Rates drop across major hubs as supply surges, demand stalls
BENGALURU/ MUMBAI/BANGKOK/DHAKA AND HANOI: Rice prices across major Asian hubs declined this week, weighed down by weaker demand and higher supplies, with Indian rates extending their fall to their lowest level in two years.
India's 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $378-$384 per ton, down from the last week's $380-$386. Indian 5% broken white rice was priced at $372 to $377 per ton this week. 'Demand has been very weak for the past few weeks, even after we lowered prices. Supply is ample,' said a Kolkata-based trader.
India's state reserves of rice, including unmilled paddy, totalled a record 59.5 million metric tons as of June 1, far exceeding the government's target of 13.5 million tons for July 1. Thailand's 5% broken rice fell to $398 per tonne, from $410 quoted last week, on currency volatility and weak demand, according to traders. 'Prices fell on the weak baht and limited demand,' said a Bangkok-based trader.
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Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
WB approves $700m Reko Diq loan
The IFC loan represents its first mining investment in Pakistan, helping to lay the foundation for further investment in mining and to support resilience in a fragile economic region. Photo (file) Listen to article Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Friday that the World Bank Group had approved a $700 million loan for the Reko Diq mining project, despite strong opposition from India, which attempted to block the investment required to meet the project's overall $3 billion financing needs. The World Bank Group approved the concessional package by rejecting Indian objections, Aurangzeb said while speaking during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance. Of the total, $300 million will be provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and $400 million will be extended by the International Development Association (IDA), both part of the World Bank Group. This marks the third instance in the past month where India has failed to block lending. India attempted to block the board meeting of the World Bank Group from approving the $700 million loan for the Reko Diq project but was once again unsuccessful, he added. The minister further said that India was lobbying against Pakistan in international financial institutions but had failed to create any problems. All three major global lenders — the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) — have refused to pay heed to Indian propaganda against Pakistan and have approved separate lending packages since May 9. The IFC is also acting as the lenders' coordinator for the $6.6 billion Reko Diq gold and copper mining project. Of the total cost, $3.7 billion will be arranged by the three shareholders: Barrick Gold, the federal government, and the provincial government of Balochistan. The IFC's lending will help lay the foundation for further investment in the mining sector and support resilience in an economically fragile region like Balochistan. The IFC will provide $300 million from its own account, while another $400 million will be issued as a blended finance loan under the World Bank Group's IDA-20 package. The World Bank stated that the project is expected to generate a peak of up to 10,000 jobs during the construction stage, with the Reko Diq Mining Company's local recruitment policy prioritising residents of Balochistan for both skilled and low-skilled positions. This will provide a stable source of income for households, which is expected to include a substantial number of women. The mining company plans to contribute 1% of construction costs and 0.4% of annual revenue to projects identified by local Community Development Committees throughout the project's life. Additionally, through blended finance loans structured as sustainability-linked financing, the IDA will set key performance indicators focused on efficiency in water abstraction, female employment, local jobs, and local procurement. In March this year, Pakistan revised upward the total cost of the first phase of the Reko Diq copper and gold mine project to $6.6 billion — a 56% increaseby expanding the scope of the strategically important scheme and accounting for inflationary impact and higher production requirements. Pakistan's three government-owned companies — Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) — each hold 8.33%, making up a collective 25% federal government stake. Of the remaining Pakistani share, 25% is held by the government of Balochistan, and 50% is held by Barrick Gold Corporation, which operates the project. The project is on track to begin production by the end of 2028, starting with 200,000 tonnes of copper annually in its first phase, which is expected to cost $5.7 billion. Completion of this phase is projected by 2029. In Phase II, expected to be completed by 2034, another $3.3 billion will be invested to increase production capacity to 90 million tonnes per annum. This will bring the total project cost to nearly $9 billion. The Reko Diq deposit is one of the largest untapped copper deposits in the world. The IFC loan represents its first mining investment in Pakistan, helping to lay the