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"Oil prices are expected to stay in a range of about 3 dollars above and below $70 for WTI in the near term," Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities. Oil prices had risen early in the week following Saudi Arabia's pledge over the weekend for deep output cuts, but they pared gains after rising U.S. fuel stocks and weak Chinese export data. Yoshida said factors such as fears over tighter supply and higher demand as the United States enters driving season which could drive prices higher were being offset by worries over a slow pickup in China's fuel demand. "Crude prices didn't get any favours from China as their economic recovery has disappointed," OANDA analyst Edward Moya said. While a Reuters poll of economists showed the U.S. Federal Reserve could skip a rate hike at its June 13-14 meeting, the absence of similar signals from other major central banks was weighing on the oil demand outlook, Moya added.

Persons: Satoru Yoshida, Saudi Arabia's, Yoshida, Edward Moya, Moya, Yuka Obayashi, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Saudi, Brent, U.S . West Texas, WTI, Rakuten Securities, U.S . Federal, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, United States, Iran, U.S, United, China

TOKYO, June 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Wednesday after the previous session's losses, as demand concerns owing to slow global economic growth were offset by fears of tighter global supply following Saudi Arabia's pledge to deepen output cuts. Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday that U.S crude oil production this year will rise faster and demand increases will cool compared to prior expectations. A reduction in the U.S. crude stocks also lent support to the oil market, NS Trading's Kikukawa said. U.S. crude oil inventories fell by about 1.7 million barrels last week, while fuel inventories rose, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Analysts forecast U.S. energy firms added about 1.0 million barrels of crude into storage during the week ended June 2, according to a Reuters poll.

Persons: Saudi Arabia's, paring, Hiroyuki Kikukawa, Brent, Kikukawa, Yuka Obayashi, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Saudi, Brent, U.S . West Texas, NS, Nissan Securities, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Saudi Arabia's, Organization of, Petroleum, Citi, UBS, U.S . Energy Information Administration, American Petroleum Institute, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, U.S, United States, China, Russia, OPEC

TOKYO, May 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday as the expectations the debt ceiling deal in U.S., the world's biggest oil user, will spur more demand but fears of further interest rate rises and that OPEC+ will leave output quotas unchanged capped gains. U.S. President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the weekend forged an agreement to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and cap government spending for the next two years. The U.S. House Rules Committee said it will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the debt ceiling bill, which needs to pass a divided Congress before June 5. Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman last week warned short-sellers betting that oil prices will fall to "watch out," in a possible signal that OPEC+ may further cut output. In April, Saudi Arabia and other members of OPEC+ announced further oil output cuts of around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), bringing the total volume of cuts by OPEC+ to 3.66 million bpd, according to Reuters calculations.

Japan's insistence on continuing to rely on gas may delay reaching global climate change goals, especially as its energy companies reap large profits from their investments in the sector, climate activists say. "But I think Japanese companies will generally hesitate to be involved in gas projects in the future, especially those with long lead times. Japan's support for gas clashes with findings that new investments in gas, which is mainly composed of the greenhouse gas methane and produces CO2 emissions when burned for energy, would undermine climate goals. But, gas investments have been lucrative for Japan's energy companies resulting in record profits. But, Japan's stated intention to lower its carbon emissions may mean these gas investments carry some risk.

TOKYO, May 17 (Reuters) - Rich nations should boost financial and technical support to poorer countries to help them tackle climate change and achieve similar decarbonisation goals, a senior Japanese environment ministry official said ahead of a G7 summit in Hiroshima. Developed countries promised in 2009 to transfer $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2025 to vulnerable states hit by increasingly severe climate-linked impacts and disasters - but that target was never met. G7 energy and climate ministers discussed how to meet that goal when they met in the Japanese city of Sapporo last month. "All countries should follow the good example of Japan so that we could achieve the $100 billion goal," he said, adding that he hoped that the level would be achieved as soon as possible and maintained through 2025. Developing countries say they need far more support than that from the rich nations, who are responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions, otherwise they cannot afford to cut CO2 emissions.

TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose for a second day on Tuesday, supported by U.S. plans to purchase oil for its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and by raging wildfires in Canada that fuelled supply worries. The U.S. Department of Energy said on Monday it would buy 3 million barrels of crude oil for the SPR for delivery in August, and asked that offers be submitted by May 31. China's oil refinery throughput in April rose 18.9% from a year earlier to the second-highest level on record, data showed on Tuesday. Oil prices on Tuesday also drew support from supply worries stemming from wildfires in Canada. "With so much uncertainty surrounding the macro environment, the lack of any strong signals from the physical market is likely to see oil prices remain under pressure," said ANZ analysts.

TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose for a second day early on Tuesday, as U.S. plans to purchase oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) lent support while raging wildfires in Canada fuelled supply worries. Brent crude futures rose 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $75.54 a barrel by 0043 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $71.38 a barrel, up 27 cents, or 0.4%. Both benchmarks rose more than 1% on Monday, reversing a 3-session losing streak. The U.S. Department of Energy said on Monday it would buy 3 million barrels of crude oil for the SPR for delivery in August, and asked that offers be submitted by May 31. Oil prices on Tuesday, however, drew support from supply worries stemming from wildfires in Canada.

"Japan may not need LNG for 20 years ... but other Asian countries need to replace coal with something and LNG will play an important role," he said, adding that JERA could supply fuel to those countries likely to need it. "We don't view LNG demand just for Japan, but for Asia as well," he said. Last December, JERA signed a key deal with Oman LNG to buy up to 12 cargoes, or about 800,000 tonnes a year for a decade, beginning from 2025. Asian spot LNG prices held at 22-month lows in April as demand stayed weak in the key north Asian markets of China, Japan and South Korea. Apart from its integrated gas-to-power business, which covers fossil fuel procurement through power generation, JERA is expanding use of renewable power to decarbonise.

TOKYO, April 27 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp (8015.T) is concerned that there may be more moves by countries like Chile to restrict exports of raw minerals such as lithium, its chief financial officer said on Thursday. "Like what happened in Chile, there could be more cases of restrictions on export of raw materials due to growing nationalism in emerging countries," CFO Hideyuki Iwamoto told a news conference. Toyota Tsusho, together with Australian miner Orocobre, began production of lithium carbonate at a mine on the Olaroz salt flat in Argentina in 2014, and decided to expand the production capacity in 2018. Battery grade lithium prices touched record levels of $85,000 a tonne in December, but have slumped by nearly 50% since then. "Compared to the previous year, the lithium prices have halved, but the stock prices of lithium-producing companies have not fallen, so we expect the lithium prices to rise slightly from the current level in the medium to long term," Iwamoto said.

TOKYO, April 23 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) economic powers called on Sunday for the "extension, full implementation and expansion" of a critical deal to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, the group's agriculture ministers said in a communique. Brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, the deal was signed in Istanbul last July, allowing Ukraine to export more than 27 million tonnes of grain from several of its Black Sea ports. In the communique after a two-day meeting in Miyazaki, Japan, the G7 agriculture ministers "recognised the importance" of the deal, saying: "We strongly support the extension, full implementation and expansion of (the Black Sea Grain Initiative) BSGI." G7 members "stand ready" to support recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, including by providing expertise in de-mining of agricultural land and reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure, the document said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is scheduled to discuss the Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York this week.

SAPPORO, Japan, April 16 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven rich nations have agreed to speed up the development of renewable energy and accelerate the phasing out of unabated fossil fuels by 2050, the group said in a communique released on Sunday. The ministers also recognised the need to reduce consumption of gas but said that investment in the sector can be appropriate to help address potential market shortfalls, according to the G7 communique issued after two days of ministerial talks in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo. Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by David DolanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SAPPORO, Japan, April 16 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven rich nations on Sunday set big new targets for solar power and offshore wind capacity, agreeing to speed up renewable energy development and move toward a quicker phase-out of fossil fuels. G7 ministers finish two days of meetings on climate, energy and environmental policy in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo on Sunday. Renewable fuel sources and energy security have taken on a new urgency following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In their communique, the members pledged to collectively increase offshore wind capacity by 150 gigawatts by 2030 and solar capacity to more than 1 terawatt. "Hopefully this will provide a challenge to Japan, for which offshore wind is the missing part of the jigsaw that could see its power sector decarbonise much quicker than it thought possible."

"The G7 countries have agreed that the first response to the energy crisis must be to reduce energy and gas consumption… For the first time ever, the G7 said that we must accelerate the phasing out of all unabated fossil fuels... The event has also put focus on the need to help emerging countries reduce emissions, including through financing. Nishimura said ministers would like to discuss ways to use finance to help reduce carbon in so-called "hard-to-abate" industries, which include chemicals, shipping and steel. "Developed countries first need to follow through on the $100 billion pledge they made to developing countries over a decade ago." G7 countries must exert "much stronger leadership" in leveraging financial and technology resources to help developing countries reduce emissions, Meyer said.

SAPPORO, Japan, April 15 (Reuters) - Members of the Group of Seven rich nations must act to help emerging countries reduce emissions, including the financing of decarbonisation in "hard-to-abate" industries, Japan's economy and trade minister said on Saturday. Ministers from the G7 are meeting for climate and energy talks in the Japan's northern city of Sapporo on Saturday and Sunday, as part of Japan's G7 presidency this year. The issue of emissions in emerging markets has long been a focus for developed countries. However, the world's richest countries need to do more to help emerging nations reduce carbon, said Alden Meyer, a senior associate at E3G, a climate change think tank. There needs to be "much stronger leadership" from G7 countries in leveraging financial and technology resources to help developing countries reduce emissions, Meyer said.

