2025-09-19 14:27

JAKARTA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia's government is considering offering an incentive to make the public put any U.S. dollars they hold into the domestic financial market rather than send them abroad, the finance minister said on Friday. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said such a move would be aimed at boosting the country's foreign exchange reserves as well as providing enough dollar financing for various projects. Sign up here. "I just found out that every month, many Indonesians send money abroad... We will prevent this by providing attractive incentives so that they don't have to bother sending their dollars abroad," he told a press conference. The minister said the incentive would be designed using a market-based scheme. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-mulls-incentives-keep-us-dollars-domestic-market-finmin-says-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 14:01

Retail sales in August likely to grow by 1%, StatsCan said August rebound in sales indicates a good start to Q3 GDP Sales drop across eight subsectors led by clothing, food OTTAWA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Canada recorded a widely anticipated drop in retail sales in July as purchases across a broad range of products dropped, data from the national statistics agency showed on Friday, with consumers spending less for clothing and groceries. Retail sales for July were down 0.8% to C$69.6 billion ($50.36 billion), Statistics Canada said, giving up most of the previous month's gains. Sign up here. June retail sales increased by a revised 1.6%, StatsCan said, while an advanced indicator suggests that retail sales growth is likely to rebound to 1% in August. Retail sales, which include domestic sales of cars, furniture, food, gasoline and many other items, are considered an early indicator of gross domestic product growth and contribute around 40% to total consumer spending. Analysts and economists track the retail sales number closely to gauge the health of the economy. A healthy August retail sales number could indicate that third-quarter GDP might not be weak and could possibly avoid contraction, after the economy shrank in the second quarter. Two back-to-back quarters of contractions mean an economy has entered a recession. "While the July retail sales figures were soft, a decent August suggests Canadian consumers didn't stay down for long," said Shelly Kaushik, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. "Despite ongoing trade uncertainty and further weakening in the labor market, the economy looks to be on track for a modest recovery to start the third quarter," she said. In July, retail sales were down in eight of nine subsectors, representing 72.2% of retail sales, said StatsCan, adding that in volume terms retail sales decreased by 0.8%. Sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers - the biggest contributor to retail sales accounting for over 27% of the overall number - rose by 0.2%. It was the only sector that posted growth in July. Retail sales excluding motor vehicle and parts - a closely-tracked metric - were down 1.2%, missing analysts' estimates by a large margin. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales to be down 0.8%, and sales excluding motor vehicles and parts were projected to drop by 0.7%. The biggest decline in sales was observed in the clothing and accessories category where purchases dropped by 2.9%. This was followed by a drop in purchases at supermarkets and grocery retailers. This category fell by 2.5%, StatsCan said. ($1 = 1.3821 Canadian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-july-retail-sales-drop-08-rebound-likely-august-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 13:42

Slight majority sees policy rate unchanged at 2.00% Median forecast for policy rate of 1.75% by year-end Riksbank balancing too-high inflation with weak growth The link to Riksbank poll data: STOCKHOLM, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Sweden's central bank is expected to keep its policy rate on hold next week, but polled analysts were almost evenly divided between those expecting no change from 2.00% and those seeing a cut to 1.75%. Twelve of 22 analysts in a Reuters poll saw rates remaining unchanged. However, 14 of 22 saw the benchmark interest rate falling to 1.75% by the end of the year, with one further analyst expecting the policy rate to drop to 1.50%. Sign up here. "We expect the Riksbank to leave its policy rate unchanged at 2.00% at its 23 September meeting, as inflation remains high and above its forecast from June," Nomura said in a note, adding that the economic outlook was brightening. "However, a policy rate cut to 1.75% remains a risk." Like many central banks, the Riksbank has slashed rates over the last couple of years as inflation eased from a peak of more than 10%. But policymakers now face a tricky balancing act. The economy has been sluggish, but growth prospects are improving - not least because the government has promised an 80 billion-crown ($8.6 billion) budget boost next year. Some of the uncertainty about the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies has also dissipated. Inflation remains well above the central bank's 2.00% target. However, the labour market is weak, recovery has been delayed, and the Riksbank is confident price pressures are temporary and will fall back over the coming months. "We expect the Riksbank to cut the policy rate to 1.75% ... and signal a small possibility of another rate cut in the coming three quarters," SEB said in a note. "We think that continued slow growth and a weak labour market will be more important than the slightly higher inflation during the summer." When it kept its policy rate at 2.00% in August, the Riksbank said there was a 50-50 chance of a rate cut before the end of the year, and the overall picture has not changed much since then. The bank will announce its next policy decision on September 23. ($1 = 9.3568 Swedish crowns) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/swedish-central-bank-seen-hold-next-week-rate-cut-not-ruled-out-reuters-poll-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 12:42

