Sri Lanka tea exports lowest in 23 years - CNA

COLOMBO: Crisis-struck Sri Lanka's vital tea exports have dropped to their lowest level in 23 years, official figures showed on Wednesday (May 4), hit by a fertiliser ban and the war in Ukraine.

Tea is the island nation's biggest export commodity, bringing in about US$1.3 billion annually before the current economic downturn, the worst since independence in 1948.

But a bungled ban on fertiliser imports last year - introduced in a doomed effort to save foreign currency and avoid a debt default - hit growers hard, with production falling 18 per cent on-year for the period from November 2021 to February 2022.

Customs data showed that first-quarter exports in 2022 correspondingly plunged to 63.7 million kilograms, down from 69.8 million kilograms in the January-March period last year.

The tally was the lowest since the first quarter of 1999, when the country shipped out 60.3 million kilograms of tea.

Export earnings for the first quarter also declined, to US$287 million from US$338 million.

Tea brokering firm Asia Siyaka blamed the drop on the agro chemical ban, which was portrayed by the government as a push to turn Sri Lankan farming 100 per cent organic.

The ban was lifted by October following backlash from the industry, but farmers were left unable to access imported fertiliser as the country simultaneously ran out of dollars.

Industry officials added that about 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's tea exports had also been affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Both countries are top buyers of the island's aromatic black tea.

The country of 22 million lacks enough foreign currency to finance even the most essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines.

Dire shortages and galloping inflation have led to widespread protests calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.

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2022-05-04 08:55:18Z
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BP plunges deep into red on pullout from Russia - CNA

LONDON: British energy giant BP said Tuesday (May 3) that its decision to pull out of Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine pushed it deep into the red in the first three months of this year.

BP said in a statement it booked net loss of US$20.4 billion (€19.4 billion) in the period from January to March compared with a bottom-line profit of $4.7 billion a year earlier.

The huge loss was attributable to the group's decision in February to pull its 19.75 per cent stake in energy group Rosneft, ending more than three decades of investment in Russia, BP said.

"Our decision ... to exit our shareholding in Rosneft resulted in the material non-cash charges and headline loss," BP chief executive Bernard Looney said in a statement.

BP said the charges connected to the break with Rosneft amounted to $25.5 billion before tax.

That wiped out the positive effect of rising energy prices, driven by concerns of tight supplies following the invasion by major oil and gas producer Russia, the group said.

First-quarter revenues jumped by 40 per cent to $51 billion.

"In a quarter dominated by the tragic events in Ukraine and volatility in energy markets, BP's focus has been on supplying the reliable energy our customers need," Looney said.

Later on Tuesday, the European Commission will propose to member states a new package of sanctions against Russia over President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, including an embargo on Russian oil, officials said.

Already on Monday, the EU had warned member states to prepare for a possible complete breakdown in gas supplies from Russia, insisting it would not cede to Moscow's demand that imports be paid for in rubles.

Despite the massive first-quarter loss, BP's share price jumped by 1.9 per cent to 399 pence in early trading on London's FTSE 100 index, which was down overall.

CMC Markets UK analyst, Michael Hewson, attributed the share's strong performance to an announcement that BP will buy back another $2.5 billion in shares, and further reduce its net debt.

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2022-05-03 08:22:01Z
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Australia hikes interest rates for first time since 2010 - CNA

SYDNEY: Australia's central bank raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade on Tuesday (May 3), a pre-election hike designed to curb soaring consumer prices.

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the main lending rate by 25 basis points to 0.35 per cent, the first increase since November 2010.

Ending record-low rates, the bank said inflation had "picked up significantly and by more than expected", while signalling that "further increases in interest rates" would come.

The move plunged the bank into the centre of a fierce political debate about the health of Australia's economy, just weeks before a May 21 election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is trailing in the polls, said he sympathised with mortgage borrowers who would now face rising costs.

But he insisted Australia is faring better than its peers and that rising inflation is a result of worldwide trends.

Like consumers around the world, Australians have been hit by soaring prices for food and fuel. Australia's annual inflation rate is currently at 5.1 per cent.

But house prices have been rising for years even as wages have stagnated. Sydney and Melbourne are among the most expensive cities in the world to live.

Morrison pointed to the impact of supply chain constraints caused by the pandemic and a war in Ukraine that has caused "the single largest energy shock we've seen around the world since the 1970s".

The opposition Labor party painted the rate rise as evidence of a weakening economy and the conservative government's economic maladministration.

"If only you could pay your mortgage with Scott Morrison's excuses," said opposition economic spokesman Jim Chalmers.

The rate rise is expected to be the first of several, which could have serious implications for Australia's once-perennially growing economy.

Higher interest rates will spell higher borrowing costs for millions of already heavily indebted Australians, in a country where real estate market speculation is something like a national pastime.

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2022-05-03 06:25:00Z
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Some in Shanghai come out for air as Beijing resumes mass COVID-19 testing - CNA

SHANGHAI: Some of Shanghai's 25 million people came out for brief walks and grocery shopping on Tuesday (May 3) after enduring more than a month under a COVID-19 lockdown, while China's capital Beijing embarked on another round of mass testing to control a nascent outbreak.

