2025-10-13 13:14

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Argentina's inflation is forecast to have accelerated in September over August though the impact of recent currency volatility was probably limited, a Reuters poll showed. Consumer price figures due on Tuesday will be closely scrutinized as the country approaches a key legislative vote at the end of October amid intense financial uncertainty. Sign up here. Inflation likely sped up to 2.1% in September compared to 1.9% in August, according to the median estimate of 13 economists polled October 8-10. The rise was probably led by adjustments in the costs of so-called "regulated services" like electricity, natural gas and water, economists said. Little pass-through is expected from the volatile peso which first dropped last month following the opposition's victory in a provincial vote but then recovered with initial announcements of U.S. support. September's 12-month rate is seen falling to the lowest in more than seven years, consolidating the biggest single success of President Javier Milei's government that otherwise has been dealt a string of painful political defeats. On the year, the consensus view pointed to a reduction of inflation to 31.8% in September - the lowest since July 2018 - against 33.6% in August. "We see that for now, exchange rate instability has not reflected in consumer prices," said Alejandro Giacoia, economist at Econviews. The effect "will be somewhat higher in October, especially if markets assume the exchange rate policy is going to be modified," he added. Many analysts think the government will stop intervening to bolster the peso, instead letting it trade more freely after the October 26 election, where Milei's party wants to expand its small presence in Congress. However, this scenario may be reexamined after the U.S. Treasury weighed in last week to help contain pressures in a country where the value of the currency is a constant reference for price setting. Another factor contributing to cooling inflation is a slower economy resulting from high interest rates as well as weaker demand due to Milei's drive to slash spending and open trade to imported goods. "We expect inflation to remain above 2% in the short-term," said Aldo Abram, executive director at Fundacion Libertad y Progreso, noting currency swings already observed this year may keep trickling into consumer prices. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentina-inflation-forecast-have-accelerated-september-2025-10-13/

2025-10-13 12:44

Oct 13 (Reuters) - Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) , opens new tab said on Monday it would invest up to $5 billion in Bloom Energy's (BE.N) , opens new tab fuel cell technology to power data centers, as companies seek cleaner energy to meet the needs of the artificial intelligence boom. Shares of Bloom Energy surged 24.5% to hit a record high of $108.17 in morning trading. Sign up here. Brookfield's first investment in its dedicated AI Infrastructure strategy taps into a shift to cleaner power sources such as nuclear, renewables and fuel cells as firms invest billions into building and expanding data centers amid the surge in demand for AI and cloud computing services. Evercore ISI analysts in a note said Bloom's solid oxide fuel cells offer "reliable, scalable and clean on-site power". "Hybrid power solutions" could become more important, addressing long lead times and regulatory hurdles for new generation capacity of the legacy grid, they said. Bloom Energy has already deployed its fuel-cell technology to data centers, through partnerships with American Electric Power (AEP.O) , opens new tab, Equinix (EQIX.O) , opens new tab and Oracle (ORCL.N) , opens new tab. The companies are working on the design and delivery of AI factories globally, including a site in Europe that will be announced before the end of the year, according to a statement. Brookfield is pushing to expand Europe's largest AI infrastructure cluster. In June, it announced plans to invest up to 95 billion Swedish crowns ($9.98 billion) to build an AI data center in Sweden and a 20 billion euro commitment for AI projects in France. Fuel cells offer a cleaner alternative to traditional power by generating electricity through chemical reactions rather than combustion. Depending on the fuel, byproducts can include water and heat, making them more environmentally friendly. ($1 = 0.8639 euros) ($1 = 9.5158 Swedish crowns) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/brookfield-bloom-energy-launch-up-5-billion-ai-infrastructure-partnership-2025-10-13/

