2024-09-18 08:44
TOKYO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Japan's government said on Wednesday the economy was in moderate recovery but it remains cautious due to potential global economic risks and financial market volatility. In its monthly economic report, the government said corporate profits for April-June showed strong growth and wage recovery was also solid. However, transport disruptions due to typhoons affected travel demand. "The Japanese economy is recovering moderately although it is still pausing in parts," the Cabinet Office said in its report for September, maintaining the same assessment from August. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the economy, showed signs of an uptick, the report said. Consumer spending on services such as dining out also showed a gradual recovery, although the travel industry, including hotels, suffered due to typhoon disruptions, an official at the Cabinet Office said. The government raised its bankruptcy outlook for the first time since March 2021 as the number of bankruptcy filings slowed. The report also indicated a slowing pace in the rise of the corporate goods price index, following a slowdown in the country's annual wholesale inflation in August. Among other key economic areas, the government retained its assessment for capital spending and industrial production, expecting the economy will continue its moderate recovery, supported by improvements in employment and wages. Japan's economy grew at a slightly slower pace than initially reported in the second quarter, hurt by downward revisions in corporate and household spending that point to a bumpier second half for consumption. The Bank of Japan is expected to keep monetary policy steady this week, but signal forthcoming rate hikes as it begins to normalise policy after years of aggressive stimulus. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/japan/japan-says-economy-moderate-recovery-cautious-risks-2024-09-18/
2024-09-18 07:51
VIENNA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Austria's federal disaster fund will increase to 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) and companies severely affected by flooding will be able to postpone tax payments, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Wednesday following extreme weather in the region. ($1 = 0.8990 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/austria-increase-federal-disaster-fund-1-billion-euros-chancellor-says-2024-09-18/
2024-09-18 07:39
NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - India is considering easing curbs on non-basmati rice exports, a senior government official said on Wednesday, as inventories in the world's biggest exporter of the grain surged and farmers are set to harvest a new crop in the coming weeks. The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government implemented a series of farm measures this month to boost farmers' incomes ahead of elections in two states where growers form a key voting bloc and after Modi's general election setback. India imposed various curbs on rice exports in 2023 and continued them in 2024 to keep local prices in check ahead of the April-June national elections. Last week, the government removed a floor price , opens new tab for basmati rice exports to help thousands of farmers who complained about a lack of access to lucrative overseas markets such as Europe, the Middle East and the United States. "That is under consideration," Sanjeev Chopra, the most senior civil servant at the food ministry, told a news conference when asked whether India would tweak policies on parboiled and non-basmati white rice exports. In July, Reuters reported that India was considering replacing the 20% export tax on parboiled rice with a fixed duty on overseas shipments, and New Delhi was also examining the possibility of resuming white rice exports. Buoyed by copious monsoon rains, farmers have planted rice on 4.1 million hectares, up from 3.9 million hectares last year and 4 million hectares of the past five years of the average area under the staple. After a weak start in June, the monsoon has revived and rains have been 7.6% above average so far. India's weather office defines average or normal rainfall as 96%-104% of a 50-year average of 87 cm (35 inches) for the four-month-long season beginning in June. Farmers plant summer-sown rice during the rainy months of June and July and harvest the crop from October. Rice stocks at the Food Corporation of India on Sept. 1 stood at 32.3 million metric tons, 38.6% higher than last year, giving the government plenty of elbow room to consider relaxing rice export curbs. Easing rice export curbs could help Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mollify angry farmers in Haryana, where voters will elect a new state assembly on Oct. 5, and in the western state of Maharashtra, where elections are due later this year. The BJP lost nearly 75 rural seats in this year's general elections. Chopra also said the government was considering raising domestic ethanol prices and the rate at which sugar mills sell the sweetener to local traders. Reuters earlier reported that India was considering raising both ethanol prices and the local sugar sale price. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/india-consider-easing-curbs-non-basmati-rice-exports-2024-09-18/
2024-09-18 07:18
