China's BYD plans to establish European centre in Hungary, CEO says
Hungary has cultivated deeper economic ties with China and the Chinese group had said in 2023 it would build a new energy vehicle production base in Hungary, creating thousands of jobs.
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Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil prices little changed as Iraq outages clash with tariff worries
SINGAPORE, July 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Friday after rising in the previous session as concerns drone attacks on northern Iraqi oil fields will cut supply vied with worries of potential demand declines amid uncertainty in U.S. tariff policy. Brent crude futures eased 4 cents, or 0.06%, to $69.48 a barrel as of 0239 GMT, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 3 cents, or 0.04%, to $67.51 a barrel. Four days of drone attacks on oil fields in Iraqi Kurdistan that shut down half of the region's output have supported prices, pushing both contracts up $1 on Thursday. Additionally, seasonal travel demand has propped up the market. In the first two weeks of July, global oil demand has averaged 105.2 million barrels per day (bpd), up by 600,000 bpd from a year earlier and largely in line with forecast, JPMorgan analysts said in a research note. Still, the uncertainty around the final U.S. tariff policy, which does not appear will be settled until after August 1, is weighing on the market along with plans by major oil producers to remove their output cuts that will add to supply as the seasonal Northern Hemisphere summer demand ends. For this week, both Brent and WTI are down over 1%. "Near-term oil fundamentals remain supportive, with the market set to remain fairly tight through this quarter, before becoming better supplied from the last three months of the year," ING analysts said in a note. Oil output in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has been slashed by between 140,000 and 150,000 barrels per day, two energy officials said, more than half the region's normal output of about 280,000 bpd. Officials pointed to Iran-backed militias as the likely source of attacks this week on the oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan, although no group has claimed responsibility. Despite the attack, Iraq's federal government said on Thursday that Iraqi Kurdistan will resume oil exports through a pipeline to Turkey after a two-year halt.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Japan's core inflation slows in June but stays above BOJ target
TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters) - Japan's core inflation slowed in June due to temporary cuts in utility bills but stayed above the central bank's 2% target, highlighting lingering price pressures that will keep alive market expectations for further interest rate rises. The data will be among factors the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will scrutinise at its next policy meeting on July 30-31, when the board is expected to revise up its inflation forecast in a quarterly review of its projections. The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food costs, rose 3.3% in June from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, matching a median market forecast. The rise was smaller than the 3.7% increase in May due largely to the resumption of fuel subsidies aimed at helping households weather the pain from higher living costs. A separate index that strips away both fresh food and fuel costs - closely watched by the BOJ as a measure of domestic demand-driven prices - rose 3.4% in June from a year earlier after increasing 3.3% in May. The BOJ exited a decade-long, radical stimulus programme last year and raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% in January on the view that Japan was on the cusp of sustainably hitting its 2% inflation target. While the central bank has signalled its readiness to raise rates further, the economic impact of higher U.S. tariffs forced it to cut its growth forecasts in May and complicated decisions around the timing of the next rate increase. Japan's economy shrank in the first quarter as rising living costs hurt consumption. Exports fell in May for the first time in eight months, stoking recession fears. A slight majority of economists in a June Reuters poll expected the BOJ to forgo another rate hike this year.
NBC News
8 hours ago
- NBC News
Ukraine to boost domestic arms production in war with Russia, says Zelenskyy
KYIV, Ukraine — A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country's weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia's invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, Switzerland said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department had informed it that Washington is diverting a Swiss order for Patriot air defense systems to help Ukraine, which badly needs to improve its response to increasingly heavy Russian aerial attacks. Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine The Swiss Defense Ministry, which in 2022 ordered five Patriot systems, said Thursday it has been informed by the U.S. Defense Department that it will 'reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine.' It was not immediately clear whether the Swiss-ordered Patriots would go directly to Ukraine or would replace units in other European countries that may be donated to Kyiv. Delivery to Switzerland of the systems, worth billions of dollars, was scheduled to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028. But the Swiss government said Washington informed it of the delay on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear how many systems would be affected. The need to adequately arm Ukraine's military is pressing as Russia looks to drive forward its summer offensive after three years of war and pounds Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles. It remains unclear when the promised U.S.-made weapons, especially the Patriot systems, might reach Ukraine. Trump has agreed to send the weaponry, but it will be paid for by European countries. No timeframe for foreign weapons in Ukraine The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said he couldn't give a timeframe for when Ukraine might get extra foreign weapons. 'We are all moving with haste to facilitate this and get this done. Things are actually moving very quickly, but I can't verify a date that this will all be completed. I think it's going to be an ongoing movement,' he told reporters in Brussels. 'The plan is that there will be American-made defense equipment, capabilities, that will be sold to our European allies, that they will provide to Ukraine,' he said. British Defense Secretary John Healey said Thursday he and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius will chair a meeting of Ukraine's allies on Monday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's weapons plans. Healey said U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte will attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told The Associated Press Thursday that 'preparations are underway' for weapons transfers to Ukraine and that NATO is working 'very closely' with Germany to transfer Patriot systems. Grynkewich said at a military event in Wiesbaden, Germany, that he had been ordered to 'move (the weapons) out as quickly as possible.' He said the number of weapons being transferred is classified. German Defense Ministry spokesperson Mitko Müller said Wednesday he couldn't confirm that anything is currently on its way to Ukraine. Rutte, the NATO chief, said in Washington on Monday that the alliance is coordinating the military support with funding from allies in Europe and Canada. He said there were commitments from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada, 'with more expected to follow.' Ukraine now makes 40% of its own weapons Ukraine's domestic defense manufacturing already accounts for almost 40% of weapons used by the Ukrainian military, according to Zelenskyy. As uncertainty grows about how many more weapons shipments Western countries can provide — and how quickly — Ukraine is keen to increase its output and widen its strikes on Russian soil. 'What we need is greater capacity to push the war back onto Russia's territory — back to where the war was brought from,' Zelenskyy said late Wednesday in his nightly video address. 'We must reach the level of 50% Ukrainian-made weapons within the first six months of the new government's work by expanding our domestic production.' Ukraine has also developed its own long-range drones, which it uses to strike deep inside Russia . Russian air defenses shot down 122 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country's defense ministry said Thursday. The wave of drones caused flights to be grounded at airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, although most of the drones were reportedly destroyed over the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk. Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 64 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, killing at least one person, the Ukrainian air force reported. The assault centered on the industrial Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said. In other developments: Russia on Thursday sent to Ukraine 1,000 bodies, including some of the country's fallen soldiers, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said. At the same time, Russia received the bodies of 19 soldiers, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said. The exchange was part of a deal reached at direct peace talks last May and June that produced few other agreements between the sides.
