2024-09-10 10:02

Norwegian Intelligence Service boss sees risk level higher Putin government calls sabotage accusations scaremongering Norway fears its oil and gas facilities may be targeted STAVANGER, Norway, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The head of Norway's foreign intelligence service believes Russia has become more likely to try and sabotage its infrastructure, such as oil and gas, than a year ago as it becomes bolder in countering Western support for Ukraine. "The risk level has changed," Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensoenes, head of the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS), told Reuters. "We believe sabotage is more likely, and we see acts of sabotage happening in Europe now which indicate that they (the Russians) have moved a bit on that scale." Russia rejects such accusations as Western scaremongering. Its embassy in Oslo was not immediately available for comment. Earlier this year, Norway's intelligence agencies assessed that Russia "may find it prudent" to conduct acts of sabotage, with petroleum the prime target, while last year they judged that unlikely. Norway is Europe's largest gas provider and a major crude oil exporter. Stensoenes, whose agency is responsible for collecting intelligence abroad and supporting Norway's military, did not offer specifics about Russian threats in a brief interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in the city of Stavanger. But he said President Vladimir Putin's nation had become "more or less a pariah state" for the West, meaning it had little to lose with more risky steps, though it would be careful not to trigger the NATO alliance's collective defence clause. HUGE UNDERSEA INFRASTRUCTURE After the Nord Stream pipelines sabotage in September 2022, Norway deployed its navy to protect its North Sea oil and gas platforms, with support from NATO allies. Still, the Norwegian undersea infrastructure is so vast, consisting of gas pipelines stretching some 9,000 km (5,590 miles), it is difficult to protect. Norway also has more than 90 offshore oil and gas fields. Moscow has repeatedly complained that Germany, in charge of the Nord Stream investigation, has not been doing enough to probe the explosions, which ruptured two pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts which occurred seven months after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Moscow says it is not responsible for the blast. German prosecutors last month said they had issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor in Poland in connection with the attacks. Kyiv has denied involvement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norways-spy-chief-sees-russia-more-likely-attempt-sabotage-2024-09-10/

2024-09-10 09:05

Sept 10 (Reuters) - Sterling edged up versus the dollar and the euro on Tuesday after UK labour data supported the view that the British economy was on a solid footing. Pay growth cooled in the three months to July to a more than two-year low, and employment shot higher, according to data on Tuesday, which is likely to keep the Bank of England on track to cut interest rates again before the end of the year. Analysts said inflation was converging towards the Monetary Policy Committee's 2% target, while economic activity kept showing resilience, arguing that such a backdrop suggests a slow easing of monetary policy. Investors will closely watch gross domestic product figures due Wednesday before this month's Bank of England meeting. Sanjay Raja, senior economist at Deutsche Bank, said the UK economy was likely to expand by 0.3% month-on-month after flatlining in June, as activity would rebound after a pick-up in retail and leisure services. Sterling rose 0.1% to $1.3085, after reaching $1.3107 earlier in the session. The dollar edged down on Tuesday before U.S. inflation data and the televised U.S. presidential debate, which could affect expectations for the interest rate outlook. "This (a resilient labour market and subsiding inflation) should support the argument that while BoE cuts are coming, the pace of rate reductions should be relatively gradual," said Enrique Diaz-Alvarez, chief economist at global financial services firm Ebury. The euro dropped versus sterling, trading 0.05% lower at 84.36 pence per euro. "After stalling in the last few weeks, any upside surprise to the UK data could open the door to the euro trading below 0.84 against the pound," said Kit Juckes, macro strategist at SG Markets. Wage growth is expected to slow to 5%, the GDP to grow by 0.6% quarterly and by 0.2% monthly, he added. SG Markets' Juckes said CFTC futures positioning showed further dollar selling at the start of last week, with longs in yen, sterling, and euro growing further. The focus in the British rates market over the next few weeks will also be on the new Labour government's first fiscal event on Oct. 30. Banks in Britain are intensifying their lobbying against possible tax hikes in the new Labour government's first budget next month, amid concerns it may tap the sector to boost public finances, senior industry sources told Reuters. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-edges-up-versus-dollar-euro-after-uk-data-2024-09-10/

2024-09-10 07:47

PARIS, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The French farm ministry on Tuesday said it detected five likely cases of food-borne botulism, a potentially fatal disease, in central France linked to contaminated pesto sauce that had been sold at some regional market fairs. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT According to the World Health Organisation, botulism is a rare but potentially fatal disease if not diagnosed rapidly and treated with antitoxin. KEY QUOTE(S) "Considering the incubation time (from a few hours to a few days) and the serious nature of the disease, people who have consumed these products are called to be very vigilant and to consult a doctor in case of symptoms," the French farm ministry said. CONTEXT Botulism is primarily caused by consumption of improperly processed food. The French government issued an immediate recall of the wild garlic pesto sauce, made by a small local producer, which likely caused the cases. Some samples have been sent to the Institut Pasteur for further analysis. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/france-withdraws-pesto-sauce-brand-after-cases-likely-botulism-2024-09-10/

