Symax Fintech Daily Insights 24.08.23

Ofgem has been accused of allowing energy companies to ramp up “unfair” charges after analysts warned that more than seven million households face higher heating bills this winter. Increases in standing charges and the loss of government subsidies compared to last year mean that millions of households that use relatively little gas and electricity will be worse off this year than last, the Resolution Foundation said. – Telegraph

Saudi Arabia will likely roll over 1 mln bpd cut into October, analysts say – Saudi Arabia will likely roll over a voluntary oil cut of 1 million barrels per day for a third consecutive month into October, five analysts said, amid uncertainty about supplies and as the kingdom targets drawing down global inventories further. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, agreed a broad deal in early June to curtail supplies until the end of 2024. 

Washington drafts proposal for Venezuela’s oil sanction easing – U.S. officials are drafting a proposal that would ease sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, allowing more companies and countries to import its crude oil, if the South American nation moves toward a free and fair presidential election, according to five people with knowledge of the plans. Washington has been trying to encourage negotiations between President Nicolas Maduro and the political opposition over elections in Venezuela and other demands. Sanctions were imposed following Maduro’s 2018 reelection, which many Western nations considered a sham. 

India set to ban sugar exports for first time in 7 years – India is expected to ban mills from exporting sugar in the next season beginning October, halting shipments for the first time in seven years, as a lack of rain has cut cane yields, three government sources said. India’s absence from the world market would be likely to increase benchmark prices in New York and London that are already trading around multi-year highs, triggering fears of further inflation on global food markets.

Argentina grains exchange sees dry start to 2023/24 corn season – Argentina’s farmlands planted with corn should reach an estimated 7.3 million hectares for the 2023/24 cycle, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said in a pre-season report on Wednesday, though dry conditions could delay the crop’s sowing. Farmers are expected to start planting corn in September. The projected planting area would be 2.8% times larger than the area planted in the previous campaign, which was hit hard by a historic drought across Argentina’s agricultural heartlands.

Australia sees strong demand for critical minerals over next 40 years – Australia’s economy is well-placed to benefit from strong demand for critical minerals with the global appetite expected to rise by 350% by 2040, official forecasts showed on Wednesday, as many big economies rush to hit net zero emission targets by 2050. Australia supplies around half of the world’s lithium and has vast reserves of the nickel, zinc and bauxite required for the production of clean energy technology in electric vehicles and batteries. 

Indonesia’s nickel prices surge amid probe into mining approvals – Prices of nickel ore in top global producer Indonesia have surged about 10% in recent weeks, say local buyers, after an investigation into mining quotas disrupted production of the metal used in stainless steel and batteries. Indonesia’s Attorney General Office (AGO) in June launched a probe into illegal mining, leading to the arrest of a top government official earlier this month and the suspension of operations at a key mining site owned by state miner Aneka Tambang (Antam).

Woodside, unions reach deal at Australian LNG facility, workers meet to ratify – Woodside Energy on Thursday reached an in-principle agreement with unions at Australia’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, potentially averting a disruption to supplies from the world’s biggest exporter of the super-chilled fuel. Both Woodside and the union alliance representing workers at the offshore platforms of its North West Shelf facility announced the initial deal in separate statements after a round of talks both sides deemed positive.

EU to open third round of joint gas buying in September – The European Union will open its third round of joint gas buying next month, as the bloc moves to secure supplies in preparation for another winter with scarce Russian gas. The EU started collectively buying gas this year, as part of its response to Russia slashing gas deliveries in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia hits grain facilities at Ukrainian Danube River port – Russian drones struck Ukrainian grain facilities at the Danube River port of Izmail overnight in what a senior official said on Wednesday was a systematic attempt by Moscow to prevent Kyiv exporting grain to the world. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the port’s export capacity had been reduced by 15% and that 13,000 metric tons of grain had been destroyed.

Ukraine says it has exported 3.83 mln T grain so far in 2023/24 – Ukraine’s grain exports have reached 3.83 million metric tons so far in the 2023/24 July-June season, Agriculture Ministry data showed on Wednesday. The ministry gave no comparative figures for the same period a year earlier, but said shipments stood at 3.3 million tons as of Aug. 25, 2022.