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Sempra says Texas grid projects require over $7 billion investment after ERCOT backing
Sempra, an energy infrastructure company, announced?on Wednesday it had received approvals for a number of new transmission projects in Texas. These, along with earlier go-aheads are expected to cost over $7 billion. Last week, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the operator of?the electricity grid in Texas, approved the new projects. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. electricity demand reached'record levels' in 2025, and it is expected to continue to rise 'this year as tech companies rapidly build data centers that use as much electricity as an entire town at one site. Sempra’s latest projects include new lines along the I-35 and southern Dallas-Fort Worth corridors, along with a?upgrade approved in April. These are expected to support 16 gigawatts in new power demand. As they rush to meet the soaring demand of tech giants, power companies in the U.S. are raising prices and increasing capital expenditures to expand infrastructure. Oncor Electric Delivery Company in which Sempra holds an 80.25% stake?expects the?majority? of the projects to be constructed. The projects should be completed between 2026-2034. Reporting by Katha Kalya in Bengaluru, Editing by Shailesh Kuber
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Hungary's Lake Velence is drying up and threatening tourism, wildlife and
Experts and locals say that the water level in Hungary's largest lake will?fall to new lows due to climate change and years of mismanagement of water. This could threaten its ecosystem and tourism sector. Experts say that Lake Velence is a popular destination for holidaymakers, but the water level may soon be too low to allow swimming and sailing. A recent warm day saw children playing on newly exposed sandbanks that extended far beyond the shoreline of the lake. Rental boats were resting at a jetty, now far away from the water, and on the sand. Data from the National Directorate General for Water Management revealed that the lake level in the town of Agard measured 56 cm, only 3 cm higher than the 'historic low' of 53 cm, which was recorded in 2022 - the year Hungary suffered an extreme drought. The water level was 80 cm in the early months of 2026. Experts warned that without substantial rain, the water level could drop by as much as half a centimetre per day, and reach as low as 30cm by summer's close. Tibor Horanyi, from the Association of Great Lakes, said that the water level would drop by at least 25-30cm in the next 30-40days and that the record low will be reached within days. Horanyi said that the problem was not just climate change, but also decades of poor water management. Businesses have already been affected by the disruption. Peter Szaniszlo, a sailing instructor, has started moving his operations to the?Lake Balaton. "Most people who wanted to learn how to sail chose me because Lake Veence is near Budapest. "Now they have to go to Balaton," said he. GOVERNMENT PLEDGES TO ACT Laszlo Gájdos, the Minister of Environment, met last week with local mayors, water management experts, and NGOs to discuss the future of the lake. Gajdos stated in a Facebook post that the government is working to improve the water quality and restore the shoreline. It will take some time to figure out how to replenish water in Lake Velence, according Arpad 'Pal Eotvos the mayor of Gardony a town located on the lake. Eotvos stated, "We'll have to adapt to this." As the climate changes, so will we. (Written by Anita Komuves, edited by Alexandra Hudson).
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In May, the share of Russian aluminium in LME stocks rose to 93%.
Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that, in May, the share of Russian-origin aluminum stocks in London Metal Exchange warehouses increased to 93%, up from 72%, in April. This was due to traders' decision to withdraw Indian metal. The total available or on-warrant aluminium inventories (0#MALSTXLOC>) on the LME dropped 23% to 254,625 tons in May, and now stand at 250 525 tons. This is the lowest level since May 2025. Production and logistics constraints in the Middle East are limiting global supply. Absolute terms, the amount of?Russian aluminum available in May fell by 3,950 tonnes to 237.175. The?share of?Russian aluminium rose however as Indian stocks fell by a greater 71,750 tonnes. After the withdrawal of 2,275 tonnes of Indonesian aluminum, the LME warehouses only had?17.450 tons of Indian aluminium left at the end May. In March, the share of Russian aluminium had reached 92% before Indian aluminum was placed back on warrant. Many traders do not want to deal with Russian metal, even though it can be traded if it was produced before April 13, 2020. To comply with Western sanctions, aluminum produced in Russia after that date is not allowed to be stored at the LME warehouse system. The share of Chinese copper in the LME's copper stock increased to 53% from 51% in April, despite the fact that the total amount dropped by 36,425 tonnes to 141.025 tons. The total?available copper stock decreased by 79.375 tons, to 266,875 tonnes. At the end of December, the?share of Chinese nickel remained at 71% of LME stock. Reporting by Tom Daly. Mark Potter (Editing)
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India rejects US claim of excess capacity in textiles and steel
Amitabh Kumra, a trade official in India, said that India did not have'surplus manufacturing capacity' in textiles and steel as claimed in the Section 301 investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative. Washington has cited structural surplus capacity in Indian industries, from solar panels and petrochemicals, to steel and textiles. It also cites its $42 billion goods trade deficit with the United States by 2025. Kumar, India's Additional Trade Secretary, said that its textile and Steel output should be evaluated in relation to the size of its population, its domestic demand, and its growth needs rather than its absolute production. "Overcapacity" is a matter of perspective. Kumar stated that they did not believe there was any overcapacity. He added that India's textile consumption per capita was low, especially for?man-made fiber and technical items. This country has a tropical climate. We wear cotton. "How can we have an overcapacity?" Kumar rejected U.S. concerns about?steel production, saying India's requirements reflected the country's development. He said that India's per capita consumption of steel is one of the lowest in the world. The output remains low compared to the population and growth requirements. Analysts say Washington uses the threat of Section 301 Tariffs to pressure India to increase its purchases of U.S. energy products and defence goods, and to open up their markets to agricultural products and other products. New Delhi wants a deal with the United States that would include preferential tariffs for competitors. However, the negotiations have been clouded due to the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. investigation against India. In March, the USTR office launched investigations against India among 16 other countries for policies like subsidies, state funding and industrial planning which 'let factories continue producing even when market conditions were not supportive. The U.S. has proposed an additional 12.5% tariff on imports of goods from India, and other countries. They cite their?uses of forced labour. India, however, says that these are not final as?New Delhi engages Washington in the Section 301 Process. USTR also considers a separate tariff against India. It claims that there is excess capacity in certain sectors, such as textiles, and exports hurt the U.S. industrial sector. Kumar claimed that the move was aimed at "a particular country" while also serving to further other commercial goals. The Trade Minister Piyush Goyal stated last week that both sides are moving quickly to finalise the first tranche of an agreement on trade, possibly as early as mid-July. (Reporting and writing by Manoj Kumra; editing by YPrajesh, Clarence Fernandez and Sakshi Dayal)
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Indian equity benchmarks stable, increase in financials counters Mideast outbreak
Indian share benchmarks remained largely unchanged on Wednesday at the close, with gains in heavyweights financials countering a wider selloff caused by a re-escalation of?the Middle East conflict. After American attacks on Iranian targets near Strait of Hormuz in April, Iran launched "missile" and drone attacks against U.S. bases in Jordan Kuwait and Bahrain. This was one of the largest outbreaks of hostilities in the past few months. The fourth month of the war has seen a 'pummeling' of emerging market assets. This has forced governments in Asia to take steps to reduce the impact on growth and inflation. The benchmark Nifty 50 index in India fell by 0.12%, ending at 23,214.95. Meanwhile, the Sensex rose by 0.09%, to 73983.18. Since the end of Feburary, when the war broke out, the indexes fell 7.8% and 