2024-09-10 07:37

SINGAPORE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Oil products demand in China, long the driver of global crude consumption, peaked in 2023 and is forecast to decrease by 1.1% annually between 2023 and 2025, with the drop accelerating in subsequent years, a China oil researcher said on Tuesday. Declining Chinese oil demand from the growing adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks and electric vehicles (EV), as well as China's slowing economic growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, has been a drag on global oil consumption and prices. China's oil products demand shrank 0.5% on year in the first half of this year, mainly led by a 5.8% drop in diesel while gasoline and jet fuel grew 1.6% and 17.6%, respectively, on travel demand, the researcher said at an event, speaking on the condition that their name and affiliation not be used. "China's products (demand) already peaked last year," the researcher said, adding that consumption is set to decline 1.3% in 2024. Oil products demand was seen slowing further by an average of 2.7% annually from 2025 to 2030, and by 3.2% annually from 2030 to 2035, the researcher added, driven by the transition to cleaner fuels, economic and social changes. China's LNG-powered truck fleet reached 730,000 in June and is expected to grow to 850,000 vehicles by the year-end, the researcher said, displacing 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) of diesel in 2024. Use of LNG to fuel trucks has affected sales of diesel at fuel stations along highways. LNG-powered models account for 33% of new trucks sold in China currently, with the share rising to as much as half in provinces such as Shanxi and Ningxia, the researcher said. Gasoline demand in China is expected to peak in 2025, the researcher said, as EV penetration has exceeded the government's target and is set to reach 40% of new car sales this year with sales expected at 12.2 million units, up 29% from 2023. Affordable power and technology advances that reduce charging time and increasing driving range are fueling demand for EVs, the researcher added. China's jet fuel demand is expected to recover to 83% of 2019 levels by the year-end, the researcher said. However, jet fuel's consumption growth is not enough to stem the overall decline in refined products use as it accounts for a much smaller share of demand than diesel and gasoline, they said. China's refining capacity growth is slowing as fuel demand falls while refiners switch to petrochemicals, the researcher said. The country's crude oil refining capacity is forecast at 19.3 million bpd in 2025, growing slightly to 19.6 million bpd by 2030, the researcher said. "Coal will peak, oil will peak and even natural gas will peak, but we don't see petrochemicals peaking (yet) with economic growth and with a 1.4 billion population," they said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-oil-products-demand-peaked-2023-with-decline-accelerate-researcher-says-2024-09-10/

2024-09-10 07:35

NEW DELHI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - India will formulate a green steel policy and will consider government procurement for decarbonised steel, Steel Secretary of India Sandeep Poundrik said at an event on Tuesday. The ministry will also consider incentivising smaller steel players in green steel production, he added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-will-create-green-steel-policy-steel-secretary-says-2024-09-10/

2024-09-10 07:16

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Sept 10 (Reuters) - (This Sept. 10 story has been corrected to say that data centres are driving power use, not coal use, in paragraph 12) Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Philippines are expected to boost coal trade and consumption this decade, industry officials say, even as demand from top consumer China approaches its peak. The Indonesian Coal Miners Association (ICMA) expects imports by China and India to peak in 2025, ending growth in global seaborne trade volumes of the polluting fuel, its Chairman Priyadi said in a presentation to the Coaltrans Asia conference. However, the ICMA expects annual coal imports by southeast Asian countries including Vietnam and Philippines to grow nearly 3% on average per year to 170.9 million metric tons in 2030, from 140.9 million tons in 2023. Power generation in Vietnam, the fastest growing economy in southeast Asia, is seen as the most promising growth market for coal, traders and industry officials said at the conference. Dinh Quang Trung, deputy general manager of coal trading at state-run Vinacomin, said he expected Vietnam to ship in 66 million tons by the end of this year. That compares with 47.8 million tons in 2023, according to analytics firm Kpler. "We reach peak imports by year 2035 of 86 million tons of coal per year. About 70-75% of our total consumption will be for electricity," he said. Coal imports by the Philippines have grown 7.6% during the eight months ended Aug. 31, while Malaysian shipments grew 4%, Kpler data showed. While southeast Asian countries are expected to replace China and India as key growth markets for exporters, industry officials still expect consumption in the larger economies to remain high. Imports are expected to grow in the near-term, and remain largely steady for the rest of this decade. Thermal coal imports by China are expected to rise 6.3% year-over-year to 391 million tons in 2024, said Feng Dongbin, vice general manager at Fenwei Digital Information Technology, which operates Chinese coal analytics platform Sxcoal. Riya Vyas, senior analyst at Indian coal trading firm I-Energy Natural Resources, said she expects Indian coal imports to grow through this decade. Data from consultancy Bigmint shows Indian imports are 11% year-on-year higher as of end-August. While southeast Asian countries are not adding new coal-fired capacity to connect to the grid, they are ramping up utilization of existing power plants to address higher electricity demand, industry officials say. In Malaysia, reliance on coal for power generation rose in 2023 at the expense of natural gas, data from energy think-tank Ember shows. Data centres are emerging as key drivers of growth in power use. Alongside the Philippines, Indonesia counts as the most significant contributor to the growing use of the fuel in the region. "The average age group of Indonesian installed capacity is relatively young and therefore it suggests the long-term demand would remain robust," said Patricia Lumbangaol, senior market research manager at Adaro International. Nickel smelters in Indonesia, which are supplying battery manufacturers and helping address demand for electric vehicles, are pushing up coal-fired power generation, ICMA's Priyadi told Reuters. Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia have among the lowest renewable energy penetrations in Asia outside the Middle Rast, and significantly lag large green energy producers such as China and India. The lack of progress on a plan by rich nations to provide cheaper financing to hasten early retirement of coal-fired power plants has stalled efforts by the world's seventh-largest producer of coal-fired power to cut emissions. "Governments' focus on energy security and affordability has supported the continued use of coal, particularly as it helps to keep electricity tariffs relatively low," said Arthur Simatupang, chairman of the Independent Power Producers Association of Indonesia. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/southeast-asia-expected-boost-coal-trade-china-approaches-peak-2024-09-10/