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Fuel and funds to aid flood-hit Indonesian areas are running low
The authorities battling the floods that hit Sumatra, an island in Indonesia, this week and killed around 800 people have asked for additional central government assistance to address shortages of food, fuel and funds. According to updated government figures, 463 people are missing in West Sumatra (North Sumatra), Aceh and West Sumatra. Local officials say that the lack of power and roads is preventing aid from reaching those who need it. Iskandar Al-Farlaky, the chief of East Aceh, stated that fuel had been limited in East Aceh for days and that aid was delivered by boat. Some people who lived in isolated districts faced the threat of starvation. He said that food stocks were dwindling in three districts and that hunger was imminent. He asked the central government to declare a national state of emergency. "The regional budget has a limited amount." DWINDLING FUEL AND RICE SUPPLIES According to national data, 135,000 people were affected in East Aceh by the disaster. Haili Yogi, the chief of Central Aceh where 21 people were killed by floods and 54,000 were affected, reported that fuel and rice supplies were running low. He is one of four regional leaders who are urging the government to declare an emergency in the face growing public anger. In Indonesia, 3.1 million people have been affected by the flooding, and 592,600 people were evacuated. Prasetyo hadi, the presidential spokesperson, said that Indonesia's disaster relief budget of 500 billion Rupiah (30 million dollars) was adequate. He added that this figure could be raised if needed. These comments follow remarks made by the President Prabowo Subianto to reporters last week, in response to a question about declaring an emergency national, that things were improving and existing arrangements were sufficient. People turn to muddies when they don't have access to fresh water Sibral Malasi, the chief of Aceh's Pidie Jaya Region, also said that fuel supplies in this region were limited. KompasTV reported that residents of Aceh Tamiang, due to a lack of freshwater, were drinking and cleaning muddy floodwater. Jonathan Victor Rembeth is an official with the disaster mitigation agency. He said that a national disaster could be declared if provincial governments declare their inability of responding to a catastrophe, which they haven't done yet. Indonesia, which is frequently hit by natural catastrophes, declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The law allows the president to declare an emergency national, releasing additional funds for aid and rescue. Indonesians have criticised the central Government for not declaring a state of emergency. They also cited budget cuts for the agency that deals with disaster mitigation, which according to official data was down by 50% from last year. Tito Karnavian said that Indonesia's Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian had asked regional governments to donate funds not used by flood victims to those who were affected. Muhammad Baron, a spokesperson for Pertamina, said that the company faces fuel distribution problems in "nearly" all of the flood-affected regions. The company is looking for alternative routes but it will take some time to deliver. Green groups blame illegal logging and deforestation for the worsening of the disaster. $1 = 16,625,0000 rupiah (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez, Alex Richardson, and Stanley Widianto)
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Silver eases off record highs as gold remains steady, while markets are focused on US data
The gold price remained stable on Wednesday, as traders waited for key U.S. indicators to gauge Federal Reserve policy. Silver prices also declined from their new record high. At 0856 GMT the spot gold price was unchanged at $4,207.60 an ounce, after dropping more than 1% during the previous session. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.4% to $4,237.90 an ounce. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank. He said, "(Gold's) price remains unchanged in early European morning hours as attention turns to key U.S. economic data that may cement expectations of a metal-supportive rate cut in December." Investors will be watching for the U.S. ADP November employment figures, which are due at 1315 GMT. The September Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE), delayed due to the U.S. Government Shutdown, is due on Friday. The Fed's dovish tone and weaker economic data in the United States have increased expectations for a rate reduction at its meeting on December 9-10. Brokerages, such as BofA and J.P. Morgan are projecting a policy easing. According to CME's FedWatch, U.S. rate-futures now indicate an 87% probability