2024-09-24 05:37

MADRID, Sept 24 (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates' renewable energy company Masdar said on Tuesday it has reached an agreement to buy green energy firm Saeta Yield from Canada's Brookfield's (BAM.TO) , opens new tab in a deal valuing the company at $1.4 billion. Under the deal, Masdar is acquiring 745 megawatts (MW) of mostly wind assets and 1.6 gigawatts of projects under development in Spain and Portugal, marking one of the largest such deals in the Iberian region. This is Masdar's second big green energy deal in recent months in Spain, one of Europe's largest wind and solar markets. It follows the agreement to buy a minority stake in 48 solar plants controlled by Endesa - a unit of Italy's Enel (ENEI.MI) , opens new tab for 817 million euros. Higher interest rates brought about a "normalisation" of asset prices, Masdar's CFO told Reuters after the deal with Endesa, adding that the company was seeking more opportunities in the region. The agreement with Brookfield includes 538 MW of wind assets in Spain and 144 MW of wind assets in Portugal, with the remaining being solar power assets in Spain. Some solar thermal plants controlled by Saeta are not part of the sale process and will remain under Brookfield's control. Closing of the deal is expected around the end of the year. "Saeta is the perfect complement to Masdar's portfolio in Europe, especially after the recent partnership with Endesa," Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said. Spain and Portugal's abundant solar and wind resources have drawn both domestic and foreign firms eager to leverage growing demand for renewable energy. Controlled by UAE's power and water firm TAQA, its national oil company ADNOC and sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, Masdar aims to grow its capacity to 100 GW of renewable energy by 2030. Brookfield acquired and delisted Saeta, founded by Spanish construction company ACS, in 2018 for 1 billion euros. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/uaes-masdar-buys-brookfields-saeta-yield-14-bln-deal-2024-09-24/

2024-09-24 05:11

SYDNEY, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Australia’s central bank on Tuesday reiterated that interest rate cuts were unlikely in the near term as it held policy steady, but softened its hawkish stance by saying monetary tightening was not discussed. Governor Michele Bullock said the board did not actively consider raising rates but did discuss whether or not its hawkish messaging should change. The Australian dollar hit a nine-month high of $0.6869 but later retreated to $0.6820 on comments from Bullock. Futures edged higher as markets priced in a slightly more chance of 72% for a rate cut by the end of the year. Wrapping up its September policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept rates at a 12-year high of 4.35% and reiterated policy would have to be sufficiently restrictive to ensure inflation returned to target. "While headline inflation will decline for a time, underlying inflation is more indicative of inflation momentum, and it remains too high," the board said in a statement largely similar to the one in August. "Policy will need to be sufficiently restrictive until the Board is confident that inflation is moving sustainably towards the target range." Markets had wagered heavily on a steady outcome given underlying inflation remained sticky and the labour market held up surprisingly well. Bullock, in her post-meeting press conference, said the board did not "explicitly" consider a rate hike at this meeting. "The board did discuss whether or not the messaging should change,.... having said that, the message clearly from the board is that in the near term, it does not see interest rate cuts," the RBA chief said. The central bank has kept rates steady since November, judging that the cash rate of 4.35% - up from a record-low 0.1% during the pandemic - is restrictive enough to bring inflation to its target band of 2-3% while preserving employment gains. With underlying inflation stubborn at 3.9% last quarter and the labour market churning out lots of new jobs, there appears to be no urgency to ease policy like what the Federal Reserve did last week, cutting by 50 basis points to preempt sharp job losses. The RBA already trails other central bank in cutting rates, and the political pressure is ramping up for an easing. The left-wing Greens on Monday demanded the government to engineer a cut in interest rates in exchange for their support in parliament to pass the long-delayed reforms to the RBA. "While the RBA did not explicitly consider a rate hike because not enough had changed since the last meeting, its language continues to lean mildly hawkish," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP. "We see rates as having peaked, with the first cut coming in February next year. However, despite RBA guidance, a rate cut is still possible by year end if unemployment rises more sharply and underlying inflation falls more sharply." Market sentiment in Australia on Tuesday was aided by more stimulus from China's central bank, which announced cuts to reserve requirements and lending rates, including for existing home loans. Investors are now waiting for the monthly inflation data for August on Wednesday. Headline inflation is likely to have slowed to an annual rate of 2.7% thanks to the government's electricity rebates, but the core gauge could once again highlight sticky prices. "If tomorrow we get an inflation number which has got a two in front of it, so it's back in the band, that doesn't mean we've got inflation under control," Bullock said, signalling to markets that the RBA won't be in a hurry to ease policy. "It doesn't mean that inflation is sustainabily back within the band." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/australias-central-bank-keeps-cash-rate-435-2024-09-24/

