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Taganrog evacuates following drone attack on Taganrog's Ilsky Oil Refinery
Local officials said that a drone strike caused the fire at the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Krasnodar, and authorities in Taganrog evacuated residents after another strike. The authorities reported that preliminary information indicated no injuries. In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on 'Russia's energy infrastructure and other infrastructure to undermine Moscow’s war effort. The Ilsky refinery with its capacity of?around 138,000 barrels per day has been attacked before. Fuel shortages and price increases across Russia are a result of the attacks on oil refineries. Yury Slyusar, the Governor of Rostov, said on Telegram that fires are being put out at two fuel depots in the region and at?Taganrog's seaport. Svetlana kambulova, Taganrog's mayor, said via the Max app that authorities had evacuated people from their homes in the affected areas. She stated that a private home was damaged and the roof of a?administrative structure caught fire. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that air defence units shot down 376 Ukrainian drones over night. (Reporting and editing by Jacqueline Wong).
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India's ONGC plans a 1.75 million tonne national strategic oil reserve
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp, India's largest explorer, will build a 1,75 million metric ton national strategic petroleum reserve at Mangalore (in southern India), the company announced in a late-night stock exchange filing. India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, has been severely affected by the blockade of Strait of Hormuz following the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran. Around a fifth (25%) of world energy passes through the waterway. To strengthen its emergency supply, the 'South Asian nation' is increasing its energy cooperation with other countries, such as Japan and the United Arab Emirates. In the?filing, ONGC said it would ask the federal government for permission to use the storage in "national interests" for commercial purposes. New Delhi has already allowed commercial use of part of its strategic storage, built in three locations in southern India - Mangalore Padur and Vizag. This allows up to 5,33 MT crude to be stored. The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. manages these storage facilities. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd is a subsidiary of ONGC that operates a refinery capable of processing 300,000 barrels per day in Mangalore. It has already leased the half of the 1.5MT Mangalore - SPR. The remaining capacity is leased by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. ADNOC, during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE in early this year, announced plans to expand crude oil'storage' in India up to 30,000,000?barrels. ADNOC announced that India would also explore the possibility of storing crude oil at Fujairah, as part of India's strategic reserves. India is also planning to build a 4 MT strategic storage facility in Odisha, and a 2.5 MT facility in Padur in southern India. (Reporting and editing by Nidhi verma)
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Gold prices to drop this week as Gulf attack reinforces rate-hike betting
Gold was?on course for a weekly 'fall' on Friday, amid?concerns about the potential impact of escalating U.S. - Iran tensions on inflation and keeping the Federal Reserve in a hawkish monetary policies. By 0426 GMT, spot gold had fallen 0.2% per ounce to $4113.29 and was on track for a weekly drop of 1.5%. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell by 0.4% to $4122.70. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that gold?is consolidating today after yesterday's gains. Traders are hesitant to commit further to a?gain due to the uncertainty surrounding US-Iran relationships. The oil prices were on course for a weekly increase as the U.S. & Iran traded strikes. Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. Military Infrastructure in Gulf States on Thursday after?U.S. Strikes on Iran's eastern and southern provinces. The Fed is likely to raise rates this year as inflation fears have been heightened by the latest round of strikes. According to CME's FedWatch, the markets are now pricing in 63% of a rate hike for September, up from 54% just a week ago. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but it can lose its appeal in a high interest rate environment. I expect gold to continue to attract buyers on dips, as long as oil remains at current levels. Waterer warned that a'sharp spike' in oil could reignite inflation fears and interest rate concerns, which would hurt gold. The minutes of the Fed’s June meeting, published earlier this week showed that policymakers were growing concerned about 'elevated inflation. HSBC reduced its average gold price predictions for 2026-2027 on Thursday. They cited a hawkish change in?U.S. Expectations about monetary policy and the'stronger dollar' were cited as reasons for HSBC to lower its average gold price forecasts for 2026 and 2027. Silver spot rose 0.6%?to $60.34 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.4% at $1,632.16. Palladium rose 1.6% to 1,267.71. All three metals are on course for a loss this week. (Reporting from Swati and Pablo Verma, Bengaluru. Editing by Sherry Phillips and Subhranshu Shu.