TEFE, Brazil, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The worst drought on record has lowered the water level of the rivers in the Amazon basin to historic lows, in some cases drying up riverbeds that were previously navigable waterways. The Solimoes, one of the main tributaries of the mighty Amazon River whose waters originate in the Peruvian Andes, has fallen to its lowest level on record in Tabatinga, the Brazilian town on the border with Colombia. Downriver in Tefé, a branch of the Solimoes has dried up completely, as seen by Reuters reporters who flew over the river on Sunday. The nearby Lake Tefé, where more than 200 freshwater dolphins died in last year's drought, has also dried up, depriving the endangered pink mammals of a favorite habitat. "We are going through a critical year," said Greenpeace spokesperson Romulo Batista, pointing to where the riverbed of the branch of the Solimoes had turned to mounds of sand. "This year, several months have broken last year's records." The second-consecutive year of critical drought has parched much of Brazil's vegetation and caused wildfires across South American nations, cloaking cities in clouds of smoke. "Climate change is no longer something to worry about in the future, 10 or 20 years from now. It's here and it's here with much more force than we expected," Batista added. The Solimoes in Tabatinga was measured at 4.25 meters below average for the first half of September. At Tefé, the river was 2.92 meters below the average level for the same two weeks last year and is expected to drop further to its lowest-ever. In Manaus, the Amazon's largest city, where the Solimoes joins the Rio Negro to form the Amazon River proper, the level of the Rio Negro is approaching the record low reached in October last year. "Last year, we were in this situation by October," said Indigenous leader Kambeba. "This year, the drought has gotten worse." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/worst-drought-record-lowers-amazon-rivers-all-time-lows-2024-09-18/
2024-09-18 07:14
API shows US oil stockpiles rose last week, sources say Middle East tensions in focus after pager blasts Coming up: Fed interest rate decision, EIA supply report LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Oil fell on Wednesday after two sessions of gains after an industry report showed increasing U.S. crude and fuel inventories, offsetting rising tension in the Middle East and the potentially bullish impact of a U.S. interest rate cut. U.S. crude stocks rose by 1.96 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 13, market sources said on Tuesday citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Gasoline and distillates inventories also increased. Brent crude futures for November were down 92 cents, or 1.25%, at $72.78 a barrel at 1100 GMT. U.S. crude futures for October dropped 95 cents, or 1.33%, to $70.24. "Crude traded softer after a weekly build in U.S. crude and fuel stocks, reported by the API, helped offset sustained tensions in the Middle East," Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank told Reuters. Brent has staged a recovery since falling below $70 to its lowest since December 2021 on Sept. 10. It faces resistance at around $75 due to weak global refinery margins that signal sluggish demand, he added. "The end of peak summer demand and a negative shift in traders' sentiment have contributed to the price drop, though potential conflicts in the Middle East still pose a risk of supply disruptions," said Mazen Salhab, Chief Market Strategist MENA, at BDSwiss. The Federal Reserve is expected to make its first interest rate cut in more than four years at 1800 GMT, with markets pricing in a 63% chance of a 50 basis-point reduction. "Probably the uncertainty of the magnitude of the likely Fed rate cut later today is also keeping investors cautious," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Oil found some support from risks of increased violence in the Middle East disrupting supply after Hezbollah accused Israel of attacking the militant group with explosive-laden pagers in Lebanon. Hezbollah promised to retaliate against Israel, whose military declined to comment on the blasts. After Tuesday's API report, the latest round of official U.S. inventory data from the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration is due out at 1430 GMT. Analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 500,000 barrels, while distillate and gasoline stocks increased slightly. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-steady-with-investors-focusing-fed-decision-2024-09-18/
2024-09-18 07:00
MUMBAI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - India's edible oil consumption is set to grow at a pace of 2%-3% as cooking oils remain affordable despite an import duty hike, a leading importer told Reuters on Wednesday. New Delhi on Friday raised the basic import tax on crude and refined edible oils by 20 percentage points to help protect farmers reeling from lower oilseed prices. "As we enter the peak festival season, demand will remain strong. Despite the duty hike, edible oil prices are affordable," said Sanjeev Asthana, chief executive officer at Patanjali Foods Ltd (PAFO.NS) , opens new tab. "Edible oils' demand could grow by 2%-3% in the 2024-2025 marketing year starting from Nov. 1 because of rising population and prosperity," he said. India is the world's largest importer and meets 70% of its vegetable oil demand through foreign sourcing. It buys palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while soyoil and sunoil come from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. The country's palm oil imports in 2024-25 could be between 9-10 million metric tons compared to around 9 million tons this year as tropical oil is likely to regain the market share it lost to rival sunflower oil due to a higher premium, he said. "We witnessed an unusual surge in sunflower oil imports this year due to attractive prices. Next year, sunflower oil imports may return to the normal range of 3 million tons," he said. India's sunoil imports in the current year are expected to surge to record 3.6 million tons from year-ago 3 million tons. Russia and Ukraine's abundant sunoil supplies brought prices down and made it competitive against rival oils. Soyoil imports would remain largely steady next year, around this year's level of 3 million tons, Asthana said. India's soybean crop in 2024 could rise to 11 million tons from approximately 10 million tons last year, if the weather remains favourable over the next few weeks, he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indias-edible-oil-demand-rise-despite-hefty-import-duty-hike-2024-09-18/