2024-09-24 04:49

LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A goal to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and cut fossil fuel use is within reach, the International Energy Agency said in a report on Tuesday, but will require a huge push to unlock bottlenecks such as permitting and grid connections. The report comes as leaders from government and business come together at New York Climate week to try to drive forward action against climate change. Almost 200 countries at the COP 28 climate summit in Dubai last year agreed to reach net zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050 and pledged to triple renewable energy capacity like wind and solar. The IEA said the renewable energy goal "is within reach thanks to favourable economics, ample manufacturing potential and strong policies," but said more renewable capacity by itself would not slash fossil fuel use and reduce costs for consumers. “To unlock the full benefits of the tripling goal, countries need to make a concerted push to build and modernise 25 million kilometres of electricity grids by 2030... The world would also need 1,500 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage capacity by 2030,” the IEA said. Countries at COP 28 also pledged to double energy efficiency measures to help curb power use, but this target will require governments to make efficiency much more of a policy priority. Countries must embed the renewable and energy efficiency goals in their national plans to meet goals set under the Paris climate agreement, the IEA said. Emissions from the global energy sector hit a record high last year. Tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency measures to reduce power use could reduced global greenhouse gas emissions by 10 billion metric tons by the end of the decade compared with what is otherwise expected, the report said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/embargoed-climate-goal-triple-global-renewable-energy-by-2030-within-reach-iea-2024-09-24/

2024-09-24 04:38

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee Investors have long clamoured for China to unleash broad-based stimulus measures to help turn sentiment around, and while Tuesday's measures are well short of a 'big bazooka' move, it may still be a step in the right direction. Chinese stocks surged and bonds rallied after China's central bank announced monetary stimulus, including its intention to cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves - known as reserve requirement ratios - by 50 basis points. Futures , , indicated European bourses were due for a slightly higher open, with focus on the stocks of luxury companies, which depend a fair bit on Chinese consumers for revenue. Also included in the stimulus package are measures that will allow funds and brokers to access the central bank's funding in order to buy stocks. While investors and analysts expect these sweeping moves to help lift the stock market in the near term, there remains room for more easing measures as well as fiscal policy push to help the stuttering economy. China's stock markets have been the laggards in the region, with the blue-chip CSI300 index (.CSI300) , opens new tab down 4% so far this year, having touched multi-year lows in the year as a dour economic outlook and stubbornly weak investor sentiment weighed. On Tuesday the index was up 2.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (.HSI) , opens new tab surged 3.2% to a four-month high. Whether these moves are sustained will depend on investors being confident that a turnaround in sentiment is underway and the world's second-biggest economy will meet its growth target for the year. The Australian dollar was slightly stronger after the Reserve Bank of Australia left rates unchanged as expected. The Aussie had touched a fresh 2024 high earlier in the session following the stimulus measures from China. With the economic calendar in Europe bare, traders will likely look for cues on the path of U.S. rates in the wake of the 50 basis point rate cut last week from the Federal Reserve. Markets are evenly split on a 50 bps or 25 bps rate cut in November with U.S. PCE data - the Fed's favoured gauge of inflation - due on Friday and the payrolls data scheduled for next week being the big needle movers. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: Economic events: Germany IFO September business climate Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2024-09-24/