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India's TCS rises on revenue beat and AI momentum Fueling Recovery Hopes
Shares of India's largest?software exporter,?Tata Consultancy Services, advanced by more than 4% the day after beating a?quarterly revenue estimate.?Deal wins and increasing AI-related revenues raised hopes for a slow earnings recovery. TCS traded 1.8% higher, at 2,086 Rupees, at 9:59 am IST in Mumbai. This boosted the?Nifty50 index by 1.1%. The IT index rose about 2%. The results of the IT company kicked off India's first-quarter earning season, which saw earnings downgrades due to a slowdown in client spending and concerns that AI could disrupt the business models of software companies. TCS's quarterly sales increased 14% over the previous year to 722.75 billion rupies ($7.58 billion). CEO K Krithivasan was "optimistic", he said, about a turnaround of tech spending by manufacturing and life science clients in the second quarter. The order book of the IT firm was $9.5 billion, while its AI revenue rose to $2.6 billion annually. CLSA said the ?firm's revenue ?growth was better-than-expected, helped by strength in banking, financial services and insurance, high-tech and ?regional markets. HSBC stated that the outlook for manufacturing, pharma and Energy was "incrementally optimistic". Nomura analysts said that despite macro-uncertainty, a near-term growth rebound was'reasonably visible' thanks to a $800 million megadeal.
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MORNING BID EUROPE - Japan calling capital home
Ankur Banerjee gives us a look at what the European and global markets will be like today. This is a much-anticipated'move' to encourage repatriation. Satsuki Katayama, Japan's Finance Minister, said the country wanted to encourage pension funds to invest "substantially more" in domestic financial assets. GPIF is the largest pension fund in the world, with assets of 293.4 trillion yen. Financial markets closely follow its movements, since any changes in strategy are often mirrored by other funds. The Takaichi Administration's fiscal expansion and the possibility of political interference with monetary policy sparked concerns, which led to a sell-off in Japanese government bond (JGB) yields reaching multi-decade highs this week. The 'latest broadside' lifted the yen and eased yield pressure, keeping the Nikkei on track. After Katayama's remarks, the yen firmed up more than 0.5% and reached 161,45 against the U.S. Dollar. The AI theme has returned ahead of the U.S. debut of chip bellwether SK Hynix, which is the AI poster child. SK Hynix raised $26.5 billion as part its offering. After a strong run, chip stocks have lost a bit of'momentum' in recent weeks as investors worry about AI spending, high valuations, and the pace at which profits are growing. Investors are awaiting the debut re-rating of SK Hynix against its U.S. competitor Micron. Retail investors will also be a focus. Micron is trading at a price-to earnings ratio of 6.66 in the 12-month future, compared to SK Hynix’s 5.5. The following are the key developments that may influence Friday's markets: Economic events: June data on inflation in Germany and France. (Edited by Jamie Freed; Ankur Banerjee, Singapore)
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The dollar is weakening, and the Middle East has not escalated.
The weakened?dollar helped copper to rise on Friday. This eased fears about a spate of?tit-fortat strikes between Iran and the U.S. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.29% to $13,528 per metric tonne by 0300 GMT. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose by 1.61%, to 103950 yuan (about $15,334.80). This week, the LME saw a 1.2% rise. It was a volatile week in which fears of inflation and macroeconomic risks were raised by a new round of fighting between the U.S. The dollar is on course to drop for a third day in a row, which will support copper prices by making them cheaper for buyers who use other currencies. John Williams, the New York Federal Reserve president, downplayed on Thursday the inflationary impact caused by the latest Middle East conflict. Copper, a metal that is dependent on growth and heavily influenced by inflation and interest rates, has a high price. Interest rates that are higher dampen the demand for industrial metals like copper by reducing economic activity. Aluminium gained 0.55% at the LME, and 0.67% at the SHFE. Prices for light metals are expected to reach their highest level since April with a rise of more than 4% on the LME. Stockpiles of aluminium have been dwindling due to disruptions in Middle East supply. The Middle East, which is home to 9% of the world's smelting capacity, has lost production. This has helped push the market into deficit. Total LME aluminium stocks The lowest levels since 2022. LME zinc rose 0.06% after rallying over 3% on Friday?on reports of a fire at a South Korean Smelter. The SHFE price also gained 1.32%. Lead added 0.18% to the?LME, nickel added 0.29 and tin ticked up by 0.1%. Nickel gained 1.13% while tin grew 2.38%.