SAPPORO, Japan, April 14 (Reuters) - Canada is ready to become a reliable provider of critical minerals to its international allies including Japan, a senior official said, as the Group of Seven (G7) countries deem such minerals essential for climate goals and energy security. Canada has signed a joint action plan with the United States to advance secure supply chains for critical minerals. It has similar critical minerals cooperation agreements with Japan and the European Union. China dominates the market for critical minerals used to make electric vehicle batteries, central to developed nation goals to decarbonise, and Russia - which invaded Ukraine last year - is also a major player. "We have a lot of those critical minerals, we have almost all of them in Canada with a few exceptions.

[1/2] The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File PhotoSINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) - Oil prices retreated on Thursday after rising for two sessions, with investors still showing lingering concern over a possible U.S. recession and weaker oil demand. The Biden administration plans to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve soon, and hopes to do it at lower oil prices, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wednesday. Still, the oil market was jolted higher two weeks ago after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia agreed to curtail output. As a result, the global oil market could see tightness in the second half of 2023, which would push prices higher, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency.

[1/2] The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File PhotoTOKYO, April 13 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased in early trading on Thursday after rising for the previous two sessions as investors remained cautious due to lingering concerns over a U.S. recession and weaker oil demand. Brent crude fell 19 cents, or 0.2%, at $87.14 a barrel by 0116 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate slid 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $83.10. However, the Fed's staff assessing the potential fallout of banking stress projected a "mild recession" later this year. Markets on Wednesday shrugged off a small build in U.S. crude oil stocks, attributing it in part to a congressionally mandated release of oil from the U.S. emergency reserve and lower exports at the start of the month.

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - Japan, the world's fifth-biggest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter, will begin a carbon pricing scheme in stages from April to encourage companies to curb emissions and achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The country is the latest among Asian nations to formulate plans to create a carbon pricing mechanism and emissions trading system. The scheme, based on METI proposals and approved by the cabinet this year, consists of emissions trading and a carbon levy. The carbon levy will be introduced from around 2028/29 on fossil fuel importers such as refiners, trading houses and electricity utilities. The introduction of emissions trading and carbon surcharges mark "a significant shift in Japan's climate change policy", said Tohru Shimizu, senior researcher at the Japan's Institute of Energy Economics.

☆ Japan firms to stop insuring ships in all Russian waters -Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Three Japanese insurance companies will stop insuring ships for damage in all Russian waters due to the war in Ukraine, potentially affecting Japan's energy imports such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Nikkei newspaper said on Saturday. The insurers' decision was prompted by reinsurance companies refusing to take on risks related to the war that Moscow launched 10 months ago, the newspaper said. Japan's LNG imports from Russia's Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project could be affected, the Nikkei said. The Sakhalin Island complex, partly owned by Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Japanese companies, is vital to Japan's energy security as it accounts for 9% of the country's LNG imports. The three Japanese insurers will likely start negotiating with reinsurance companies after the Christmas holidays on possibly restarting coverage, the Nikkei said.

☆ Japan, Australia upgrade security pact against China threat
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (L) after a press conference as part of their meeting in Perth on October 22, 2022. Tony Mcdonough | AFP | Getty ImagesJapan and Australia on Saturday signed a new bilateral security agreement covering military, intelligence and cybersecurity cooperation to counter the deteriorating security outlook driven by China's increasing assertiveness. In the context of that agreement, Albanese told reporters: "This landmark declaration sends a strong signal to the region of our strategic alignment." The declaration also refers to cooperation in "resisting economic coercion and disinformation" — threats that China is widely accused of. Japan and Australia agreed to cooperate on energy security, which is threatened globally by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Australia's Albanese, Japan's Kishida meet for defence, energy talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday for talks expected to cover defence and energy deals amid China's push for greater influence in the Asia-Pacific region. The summit is the fourth for the leaders, since Albanese took office in May. Locating the meeting in Perth, 3,700 km (2,300 miles) from the national capital Canberra, was meant to showcase Western Australia's importance in supplying Japan's energy needs, including renewable energy. In May, Kishida and Albanese pledged to work toward a new bilateral declaration on security cooperation. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Energy and security on agenda when Australia, Japan leaders meet
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a policy speech during an extraordinary session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan October 3, 2022. "Australia is the most important country for Japan's energy policy," Kishida told reporters in Tokyo on Friday before boarding a plane for Perth. Australia and Japan are also expected to sign a new security cooperation agreement, updating a pact struck in 2007, to respond to a significantly altered regional security environment, officials said. "As Australia seeks to become a clean energy superpower, we will remain a steady and reliable supplier of energy to Japan including for new energy sources like hydrogen," Albanese said in a statement this week. Australia and Japan are also members of the Quad group of nations, with the United States and India.

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