Iraq gives preliminary nod to resume pipeline exports, sources say Deal could add 230,000 barrels per day of fresh oil supplies Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been shut since March 2023 BAGHDAD, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Iraq, OPEC's second-largest producer, has given preliminary approval to a plan to resume pipeline oil exports from its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region through Turkey following delays to a hoped-for restart, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. The deal between Iraq's federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government and international oil companies could add at least 230,000 barrels per day of fresh supplies at a time OPEC producers are raising output to regain market share. Sign up here. Iraq exports around 3.4 million barrels of oil per day from its southern ports, but the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in the north has been shut since March 2023 after an arbitration court ruled that Turkey should pay $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorised exports between 2014 and 2018. Turkey is appealing the ruling. Ankara has since said it is willing to restart exports, but the flows remain suspended because of ongoing legal and political disputes between Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil, and the international oil companies. Iraq's cabinet has given preliminary approval to a plan to resume exports, and international oil companies operating in Kurdistan have also tentatively agreed, two sources familiar with the talks said. APIKUR, a group representing firms including Genel Energy (GENL.L) , opens new tab, DNO (DNO.OL) , opens new tab and Gulf Keystone (GKP.L) , opens new tab, declined to comment, citing ongoing negotiations. "Discussions have intensified and we're closer to a tripartite agreement... than we've ever been, as all are showing flexibility," an executive from one of the international oil companies said. Under the preliminary plan, the KRG would commit to delivering at least 230,000 bpd to Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO, while keeping additional 50,000 bpd for local use. An independent trader would handle sales from Ceyhan using SOMO's official prices. For each barrel sold, $16 would be transferred to an escrow account and distributed proportionally to producers. The remainder of the revenue would go to SOMO. The draft plan also does not specify how or when producers will receive about $1 billion in unpaid arrears, accumulated between September 2022 and March 2023. Luke Clements, CFO of Genel Energy, told a conference in Oslo last week that there had been significant progress made in drafting agreements to restart pipeline exports. "But it still needs to get over the line," he added. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-nears-deal-restart-pipeline-oil-exports-kurdistan-turkey-sources-say-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 12:42

BRUSSELS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Friday its 19th package of sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Member states will now have to discuss the package before adopting it unanimously. Here are the details: Sign up here. ENERGY MEASURES * A ban on Russian liquefied natural gas from Jan. 1, 2027, bringing forward the date from Jan. 1, 2028 that was proposed to member states via other legal texts FINANCIAL MEASURES CHILDREN * Sanctions on individuals involved in the abduction and indoctrination of Ukrainian children https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/whats-eus-proposed-19th-package-russia-sanctions-2025-09-19/

2025-09-19 12:36

LAGOS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Nigeria is considering appointing the state regulator to take control of the country's existing oil contracts, rather than the state oil company, according to a draft legislative amendment seen by Reuters. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT This could reshape how Africa’s top oil producer governs its petroleum sector, making the regulator both an umpire and a player, blurring the lines between regulation and participation and raising concern over potential conflicts of interest. Sign up here. It also raises corporate governance concerns because it removes the power of state company NNPC's board to approve its budget and formulate strategy. CONTEXT The law that would be amended is the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which empowered NNPC to represent Nigeria's interests in a variety of commercial oil contracts. The amendment would transfer that role to the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). A letter from the Attorney General to the minister in charge of gas, seen by Reuters, said the amendment was necessary because "some provisions of the PIA have created structural and legal channels through which substantial revenues of the Federation are being diverted away from the Federation account". KEY QUOTE "The observed decline in net oil revenue inflows is largely attributable to statutory leakages and opaque deductions under the current PIA architecture," said Lateef Fagbemi, Nigeria's attorney general and minister of justice. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nigeria-considers-giving-oil-contract-control-regulator-2025-09-19/