2025-10-13 12:44

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene said on Monday that interest rates would probably fall further but there were risks that the broad weakening of inflation pressures in Britain might be slowing. "I think that our monetary policy stance is still restrictive, and so I do think that Bank Rate is still on a downward path," Greene said during a speech at the Society of Professional Economists' annual conference. Sign up here. "But it's less restrictive than it had been, and that's a concern if you consider that inflation has been ticking up for the past year," she said. British consumer price inflation was 3.8% in August - well above the BoE's 2% target and the highest among the Group of Seven economies - and the BoE expects it to peak at 4% in September. Greene voted last month along with most of the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee members to keep the central bank's benchmark Bank Rate at 4%. In August she opposed a quarter-point cut that was approved in a narrow 5-4 decision. Investors are fully pricing the next reduction in borrowing costs only in April next year. BoE Governor Andrew Bailey has said he expects rates to be cut again but when and by how much depends on inflation pressures in the economy. Greene said Britain's disinflationary process was "still intact" but she was worried that inflation might be slow to fall. She also said she was worried about the pace of productivity growth in Britain. While the BoE's central view was that productivity growth would recover to its historical trend over the next couple of years, "I think the risk there is entirely on the downside. I'm more sceptical of that assumption," Greene said. Many economists expect a downgrade next month of the official productivity and growth forecasts that underpin UK finance minister Rachel Reeves' annual budget, adding to the pressure for tax increases. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/boes-greene-sees-more-rate-cuts-fears-inflation-might-fall-more-slowly-2025-10-13/

2025-10-13 12:31

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. federal government shutdown is starting to impact the nation's economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday as the closure entered its 13th day. "This is getting serious. It's starting to affect the real economy," he told Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" program, without offering more detail. Sign up here. Bessent added that in order to allow paychecks to U.S. military service members, the government was having to hold back on payments to other federal workers and services in areas such as Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo. "We are having to shuffle things around. We are having to furlough workers here in DC and around the country," Bessent said in the interview. Bessent reiterated his previous statements that the shutdown was stalling U.S. aid for farmers. Official U.S. Treasury economic data will also be released after the shutdown ends, he added. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-treasury-chief-says-government-shutdown-is-hitting-economy-2025-10-13/

2025-10-13 12:08

Oct 13 (Reuters) - Two trains collided in eastern Slovakia on Monday, derailing an engine and a carriage and injuring at least 66 people, emergency medical services and police said. There were no reports of deaths in the crash, which police said happened in front of a tunnel near the village of Jablonov nad Turnou, about 55 km (34 miles) west of the eastern Slovak region's main city Kosice. Sign up here. The country's emergency medical services said 16 people suffered moderate or serious injuries and at least 50 were lightly injured. Police footage on Facebook showed mangled wreckage, and a locomotive and a carriage that had come off the tracks lying on the side of a hill following the crash, which happened just after 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT). There were about 80 passengers on the trains, police said. Slovak Railways said the two trains collided at a point where tracks cross and turn into a single line, and that the cause was under investigation. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/least-20-injured-after-two-trains-slovakia-collide-2025-10-13/

2025-10-13 12:04

MOSCOW, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Russian oil production rose in September to 9.321 million barrels per day, up 148,000 bpd from August, as the world's leading oil producing countries continued to ramp up production, OPEC monthly data showed on Monday. Last month's production was still below Russia's OPEC+ output quota for September of 9.415 million bpd, however. Sign up here. OPEC+, the group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and some smaller producers, has increased its oil output targets by more than 2.7 million bpd this year, equating to about 2.5% of global demand. The shift in policy after years of cuts is designed to regain market share from rivals such as U.S. shale producers. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week that Russia had been gradually raising its oil production. In its monthly report, OPEC also said Kazakhstan's oil output last month edged down by 26,000 bpd to 1.840 million bpd, still above its quota set by OPEC+ for September of 1.550 million bpd. Kazakhstan has been one of the main laggards in the OPEC+ deal due to an increase in output at the Chevron-led (CVX.N) , opens new tab Tengiz oilfield, the country's largest. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-oil-output-continued-rise-september-opec-data-shows-2025-10-13/