2025-09-18 11:42
JAKARTA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Indonesia's anti-trust agency found that the country's import restrictions on unsubsidised fuel sold by private companies have reduced the options for consumers and have the potential to lead to an unfair competitive environment, it said on Thursday. Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab and BP-AKR, the operator of BP's fuel stations, said they have experienced inventory shortages for some gasoline products since late August. Sign up here. Shell has also made operational staffing adjustments across its gas stations. The market share of private fuel distributors, which sell only unsubsidised fuels, is small compared to those controlled by the state-owned Pertamina (PERTM.UL). But the fuel restrictions led to "the loss of consumer choice for non-subsidised fuels and strengthened the domination of Pertamina's market," the anti-trust agency, known locally as the KPPU, said in a statement. The policy may create unfair business competition, in the form of market foreclosures or discrimination, the agency said. It said the periodic evaluation of the policy was important to ensure fair business practices. Restrictions on the sales of subsidised fuel and a corruption probe into Pertamina have triggered a shift in demand towards Shell and BP, putting their own supplies under pressure. A spokesperson for Indonesia's energy ministry could not immediately comment on the KPPU's findings. Bahlil Lahadalia, Indonesia's energy minister, said earlier that private fuel retailers had been granted a 10% increase in import quotas this year compared to last year. He urged the companies to "collaborate" with Pertamina. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/indonesia-unsubsidised-fuel-policy-harms-consumers-may-create-unfair-practices-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:36
LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Bank of England left rates unchanged on Thursday and said it was slowing the pace of its quantitative tightening programme and skewing sales away from long-dated gilts to minimise the impact on turbulent bond markets. Policymakers voted 7-2 to slow the annual pace at which it unloads the gilts that it purchased from 2009 and 2021 to 70 billion pounds from 100 billion pounds ($136.47 billion), broadly in line with a Reuters poll median forecast a decline to 67.5 billion. Sign up here. Sterling turned slightly negative on the day in steady trading and was last at $1.3625 . The euro edged up to 86.83 pence . Britain's two-year gilt yield fell 2.5 basis points on the day to 3.94% compared to 3.97% earlier on, while longer-dated 30-year yields were 1 bps lower 5.42% , . London's FTSE stock index was last up 0.3% (.FTSE) , opens new tab. COMMENTS: MICHAEL METCALFE, HEAD OF MACRO STRATEGY, STATE STREET MARKETS, LONDON: "In contrast to the Fed, UK inflation is high enough to prevent the BoE going for further insurance cuts. And even with gilts under pressure, they chose to only modestly reduce the pace of quantitative tightening, with only a small nod to selling fewer of their longer dated holdings. "Altogether a robust assertion of central independence and their inflation focus. With online inflation still accelerating in September, this stance doesn’t look set to change anytime soon." MICHAEL FIELD, CHIEF EUROPEAN MARKET STRATEGIST, MORNINGSTAR: "Central banks are always balancing two forces: inflation and the health of the economy. Last month the decision was harder, but with the latest data showing inflation sticky, at close to 4%, this decision was easier to make. "Economic growth is still weak in the UK, but inflation is now close to double the bank's targeted level. Economists believe this is transitory, but cutting rates at this stage would clearly not help inflation in getting back to normalised levels." JAMES ROSSITER, HEAD OF GLOBAL MACRO STRATEGY, TD SECURITIES, LONDON: "We expect another 25 bps interest rate cut in November. The decision to slow the annual pace at which it unloads the gilts purchased from 2009 and 2021 to 70 billion pounds from 100 billion pounds did not surprise us, as there was fairly broad consensus around that figure. The Bank of England has proved to be conservative in its statement, despite speculations that it might change its wording." LALE AKONER, GLOBAL MARKET ANALYST AT ETORO, LONDON: "The Bank of England has decided to keep rates unchanged, highlighting the challenge of weak jobs data and stubborn inflation pressures. Cutting too soon could lead to higher inflation expectations, while holding too long risks slowing growth further. "For everyday investors, this means savings rates are likely to stay steady for now, but mortgages remain expensive with little relief in sight. Government bond yields may stay high and the pound supported as markets scale back bets on rate cuts. In stocks, defensive sectors like consumer staples and utilities could offer stability against sticky inflation and weaker wage growth." KIRSTINE KUNDBY-NIELSEN, FX ANALYST, DANSKE BANK, COPENHAGEN "It was fairly in line with expectations, both the decision