Sat, Jun 18, 2022 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  ENERGY

  US mulls fuel export cap

  Top US administration officials are weighing limits on exports of fuel as the White House struggles to contain gasoline prices that have topped US$5 per gallon. Discussions around capping gasoline and diesel exports have picked up in recent days, as US President Joe Biden intensified his criticism of soaring oil company profits, said people familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity to describe private conversations. Limits under consideration would fall short of a complete ban on foreign sales of petroleum products, with gasoline exports averaging 755,000 barrels a day so far this year, the US Energy Information Administration said. That is up from 681,000 barrels a day from a year earlier. The discussion comes as White House officials consider an array of options for taming gasoline prices that pose an increasing political risk for Biden.

  SRI LANKA

  Economy grinds to a halt

  Economic activity is coming to a near standstill as the nation, facing its worst financial crisis, runs out of fuel for transport and there is little sign of fresh supplies coming in. The government declared yesterday a holiday for public offices and schools to curtail vehicular movement, leaving many roads in and around the capital deserted. Meanwhile, thousands of vehicles are lined up for kilometers as drivers wait for filling stations to be replenished. Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera on Thursday said that the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp had not received tenders for fresh stocks of fuel, because suppliers were deterred by outstanding payments. The government has reached out to several companies and countries, including Russia, for supplies, and was hoping for the approval from India for a fresh US$500 million credit line for fuel imports, Wijesekera said.

  ARGENTINA

  Central bank raises key rate

  The central bank on Thursday lifted its benchmark interest rate for the sixth time this year to 52 percent, as the government struggles to cool inflation expectations. The monetary authority raised the key Leliq rate by 300 basis points and the minimum rate on fixed-term deposits for savers to 53 percent, it said in a statement. The move comes two days after the statistics agency said annual inflation is running at a 30-year high of 61 percent. So-called positive rates are one pillar of the nation’s US$44 billion deal with the IMF. The rising rates so far this year have not helped tame public expectations, as the international impact on energy and food prices, along with already high inflation, keep uncertainty high. Economists surveyed by the central bank forecast inflation at nearly 73 percent by the end of this year.

  ENERGY

  Gazprom halves supply: Eni

  Italy’s Eni yesterday said it would receive only 50 percent of the gas requested from Gazprom, following accusations by Rome the Russian state-backed company was peddling “lies” over a series of cuts. “Gazprom has announced that it will supply only 50 percent of what is requested (with actual delivered volumes almost unchanged with respect to the amounts delivered yesterday),” reducing supplies for the third day running, Eni said in a statement. Gazprom said the supply reductions via the Nord Stream pipeline are the result of repair work, but EU officials believe Moscow is punishing allies of Ukraine, where Russian forces launched an invasion in February.
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