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Twelve people have died in wildfires that raged through southern Spain, according to the emergency agency
The Emergency Agency of Andalucia announced early Friday that 12 people had died in a blaze in Almeria, southern Spain. Antonio Sanz, Minister of Presidency, health, and Emergencies, called the fire the "most devastating fire in our region to date"? and described the situation as "unprecedented". Six deaths were reported earlier due to the wildfire. In a recent post on X, Juanma Moreno wrote: "Our deepest sympathies to the families of the six people that lost their lives at Los Gallardos. And?the affection of all of us for?the municipalities that were affected by the fire." Los Gallardos, a municipality in the Almeria Province of southern Spain's Andalusia region, is known for its wildfires. This blaze comes after a wildfire that was burning out of hand in southern France earlier this week, which forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from a dozen small?towns? and villages near Spain's border. The early summer heatwaves in western Europe between?May? and?June? have parched large areas of land, making it particularly vulnerable to fires this year. The World 'Meteorological Organisation has stated that Europe is warming at a rate more than double the global average. This makes prolonged heat events increasingly likely. (Reporting and editing by Kim Coghill in Bengaluru, and Lincoln Feast.
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Gold prices to drop this week as Gulf attack reinforces rate-hike betting
Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar weakened, but were on course for a weekly decline on fears that the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran could fuel inflation. This would keep the U.S. Federal Reserve in a hawkish policy direction. As of 0303 GMT spot gold was up by 0.2%, at $4,128,92 per ounce. It is heading for a weekly decline of over 1%. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery were unchanged at $4,139.50. Dollars were at their lowest level in a week, which made greenbacks priced bullion more accessible to holders of other currencies. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that gold?is consolidating today after yesterday's gains. Traders are hesitant to commit further upside due to the?prevailing uncertainties over US-Iran relationships. Oil prices are on course for a weekly gain as U.S. armed forces and Iran continue to exchange strikes. Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S.?military?infrastructures in Gulf states after U.S. strikes against Iran's eastern and southern provinces. The recent round of strikes have fueled inflation concerns, and reinforced the likelihood that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in this year. According to CME’s FedWatch tool, the markets are now pricing in a 64% probability of a September rate hike. This is up from 54% just a week ago. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but it can lose its appeal when interest rates are high. "I think gold will continue to be attractive on dips, as long as oil remains at current levels." Waterer said that a sharp rise in oil prices could rekindle inflation and interest-rate fears, which would hurt gold. The minutes of the Fed's meeting in June, which were released earlier this week, revealed that policymakers are increasingly concerned about inflation. HSBC cut their average gold price predictions for 2026-2027 on 'Thursday. They cited a hawkish change in 'U.S. Expectations about monetary policy and a stronger dollar were cited as reasons for HSBC's downward revision of its average gold price forecasts for 2026 and 2027. Silver spot rose 0.8%, to $60.46 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.6%, to $1.636.68. Palladium increased 1.6%, to $1.267. All three metals are on course for a loss this week.
US building and construction spending falls in August on single-family homebuilding
U.S. building spending all of a sudden fell in August amid a sharp drop in expenses on singlefamily housing jobs, but declining borrowing expenses could stimulate activity in the months ahead.
The Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Tuesday building costs dipped 0.1% after a downwardly revised 0.5% drop in July. Financial experts surveyed had anticipated building spending would edge up 0.1% after a previously reported 0.3% decline.
Construction spending increased 4.1% on a year-on-year basis in August.
Investing in personal building and construction jobs slipped 0.2% in August after decreasing 0.7% in July. Financial investment in domestic building fell 0.3% with outlays on new single-family jobs plunging 1.5%.
The rising supply of new homes on the market is preventing builders from beginning on brand-new housing tasks.
That, together with buyers holding out for lower mortgage rates could, in the near term, limit the boost from declining borrowing expenses. The Federal Reserve last month cut interest rates for the first time in 4 years. The U.S. reserve bank is anticipated to reduce rates once again in November and December.
Mortgage rates are at two-year lows, while the inventory of new homes is at levels last seen in early 2008.
Spending on multi-family housing systems fell 0.4%. However costs on home remodellings increased.
Financial investment in personal non-residential structures like workplaces and factories dipped 0.1%.
Investing in public construction projects advanced 0.3% after rising 0.5% in July. State and local government spending increased 0.3% and expenses on federal government jobs increased 0.5%.
(source: Reuters)