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In overnight raids, gunmen kill 60 villagers and abduct 60 more in northern Nigeria
Witnesses said that gunmen kidnapped at least 45 women, children and teenagers in a raid overnight on five villages located in northwest Nigeria. This is the second such mass kidnapping to occur in this area in recent days. Shehu Musa told Shehu Musa by phone on late Tuesday that the attackers had returned to Sabongarin Damri after a raid on nearby villages, including Sade and Tungar Tsalle. They also raided Tungar Sodangi, Tungar Musa Dogo and Tungar Tsalle. This incident was a follow-up to a separate mass kidnapping in Sabongarin Damri in Zamfara State on Saturday, where 70 people were abducted. Musa stated that "the attackers invaded communities and kidnapped not less than 45 people in five neighboring villages which are located less than a half-kilometre apart." In the last few years, armed groups, also known as "bandits" in Nigerian dialects have murdered hundreds of people and kidnapped thousands throughout the northwest. They hold hostages for long periods of time, and demand ransoms to release them. The security forces killed three assailants in the attack on Monday, but they were unable stop the bandits fleeing and stealing cattle. The number of civilian casualties was not confirmed, but there were reports. Hassan Dauda is a resident from Tungar Tsalle. "They mainly kidnapped children and women after killing some people," he said. "As I speak to you, many residents are fleeing the community out of fear." Separately Boko Haram militants also attacked the remote Kennari Village, located in the Damasak region of northeastern Borno State, on Monday. They abducted at least 15 people, and killed one, according to the security report. Modu Bukar said that the attackers killed the village chief and demanded 30 million naira (19,650 dollars) in ransom to release the captives. $1 = 1,526,4000 naira (Reporting from Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri and writing by Elisha Gbogbo).
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France fights the largest wildfire this year and one person is killed
Local authorities reported that firefighters were fighting in the south of France on Wednesday against the biggest wildfire to have occurred this year. One person died in the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, and one person from the same village was missing, the Aude prefecture said. At least 25 homes have been destroyed by the fire. There are many roads closed in the area. Prefecture officials said that the fire is spreading "very rapidly" and nearly 2,000 firefighters are trying to control it. It said that around 2,500 households were without power in the area. Firefighter Eric Brocardi, a spokesman for RTL radio said that the fire spread at 5.5 km/h (3.4 miles per hour). According to BFM TV's local firefighting chief Christophe Magny, the fire has already burned through 13,000 acres, making it one of the largest wildfires in the country. The affected area is larger than the size of Paris. Later in the day, Francois Bayrou, the Prime Minister of France will visit the scene. Scientists claim that the Mediterranean region is at a high risk for wildfires because of its hotter and drier summers. Fires can spread quickly and out of control in the Mediterranean region due to strong winds and abundant dry vegetation. Reporting by Manon C. Cruz, Charlotte Van Campenhout Michel Rose, and Sudip K. Gupta. Writing by Ingrid Melander. Editing by Tom Hogue, Alison Williams, and Alison Williams.