9.0%, respectively. Foreign?outflows totaling $29 billion have also been recorded. On Wednesday, thirteen of the 16 major sectors fell. Financials and private banking rose by 0.2% and 0.7% respectively, continuing the previous session’s growth. According to G Chokkalingam of Equinomics Research, the founder and head researcher, a forex swap facility would reduce the cost of mobilizing foreign currency deposits. Chokkalingam said that benchmarks could struggle to increase unless the foreign outflows reversal and the pressure of oil, fertiliser, and gold imports eases. In May, inflows to equity mutual funds were at their lowest level in around a 12 months, and gold ETFs experienced their first outflows for a full year. This suggests that weak returns are beginning to affect domestic flows, which have been a major support to Indian equities in the last four years. On 'Wednesday', metal stocks fell 1.7% due to a resurgence of Mideast hostilities as well as rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates by year-end. India's small and mid-cap stocks fell by 1.3% and 1.5 %, respectively. Bharathrajeswaran, Vivek KumarM in Bengaluru and Subhranshu Sahu edited by MrigankDhaniwalaNiveditarjee
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Copper falls to a three-week low amid Middle East hostilities
The price of copper fell to its lowest level in three weeks on Wednesday, as the hostilities in the Middle East and the concerns over the global economic outlook outweighed the market impact from a reduction in inventories. At 0925 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price on 'the London Metal Exchange' was down by 1.2% at $13,457 per metric ton. It had earlier reached $13,441, the lowest level since May 20. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed they carried out drone and missile attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan Kuwait and Bahrain on Wednesday in response to U.S. strikes against Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz. John Meyer of SP Angel said that tit-for -tat 'actions' are dominating the markets. He also added that the dollar is?strong. This makes metals denominated in dollars more expensive to holders of other currencies, and can lower prices. Meyer stated that expectations for inflation were rising. "China exports deflation and will now export more inflation." In May, factory-gate inflation in China, which is the world's largest metals consumer, reached its highest level since 2022. The Federal Reserve will release the May U.S. Inflation data later Wednesday. This could influence their policy decisions. Higher interest rates tends to reduce demand for industrial metals that are dependent on growth. LME Copper Stocks The lowest level since April 1 was 369,975 tonnes, a decrease of 3,075 tons. The 'available copper supplies' in Singapore were also reduced by another?50 tonnes of warrant cancellations, or orders to remove copper from warehouses. Stock that is not available to the market now makes up 38% of total stock, the highest ratio since December. Shanghai Futures Exchange Copper stocks Last week, the number of tons produced fell by almost?4% to 169.512. The LME complex as a whole traded lower. The price of aluminium fell 1.7%, to $3483.50, while the price of zinc dropped 1.4%, to $3504.50, and nickel fell 2.3%, to $17.635, its lowest level since April 13. Lead fell 0.8% to $1967 and also hit a new three-week low. Tin dropped 1.1% to $51,845. (Reporting and editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar; Solomon Cefai, Harikrishnan Nair, Barbara Lewis; Additional reporting by Tom Daly)
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Russia has failed to sell its confiscated stakes in UGC for the third time.
On Wednesday, the Russian state auction website showed that they had failed to sell 67.2% of the gold producer Uzhuralzoloto which it had taken 'from its owner' last year. According to the website, the auction was declared null and void because no bidders had been cleared to participate. Also, no deposit had yet been paid for the single bid made by businessman Mikhail Pimulin. The Russian federal property management agency has yet to announce whether or not it will be holding another auction. Last July, a Russian 'court' ruled that the UGC majority stake owned by the businessman Konstantin Strukov be transferred to state. This was part of an ongoing pattern of nationalisations?of assets of Russian and Western companies that have left Russia since the start of the Ukraine war. Strukov, along with several other people at the time, were accused by prosecutors of "corruption" in obtaining their properties. He has not been indicted and is not under custody. The government wants to sell this stake in order to relieve budget pressures. Last month, the previous auction was a failure after only one bidder, gold miner Pokrovskiy Rudnik owned by Atlas Mining, submitted a?complete application and paid a deposit. A second?contender did not pay the deposit or provide the required documentation. The sale was structured like a Dutch auction, where the price is gradually reduced until a bid is made. The stake could have been sold for as low as 50% of the initial price of 162,02 billion roubles (2,25 billion dollars). In January, the Domodedovo Airport in Moscow, which was seized by a court, was auctioned off at a minimum price of 869 million dollars.