2024-09-24 04:37

BENGALURU, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Bank Indonesia (BI) will cut interest rates twice more this year following a surprise reduction on Sept. 18, a Reuters poll of economists predicted, as a stronger rupiah and subdued inflation allows the central bank to focus on supporting growth. In cutting rates just hours before the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed its policy rate by 50 basis points last week, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo signaled a policy shift from keeping the rupiah currency stable to a balance between that and economic growth. Warjiyo said the Fed's clearer direction on monetary policy provided BI with an opportunity to cut rates. With a series of U.S. rate cuts expected, further BI reductions are on the cards with less concern about hurting the currency, economists said. Over 50% of economists in a Sept. 19-24 Reuters poll, 11 of 21, forecast the central bank to cut its benchmark seven-day reverse repurchase rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab by 25 basis points to 5.75% at its October meeting. The remaining 10 expected no change from 6.00%. Median forecasts showed another 25-basis-point cut in either November or December, bringing the key rate to 5.50% by year-end. The Fed was expected to cut by a further 25 basis points in both November and December, a snap Reuters poll found on Friday. "Now that the Fed has signaled a rather dovish pivot with a 50bp rate cut, BI has been afforded the luxury of allowing itself to be more inward-looking and calibrating its monetary policy to support growth," said Kunal Kundu, economist at Societe Generale, one of the few analysts who correctly predicted the BI cut last week. While the central bank maintained its 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast at 5.1%, the midpoint of its preferred 4.7% to 5.5% range, it underscored the need for policy measures to accelerate economic growth. Median forecasts through end-2025 showed rates falling to 5.00%, 25 basis points lower than the previous poll and 100 basis points lower than currently. The Fed is expected to cut by 150 basis points over the same period, according to the latest poll. BI is likely to pursue a slightly shallower easing cycle compared to the Fed to maintain the attractiveness of its currency, economists said. "As the U.S. Federal Reserve reduces interest rates more rapidly than Bank Indonesia, foreign investors may increasingly look towards Indonesia for favorable returns," said Jeemin Bang, associate economist at Moody's Analytics. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/bank-indonesia-cut-twice-q4-fed-easing-shores-up-fx-confidence-2024-09-24/

2024-09-24 04:26

MUMBAI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Indian refiners cancelled 100,000 metric tons of palm oil purchases for delivery between October and December, as New Delhi's move to raise import duties amid a rally in overseas prices prompted them to book profits, five trade officials told Reuters. Refiners in the world's largest importer of palm oil cancelled this quantity over the past four days, including 50,000 tons on Monday, after Malaysian palm oil futures jumped to their highest level in 2-1/2 months. The Indian cancellations could limit the rally in Malaysian palm oil prices , although they could support soyoil prices as some refiners shift to soyoil. India earlier this month raised the basic import tax on crude and refined edible oils by 20 percentage points, which effectively increases the total import duty on crude palm oil to 27.5% from 5.5%. "The hefty duty hike and the jump in Malaysian prices caught everyone off guard," said an Indian buyer who operates a refinery on the east coast and cancelled palm oil shipments for October delivery. "It created a situation where refiners can make more money by cancelling old purchases instead of refining and selling. Sellers are happy too, since they can now sell at higher prices to new buyers." India, on average, imports 750,000 tons of palm oil every month, and the cancellation of 100,000 tons represents about 13.3% of monthly imports. Crude palm oil (CPO) is currently being offered at about $1,080 a ton, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF), in India for October delivery, compared to around $980 to $1,000 a month ago, giving profit margin of $80 to $100 to buyers. East Coast-based refiners are washing out on contracts by cancelling them and making a very decent profit, said Aashish Acharya, vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd (PAFO.NS) , opens new tab, a leading importer of edible oils. India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. "Refiners aren't sure about the demand for the December quarter with these higher prices. They're also worried about whether the prices will hold. That's why they're cancelling contracts," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm. Price-sensitive Asian buyers traditionally rely on palm oil due to its low cost and quick shipping times. However, with the recent rise in prices, palm oil is now trading at a premium over soyoil. Buyers will prefer buying cheaper soyoil and sunflower oil for winter months than expensive palm oil, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. Indonesia's palm oil producer association GAPKI hoped the recent changes in Indonesia's export levy could boost global demand of the edible oil, especially from India, the group secretary general Hadi Sugeng said late on Monday. The world's biggest palm oil exporter Indonesia last week lowered its palm oil export levy to improve competitiveness against rival edible oils. India's palm oil imports usually moderate during winter months as the tropical oil solidifies at lower temperatures. India buys soybean and sunflower oil mainly from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indian-refiners-cancel-palm-oil-contracts-duty-hike-price-rise-2024-09-23/