2025-10-09 06:36
FRANKFURT, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Gauss Fusion, a German technology company, said on Thursday it will hand over Europe's first fusion power plant design to the German chancellery within ten days. Gauss Fusion CEO Milena Roveda was scheduled to present the design at a climate congress hosted by Germany’s BDI industry federation. The event comes just days after the German government unveiled a 2 billion euro ($2.33 billion) Fusion Action Plan, which will run to 2029. Sign up here. WHY DOES IT MATTER? Germany said it aims to move beyond basic research and adopt an industry-led approach, positioning itself as a global leader in the race to develop fusion energy — a technology that replicates the process powering the sun to generate electricity. Germany's conservative-led government supports the technology within its energy agenda. WHAT IS THE CONTEXT? Competition is intensifying across several fronts: between state and private companies, among governments in Europe, the United States and China, and between different technological approaches -- such as plasma confinement and the use of lasers. Germany's Fraunhofer organisation of applied science said last week that coordinated research and investment in Germany could produce globally leading laser systems within three to five years. KEY QUOTES "The Conceptual Design Report (CDR) brings together the know-how of hundreds of specialists across Europe and proves that the technologies, materials and supply chains required for fusion are within reach," said Roveda, cited in a press release. "Solving (industrial challenges) will define who leads the global fusion race and whether Europe secures true energy sovereignty for generations to come," said Gauss CTO, Frederic Bordry in the same release, adding the CDR was tackling them. WHAT NEXT? Gauss Fusion’s next design phase is set to start after the review of the CDR by an independent panel in January 2026. ($1 = 0.8597 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nuclear-fusion-firm-gauss-unveils-europes-first-power-plant-design-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 06:12
MUMBAI, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee lingered near its all-time low on Thursday as likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped stave off ongoing pressure on the South Asian currency. The rupee closed at 88.7825 against the U.S. dollar, nearly flat on the day, but within touching distance of its lifetime low of 88.80 hit last week. Sign up here. Persistent dollar sales by state-run banks, most likely on behalf of the RBI, have supported the currency over recent sessions, traders said. The RBI "is quite strongly defending 88.80 and until that eases, expect such price action to continue," a trader at a foreign bank said. Worries over the economic hit from steep U.S. trade tariffs and tighter immigration policies have kept up pressure on the currency, with foreign investors pulling out a net of nearly $600 million from local stocks in October so far, pushing year-to-date outflows to over $18 billion. Meanwhile, likely inflows related to a big-ticket initial public offering helped boost the dollar-rupee overnight swap rate, with traders citing sell-buy swaps from at least two large foreign banks. LG Electronics India's (LGEL.NS) , opens new tab $1.3 billion IPO was slated to close for bids on October 9, with qualified instituional buyers subscribing over 95 times, as of 3 P.M. IST. Elsewhere, the dollar index ticked up to a two-month high and was last at 98.9, boosted by a weakening euro on the heels of a French political crisis a struggling yen amid a change of guard in Japan's ruling party. "Political uncertainty in France and a potentially slower pace of rate hikes from the Bank of Japan are reinforcing support for the US dollar," analysts at MUFG said in a note. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/softer-dollar-rbi-muscle-lend-rupee-mild-support-open-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 06:11
HAMBURG, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Europe's largest sugar producer Suedzucker (SZUG.DE) , opens new tab reported on Thursday an 82% fall in quarterly operating profit as it continued to face weak EU sugar markets. The German company said operating profit in June-August, the second quarter of its 2025/26 fiscal year, totalled 20 million euros ($23.29 million), down from 114 million euros in the same quarter the previous year. Sign up here. Cost reductions were not enough to compensate for low sugar prices in the European Union while exports also fell, it said. Suedzucker confirmed its reduced forecast of full-year 2025/26 operating profits of between 100 and 200 million euros, down from 350 million last year. Suedzucker’s core sugar sector made a second quarter operating loss of 33 million euros against an operating profit of 13 million euros in last year’s second quarter. EU data says average EU sugar prices fell to 534 euros a metric ton in July 2025 from 775 euros in July 2024 although the EU restricted cheap Ukrainian sugar imports following protests by farmers. "EU sugar prices remain under pressure and the market environment therefore remains challenging,” a Suedzucker