Social media posts showed Shanghai residents strolling in their suburbs, or queuing up at supermarkets that have been allowed to reopen. One picture showed two women carrying a pole with four bulky bags of groceries on their shoulders.

That was the result of an incremental easing of curbs in five of the city's 16 districts from Sunday, home to about a fifth of Shanghai's population, where some people were allowed to leave their housing compounds for the first time in weeks.

The level of the restrictions varied from one residential complex to another. In many compounds, a single person from each household could go out at a time, for a maximum of three hours.

Most do not get permission to drive or even ride a bike, prompting jokes on social media.

One WeChat page used to organise group orders for basic necessities during the lockdown listed a donkey priced at 88,888 yuan ($13,450) with a delivery date set after 365 years as an alternative to using vehicles to transport groceries.

"Please count me in for one of those donkey group buys," one resident commented on the post.

In China, the number eight is associated with prosperity.

Increasingly out of step with most other countries which have significantly eased or even completely lifted coronavirus restrictions, China has given no hint of deviating from its zero-COVID policy.

China has accepted a heavy economic cost and demanded huge personal sacrifices from millions forced into prolonged isolation.

Many of these people have struggled with lost income, difficulty sourcing food and severe delays in access to emergency healthcare and other basic services. This has led to rare outbursts of anger in a sensitive year for President Xi Jinping, who is widely expected to secure a precedent-breaking third leadership term this fall.

Chinese authorities say their COVID-19 policies aim to save as many lives as possible, pointing to the millions of deaths COVID-19 has caused outside China.

Authorities reported 20 new COVID-19 deaths on May 2, all in Shanghai, taking China's total to 5,112 since the pandemic began.

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2022-05-03 05:10:53Z
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Russian natural gas exports to China jump 60 per cent in first 4 months - South China Morning Post

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Russian natural gas exports to China jump 60 per cent in first 4 months  South China Morning Post
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2022-05-02 11:46:16Z
CAIiEF0z47yXSCw46vr9TEgmC2oqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowief2CjCJ2dUCMKqaxwU

Oil down US$1 on China growth worries, while EU weighs Russian crude ban - CNA

MELBOURNE: Oil prices fell on Monday (May 2) in holiday-sapped trade in Asia as concerns about weak economic growth in China, the world's top oil importer, outweighed fears of potential supply stress from a looming European Union ban on Russian crude.

Brent crude futures fell US$1.13, or 1.1 per cent, to US$106.01 a barrel at 0511 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell US$1, or 1 per cent, to US$103.69 a barrel. Markets in Japan, India and across Southeast Asia were closed for public holidays on Monday.

Prices fell after China released data on Saturday showing that factory activity in the world's second-largest economy contracted for a second month to its lowest since February 2020 because of COVID-19 lockdowns.

"A slowing to that extent, when China is already suffering from a property bust and worries about its (until recently) increased regulation, is potentially a major issue for commodity markets and the world economy," said Tobin Gorey, a Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst, in a note.

On the supply side, Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Sunday it would temporarily resume operations at the Zueitina oil terminal to reduce stockpiles in storage tanks to avert an "imminent environmental disaster" at the port.

NOC in late April declared force majeure on some shipments at Zueitina as political protesters forced a number of oil facilities to suspend operations.

Limiting the down side for oil prices is a possible dent in supply with the European Union leaning towards banning imports of Russian oil by the end of the year, two EU diplomats said after talks between the European Commission and EU member states on the weekend.

Around half of Russia's 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports go to the EU, supplying about one-fourth of the EU's oil imports in 2020.

"In the absence of an immediate EU total oil embargo, eliminating mobility restrictions in China is necessary to drive oil out of its current range," said SPI Asset Management Managing Partner Stephen Innes.

While Western countries have curbed buying Russian oil as sanctions have hit shipping and insurance for the country's exports, the impact on global supply has been cushioned as India has been picking up heavily discounted Russian cargoes.

Royal Bank of Canada analysts estimated India's crude imports from Russia have grown from less than 100,000 bpd in 2021 to 800,000 bpd in April and expect India to continue ramping up imports as long as Washington does not impose secondary sanctions.

Reuters reported on Friday that Indian refiners are negotiating a six-month oil deal with Russia to import millions of barrels per month.

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2022-05-02 05:40:55Z
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Hong Kong police arrest 3 more over alleged murder in Tin Shui Wai - South China Morning Post

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1. Hong Kong police arrest 3 more over alleged murder in Tin Shui Wai  South China Morning Post
2. Body-dragging murder suspect said he killed girlfriend by mistake when helping her lose weight  Hong Kong Standard
3. Hong Kong man arrested after passerby sees him moving rolled-up quilt with legs sticking out of it  Yahoo News
4. Man arrested for murder after being spotted moving girlfriend’s body in broad daylight  The Mirror
5. Three more arrested over body-dragging murder in Yuen Long  Hong Kong Standard
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2022-04-30 10:13:33Z
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