2025-09-22 07:17

Estonia accuses Russia of violating its air space Four Western nations recognise Palestinian state Iraq increases oil exports after OPEC+ relaxes quota HOUSTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled marginally lower on Monday as concerns of an oversupply outweighed geopolitical tensions in Russia and the Middle East. Brent crude oil futures settled 11 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $66.57 a barrel. The global benchmark has traded between $65.50 and $69 since early August. Sign up here. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI)contract for October , expiring on Monday, closed down at $62.64 a barrel, down 4 cents, or 0.1%. The more actively traded second-month contract was down 12 cents, or 0.2%, at $62.28. "Traders are back to focusing on a possibly over-supplied global oil market that is soon to come, unless the U.S. and EU can agree on harsher tariffs on countries that purchase Russian crude," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. Iraq, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' second-largest producer, has increased oil exports under an OPEC+ agreement, state oil marketer SOMO said. It also expects September's exports to range from 3.4 million to 3.45 million barrels per day (bpd). Kuwait's crude oil production capacity stands at 3.2 million bpd, the highest assessment in more than 10 years, Oil Minister Tariq Al-Roumi told local newspaper Al Qabas. U.S. equities, which often move in tandem with oil, dipped amid a visa crackdown and guesswork about the Federal Reserve's next interest rate moves. Fed officials cast doubt on the need for further rate cuts at a time when inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target and the job market remains near full employment. Lower borrowing costs typically boost oil demand. Tensions rose in the Middle East over several Western nations recognising a Palestinian state, as well as in Eastern Europe after Estonia said Russian fighter jets had entered its airspace without permission on Friday. But none of these developments resulted in an immediate oil supply disruption. Brent and WTI settled down more than 1% on Friday to mark a slight decline last week as worries about large supplies and declining demand weighed on sentiment. "The setup for the oil market is that global oil demand is set to taper off from Q3 to Q4 and again to Q1-26. At the same time production by OPEC+ is on a rising path," said SEB analysts. "The big question is, of course, if China will stockpile the increasing surplus or whether the oil price will be pushed lower into the 50s. We believe the latter." Iraq has also given preliminary approval to a plan to resume pipeline oil exports from its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region through Turkey, sources told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-inches-up-tension-flares-europe-middle-east-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 07:15

Erdogan set to meet Trump on Thursday Cancelled tariffs had been imposed during Trump's first term Trump says he expects trade, military deals during visit ISTANBUL, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Monday it had terminated retaliatory tariffs imposed in 2018 on U.S. imports ranging from passenger cars to fruit, in a sign of warming bilateral ties as President Tayyip Erdogan travels to the United States. Erdogan is due to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week ahead of a meeting at the White House on Thursday with U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he expected trade and military deals to be sealed during the visit. Sign up here. The cancellation of the tariffs, which, when they were introduced, had covered products including passenger cars, fruit, rice, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, solid fuels and chemical products, was announced in Turkey's Official Gazette. PAST RETALIATORY MEASURES Since returning to the White House earlier this year, Trump has employed sweeping tariffs in a bid to reshape global trade in Washington's favour, targeting not only traditional rivals but also long-standing allies. The United States set the tariff rate on Turkish imports at 15% in August. Ankara has not retaliated against the move. Monday's cancellations apply to levies imposed in 2018 in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium imports enacted during Trump's first term in office. Erdogan last visited Trump at the White House in 2019, and the pair have had a checkered past. While they shared a close personal bond during Trump's first term, it was also a period of strained bilateral relations due to disputes over Washington's ties with Kurdish fighters in Syria and Ankara's dealings with Moscow. Turkey angered the Trump administration in 2019 by purchasing Russian S-400 missile defence systems. In response, Washington cancelled a planned sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and ousted it from a joint production programme for the planes. $100 BILLION TRADE VOLUME TARGET Turkey's trade ministry said the tariffs imposed in 2018 were subsequently updated based on the actions taken by the parties, but they remained in effect to a certain extent, without providing figures on the current scale of the levies. "The additional financial obligations imposed on imports of certain U.S.-origin products have been terminated," the ministry said, citing progress in negotiations with the United States. It said that Turkey will continue to work towards meeting an existing goal of $100 billion in annual two-way trade with the United States. Trade volumes between the two countries stood at roughly $30 billion last year. "We will continue to develop policies to increase trade relations for the benefit of both parties, diversify them by taking into account competitive conditions, and develop new areas of cooperation," it added. Separately, Turkey said on Monday it had imposed an additional 25% to 30% customs duty on passenger car imports, excluding those from the European Union and countries with which Turkey has free trade agreements. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-says-it-is-ending-additional-tariffs-some-us-imports-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 07:02

NEW DELHI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - India's federal renewable energy ministry is in talks with state governments to buy more clean energy as many state-run utilities have been delaying purchases, the country’s renewable energy minister said on Monday. "Trying to convince state governments which are looking for power prices to fall further. Will hold a second round of talks soon," federal minister Pralhad Joshi said at the Confederation of Indian Industry's energy conference. Sign up here. India has over 44 gigawatts of unsold clean energy, government data shows, due to lower demand from state power utilities. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/indias-federal-government-pushing-states-buy-clean-energy-minister-says-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 07:00

MUMBAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee weakened slightly on Monday, pressured by weakness in Indian IT stocks following the imposition of steep U.S. visa fees, which may threaten the firms' long-standing business models. The rupee was at 88.16 as of 10:45 a.m. IST, down 0.1% from its close at 88.09 on Friday. Sign up here. Indian IT stocks (.NIFTYIT) , opens new tab were down 2.8% after the U.S. introduced a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications post Indian market hours on Friday. The broader equity benchmark indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab, slipped 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. At a macro level, the change in visa policies could impact India's software service exports, professional and management consultancy services exports, and remittance inflows into the country, according to analysts at Citi. "In the near-term, it remains to be seen whether these additional visa fees could become a hurdle in arriving at a trade deal," the analysts said in a note. India's Trade Minister Piyush Goyal is slated to visit Washington on Monday for trade talks, nearly a week after a U.S. delegation met trade officials in India. Traders also pointed to broad-based dollar demand weighing on the rupee alongside a firmer dollar. Against a basket of peers, the dollar was last at 97.79, holding onto a four-day string of gains. A slew of speeches from U.S. Federal Reserve officials through the week will be closely watched for clues on the U.S. rate outlook after the central bank delivered a long-anticipated rate cut last week. Dollar-rupee far forward premiums eased slightly with the 1-year implied yield down 2 bps at 2.33%, retreating from a four-month high hit last week. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-weighed-down-by-us-visa-fee-jolt-eyes-trade-talk-progress-2025-09-22/

2025-09-22 07:00

Mercuria hires ex-Goldman Sachs trader for uranium operations Natixis and Citibank also moving into uranium trading market Nuclear fuel demand to double by 2040, industry body says LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Mercuria has become the first major commodity house to launch physical trading in uranium, joining banks Natixis and Citibank, as an expected nuclear energy boom fuels interest in the niche market, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Mercuria began uranium trading earlier this year, the sources said. Natixis also rolled out uranium trading this year, while Citibank (C.N) , opens new tab is working on entering the space, two of the sources said. Sign up here. All three sources asked not to be named, since the information is still confidential. Citi and Natixis, which is part of French financial group BPCE, declined to comment. The three newcomers will compete with Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab and Macquarie (MQG.AX) , opens new tab, which have long been the only banks operating in the market worth some $15 billion annually. Institutions expect to profit from a wave of planned new nuclear plants that will need to be financed and supplied with fuel, analysts and consultants said. NUCLEAR FUEL DEMAND TO DOUBLE BY 2040 Demand for the fuel used to power nuclear reactors is expected to more than double by 2040, according to the World Nuclear Association, as governments seek to meet zero-carbon targets and technology firms scramble to source energy for AI. Geneva-based Mercuria, a major presence in energy markets, has expanded heavily in metals in recent years, using a cash windfall from high oil and gas prices. In December, the group poached Louis Csango from Goldman Sachs, which has a long history in uranium trading, to head its uranium operation and also work in gas and power. It makes sense for Mercuria to leverage the uranium business with its existing power desk, because information on utilities could be useful in both areas, traders said. "There's a lot of interest from not just the traditional European trade houses but also from the U.S. side and there's a few banks making their way to the sector," said Bram Vanderelst at trading firm Curzon Uranium, one of the biggest in the sector. He declined to provide names. Goldman Sachs and Macquarie have boosted activity in recent years along with some hedge funds in the newly buoyant sector. HISTORICALLY HIGH URANIUM PRICES SEEN RISING Uranium is a relatively small market compared to others like oil, gas, copper and aluminium traded by Mercuria and commodity banks. Total global utility demand for uranium oxide concentrate (U3O8) was about 175 million pounds last year, of which 47 million or 27% was traded on the spot market, according to consultancy UxC. U3O8 or yellowcake is a fine powder packaged in steel drums that is produced when uranium ore is chemically processed. "If the market doubles in size in terms of nuclear power and uranium, I'm sure there will be more opportunity for traders," said Jonathan Hinze, president of UxC. "It's not a market you just break into easily, it takes a few years to maybe get your footing in the market," he added. The spot price of uranium has more than doubled over the past five years to $77 a pound, but is well down from a peak of $106 touched in February 2024, the strongest since November 2007. Analyst Arkady Gevorkyan at Citi expects the spot price to hit $100 a pound next year as miners may not be able to keep up with demand. "The last 20 years, supply has always been lower than demand, but the market has been balanced by secondary supplies. Now that era is coming to an end relatively fast," he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/commodity-trader-mercuria-bets-boom-with-foray-into-uranium-sources-say-2025-09-19/

2025-09-22 07:00

MADRID, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Spanish power utility Iberdrola (IBE.MC) , opens new tab expects its net profit to surpass 6.4 billion euros ($7.52 billion) this year and rise further to reach 7.3 billion euros in 2028, newspaper Expansion reported on Monday. Iberdrola booked a net profit of 5.61 billion euros in 2024. Sign up here. The company is due to release a new three-year strategic plan on Wednesday and Expansion said it had access to some of details. Iberdrola did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ($1 = 0.8513 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/iberdrola-sees-net-profit-64-billion-euros-2025-73-billion-2028-expansion-2025-09-22/