spokesperson said. “This is despite EU restrictions on sugar imports from Ukraine. The EU now plans to increase again the permitted import volume from Ukraine to 100,000 (metric) tons.” Suedzucker said that with market conditions remaining difficult, it still expects a loss in the sugar sector in the second half of the year. “We have reduced our sugar beet planted area this season to compensate for this, and figures show other European producers have done so too,” the spokesperson added. “But growing conditions for beets are better than expected leading to expectations of higher crop yields, which could reduce some of the benefits of the reduced crop area.” ($1 = 0.8587 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/suedzucker-posts-heavy-q2-earnings-fall-82-weak-sugar-market-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 06:11
LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) February ban on exports of cobalt has put a hard floor beneath the price of the battery metal. Now the world's largest producer is looking to go further, leveraging its unique geology to tame a notoriously volatile market. Sign up here. Export quotas have been set for the remainder of this year and both 2026 and 2027. The volumes are less than half of last year's production and the stated intention is to force a reduction in global stocks that have accumulated from consecutive years of surplus. Congo's state minerals regulator ARECOMS has the right to adjust those quotas on a quarterly basis and also to buy any production surplus to export allowances, setting the stage for a government-backed cobalt buffer stock. This is shaping up to be a long-term market control project but the history of similar enterprises has not always been a happy one. STEMMING THE FLOOD Congo produced some 220,000 metric tons of cobalt last year in the form of cobalt hydroxide shipped to China for refining. Output has more than doubled over the last five years, outpacing global demand growth. The resulting surplus caused cobalt prices to sink to ten-year lows at the start of 2025, the latest slump in a history of boom-bust pricing. The February export ban boosted the price of cobalt metal by almost 50% with the price of hydroxide more than doubling, according to consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI). The imposition of export quotas effective next week has given it another lift. London Metal Exchange cobalt is now trading at $38,960 per ton, the highest level since February 2023. The quotas, capped at 96,600 tons per year in both 2026 and 2027 change the market landscape. Left unchanged, the restrictions on Congo exports would transform the 2025-2027 market balance from a period of yet more supply surplus to one of deficit, resulting in a steady reduction in supply-chain inventory, according to BMI. The DRC government has exempted small operators and processing plants without captive mines, which may provide some supply flex. But not much. The country's informal cobalt mining sector is much reduced after three years of sliding prices. BUFFER STOCKS The export quota is split between a base level of 87,000 tons, allocated to producers based on historical exports, and a strategic quota of 9,600 tons reserved for Congo's state minerals regulator ARECOMS. ARECOMS is empowered to buy back any cobalt produced over and above each operator's export allowance. In-country stocks have already built up since exports were halted in February. China's CMOC (603993.SS) , opens new tab, the world's largest producer thanks to its huge Congolese copper-cobalt operations, reported cobalt inventory of 57,000 tons at the end of the second quarter. It and other operators will have to decide whether to trim cobalt output to match individual export allowances, so far unannounced, or continue producing. No-one's going to stop mining the copper given the red metal's current elevated pricing, but is it worth running the cobalt by-product through a hydroxide line if it can't be exported? Each company will have its own unique set of economic calculations, meaning it's difficult to say how much material may be available for government purchase. But the underlying intention is clearly to establish ARECOMS as a market balance mechanism, buying up surplus material when prices are low and releasing it when prices get too high. TOTAL CONTROL? There is a long history of commodity producer attempts to control market pricing. OPEC is still a powerful influence on the oil price but state-backed structures to manage the coffee and tin markets collapsed in the 1980s. The bankruptcy of the tin buffer stock manager still looms large in the history of market control failures. The 1985 tin crisis almost broke the London Metal Exchange and resulted in years of legal wrangling , opens new tab. The scheme, backed by multiple producer and consumer countries, was too inflexible to bend to changing market dynamics and ended up collapsing under the weight of surplus stock. The DRC has a big advantage in the scale of its control of the global supply chain. The country accounts for more than 70% of output and has by far the biggest reserves. It also has market dynamics on its side. Cobalt consumption is still growing at a healthy clip despite the metal's