2024-09-02 22:43

KYIV, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that he will meet the head of the international nuclear agency in Kyiv after the official visits the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that has been in Russia's hands since early in the war. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear watchdog, said late on Monday in a post on X that he was on his way to the plant to "to continue our assistance & help prevent a nuclear accident." The plant in Ukraine's southeast - Europe's largest nuclear power plant and now in "cold shutdown" - fell to Russian troops in the first days of Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022. Both sides have since frequently accused each other of shelling the plant and both Moscow and Kyiv deny the accusations. Zelenskiy and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof visited Zaporizhzhia on Monday, a city that lies across the Dnipro's wide riverbed to the northeast of the plant, where the Ukrainian leader repeated his pleas for the West to supply more long-range weaponry to Kyiv. Zelenskiy said that after Grossi visits the plant, he is set to come to Kyiv for a meeting with the Ukrainian leader, according to a video from Zelenskiy's office on social media. He also said that at this point of the war, it is not possible for Ukraine to take back control of the plant. "It is safer for Ukraine to control the Zaporizhzhia plant, but so far, from the point of view of the battlefield, I do not see such possibilities, and those that probably exist, they are dangerous," Zelenskiy said. Russian agencies reported on Monday that a high-voltage power supply line at the plant automatically disconnected, but the plant's needs are supplied from another line. There was no reason given for the automatic disconnection. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/iaea-head-visit-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-then-meet-zelenskiy-kyiv-2024-09-02/

2024-09-02 21:44

TRIPOLI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said it held talks in Tripoli on Monday to help resolve a central bank crisis that sparked a blockade of oil production and threatens the worst crisis in years for the major energy exporter. The standoff was triggered when Western factions moved last month to oust veteran governor Sadiq al-Kabir and replace him with a rival board, leading Eastern factions to shut down all oil production. In its statement, UNSMIL said the consultations were concluded with 'significant' understanding and the two sides agreed to submit a draft agreement to their respective chambers for review, with the goal of finalizing and signing the agreement on Tuesday. Oil prices edged higher on Monday, recovering some losses from late last week, as Libyan oil exports remained halted and concerns about higher OPEC+ production from October eased. Representatives from Libya's House of Representatives and High Council of State on one side and the Presidential Council on the other participated in the talks hosted by UNSMIL which lasted from morning until late into the night, the statement said. Libya's central bank (CBL) is the sole legal repository for Libyan oil revenues and it pays state salaries across the country. If those functions are compromised by the current crisis, Libyans will soon feel the pinch. If the struggle for control is prolonged, all state salaries, transfers between banks and letters of credit needed for imports will become impossible, freezing up the economy and Libya's international trade. Eastern factions, including the House of Representatives (HoR) parliament led by speaker Aguila Saleh and the Libyan National Army (LNA) under commander Khalifa Haftar, oppose the Tripoli-based Presidency Council's bid to oust CBL governor al-Kabir. The eastern side's oil blockade will gradually starve the CBL of new funds, as well as reducing condensate available for power plants, meaning long electricity blackouts may soon return. As a result of the oilfields closures, the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) said total production had plunged to just over 591,000 bpd by Aug. 28 from nearly 959,000 bpd on Aug. 26, amounting to losses of over $120 million over the three days. Production was at about 1.28 million bpd on July 20, NOC said. The crisis threatens to end a four-year period of relative peace in the OPEC member that for a decade has been split between eastern and western factions that have drawn backing from Russia and Turkey, respectively. As the state crumbled between rival factions, the CBL and National Oil Corporation (NOC), the state energy producer, were held off limits, ensuring some governmental functions continued. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-hosts-talks-tripoli-resolve-libyas-central-bank-crisis-2024-09-02/

2024-09-02 21:30

NZ struggles with tight funding, outdated data collection systems Economists, officials call for improved data collection Lagging data impacts policy deliberations WELLINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Lags in New Zealand's official economic data are creating a fog for policy makers that recently forced them to veer off course and cut interest rates a whole year earlier than projected, badly wrong footing financial markets. Years of tight funding by successive governments have left statisticians struggling to keep up with a rapidly changing economy, and nowhere more so than with inflation. The more than two-decade old system they use is not able to calculate monthly data, making the country rare among developed nations in reporting consumer price indexes (CPI) quarterly, rather than monthly. This makes it harder for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to spot turning points in a timely manner. "We are behind in terms of most advanced economies," Karen Silk, RBNZ Assistant Governor, told Reuters in an interview. "Monthly CPI...(it) would be delightful to get that." As recently as May, the central bank was seriously considering whether it needed to hike rates further to bring inflation to heel. By its next meeting in early July, private business surveys and card spending data from banks had made it more confident cost pressures were easing. It had to wait another week for the official CPI report for the second quarter, which showed inflation slowing faster than most predicted. By August, the outlook had swung 180 degrees and it cut rates a quarter point to 5.25%, flagging a lot more to come. "We're still waiting to find out what the June GDP is, that's months back," Governor Adrian Orr said after the August decision. June quarter GDP is not due until Sept. 19 almost two months after the first reading on U.S. growth. Stats NZ, the official data bureau, notes it is within the International Monetary Fund's 90-day guideline. VOLATILE MARKETS While only a small economy of 5.3 million people, the New Zealand dollar is widely traded and investors globally follow its markets. As a result, the RBNZ's sudden turn last month sliced a whole cent off the currency and sent bond prices surging. Even the size of the island's population is in doubt as the government did away with paper departure cards in 2018, making the data less reliable and regularly revised. Stats NZ says COVID-19 had affected their modelling and that they were working to fix this. This is made more important given the role migration has played in this economic cycle. Andrew Lilley, chief rates strategist at Barrenjoey in Sydney, said statistics departments often had tight budgets as data was usually a low priority politically. "For every 10 basis points that unemployment goes up unnecessarily because you have the wrong read on the data, that's 2,000 people who are out of work," Lilley said. "If people knew this, they might be more willing to pay for good data collection and good statistics." Funding of the bureau has jumped around 60% since 2020 to NZ$258 million ($160.76 million) to deal with new initiatives and cost pressure but took a hit this year as the government cut spending to reduce the budget deficit. "There is always a case to increase funding to do more," said statistics minister Andrew Bayly. He added improving economic datasets was one of his priorities. The system that Stats NZ currently uses to produce CPI was built more than 20 years ago where either someone went to stores to collect data or retailers were sent surveys. An improved system is being designed but completion remains some way off, Stats NZ said. Economists use several methods to get a better read on where money is and isn't being spent, including internal bank card data. ANZ Bank recently added extra questions to its business outlook survey to better gauge conditions. Sharon Zollner, chief economist at ANZ Bank, said while more data was always better, there is a risk that monthly CPI could be volatile whereas quarterly figures can cut through that noise. Stats NZ has worked to improve data, releasing selected indexes monthly that equate to roughly 45% of the CPI and include the more volatile components. In 2019, it started a monthly jobs indicator. Jason Attewell, general manager of economic and environmental insights at Stats NZ, said there were current constraints to getting new systems up and running or speeding up data publications. "Stats does pretty well punching above our weight as a small, relatively speaking, national statistical office," he said, noting they produce more than 250 releases each year. Grant Williamson, an investment advisor at Christchurch's Hamilton Hindin Green, said a monthly CPI with less lag would help. "A little bit of money spent having more up to date data would be beneficial for everyone, including, obviously, the Reserve Bank," he said. "Having more up to date data could influence (investment) decision making on time a little." ($1 = 1.6049 New Zealand dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/new-zealands-data-fog-leaves-its-central-bank-flying-blind-2024-09-02/