and the 7-2 vote split. "There was an absence of hawkishness. They're not closing the door to a November cut, for example, and keeping this careful and gradual approach to easing. "We expect cuts in November and then in February and then on hold from there. The disinflationary process is ongoing, the labour market will continue to weaken and growth will remain subdued. That is going to push them to keep cutting, just a bit more. "With the ECB on hold and the euro area economy faring fairly well, that will push euro-sterling higher." STEVE CALYTON, HEAD OF EQUITY FUNDS, HARGREAVES LANSDOWN: "Markets were pricing in a 98% likelihood that rates would stay at 4.0%, because so far, we are not seeing enough progress in bringing inflation down to give room for manoeuvre on rates. Service prices remain far above the overall 2% target and goods price inflation edged up toward 3% last month. The Bank will be watching employment and growth data closely for now, because it will worry about choking off growth if interest rates stay too high for too long, but for now, its hands look tied." MARION AMIOT, CHIEF UK ECONOMIST AT S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, LONDON: "As expected, the BoE has not cut rates, and it is unlikely it will ease monetary policy again this year. "It’s increasingly clear that firms have been adjusting to the increase in labour costs - driven by the minimum wage increase and higher NIECs, by shedding job as margins are squeezed and productivity has not kept up. Robust wage growth highlights that this is translating into a higher structural unemployment rate and pointing to the risks of higher inflation becoming more entrenched as soon as economic activity accelerates.” LLOYD HARRIS, HEAD OF FIXED INCOME, PREMIER MITON INVESTORS, LONDON: "With five rate cuts already behind us, the Bank of England’s decision to hold today was no surprise. Inflation remains stubborn at 3.8%, and wage growth at 4.7% keeps the pressure on. The UK is now the most stagflationary economy in the developed world. A brutal mix of high inflation, weak growth, and rising unemployment. "This is the kind of environment where central bankers earn their stripes. But they can’t do it alone. Government policy is currently amplifying stagflation, not fighting it. Rising employer costs and tax hikes are feeding inflationary pressures and contributing to a slower economy. "The next big moment for the BoE and for all sterling markets is the Autumn Budget. If tax rises continue, which we expect, our fear is we’ll get more of the same for the BoE to manage." ($1 = 0.7328 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/view-bank-england-leave-rates-hold-slows-down-qt-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:29
TSX ends up 0.5% at 29,453.53 Eclipses Monday's record closing high Technology sector gains 1.7% Financials add 0.5% Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday to another record high, led by technology shares, as central bank interest rate cuts offset concern among some investors that valuations are becoming stretched. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 131.87 points, or 0.5%, at 29,453.53, eclipsing Monday's record closing high. Sign up here. "We're dealing with markets that are fairly highly valued," said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung Investment Management. "Given the high valuations and the investor exuberance that seems to be apparent in the market, I think this is a time for caution." The TSX's 12-month forward price-earnings ratio, a closely watched stock valuation metric, has climbed to 16.45, its highest level since May 2021, data from LSEG Datastream showed. Both the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday to support their economies, marking their first actions in months. "On the one side we see the slowing economy, but on the other side there are still fears of inflationary pressures," Sprung said. Investors expect just one more rate cut from the BoC by year-end. The technology sector (.SPTTTK) , opens new tab rose 1.7%, with shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) , opens new tab up 3%. Financials, which account for 33% of the index's weighting, added 0.5%. Four of the 10 major sectors ended lower, including energy. Energy was down 0.2% as the price of oil settled 0.75% lower at $63.57 a barrel. The proposed Anglo American-Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) , opens new tab merger has revived long-standing ambitions to share infrastructure at two major mines in northern Chile, but analysts say the plan could face hurdles to gain buy-in from Swiss miner and trader Glencore. Shares of Teck ended 0.3% lower. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/tsx-futures-edge-higher-with-fed-boc-open-further-rate-cuts-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:28
Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab has no plans to resume operations in Russia, Chief Executive Darren Woods told the Financial Times in an interview on Thursday. The company pulled out of Russia in 2022 after Western sanctions were imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, writing off billions of dollars from its exit. Sign up here. Exxon executives are in talks with Russian officials about recouping the $4.6 billion in assets expropriated by Moscow but not about investing in the country, the report said quoting Woods as saying. The talks began in early 2023, shortly after the company filed an arbitration case against President Vladimir Putin's government, the FT report said. Exxon Mobil did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-mobil-has-no-plans-re-enter-russia-financial-times-reports-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:11
LONDON, September 18 (Reuters) - The Bank of England kept rates unchanged on Thursday and said it was slowing the pace of its quantitative tightening programme and skewing sales away from long-dated gilts to minimise the impact on turbulent bond markets. Policymakers voted 7-2 to slow the annual pace at which it unloads the gilts which it purchased from 2009 and 2021 to 70 billion pounds from 100 billion pounds, broadly in line with a Reuters poll median forecast for it to be cut to 67.5 billion. Sign up here. "The new target means the MPC can continue to reduce the size of the Bank's balance sheet in line with its monetary policy objectives while continuing to minimise the impact of gilt market conditions," Governor Andrew Bailey said. The slowdown is the first since the BoE started in 2022 to unwind its gilt holdings, which followed 875 billion pounds of purchases between 2009 and 2021 to boost the economy. Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill voted to maintain the pace at 100 billion pounds - viewing the impact on markets as small - while MPC member Catherine Mann called for a faster reduction of 62 billion pounds. The BoE said that over the next year, sales would be split 40:40:20 between short-, medium- and long-dated gilts on an initial purchase price basis. Long-dated gilt yields hit their highest since 1998 at the start of this month. Policymakers also voted 7-2 to keep interest rates at 4% after last month's quarter-point cut, in line with expectation in a Reuters poll, after Monetary Policy Committee members Swati Dhingra and Alan Taylor kept up their call for lower rates. The BoE maintained its forecast that inflation would peak at 4% this month and slowly fall back to its 2% target by the second quarter of 2027, and nudged up its growth forecast for the third quarter to 0.4% from 0.3%. "Although we expect inflation to return to our 2% target, we're not out of the woods yet so any future cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully," Bailey said. Before Thursday's decision, markets priced in only around a one-in-three chance of a further rate cut this year. (([email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: BRITAIN BOE/ https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bank-england-slows-pace-qt-skews-away-long-dated-gilt-sales-2025-09-18/
2025-09-18 11:11
BUENOS AIRES, Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China has reverberated in Argentina, denting the country's massive soy crushing industry even though overall soybean sales hit a six-year high. Soaring exports of raw beans to China from the South American country have slowed supply to local processors. Sign up here. The paradox of a booming export market causing domestic pain has industry leaders worried. Idle capacity at Argentina's powerful crushing facilities, which process soybeans into meal and oil for export, rose to 31% in July and has "widened" since, according to the CIARA-CEC grain exporters and processors chamber. "Frankly, as an oilseed industry, we are concerned. This means fewer Argentine jobs and lower export value," said Gustavo Idigoras, president of CIARA-CEC. "This trade war has not brought benefits to Argentina; it has brought harm." He added that the conflict has also created a soybean surplus in the U.S., allowing U.S. soymeal to "aggressively" compete with Argentina's for customers in Southeast Asia. BITTERSWEET BOOM Trump's trade war has forced Beijing to find alternatives to U.S. soybeans, and it has turned to Argentina and Brazil. Exports of unprocessed soybeans from the 2024/25 harvest have surged to 8.81 million metric tons, a six-year record driven by strong Chinese demand, according to official data. Processors are feeling the pain. "This export boom is being fueled by new demand from China that stems directly from its trade war with the United States," Idigoras told Reuters. China, the world's largest soybean customer, buys raw beans to process in its own industrial complexes. With nearly a third of Argentina's 2024/25 harvest still unsold, exporters are on pace to nearly double the 4.7 million metric tons sold last season. But whether that trend continues is uncertain. "The future of our bean exports will be decided by what happens between China and the United States," Idigoras explained. "All eyes are on November, when the current trade waiver between them expires." https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-trade-war-fallout-hits-argentine-soy-crushers-despite-export-boom-2025-09-18/