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Zelenskiy: Russia struck gas facility in Odesa Region to undermine winter preparations
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that Russia had struck a gas plant in Odesa, a southern region of Ukraine, undermining winter preparations. He claimed that the Orlovka Interconnector, which is the route through which Ukraine receives its gas via Transbalkan, was attacked by terrorists in the village Novosilske, near the border with Romania. Zelenskiy, a Russian energy expert, said that the move was "absolutely cynical" and a deliberate attack on our heating preparations. Russia has not yet commented on the incident. Since a series devastating Russian missile attacks this year that significantly reduced the domestic gas production, Ukraine has been facing a severe gas shortage. Russia has denied that it targets civilians ever since its invasion of Ukraine began more than three year ago. However, they say infrastructure like energy systems is a legitimate target because they aid Ukraine's war efforts. On Wednesday morning, the governor for the southern Odesa Region reported that an attack had been made on the gas infrastructure, including the main pipeline. He said work was underway to remove the gas from the pipeline. Ukrainian officials have not said if the interconnector is damaged or if gas will continue to be pump. Orlovka was to receive 0.4 million cubic meters of gas on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian transit operator. Ukraine announced last month that it would significantly increase its gas imports, mainly from SOCAR Energy in Azerbaijan. Gas can be delivered to Ukraine via the Transbalkan route, which connects Greece with Bulgaria and Romania. Kyiv called the route "extremely significant" as it allows access to gas from Greek, Turkish and Azerbaijani LNG terminals and pipeline gas from Romania and Azerbaijan. It could also provide access to offshore gas in Bulgaria. (Reporting and editing by Toby Chopra, Alex Richardson, and Pavel Polityuk)
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Iron ore prices fall as investors focus on coking coal
Iron ore futures fell on Wednesday as investors shifted their focus from iron ore to coking coal due to concerns about the demand for iron ore in China, its largest consumer. As of 0712 GMT, the benchmark September iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell 0.7% to $100.75 per metric ton. The daytime trading price of the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was 794.5 Yuan ($110.52) per ton, down by 0.06%. Cao Ying is a Beijing analyst with broker SDIC Futures. She said that the buying in the spot market has been weak because mills are hesitant to stockpile raw materials in anticipation of the upcoming major event in September. This is dragging down futures prices. The big event is a ceremony in Beijing on September 3, commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the End of World War Two. Chinese steelmakers, particularly those in the north, often restrict production in advance of major events in order to maintain air quality in Beijing. Cao, from SDIC, added that "Speculative sentiment" is very low as capital has poured into the volatile coal market. Iron ore open interest in Dalian dropped by 4.2% on Tuesday compared to the previous day, while Dalian coking coal saw a 13.7% increase. Open interest is the number of option contracts that have not yet been settled between buyers or sellers. It's a measure for investors' participation on a particular market. Three analysts and traders have said that they are now focusing on trading coking coal. Analysts said that the price of coking coal increased by 6.45%. This was due to fears about a possible contraction in supply, amid more stringent safety inspections for coal mines, and government investigations for reducing excess production. The price fluctuations of coking coal have attracted more capital and investors, which has in turn increased the volatility, said Zhou Tao analyst at Galaxy Futures. Coke rose by 1.95%. The Shanghai Futures Exchange has seen a rise in most steel benchmarks. Rebar gained 0.75%; hot-rolled coil grew 0.41%; wire rod climbed 0.38%, while stainless steel fell 0.12%. ($1 = 7,1889 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson)
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The dollar is struggling to find direction
The dollar was unable to gain any ground on Wednesday due to growing Federal Reserve expectations of rate cuts. Investors were looking at weak U.S. economic data and warnings from corporations about the impact of tariffs. The EUROSTOXX futures are up 0.5%, indicating that European stocks will open higher. Novo Nordisk, a maker of wegovy, reported a second-quarter growth in sales of 18%. This was below the initial expectations by analysts. Nasdaq and S&P futures both rose 0.4% after a dip. After the bell, shares of AI chip maker Advanced Micro Devices fell 6.6% on disappointing data center revenue. Analysts at BlackRock Investment Institute said: "We see risky assets as a tug of war between strong U.S. earnings, fueled by the artificial-intelligence (AI) theme and tariffs that hurt growth but raise inflation." We remain overweight U.S. stock but become more granular in assessing the impact of tariffs. Overnight, U.S. stock prices finished lower following the unexpected stagnation of services sector activity in July. Input costs and employment have risen by nearly three years. This highlights the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Tariffs are beginning to impact U.S. earnings, even though they were generally positive in the second quarter. Taco Bell's parent company Yum Brands missed its expectations due to steep trade duties that impacted consumer spending. Caterpillar also warned of a cost of up to $1.5 Billion this year from U.S. Tariffs. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell by 0.1% while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6%. Australia's resource shares rose by 0.8%. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong and the blue chips of China both rose by 0.1%. Trump said on Tuesday that he would announce tariffs for semiconductors and chips within the next few weeks. The U.S. will initially impose a'small tariff' on pharmaceutical imports, before it increases it significantly in the following year or two. He said that the U.S. and China were close to a deal on trade, and if one was reached he would be meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping by the end of the calendar year. He threatened to increase tariffs on Indian goods over their Russian oil purchases. The Reserve Bank of India held its key interest rate at 5.50%, as expected, on Wednesday. However, the chances of another reduction have increased after the U.S. imposed steep tariffs on Indian imports last week. On the currency markets, after a disappointing jobs report last Friday that caused markets to price in an almost certain chance of a Fed rate cut in September, the dollar has stabilized. The dollar index (which measures the U.S. Dollar against six counterparts) was unchanged at 98.73 this week, after Friday's fall of 1.4%. FedWatch from the CME shows that Fed funds futures indicate a 94% probability of a rate reduction next month. At least two cuts are priced in this year. Investors await Trump's choice to fill the upcoming vacancy at the Fed Board of Governors. Trump announced that a decision would be made shortly, but ruled out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is currently the Fed Board of Governors' chief and whose tenure ends in May 2026. Treasury yields rose after a $58 Billion auction of 3-year notes failed, but they remained near their multi-month lows. This week, the market will see more supply with $42 billion of 10-year notes and $25 billion of 30-year bonds. The yields on two-year Treasury bonds rose by 2 basis points, to 3.7323%. They had risen by 3.5 basis points overnight. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year bond yields increased 3 bps, to 4.2217% after remaining unchanged overnight. Oil prices have risen on commodity markets after four consecutive sessions of declines. U.S. crude oil rose 0.6% to $65.57 a barrel while Brent crude was up 0.6% at $68.07 a barrel. Trump said Tuesday that he would decide whether or not to sanction countries who purchase Russian oil following a scheduled meeting with Russian officials on Wednesday. The spot gold price fell 0.3%, to $3.370 per ounce.
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Two people killed and 10 injured in Zaporizhzhia by Russian strikes, says regional governor
Ivan Fedorov, the governor of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, said that Russian attacks in the region killed two people, and injured 10, including four children. Fedorov reported that Russian forces launched 567 attacks in 16 settlements of the region over the course of 24 hours, from Wednesday morning to the next day. Zaporizhzhia was on the frontlines of the war Russia launched in February 2022 against its smaller neighbor. Fedorov, a Telegram user, said that nine buildings had been damaged by the strikes in the Zaporizhzhia district. Zaporizhzhia is the administrative center of the region. Fedorov stated that "Emergency Services continue to respond" on the ground. The report could not be independently verified. Russia has not yet responded. Both sides deny that they have targeted civilians when attacking each other's territories. The vast majority of the civilians killed in the conflict are Ukrainian. (Reporting and editing by Saad sayeed in Melbourne, Lidia Kelly from Melbourne)
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MORNING BID EUROPE - Tariff toll still not deter stock bulls
Stella Qiu gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Stock investors aren't too worried about the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs on economic data and corporate earnings. The data showed that the U.S. services sector slowed down in July, as the employment rate continued to decline and input costs rose by the highest level in almost three years. This, combined with Friday's brutal jobs report, rekindled fears of stagflation and put the Federal Reserve into a difficult position. The impact of tariffs on U.S. earnings is becoming more evident, even though the results were generally positive in the second quarter. Caterpillar warned it could lose up to $1.5bn in tariffs this year, and Taco Bell's parent company Yum Brands warned against increased costs and a weakened consumer market. After the bell, shares of Advanced Micro Devices, a stock that makes AI chips for data centers, fell 6.6%. Investors are caught in a tug-of-war between tariffs and still robust earnings. According to the impressive rise in stocks following the U.S. employment figures, buying the dip is still a good idea for now. Reports indicate that the other big news today is the ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company is currently in the early stages of a possible secondary stock sale. This would value the company at approximately $500 billion. In Asia, the majority of shares fell but Japan and Australia performed better with gains of 0.6%. Wall Street futures recovered after a dip. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose 0.1% each. The European stock futures market is bracing itself for a higher opening, with EUROSTOXX futures up by 0.3%. The dollar has struggled to recover after the Friday jobs slump. Trump's choice to fill the upcoming vacancy at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is being watched closely. Trump announced that a decision would be made by Friday. He also ruled out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is currently the chief of staff and whose tenure ends in 2026. After a disappointing three-year auction on Tuesday, the Treasury market prepared for a $42 Billion auction of 10-year bonds. The following are key developments that may influence the markets on Wednesday. Retail sales in the Eurozone for June U.S. Treasury 10-year bond auction Disney, Uber and McDonald's earnings results Want to stay up-to-date with the latest tariffs? Our daily news digest provides a quick overview of the most important headlines that impact global trade. Tariff Watch is available here.
