2025-09-20 03:36

BEIJING, Sept 20 (Reuters) - China's exports of rare earth magnets in August jumped for a third straight month to hit a seven-month high, indicating a steady recovery in outflow of the minerals key to electric vehicles after Beijing's curbed shipments in April. August's outbound shipments from the world's largest rare earth magnet supplier climbed 10.2% from July to 6,146 metric tons, up 15.4% from the year before, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Saturday. Sign up here. The increase follows a series of agreements between Beijing and the United States and Europe to expedite shipments and ease export controls that China had imposed in April in response to U.S. tariffs. By country, however, exports of 590 tons to the United States were down 4.7% from the month before and down 11.8% from August last year. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-rare-earth-magnet-exports-rise-102-august-july-2025-09-20/

2025-09-20 03:14

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab has been approved to start testing autonomous robotaxi vehicles with a safety monitor in Arizona, the state transportation department said in an email to Reuters on Friday. Tesla had applied in June for a permit to begin trials for an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service, and now plans to test robotaxis in the Phoenix Metro area using safety drivers, the Arizona Department of Transportation said in its email. Sign up here. Tesla did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. It was not immediately clear when the trials would start or how long they would last. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk previously stated that Tesla plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service to about half of the U.S. population by the end of this year. Tesla rolled out a small test of its robotaxi service in a limited area of Austin, Texas, in June, with about a dozen vehicles, a select group of passengers and many restrictions, including a safety monitor in the front passenger seat. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-wins-approval-test-autonomous-robotaxis-arizona-2025-09-20/

2025-09-19 23:47

Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Trump administration blocked U.S. Steel's plan to shut down production at one of its plants in Illinois, flexing its so-called golden share authority, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. U.S. Steel, now owned by Tokyo-based Nippon Steel(5401.T) , opens new tab, said in a statement on Friday that it has reversed its decision to shut down the plant, which employs nearly 800 workers. Sign up here. According to media reports, the company had likely planned to halt production at the plant in November. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told U.S. Steel CEO Dave Burritt that the U.S. president would use his "golden share" authority to ensure operations did not cease, the report added. https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-invokes-golden-share-block-us-steel-plans-illinois-plant-wsj-reports-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 22:31

MEXICO CITY, Sept 19 - The death toll from an explosion involving a tanker truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Mexico's capital has climbed to 25, the city's Health Ministry said on Friday. The truck, hauling about 50,000 liters of LPG, overturned and slammed into a wall. A rupture vented gas that ignited, setting off an explosion and a fire that torched around 30 vehicles. Sign up here. The fatalities have climbed since Wednesday last week, when the truck burst into flames and exploded while traveling on a busy highway in Iztapalapa, Mexico City's most populous borough. "Regarding the Iztapalapa incident, we can confirm that 21 people remain hospitalized, 38 have been discharged, and tragically, 25 people have died," Mexico City Health Ministry reported. The incident has stirred frustration over safety conditions on Mexico's highways, prompting calls for tighter oversight of hazardous cargo transport and road maintenance. Residents also voiced frustration over broader challenges on the city's outskirts, where long, difficult commutes are common. The truck's driver died earlier this week. A two-year-old girl, one of the youngest victims, remains among the injured and was transferred last week to a U.S. hospital in Galveston, Texas. At least 11 other minors injured in the blast were treated locally. Initial investigations by city authorities suggested that the driver's excessive speed and lack of skill caused the accident. Investigations are ongoing. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/death-toll-tanker-truck-explosion-mexico-city-rises-22-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 22:01

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A group of Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Friday that would expand sanctions against Russian energy, specifically by targeting a collection of older oil tankers the lawmakers say are used to dodge existing U.S. energy sanctions. The "Sanctioning Harbors and Dodgers of Western Sanctions," or SHADOW Fleets Act comes as President Donald Trump has said he wants to discourage countries from purchasing Russian oil, which fuels Russia's economy and helps pay for its war on Ukraine. Sign up here. The bill is sponsored by Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the panel's top Democrat, as well as seven other Republican and Democratic senators. The bill would target the so-called Shadow Fleet by providing a list of indicators the U.S. can use to identify vessels supporting the Russian fleet, establish strict sanctions liability for any ship that engages in a transfer with a sanctioned vessel. Among other things, it also sanctions Russian Arctic liquid natural gas projects and new Russian LNG project development. It also would end the Nord Stream II natural gas pipeline to Europe. The measure also would bring U.S. sanctions more closely into line with those of the European Union. EU officials said , opens new tab on Friday the bloc plans to ban Russian LNG imports a year earlier than envisaged, as part of a 19th package of sanctions against Moscow. The bill's prospects were not clear. A separate bill seeking to impose stiff sanctions on Russia, introduced early this year and backed by a large majority of senators, has not advanced, as Congress' Republican leaders await word from Trump on whether he wants sanctions to go ahead. As the world reacted to a Russian incursion into Estonian air space that raised fears of increased instability, different groups of senators also introduced separate bills on Friday seeking to boost security in Eastern Europe and use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-lawmakers-want-sanctions-sink-russias-shadow-fleet-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 21:49

Intervention meets high dollar demand from uneasy investors Peso hits record low in informal market Economy minister vows to sell 'every last dollar' BUENOS AIRES, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Argentina's central bank on Friday made its largest daily dollar sale in nearly six years as it continued to use reserves to support the local currency, meeting strong dollar demand from institutional investors wary of political instability. The bank's latest intervention totaled $678 million, its largest for a single day since October 2019, bringing the amount sold in the last three sessions to $1.1 billion. Sign up here. The bank has been seeking to manage liquidity at the top of its floating exchange-rate band, and Argentina's economy chief vowed to keep using the monetary authority's reserves as the local peso hovers at historic lows. "We're going to sell every last dollar (of the central bank's reserves) at the top of the band," Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Thursday night during a livestreamed interview. The deteriorating market backdrop underscores deepening investor skepticism ahead of pivotal midterm elections in October that could strip libertarian President Javier Milei of crucial congressional support for his reform agenda. On Friday, the wholesale peso settled stable at 1,475 per dollar after the central bank's moves, near the band's ceiling. In the informal "blue" market, however, the Argentine currency slipped to an all-time low of 1,520 per greenback, weakening more than 6% in the week. The central bank had not made an intervention since mid-April, after a $20 billion International Monetary Fund deal that initially loosened foreign-exchange curbs. "Given that this pace of dollar sales by the central bank would imply a loss of reserves of approximately $10 billion before the elections - approximately 70% of the funds already disbursed by the IMF - the likelihood of abandoning the exchange-rate band scheme before the October 26 elections increases," BancTrust & Co said. While the central bank's international reserves stand at $39.26 billion, analysts say provisional official data indicates that net foreign exchange reserves for intervention are estimated at just $6 billion. Continued dollar sales, experts warn, risk accelerating reserve depletion, jeopardizing near-term debt payments and triggering a rise in bond issuance to bridge funding gaps. Caputo affirmed the current exchange rate framework and said the Treasury is working to ensure January debt payments, promising to provide clarity to bondholders once finalized. Argentina's country risk - a measure of investor confidence - reached its highest level since August 2024, hovering around 1,500 basis points, while over-the-counter bonds fell 1.4% on average. They were down 9.2% in the week. Buenos Aires' main stock index (.MERV) , opens new tab closed down 0.7% on Friday. Argentines vote in October to renew part of the lower house and Senate, amid uncertainty over how the government will recover from setbacks in Buenos Aires province in recent contests. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentinas-central-bank-makes-biggest-daily-dollar-sale-six-years-curb-peso-2025-09-19/