2024-09-12 06:11

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The South African rand was little changed in early trade on Thursday ahead of the release of local mining output figures and an inflation expectations survey. At 0600 GMT the rand traded at 17.8925 against the dollar , not far from its previous close of 17.9050. The rand has mainly tracked global markets this week, including closely watched U.S. inflation data and its implications for next week's Federal Reserve meeting, but that could change on Thursday. South Africa's Bureau for Economic Research will release its third-quarter inflation expectations survey around 0800 GMT, showing how analysts, business people and trade union officials expect inflation to develop over the next three years. Inflation expectations are an important data point for the central bank when it takes interest rate decisions. Its next decision is due to be announced on Sept. 19, with economists widely predicting the first rate cut in more than four years. Statistics South Africa will publish July mining production numbers (ZAMNG=ECI) , opens new tab at about 0930 GMT. Analysts polled by Reuters predict output will return to year-on-year growth after a decline in June, reflecting volatile conditions in Africa's most industrialised economy. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was relatively flat, with the yield at 8.995%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-stable-before-mining-data-inflation-survey-2024-09-12/

2024-09-12 06:01

Parts of Hanoi to remain inundated, but pressure eases Death toll rises to 226, with more than 100 missing Search under way for 55 missing in flash flood in YenBai village Countries sending aid to Vietnam HANOI/THAI NGUYEN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The death toll in Vietnam from typhoon Yagi and the landslides and flash floods it triggered rose to 226 on Thursday, the government's disaster agency said, as flood pressure eased in the capital Hanoi. The Southeast Asian country is reeling from the impact of Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, which made landfall in Vietnam's northeastern coast on Saturday. More than 100 people remain missing, while some 800 people have been injured, the agency said in a report. Several districts in capital Hanoi remained flooded on Thursday, but the weather agency late in the day said flood pressure had eased, while flash floods and landslides continued to affect areas across northern Vietnam. The city earlier evacuated thousands of people living near the swollen Red River as its waters rose to a 20-year high. "There's a lot of heartbreak in the city and there was a lot of concern going into the evening," said charity Blue Dragon Children's Foundation co-CEO Skye Maconachie. "Many people who barely had anything have lost everything." The government's weather forecast agency said late on Thursday that the river had peaked in Hanoi and begun to subside. North of Hanoi, landslides and severe floods are still affecting several areas, state media reported. "I never thought my house would be under water this deep," said Hoang Van Ty outside his home in Thai Nguyen province. "My clothes and furniture were all under the water. Many things were floating around too but luckily I closed the doors so nothing was washed away." 55 PEOPLE MISSING IN FLASH FLOOD Thai Nguyen province is home to Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) , opens new tab largest smartphone manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Flood waters have also receded in some parts of the province where clean up efforts are now taking place while residents are having their submerged TVs and motorbikes repaired. "I only have this one motorbike to go to work with, but it was flooded so I have to bring it here to have it fixed," said 36-year-old Thai Nguyen resident at a motorbike repair shop. "I can only go to work once it's fixed." Repair man Nguyen Van Truong said his shop had fixed 60 motorbikes over the past two days, with 20 more waiting. "We are a bit overwhelmed, very overwhelmed actually," Truong said. "I'm tired form the hard work but people need transport means to smoothly get everything back to normal.” In Lao Cai province, authorities on Thursday were rushing to search for 55 people missing in a flash flood that swept Nu Village on Tuesday, Vietnam News Agency reported. The flash flood killed 46 people and injured 17 others in the village, the agency reported, adding that 300 soldiers and 359 local officials are joining the search and rescue effort. The landslides and floods have inundated more than 200,000 hectares of rice and cash crop fields across northern Vietnam, the disaster management agency said. The typhoon has also disrupted power supplies and blown off roofs of several factories in Haiphong and Quang Ninh provinces, halting production. Several countries, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and the U.S., have said were sending aid to Vietnam. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hanoi-flood-levels-be-little-changed-parts-remain-inundated-weather-agency-2024-09-12/

