If correct, that would be the first time energy firms added oil to storage for three weeks in a row since April. That compares with a decrease of 2.2 million barrels during the same week last year and an average increase of 1.1 million barrels over the past five years (2020-2024). https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-drops-investors-weigh-supply-surplus-outlook-us-china-trade-tensions-2025-10-15/

2025-10-15 11:58

BELGRADE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The European Union has invited Serbia to join the bloc's communal gas-buying initiative, EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, as it seeks to reduce the Balkan country's reliance on fossil fuels from Russia. The EU launched a joint gas-buying platform in 2023 to give participants more leverage to achieve better deals after Russia slashed its gas deliveries to Europe in 2022, driving European energy prices to record highs. Sign up here. The bloc wants to phase out Russian oil and gas altogether by January 2028 to deprive the Kremlin of revenues that could be used to fund its war in Ukraine. The EU wants Serbia - a candidate for EU membership but with deep cultural and political ties to Russia - to align with Europe on energy policy. Serbia currently receives around 80% of its natural gas from Russia. "We are connecting Serbia with the EU energy market and that is a real guarantee that Serbian families will be safe ... through the winter," von der Leyen said after meeting Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade. Von der Leyen also said Serbia should harmonise its foreign policy with the EU, including by imposing sanctions on Russia, and to start immediate work on reforms needed for joining the bloc. It is not clear if Serbia has taken part in the EU initiative yet. In June, the energy ministry said it was working to integrate its gas and power markets with those of the EU by the end of 2027. Von der Leyen's comments come days after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil company, prompting neighbouring Croatia to cut crude supplies and raising concerns that the country's sole refinery may halt operations within weeks. Vucic said Serbia wants to diversify its energy supplies and build gas pipelines to neighbouring North Macedonia and Romania. He said the country has secured enough oil and gas for now. But longer-term risks to supply remain. "The winter will not be easy for us," he said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/eu-invites-serbia-join-collective-gas-buying-plan-reduce-reliance-russia-2025-10-15/

2025-10-15 11:54

JAKARTA, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Indonesia's PT Arsari Tambang, a tin mining company controlled by the family of President Prabowo Subianto, is in discussions to acquire a mining asset in Canada, its chief executive told reporters on Wednesday. The company will take advantage of an economic partnership deal Indonesia signed with Canada last month to invest in a mining asset there, Aryo Djojohadikusumo said. Sign up here. Djojohadikusumo, who is Prabowo's nephew, declined to give further details of the acquisition target, citing ongoing negotiations, but said the acquisition value is around 7 trillion rupiah ($422.71 million) and the company aims to close the transaction in June 2026. With the recent trade deal, Canada is aiming to double its trade with Southeast Asia's biggest economy in six years. Arsari Tambang works mainly in the Bangka Belitung region, the tin hub of the world's second largest producer of the metal. Among Arsari's subsidiaries is Mitra Stania Prima, which has 3,811 metric tons of smelting capacity as of 2024. ($1 = 16,560.0000 rupiah) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesias-arsari-eyes-mining-asset-canada-ceo-says-2025-10-15/