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Kuwait's KPC has delivered the first spot fuel cargoes after the Iran War, according to sources
Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) is offering fuel on-demand for the first since the start of the Iran War, according to four sources who are familiar with the matter. Separately KPC is 'offering 4,000,000 barrels of?crude? via tender. A fifth source who has direct knowledge of the issue said that the oil is being offered to Asian buyers. Three sources confirmed that the state firm had offered at least 90,000 metric tons (670,500 bar) of 10ppm gasoil, and a 55,000-60,000 tonne (489,500-534,500 barrels) of naphtha via private negotiations for a June loading. It was not possible to determine immediately if any deals were completed. Sources confirm that the force majeure declared in March by KPC for exports is still in effect. KPC didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Sources said that buyers have the option to transfer fuel cargo via ship-to -ship transfers outside of the Strait of Hormuz, such as in the west coast of India or Sohar (Oman). One of the sources stated that there is an option to load cargo into Fujairah tankers. Kpler data on ship tracking showed that KPC exports of?naphtha rebounded in May to over 40,000 tons after the cargoes had been halted during March and April. According to two separate sources who are KPC's buyers, term deliveries of naphtha should begin in July. KPC sold its last spot diesel cargo via a sales "tender" in January, according to records. Shiptracking data showed that exports had fallen to a five-year low in March and in April. Two shipbroking sources revealed that the Hafnia Despina was chartered by KPC on June 17-19 to load around 90,000 metric tons of refined fuels via ship to ship transfer from?the west of India to either Singapore or northwest Europe. (Reporting and editing by Jason Neely; Additional reporting by Siyi liu)
The chips in MORNING BID AMERICAS are blue
What's important in U.S. and Global Markets Today By Mike Dolan, Editor at Large, Finance and Markets
It's unnerving that the relapse of U.S. Tech stocks on Tuesday occurred as oil prices dropped sharply in the same session. This shows how stock market anxiety extends "well beyond" the energy story. The crude?prices on Wednesday were volatile after the U.S. and?Iran exchanged missile strikes overnight, the most alarming direct interaction between the two sides since the fragile ceasefire was established.
Below, I will go into more detail. Check out my most recent column about why the stock exchange is becoming more important to a growing number employees and households. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast. Subscribe to the Morning Bid daily podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks.
The SOX chip index dropped nearly 2% Tuesday, but the selloff at midday was much more severe. It had been over 8%. Wednesday's equities market mood was further darkened by the fall of Asian indexes and the decline in U.S. Futures before the bell. This comes before the U.S. CPI report for May, which is expected to be released?on Tuesday. Headline inflation will likely creep over 4% for the very first time in 3 years. Core inflation is predicted to hover around 3%.
The report is not only going to set the tone for the stock market, but also a 10-year Treasury Auction later that day. A Federal Reserve rate increase by the end of the year has now been baked into the futures markets. The ECB could deliver a rate hike tomorrow. Meanwhile, Japanese wholesale price data released on Wednesday confirmed that the Bank of Japan would follow suit next Monday. Chinese producer inflation data showed that prices were also hot in China last month. Oil's dramatic fall to a 7-week low Tuesday was one of the few positives in the last 24 hours. The U.S. claimed that oil exports were increasing through the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington and Tehran are struggling to reach an agreement. The renewed U.S. - Iran hostilities'muddied' the picture a bit, as crude prices rose before reversing their gains in volatile trading on early Wednesday. Even though oil prices have fallen, some are still concerned about a possible supply shortage this month due to the shrinking U.S. crude oil stocks.
This all sets a noisy, bumpy background to the SpaceX IPO that will take place later this week. Some say that the event is contributing to the market volatility as investors are clearing the decks to accept the new offer.
Chart of the Day The U.S. Trade deficit shrank in April, as exports of capital goods and petroleum products jumped to new records. Oil exports jumped to $37 billion, a record-high from $28 billion dollars in March. This was due to both increased volumes and the?elevated prices of oil tied to Middle East conflict.
The U.S. has become a net exporter of oil. Its petroleum trade surplus increased to $17.7billion from $9.4billion in March.
Watch today's events
* U.S. CPI for May (8:30 am?EDT).
* U.S. 10-year note auction (1 p.m. EDT)
Want to receive the "Morning bid" in your email every morning? Subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here. Follow us on LinkedIn, X and ROI. The opinions expressed by the author are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of News. News is committed to the Trust Principles and values integrity, independence, freedom from bias, and impartiality.
(source: Reuters)