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Egypt Aims to Restore Normal Output at Gas Fields by Summer 2025

Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Egypt Aims to Restore Normal Output at Gas Fields by Summer 2025

Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, speaks during the World Governments Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 12, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Egypt aims to restore normal production at its natural gas fields by next summer, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday.

Madbouly told a news conference that production had fallen because of the arrears, but did not say how much the government owed nor when it might be repaid.

Sources told Reuters in March that the government had set aside up to $1.5 billion for payments to foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country. The arrears built up during a long-running foreign currency shortage that has since eased.

Egypt has been grappling with power shortages amid high demand for cooling systems in the summer. The country generates most of its electricity from burning natural gas.

The government halted load-shedding power cuts in July after some natural gas shipments arrived.

"Electricity load-shedding cuts won't return again," Madbouly said, adding the government had set aside $2.5 billion to ensure that.

He said there were also plans to bring an Egypt-Saudi power grid link online in a first phase by the summer of 2025.

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Japan's Core Inflation Rate Slows in September

FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
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Japan's Core Inflation Rate Slows in September

FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo

Japanese inflation slowed in September with prices up 2.4 percent on-year, not including volatile fresh food, official data showed Friday.
The core Consumer Price Index eased from 2.8 percent in August as the pace of increase in electricity and gas prices relented, the internal affairs ministry said.
Despite the slowdown, the rate remained above the Bank of Japan's two percent target, set over a decade ago as part of efforts to boost the stagnant economy, reported AFP.
The target has been surpassed every month since April 2022, although the bank has questioned to what extent that is down to temporary factors such as the Ukraine war.
"The resumption of electricity subsidies resulted in a plunge in headline inflation in September," said Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics.
Thieliant predicted a further deceleration of core inflation in October, but noted that the subsidies "should be phased out completely by December, which should lift inflation".
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates in March for the first time since 2007 and again in July, in initial steps towards normalizing its ultra-loose monetary policies.
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said this month that the environment was not right for another interest rate increase.
After Ishiba took office in early October, perceptions that he favored hiking borrowing costs and the possibility that he could raise taxes triggered a surge in the yen and stock market volatility.
One dollar bought 150 yen on Friday morning after the Japanese currency weakened from levels around 149.35 the day before.
Excluding both fresh food and energy, Japanese prices rose 2.1 percent in September.
"We expect inflation excluding fresh food and energy to remain around two percent until early next year, when it should gradually fall below two percent," Thieliant said.
"Accordingly, we still expect the Bank of Japan to press ahead with another interest rate hike before year-end."