of a rate reduction next week. Gold that does not yield tends to do well in an environment of low interest rates. Silver fell 0.5%, to $58.15/oz. It had earlier reached a new record of $58.94. Hansen stated that silver is supported by "a limited supply outlook, momentum buying, and short-covering following Friday's breakout over $54.50." He added that overbought condition posed a risk to bulls in the near term. Silver, a precious metal and an industrial metal, gained 101% in value this year. Its inclusion on a U.S. critical mineral list has also helped. This year, gold has risen 60%. Global shares were also more stable on Wednesday thanks to a Wall Street rebound overnight, as the brief sell-offs in bond markets, cryptocurrencies, and cryptocurrency markets subsided. Palladium, on the other hand, lost 0.5% and rose to $1.455.34, while platinum increased by 0.6%. Reporting by Pablo Sinha from Bengaluru. Mark Potter (Editing)
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Fuel and funds to aid flood-hit Indonesian areas are running low
The authorities battling the floods that hit Indonesia's Sumatra island this week, which killed 804 people, have asked for more help from the central government to address shortages in funds, fuel and food. Local government officials say that landslides and floods caused by cyclones have led to 634 deaths in the three provinces West Sumatra (North Sumatra), Aceh and West Sumatra. They also claim that power lines and roads were cut, preventing aid from reaching those who needed it. Teuku Raja Keumangan told Kompas TV that "people are getting sick" in Aceh where flooding has affected 25,000 people. Haili Yogi, the chief of central Aceh where 21 people died and 54,000 were affected by floods, has said that fuel and rice supplies are running out. He urged the central government declare a state of emergency, as anger amongst citizens grows at being cut off from assistance. The budget of Indonesia, which is 500 billion rupiah (30 million dollars) for disaster relief, is adequate, according to presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Didi on Wednesday. However, he added that this figure could be raised if needed. These comments follow remarks made by the President Prabowo Subianto to reporters earlier this week, in response to a question about declaring an emergency national, that things were improving and existing arrangements would suffice. People turn to muddies when they don't have access to fresh water Sibral Malasi, the chief of Aceh's Pidie Jaya Region, has also said that fuel supplies are limited. KompasTV reported that residents of Aceh Tamiang were cleaning and drinking flood water due to a lack of freshwater. Jonathan Victor Rembeth said that a national disaster could be declared if the provincial governments declare their inability of responding to a catastrophe, which they haven't done yet. Indonesia has declared a COVID-19 national emergency. The floods in the country have affected over 3.3 million people, and 576,000 of them were evacuated. The law allows the president to declare an emergency national, releasing additional funds for aid and rescue. Indonesians have criticised the central Government for not declaring a state of emergency. They also cited the cuts in the budget allocated to the agency for disaster mitigation, which according to official data was 50% lower this year than the previous. Indonesia's Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian said that he asked regional governments not affected by floods to donate any unused funds they had to those who were affected. Tito said on Wednesday that the central government will support local authorities who have "given up on" flood response efforts. Muhammad Baron, a spokesperson for Pertamina, said that the company faces fuel distribution problems in "nearly" all of the flood-affected regions. The company will be looking for alternative routes but it may take some time to deliver. Green groups blame illegal logging and deforestation for the worsening of the disaster. $1 = 16,625.0000 Indonesian rupiah (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez, Stanley Widianto, Gayatri Sulaiman, Fransiska Naangoy, Stefanno Sulaiman, Dewikurniawati, Hidayatullah, Pidie Jaya)
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Stocks of the Russian rouble fall as US-Russian talks fail to yield a breakthrough on Ukraine