2024-09-02 19:09

LIMA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - An international forestry group has suspended the sustainability certification of a logging company operating on land near an uncontacted tribe in Peru's Amazon, the NGO Survival International said on Monday, handing an initial victory to groups demanding a stop to logging in the area. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) withdrew its certification of the Canales Tahuamanu company for eight months after members of the Mashco Piro tribe were seen in late June in a remote area of the Madre de Dios region of Peru, the NGO said. It said the FSC certification would be suspended from Sept. 13 while the forestry group investigates the case and meets with Peruvian authorities to "understand the land classification issues" in the Andean country. Peru's government and Canales Tahuamanu did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Mascho Piru are fleeing their shelters to escape from loggers who have forestry concessions granted by the authorities, according to indigenous organizations in Peru. According to the FSC and Peru's Forest and Wildlife Resources Supervisory Agency, the Canales Tahuamanu logging company has concessions on almost 53,000 hectares of forest in Madre de Dios where it extracts cedar and mahogany. "This is an important step, but not the final one," Julio Cusurichi, a member of the indigenous organization AIDESEP, said in the statement from Survival International. "We will continue fighting with the same strength until we achieve a historic victory in favor of the rights of the people." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/logger-operating-near-isolated-peru-tribe-gets-certification-suspended-2024-09-02/

2024-09-02 17:18

CAIRO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The salvage operation of the oil tanker MV Sounion, which was recently attacked by Iran-aligned Houthi militants, is about to begin, the European Union's mission in the Red Sea, Aspides, said on Monday. Aspides said in a statement that "several fires" continued to burn on the Greek-registered vessel, which is laden with about 1 million barrels of crude oil, adding that there were no visible signs of an oil spill. The salvage operation is likely to be complex and if a spill occurs, it has the potential to be among the largest from a ship in recorded history and could cause an environmental catastrophe in an area that is particularly dangerous to access. "The MV SOUNION, due to the large amount of crude oil it carries, presents a significant environmental threat. Private companies are involved in the salvage operation that is about to start," Aspides said on X. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that tug boats were ready to operate but it would require an on-spot inspection before a decision is made on whether to transfer the cargo to another vessel or move the ship to a safe port first. The EU's naval force said on Monday it will provide protection to the tug boats that will deal with the salvage operation. The Iran-aligned Houthis have been waging a campaign against commercial shipping to support Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. On Monday, a Saudi-owned crude tanker and a Panama-flagged oil ship were attacked in the Red Sea off Yemen, two sources familiar with the matter said, although it was unclear if the vessels were hit by Yemeni Houthi militants. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/salvage-operation-mv-sounion-oil-tanker-about-start-no-signs-oil-spill-eu-naval-2024-09-02/

2024-09-02 16:41

MOSCOW, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrived for a state visit in Mongolia, which lies on the route of a planned new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China. Russia has been in talks for years about building the pipeline to carry 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas a year from its Yamal region to China via Mongolia. The project, Power of Siberia 2, is part of Russia's strategy to compensate for the loss of most of its gas sales in Europe since the start of the Ukraine war. It is the planned successor to an existing pipeline of the same name which already supplies Russian gas to China and is due to reach its planned capacity of 38 bcm per year in 2025. The new venture has long been bogged down over key issues such as the pricing of the gas. However, Putin said on the eve of his visit that preparatory work, including feasibility and engineering studies, were proceeding as scheduled. He is due to hold talks with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Tuesday. Ukraine urged Mongolia last week to arrest Putin on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court warrant last year, when it accused him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has dismissed the accusation, saying it is politically motivated, and has said it has no worries about Putin making the trip. The warrant obliges the court's 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. Asked whether there had been discussions with Mongolian authorities about the ICC warrant, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that "all of the aspects of the visit have been thoroughly discussed." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/putin-arrives-mongolia-key-link-planned-gas-pipeline-china-2024-09-02/