foundation for further investment in mining and to support resilience in a fragile economic region. Global demand for metals is rising due to growth in energy, digital technologies, and infrastructure. Copper is a critical mineral essential for renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles, and efficient electrical grids. However, existing supply will not meet growing demand, and new mines such as Reko Diq must come online to bridge the gap. Once fully developed, Reko Diq will be one of the world's largest copper mines. Pakistan's mining industry has the potential to play a key role in meeting rising global copper demand. The project will also generate export and foreign currency earnings, with 100% of its revenue in foreign currency. The World Bank Group has estimated that, depending on copper and gold prices, the project could contribute a gross value added of around $2 billion annually to Pakistan's economy. The WBG is currently working on a scoping study expected to further demonstrate the benefits of developing a mining district around Reko Diq. The area is home to other prospective copper deposits. Once the project is successfully developed, it could pave the way for additional mining ventures in the region, positively impacting local economic development.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
US says monitoring Israel-Iran attacks' impact on global energy supply
WASHINGTON: U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday he and his team are working with the White House's National Security Council to monitor the situation in the Middle East and any potential impacts to global energy supply. Wright said on X, after Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and Iran's response of missiles on Israel, that President Donald Trump's policy of maximizing U.S. oil and gas output, which also involves slashing pollution regulations, has boosted U.S. energy security. Oil and gas sites in Iran, an OPEC member, have not been targeted, analysts have said. Global crude oil prices spiked on Friday, settling 7% higher at more than $74 per barrel on investor worries about conflict spreading to the wider Middle East. Iran strikes back at Israel with missiles over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv And U.S. gasoline prices could rise about 20 cents a gallon in coming days during peak U.S. summer driving season 'creating economic pressures and political headwinds for President Donald Trump, who campaigned on lowering energy costs,' analysts at ClearView Energy Partners said in a note to clients. ClearView said higher prices could push Trump to focus on tapping strategic petroleum reserves, seeking supply additions from the OPEC+ production group, and could complicate efforts to tighten sanctions on Russia, one of the world's top three oil producers. The U.S. Energy Department did not immediately respond to a question about the potential to tap the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the world's largest, which currently holds 402.1 million barrels of crude. Fatih Birol, the head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, said on X that the IEA oil security system, which includes the U.S. SPR, has more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency stocks. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries slammed Birol's post, saying on X it raises false alarms and 'projects a sense of market fear.'
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Optical delusions
Listen to article Within the past thirty days, we have witnessed two wars waged to consolidate power and for optics. India tried to invade Pakistan for all the worst reasons imaginable. Shortly after the Pahalgam incident, when India failed to produce a smoking gun — some serious evidence to implicate Pakistan or even apprehend the actual perpetrators who still remain at large -—Indian client analysts in international think tanks, or those appearing on international news channels, tried to present war or strikes deep inside Pakistan as a political imperative. Modi had to maintain this image of strength, you know. That's why they had to attack Pakistan. And India was confident that, through back-channel pressures, it could compel Pakistan not to retaliate. That plan did not go well, and the overconfident Indian spin masters ended up presenting India as a state that can risk nuclear escalation for one man's image management. But look at the fallout. Since the early 1990s, India had somehow convinced the West that its cooperation was critical in containing China. As this image grew, it asked for Pakistan's head on a platter. While the West could not do that, it did the next best thing: wealth and unprecedented influence. India used both to isolate Pakistan. But with one irrational act, it ended up exposing its chinks in the armour. With one strategic blowback, the world now knew India was nowhere near there. It wasn't the West that needed India; it was India that needed the West. Who wants that kind of liability? Everyone will only look at the main asset the country has got: its wealth. All relationships will be transactional from now on. As for Pakistan, three decades of Indian blackmail against the country have ended, and the world is ready