The Russian rouble fell and the stocks in Russia dropped on Wednesday, after late-night talks at the Kremlin between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's top representatives failed to produce a breakthrough regarding a solution to end Ukraine's war. The talks between Putin, Steve Witkoff (Trump's special representative) and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in law, went well past midnight. Yuri Ushakov said that "compromises had not been reached" after the talks. The rouble fell 0.6% against the dollar at 0820 GMT and was down 0.5% against the Chinese Yuan at 11,01 on the Moscow Exchange where it is most traded. The main index of the Moscow Exchange was down by 1.6%, with Gazprom down 2%, Sberbank down 1.5% and Rosneft down 1,7%. Analysts at Alfa Bank said that the flagship stock market indicator has been declining due to the fact that there have not been any progress in Ukraine negotiations and reports of a lack of compromise. Analysts consider the Russian stock exchange, which has most of its blue-chip companies under Western sanctions as being undervalued. They call the main beneficiaries of the Ukraine peace talks, "peace coin". In February, the U.S. and Russia talks began. This initially lifted the thin Russian market driven by domestic funds after Western funds had left Russia. However, since then, hopes of a rapid end to the conflict have slowly faded. There is less hope. Fewer illusions. How much does hope cost? It's not so small. Yevgeny KOGAN, an economist, said that the market could lose between 8-10% as a result of the general disappointment. (Reporting and editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Andrew Osborn; Gleb Bryanski, Gleb)
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Swiss inflation unexpectedly drops to zero in November
Official data released on Wednesday showed that the annual inflation rate in Switzerland unexpectedly fell by a tenth of a percent point to zero. This was a slight undershoot from expectations. A poll of analysts found that the consensus was that last month's inflation rate would be unchanged, at 0.1%. The Federal Statistics Office published data that showed the Swiss Consumer Price Index fell by 0.2% compared to the previous month. This was in line with poll predictions. According to the office, this was due to a number of factors, including lower prices on hotels, package holidays, new cars, and certain vegetables. The office said that prices for housing, heating oil, and air travel rose. The data comes just a little over a week ahead of the Swiss National Bank's next rate setting decision. SNB's benchmark is zero at the moment, and it has stated that they expect inflation to gradually increase next year. The market expects the SNB to leave its benchmark rate unchanged in the coming week. The SNB targets a rate of inflation between 0 and 2 percent. (Writing and editing by Dave Graham)
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Iron ore prices ease amid policy meetings and soft fundamentals
The price of iron ore futures fell slightly on Wednesday due to weaker demand signals. Traders were also awaiting the outcome of upcoming Chinese economic meetings for any guidance regarding growth targets that could be supportive. The January contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 0.19% at 799.5 Yuan ($113.19). As of 0724 GMT, the benchmark January iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was up 0.24% at $104.15 per ton. Atilla Winnel, Singapore-based Navigate Commodities managing director, explained that a broader macro trade drives speculation in China-centric futures for industrial commodities. Investors await signals from the Central Economic Work Conference, which sets the agenda for the year ahead, and the Politburo meeting in December on the growth targets. Widnell said that some traders were positioning themselves ahead of these meetings to take advantage of any rally. However, we do not expect positive announcements from these meetings regarding steel-intensive consumption. According to market intelligence provider Shanghai Metals Markets, iron ore concentrate prices are expected to be stable in the short term in Tangshan. SMM said that hot metal production, which is a measure of iron ore consumption, has been on a downward trajectory. Weakening fundamentals are putting pressure on the ore price, but sentiment remains positive in advance of important policy meetings. According to broker Galaxy Futures, due to the recent tightening of environmental inspections, it is expected that pig iron production will continue to fall this week. This puts pressure on raw materials. According to the latest monthly outlook of Mysteel, the chief analyst Wang Jianhua, the prices of Chinese steel are still expected to rise in December due to the improvement in the macroeconomic climate and the recovery in the market fundamentals. Coke and coking coal were both up, but coking coal was down by 2.19%. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also showed mixed results. Hot-rolled coils and wire rods both fell by 0.21%, but rebar rose 0.06%. Stainless steel also grew 0.2%. $ 1 = 7.0632 Chinese yuan (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair, Eileen Soreng).