challenge from alternative battery chemistries. One of the tin buffer stock manager's headaches was a weakening demand profile as aluminium and plastics eroded tin usage in the all-important packaging sector. Moreover, governments are rushing to build strategic stocks of a metal most classify as critical for both military and civilian reasons. China has been a significant strategic cobalt buyer over the last couple of years and the United States' Defense Logistics Agency is tendering for up to 7,500 tons of alloy-grade metal over the next five years. Against such a market backdrop, the Congo has enough muscle not just to engineer a floor price but to force a much-needed de-stock along the length of the process chain. The real challenge, though, will be managing the resulting price upside. If cobalt prices rise too far and too fast, as they have done twice in the last ten years, any Congolese buffer stock manager will face the problematic combination of simultaneous demand destruction and price-induced supply growth in the rest of the world. As management of the tin buffer stock in the 1980s showed, even with state backing, controlling a market is a tricky balancing act, particularly if it is a market with a history of wildness. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/can-congo-tame-wild-cobalt-market-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 06:03
Croatia halts crude shipments to Serbia, affecting NIS operations Serbia's President warns of severe consequences for country's economy NIS faces challenges in securing alternative crude supply routes BELGRADE, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Serbia's Russian-owned oil company NIS (NIIS.BEL) , opens new tab on Thursday, prompting neighbouring Croatia to cut crude supplies and raising concerns that the country's sole refinery may halt operations within weeks. Without deliveries, the NIS refinery, which supplies most of Serbia's oil products, including gasoline and jet fuel, will struggle to operate beyond November 1, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said in a televised speech. Sign up here. He added that storages are full and existing stocks of oil products should keep the country supplied until year-end. "These are extremely severe consequences for our entire country, in a political, economic, social, and every other sense," Vucic said. "It's not just about the functioning of one company; it will have severe consequences for the entire country. The U.S. in January announced sanctions on NIS, Serbia's biggest oil importer and one of Russia's last remaining energy assets in Europe. A series of waivers delayed the measures until Thursday, when NIS said that no further postponement was forthcoming. "The special license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which enables seamless operational business, has not yet been extended," NIS said in a statement. The operators of the JANAF (JANF.ZA) , opens new tab pipeline that delivers crude from Croatia said in a statement that they had halted shipments to Serbia and were looking to expand into other markets. DISRUPTION TO OIL SUPPLY While the Serbian government has a 29.9% stake in NIS, Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM) , opens new tab holds 44.9% and an investment unit of Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab has about an 11.3% stake. That combined Russian majority stake triggered the sanctions, which were already affecting ordinary Serbs at the pumps on Thursday. NIS told loyalty customers they could not buy petrol from its around 350 gas stations with American Express, Mastercard or Visa, and Reuters reporters saw one man turned away by cashiers. Jug Lopusina, 58, from Belgrade said Serbians still remember tough international sanctions in the 1990s, imposed over the country's role in fomenting Yugoslav wars. "We have survived one round of sanctions, I am hoping these will not be the same," Lopusina said. Without access to the JANAF pipeline from Croatia's Adriatic Sea, Serbia's options for crude imports at scale are limited, traders said. One alternative would be to import fuels on barges along the Danube River, or by rail or truck, although the traders doubted that other regional suppliers could make up for the lost flows. NIS' retail director, Bojana Radojevic, said petrol stations would continue to operate and NIS said it had secured enough oil to keep running its refinery in Pancevo, near Belgrade, which has an annual capacity of 4.8 million metric tons. "There are no restrictions when it comes to the quantities people can take, so there is no need for them to stockpile," Radojevic said. SANCTIONS MAY HURT SERBIAN ECONOMY NIS supplies around 80% of Serbia's diesel and gasoline demand, and 90% or more of jet fuel and heavy fuel oil, a trader told Reuters. The Balkan country is also almost entirely dependent on gas imports from Russia. Milos Zdravkovic, a Belgrade-based economist, said that NIS added around 2 billion euros in 2023 to the state budget, or around 12% of total revenue. National Carrier Air Serbia's bottom line may suffer, said Belgrade-based consultant Zoran Kusovac, because it will not be able to store large quantities of fuel anymore, nor engage in hedging that can translate to significant savings on fuel costs. Air Serbia did not respond to a request for comment. Croatia's economy minister Ante Susnjar told state media outlet HRT TV that Croatia would be willing to buy NIS to resolve the problem. "Our hand is extended," he said. Stjepan Adanic, the chairman of the JANAF's managing board, said on Thursday that its contract with NIS accounted for 30% of the company's revenue. If the sanctions remain, it stands to lose 18 million euros by the end of the year, he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/serbias-russian-owned-oil-firm-nis-faces-us-sanctions-waiver-expires-2025-10-09/