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Trump's threats against Russian crude buyers have led to a rebound in oil prices
On Wednesday, oil prices rose, recovering from a five week low the day before, amid concerns about supply disruptions following U.S. president Donald Trump's threat of tariffs against India for its Russian crude purchase. Brent crude futures rose 43 cents (0.6%) to $68.07 per barrel at 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 40 cents (0.6%), reaching $65.56 per barrel. Market chatter has grown that China's purchases may be the next thing to come under scrutiny, according to ING commodity analysts on Thursday. They said that if India stopped buying Russian oil due to tariff threats, the market could cope with this loss. The bigger risk, however, was if the other buyers started to avoid Russian oil. The oil contract prices fell more than one dollar on Tuesday, reaching their lowest level in five weeks. This was the fourth session that both contracts had lost money, due to concerns about oversupply resulting from OPEC+’s planned September production increase. Investors are assessing if India will reduce their Russian crude purchases as a response to Trump's threat, which could tighten the supply. But it is yet to be seen whether this will happen," said Yuki Tasashima. He said that if India's imports remained steady, WTI would likely stay in the $60-$70 price range for the remainder of the month. OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its allies agreed on Sunday to increase oil production by 547,000 barges per day in September. This will bring an end to the most recent cut in output earlier than expected. OPEC+ produces about half the oil in the world. For several years, the group had curtailed production to help the market. This year, the group has accelerated its output to regain some market share. The U.S. demand that India stop buying Russian oil, as Washington looks for ways to pressure Moscow to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine, could disrupt supply as Indian refiners look for alternatives and Russian crude gets redirected to another buyer. Trump threatened on Tuesday to increase tariffs on Indian products over the country's Russian-oil purchases in the next 24 hour. Trump said that falling energy prices may also pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into ending the war in Ukraine. New Delhi called Trump’s threat “unjustified” and pledged to protect its own economic interests, deepening the trade rift between two countries. Takashima, from Nomura, also cited industry data that showed crude inventories in America, the largest oil consumer in the world, as a positive for the oil markets. Sources citing American Petroleum Institute data said Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks fell by 4.2 millions barrels during the past week. This compares to a poll estimation of a 600,000.0 barrels draw in the week ending August 1. Wednesday is the day that the U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly inventories. Reporting by Yuka Obaashi in Tokyo, Jeslyne Lerh and Stephen Coates in Singapore. Editing by Christian Schmollinger & Stephen Coates.
India's palm oil imports drop 41% m/m to 9-month low
India's palm oil imports in December plunged 41% from a month previously to a ninemonth low, as a rally in prices to a 21/2year high triggered refiners to increase purchases of rival soyoil readily available at a discount, a leading trade body stated.
Lower palm oil imports by India, the world's greatest buyer of veggie oils, might weigh on benchmark Malaysian palm oil rates, but support U.S. soyoil futures.
Palm oil imports in December was up to 500,175 metric lots, the lowest because March 2024, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) stated in a declaration on Tuesday.
Imports of soyoil increased 3.2% to 420,651 loads, the greatest in four months, and sunflower oil imports fell 22.3% to 264,836 heaps, the trade body stated.
Lower imports of palm oil and sunflower oil reduced the nation's total vegetable oil imports in December by 24.3% to 1.23 million tons, the most affordable in 3 months, the SEA stated.
Palm oil is losing market share in India to more affordable soyoil as declining Malaysian palm oil exports due to tightening up supplies are driving consumers towards South American soyoil, the SEA said.
Palm oil normally trades at a discount to soyoil and sunflower oil, but falling stocks have raised its prices above rival oils, whose products are plentiful, traders said.
Palm oil's premium over rival oils has boiled down in the last couple of weeks, but the vegetable oil still holds a premium of more than $40 per heap over soyoil, which will motivate Indian purchasers to decrease imports even in January, stated a Mumbai-based dealership with an international trade home.
India purchases palm oil primarily from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
(source: Reuters)