2024-09-12 05:51

Wall Street ends trading higher after ECB rate cut Dollar slips against other major currencies Oil jumps nearly 3% as Francine hits US production Gold hits all-time high ahead of Fed cut Graphic: World FX rates Sept 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street eked out gains and gold surged to a record high on Thursday as investors awaited a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. Major U.S. stock indexes spent much of the day in mixed territory before closing higher, after a rate cut from the European Central Bank and slightly hotter-than-expected U.S. producer prices kept outlooks locked on a modest Fed rate cut at its policy meeting next week. At closing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab was up 0.58%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab was up 0.75%, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab was up 1% on the back of strong tech stock performance. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab was up 1.08%. Earlier on Thursday, the ECB announced its second rate cut in three months, citing slowing inflation and economic growth. The cut was widely expected, and the central bank did not provide much clarity in terms of its future steps. The ECB's second quarter-point rate cut since June was widely expected, but how hard and fast the bank moves for the rest of the year still seems up in the air. For investors, attention quickly shifted back to the Fed, which will announce its interest rate policy decision at the close of its two-day meeting next Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to cut rates for the first time since 2020. Fresh economic data out Thursday morning appeared to further temper expectations the Fed could cut rates by 50 basis points next week and is likely to opt for a more modest 25 basis point reduction. Inflation data released on Wednesday had already dented expectations for a 50-basis-point cut. "Here it is all but certain that the FOMC will vote to lower interest rates for the first time in this cycle, but there is still the question of by how much," Investec Economics wrote in a note. "We do not think that the economic backdrop warrants such a large move at this stage, and instead favour a 25bp reduction." Data out of the U.S. the last two days showed inflation slightly higher than expectations, but still low. The core consumer price index rose 0.28% in August, compared with forecasts for a rise of 0.2%. U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in August, up 0.2% compared with economist expectations of 0.1%, although the trend still tracked with slowing inflation. The dollar slid against other major currencies. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down 0.52% at 101.25, with the euro up 0.54% at $1.1071. OIL, GOLD SURGE Oil prices were up nearly 3%, extending a rebound as investors wondered how much U.S. output would be hindered by Hurricane Francine's impact on the Gulf of Mexico. Oil producers Thursday said they were curtailing output, although some export ports began to reopen. U.S. crude ended up 2.72% to $69.14 a barrel and Brent rose 2.21%, to $72.17 per barrel. Gold prices jumped to record highs Thursday, as investors eyed the precious metal as a more attractive investment ahead of Fed rate cuts. Spot gold added 1.85% to $2,558 an ounce. U.S. gold futures gained 1.79% to $2,557 an ounce. "We are headed towards a lower interest rate environment so gold is becoming a lot more attractive. ... I think we could potentially have a lot more frequent cuts as opposed to a bigger magnitude," said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold. In bonds, 2-year Treasury yields were up 1.2 basis points to 3.6579%, while 10-year yields were at 3.683%, up 3 basis points. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2024-09-12/

2024-09-12 05:45

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's crude oil supply to China is set to rise to 46 million barrels in October, trade sources said on Thursday, after the world's top oil exporter slashed prices for Asia, boosting demand. China's top refiners Sinopec (600028.SS) , opens new tab and PetroChina (601857.SS) , opens new tab sought more crude for loading in October while demand from private refiners Rongsheng Petrochemical and Hengli Petrochemical held steady, they said. The October volume is higher than the 43 million barrels that Chinese refiners are expected to receive in September. The rise in demand from the world's top importer comes after state oil company Saudi Aramco cut the October official selling price for flagship Arab light crude to Asia to the lowest in nearly three years. Saudi Arabia is the No. 2 crude supplier to China after Russia. However, Saudi crude exports to China fell 10.3% to 46.79 million metric tons (1.61 million barrels per day) in the first seven months this year from the same period a year ago, China customs data showed. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-crude-oil-supply-china-set-rise-46-mln-bbls-oct-sources-say-2024-09-12/

2024-09-12 05:28

KAMPALA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The start of commercial crude oil production in Uganda is expected to propel economic growth into double digits in the next financial year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. Uganda's economy would race to 10.8% growth in the 2025/2026 fiscal year which starts in July, up from a projection of 6.2% in the previous period, the IMF said in a report published late on Wednesday. "Growth is expected to strengthen, boosted by the start of oil production, which will make (a) lasting improvement (to) the fiscal and current account balances," the IMF said in the report. After nearly 20 years of delay, the east African country is finally expected to commence production and export of crude oil next year from fields in its west. Commercial reserves were discovered in 2006 but a range of factors including disputes with oil firms over development strategy and lack of requisite infrastructure had delayed production. At peak Uganda is seen pumping 240,000 barrels of oil per day from its reserves, which are estimated at 6.5 billion barrels. The IMF said Uganda's foreign exchange (FX) reserves had continued to decline, and urged intervention by the central bank including a "reduction in government imports, along with stepped up FX purchases and greater exchange rate flexibility." The country's FX reserves fell to $3.2 billion in June, down from $3.7 billion in December 2023, because of the high cost of servicing debt, the government's inability to secure cheap credit, and limited hard currency purchases, the IMF said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/crude-oil-production-thrust-ugandas-economic-growth-into-double-digits-imf-2024-09-12/

2024-09-12 04:54

MUMBAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee was little changed on Thursday, holding above its lifetime low, supported by likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) amid weakness in most Asian currencies. The rupee was at 83.9725 against the U.S. dollar as of 10:20 a.m. IST, nearly unchanged from its close at 83.9775 in the previous session. It hit an all-time low of 83.9850 last week. U.S. consumer prices increased marginally in August, but underlying inflation showed some stickiness, dimming hopes of the Federal Reserve cutting rates by an outsized 50 basis points (bps) next week. That weighed on Asian currencies. But the rupee held its ground, supported by state-run banks' dollar sales, most likely on behalf of the RBI, traders said. "The rupee continues to hold steady within a well-defined range as the RBI remains active in managing it," Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex said. The RBI has routinely intervened over the last month to help the rupee remain above the key psychological support level of 84. There is "a slight chance" of a dip below 84 over the next few days but a runaway depreciation is quite unlikely given the central bank's grip on the currency, a trader at a foreign bank said. Meanwhile, dollar-rupee forward premiums dipped, with the 1-year implied yield down 2 bps at 2.23%, retreating from a 16-month peak in the previous session. U.S. jobless claims data and wholesale inflation data due later in the day will be in focus to gauge the extent of rate cuts the Fed may deliver over 2024. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-holds-above-record-low-likely-cenbank-intervention-2024-09-12/