NNEGC “Energoatom” refuted the information about a fire at the second power unit of the Zaporozhye NPP, circulated in Telegram channels about an hour ago.
“We officially inform you that this is not true. As of 15:40 on September 29, 2022, no fires and fires were recorded at the power units of the Zaporozhye NPP,” the company wrote on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
World central banks, according to preliminary data, bought 19.6 tons of gold in gold reserves in August, follows from the data of the World Gold Council (WGC).
This is the fifth consecutive month of growth, although its pace is declining, said WGC analyst Krishan Gopaul.
Turkey, the biggest buyer of gold this year, added another 8.9 tons to its reserves. In total, since the beginning of the year, it has purchased 84 tons of gold and brought its volume in reserves to 478.2 tons.
Uzbekistan bought 8.7 tons of gold in August, from the beginning of the year – 19.3 tons, increasing reserves to 381.3 tons.
In third place in terms of purchases in August was Kazakhstan with 2 tons, although in total since the beginning of the year it has reduced the volume of gold in reserves by 27.6 tons, to 374.8 tons.
Gopaul notes that according to the Central Bank of Qatar, he also bought gold in August, but so far the exact figures have not been disclosed and therefore are not reflected in the WGC statistics.
NNEGC Energoatom, in a comment to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, did not confirm the information that appeared in the Telegram channels about the fire at power unit No. 2 of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
“We are preparing a refutation,” the company said.
As reported, a number of Telegram channels reported a few minutes ago about an emergency situation at the ZNPP – a fire at unit No. 2.
Agroholding KSG Agro harvested sunflower from 5 thousand hectares, which is 60% of the planned 8.4 thousand hectares, the harvesting of this crop is scheduled to be completed by October 12.
According to a press release from the agrarian group, the average sunflower yield was 18 centners per hectare.
“Of course, the current sunflower yield is lower than last year, but our weather pattern is completely different, since spring precipitation was very uneven even within the same farm. c/ha up to 29 c/ha, but on average 18 c/ha,” the holding company quotes the head of its crop production division, Dmitry Emelchenko.
According to him, the completion of the sunflower harvesting campaign depends on weather conditions and is scheduled, tentatively, for October 12.
KSG Agro also sows winter wheat on a total area of 4.2 thousand hectares and cares for winter rape crops on an area of 2.15 thousand hectares.
The vertically integrated holding KSG Agro is engaged in pig breeding, as well as the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is about 21 thousand hectares.
According to the agricultural holding, he is in the Top 5 pork producers in Ukraine.
In 2021, the holding increased its net profit by 16 times compared to 2020, to $20.27 million, revenue by 44%, to $30.75 million, while doubling EBITDA to $12.28 million.
The owner and chairman of the board of directors of KSG Agro is Sergey Kasyanov.
The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 by 11:41 a.m. fell by 1.6% and amounted to 383.18 points.
The British stock index FTSE 100 falls by 1.67%, the German DAX – by 1.43%, the French CAC 40 – by 1.44%. Italian FTSE MIB loses 1.51%, Spanish IBEX 35 – 1.57%.
The market was supported the day before by the Bank of England’s decision to suspend the start of the previously announced government bond sale program and instead start buying government bonds amid a sharp increase in their yield. The spike in yields on UK public debt was triggered by the previously announced massive tax cut, which, according to the British authorities, will increase the budget deficit in the current fiscal year by more than 70 billion pounds.
At the same time, investors continue to worry about the consequences of rising borrowing costs amid persistently high inflation and the worsening energy crisis in the region, writes Trading Economics.
Belgian retailer Etablissementen Franz Colruyt N.V. led the decline among the components of the Stoxx Europe 600 index, losing 20.9%.
Meanwhile, preferred shares of luxury car maker Porsche AG rose moderately on Thursday, the first day of trading after Europe’s biggest IPO in a decade. Porsche shares, which trade under the ticker “P911”, are worth 84.84 euros, compared to the placement price of 82.50 euros.
Next Plc shares are down 8.3% in early trading on Thursday. The British chain of clothing stores in the first financial half of the year received revenue less than expected and worsened its full-year forecast.
Swedish Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) lost 2.4%. The owner of Europe’s second-largest clothing chain saw a sharp decline in net profit in the third financial quarter due to a massive write-down caused by the winding down of operations in Russia.
Oil analysts still expect oil prices to recover to almost $100 per barrel by the end of the year, despite the recent drop in quotations to January lows on concerns about global fuel demand.
The price of Brent will rise to just above $99 a barrel in the fourth quarter, according to a poll of analysts conducted by The Wall Street Journal. On Thursday, this variety is trading at around $88 per barrel.
North American oil WTI, according to the consensus forecast, will rise to about $95 per barrel from the current $80.9 per barrel.
Analysts generally believe that both brands will hold at these levels until mid-2023, and then rise slightly by the end of the year: Brent to $101 per barrel, WTI to $98 per barrel.
All interviewed experts are confident that the average cost of Brent in October-December will be at least $95 per barrel, except for Citi analysts – they adhere to the most pessimistic forecast and believe that North Sea oil will cost an average of $85 in the fourth quarter. The bank is also waiting for quotes to fall to $74 by the end of 2023, according to a WSJ survey.
Analysts believe that the expected reduction in OPEC + production will provide serious support to the oil market until the end of the year. In addition, the entry into force of European sanctions on Russian fuel could provoke a decrease in global supply by 1.5 million barrels per day, economists at Societe Generale said.