to work with Pakistan. Domestically, Modi's image has been badly shaken. The deep state and the hardliners see him as a liability and are counting the days till they get rid of him. To save face, Modi got the help of Niti Aayog (the body that replaced the Planning Commission), and through some numerical voodoo, the body declared that India's economy had beaten Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy. Japan has been India's main benefactor. Imagine how these reports played out within the country. The world now knows that the Indian deep state knows that Modi has no value to contribute. Some optics. The second case is that of Israel's Netanyahu, who has been using political radicalism to offset three major corruption cases against him. As a result, the Israeli polity has constantly radicalised. In the aftermath of October 7's ghastly attacks, instead of prioritising the rescue of the hostages, he declared a forever war, which has exposed the sheer brutality of the regime. Meanwhile, he has used all elements to regularly manipulate political outcomes in the US and other Western democracies. This policy has been the law of diminishing returns. Only a day ago, Israel carried out a massive attack on Iran. Purpose? Optics again. The global outrage against Israel's genocide in Gaza is growing. In any case, the blood of the Gazans is not enough to indefinitely feed the tiger of political hate he rides. So, why not expand the war? I hold no brief for Iran, but this is too transparent to go unnoticed. Israel called these attacks 'pre-emptive strikes', and the US called them a unilateral action. Remember the days when the US used to carry out "pre-emptive strikes" on Israel's behalf? The law of diminishing returns, indeed. Meanwhile, the cases against Netanyahu are where they were. As Ta-Nehisi Coates once said: Your oppression will not save you. History has some lessons for these politicians. Four days after Pearl Harbour, Adolf Hitler made perhaps the most catastrophic decision in modern warfare - declaring war on the United States purely to maintain his image as a loyal ally to Japan. Despite having no treaty obligation and every strategic reason to avoid a two-front war, Hitler couldn't bear appearing weak or unreliable to his Axis partners. The declaration was born entirely from ego and optics, not strategy. In one impulsive moment, driven by his need to project strength, Hitler handed Roosevelt the perfect gift - a declaration that galvanised American support for the very strategy planners had envisioned: an enormous two-front commitment that would treat Germany as the principal threat. You know what happened next. Jimmy Carter was drowning in the polls when Iranian revolutionaries seized American hostages, and the pressure to look presidential became unbearable. Despite military advisers warning about the mission's complexity, Carter greenlit Operation Eagle Claw — not primarily to save the hostages, but to save his presidency. The mission was always more about optics than operations, a desperate attempt to project strength in an election year. When helicopters collided in the Iranian desert, killing eight servicemen and leaving classified documents behind, the rescue attempt became a symbol of American impotence. Carter, seeking to appear decisive and strong, instead looked more helpless than ever. The failed mission sealed his electoral fate, and Ronald Reagan rode the backlash all the way to the White House. Douglas MacArthur was a genuine American hero, a brilliant tactician who had saved countless lives through his strategic genius in the Pacific. But even great men can fall victim to the siren call of complete victory. After his masterful Inchon landing, MacArthur faced a choice that would define his legacy: stop at the 38th parallel or push for total triumph in North Korea. The general, having tasted success and facing pressure from Washington not to settle for half-measures, chose to cross the line. It was an understandable decision from a commander who had delivered miracle after miracle. Yet history had one more lesson to teach: China entered the war, forcing the longest retreat in American military history. The general who had never known defeat watched his forces flee south, and President Truman ultimately relieved him of command. MacArthur's pursuit of total victory cost him everything he had built. General Leopoldo Galtieri was a desperate man leading a desperate government when he ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands. With Argentina's economy collapsing and massive protests filling the streets, the military junta needed a patriotic victory to survive. The Falklands seemed perfect — a beloved national cause that would unite the country behind its leaders. "We need this," Galtieri reportedly told his cabinet, and for a brief moment, it worked. Massive crowds celebrated in Buenos Aires as Argentine flags flew over Port Stanley. But history cared nothing for Galtieri's political survival. Margaret Thatcher dispatched a task force 8,000 miles across the Atlantic, and within weeks, Argentina's military was in shambles. From Delhi to Tel Aviv, from Berlin to Buenos Aires, history keeps repeating its lesson: optics may win headlines, but strategy decides legacies.