2025-10-09 05:53
Takaichi says doesn't want to trigger excessive decline in yen Euro pressured by French political uncertainty and budget challenges Fed's more hawkish tone helps to lift dollar NEW YORK, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The Japanese yen fell to its weakest level against the dollar since mid-February on Thursday as the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling party Sanae Takaichi failed to instill confidence in the market about the direction of the currency. Takaichi said she did not want to trigger excessive declines in the yen, which led to a brief rally, before the currency weakened back to its lows of the day. Sign up here. "We did see an uptick there briefly, at least it indicates that they're watching, but we don't really know what excessive means in the context for what you're going to tolerate," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at investingLive in Toronto. Takaichi added that "there are pros and cons to a weak yen." The dollar was last up 0.27% at 153.09 yen after earlier reaching 153.23, the highest since February 13. The yen has tumbled this week on concerns that Takaichi will introduce more fiscally expansive policies. The yen has slowed its decline, however, as traders evaluate how much room she will have to stimulate the economy. “Traders are turning a little bit more skeptical on the Takaichi administration's capacity for passing fiscal stimulus and pushing back against the Bank of Japan's tightening plans,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. “That's a reflection of underlying inflation dynamics in Japan. The reality is that Japanese households are agitating for change because inflation is running at elevated levels,” Schamotta said. Takaichi said that the country's central bank is responsible for setting monetary policy but that any decision it makes must align with the government's goal. EURO DROPS AS FRENCH POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY DEEPENS The euro, meanwhile, has dropped since French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tendered his resignation and that of his government on Monday. The political paralysis has made it challenging to pass a belt-tightening budget sought by investors who are increasingly worried by France's expanding deficit. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said on Wednesday he would appoint a new prime minister within 48 hours. European Central Bank policy is robust enough to respond to changes in the euro zone inflation outlook, so the bank can afford to keep a steady hand until it gains more clarity, policymakers concluded last month, according to the accounts of their September 10-11 meeting. The single currency was last down 0.61% at $1.1555 and reached $1.1545, the lowest since August 5. The dollar index gained 0.62% to 99.47, the highest since August 1. The dollar is being aided by some more hawkish commentary by Federal Reserve officials. Minutes from the U.S. central bank’s September meeting released on Wednesday showed that officials agreed that risks to the U.S. job market had increased enough to warrant an interest rate cut but remained wary of high inflation. “We are seeing a more hawkish tone from Fed policymakers, both in the minutes from September's meeting as well as ongoing commentary. And that's pushing back on market expectations for further aggressive easing,” said Schamotta. Traders are pricing in a 95% chance that the Fed cuts rates by 25 basis points at its October 28-29 meeting, while the odds of an additional cut in December have dropped to 82%, from 90%, in the past week, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Fed Governor Michael Barr on Thursday said that the U.S. central bank should move cautiously on further interest rate cuts due to inflation risks. New York Fed President John Williams, meanwhile, backs more interest rate cuts this year given the risk of a further slowdown in the labor market, he said in an interview published by The New York Times on Thursday. Traders are also focused on how long the U.S. federal government shutdown will last, with the economy likely to take a bigger hit the longer it drags on. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Thursday that the government could dismiss air traffic controllers who repeatedly fail to show up for work during the government shutdown, saying a spike in absences is causing significant air disruptions. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1.93% to $120,578. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/dollar-set-best-week-year-yen-struggles-2025-10-09/