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Copper prices rise on concerns about supply; Fed rate decision pending
The copper price rose on Wednesday, hovering near the highs set earlier this week. Supply concerns fueled the overall bullishness surrounding the metal. Meanwhile, the market focused its attention on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement next week. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract reversed initial session losses and closed daytime trading at 89210 yuan per metric ton ($12,630.79), extending gains for the eighth consecutive session. Shanghai copper was a close follower of the benchmark London three-month copper, which was lowered from its all-time-high on account of a lower appetite for risk and profit-taking. London copper reversed Tuesday’s losses, rising 0.93% at $11,249 per ton by 0705 GMT. The upward trend was supported by optimism over a second rate cut from the U.S. Central Bank on December 10. A 25-bps cut has already been priced into the market despite limited economic data being available due to the 43 day U.S. Government shutdown. Analysts at Sucden Financial warned that policymakers risked "creating an unnecessary market disruption" if they resisted the expectations. Base metals from Shanghai and London are combined. Aluminium, zinc, lead, nickel, and tin all rose in value. $1 = 7.0629 Chinese yuan renminbi $1 = 7.0629 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Dylan Duan, Lewis Jackson and Ronojoy Mazumdar).
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The restructuring costs of Thyssenkrupp Steel Head are estimated at hundreds of millions euros
Marie Jaroni is the head of Thyssenkrupp’s steel division. She estimates that a restructuring agreement, which will result in the loss or outsourcing of 11,000 jobs, will cost the company three digit million euro, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe said this week it had reached an agreement with the IG Metall to reduce or outsource 40 percent of its workforce. It will also reduce production to a level of shipping of 8,7 million to 9,0 million tons from 11.5 millions at present. The restructuring costs us about a million euros. In an interview published Wednesday, Jaroni stated that the exact amount will depend on how many employees take up each offer. She told the newspaper that this will be a good investment, as the company's personnel costs will permanently fall, and will be "a three-digit amount less per year than they are today." Thyssenkrupp has been trying to sell its steel business for many years. In September, India's Jindal Steel International made an indicative offer for TKSE. Jindal Steel has been conducting detailed due diligence in order to determine whether it should make a formal, binding offer to TKSE. TKSE is Germany's biggest steelmaker and had sales of 10,7 billion euros (12.46 billion dollars) last year.
Sify Infinite Spaces, an Indian data center operator, is betting on AI boom and wary of bubble
Sify Infinit Spaces, India's first publicly listed data center operator sees AI as driving the demand for computing power, but it is tempering its future investments in order to avoid being over-exposed to a possible bubble, said its chief executive.
India has seen a surge in the number of data centers, largely due to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence technologies. These technologies require massive computing power. Sharad Agarwal, CEO of Sify Infinit, said in an interview conducted late November that the company will continue to expand "responsibly and calculatedly" so as to match sustainable demand.
Sify Technologies, the company's parent, was one of India's first private Internet providers, and played a major role in the early internet boom. Now, Sify Technologies wants to expand its clientele beyond hyperscalers, large cloud service providers, by adding banks, ecommerce, media, and financial services to their list.
We've been through the dotcom bubble and the subprime crises. Agarwal stated that we are able to cut through the 'bubble' and reality of a technology development.
He said AI was not a bubble in technology, but warned against herd mentality that could lead to overbuilding and create capacity glut.
According to Mordor Intelligence, India's datacenter capacity will more than triple by 2030 to 4.7 gigawatts from 1.3 GW by April 2025. This is due to the increasing cloud adoption and AI workloads.
Kotak Private Equity, which owns and operates 14 data centers in India, with 11 others under construction, filed draft documents for an initial public offering of 37 billion rupees ($410.87 millions) back in October.
Agarwal explained that the company's projects are usually two to three years in advance, giving it room to adapt if consumer sentiment changes.
He said that while hyperscalers like Alphabet and Amazon still dominate the data-capacity market, edge data centers or smaller local hubs are gaining in popularity as streaming and entertainment consumption increases outside of metro cities.
Sify is building a data center edge in Visakhapatnam, a port city located in eastern India. Reliance Adani and Google have recently invested in the city. $1 = 90.0525 Indian Rupees
(source: Reuters)