Israeli Bank Leumi Raises $721 Million in Bond Issue

Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files
Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files
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Israeli Bank Leumi Raises $721 Million in Bond Issue

Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files
Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration file picture. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files

Bank Leumi (LUMI.TA), one of Israel's two largest lenders, said on Sunday it raised 2.3 billion shekels ($721 million) in a bond offering to institutional investors and the public.

Leumi issued two new bond series - a six-year and eight-year, which will yield 1.02% and 0.75%, respectively, Leumi said.

Demand for the issues reached 5 billion shekels, it said, Reuters reported.

The bonds are rated "AAA" by Standard & Poor's Maalot.

Earlier this month, Leumi reported a more than doubling of third-quarter net profit to 1.55 billion shekels and said it would pay a dividend of 1.367 billion shekels, reflecting 30% of net profit from the first nine months of the year. read more



EUROPE GAS-Prices Continue to Decline

Model of natural gas pipeline and Gazprom logo, July 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Model of natural gas pipeline and Gazprom logo, July 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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EUROPE GAS-Prices Continue to Decline

Model of natural gas pipeline and Gazprom logo, July 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Model of natural gas pipeline and Gazprom logo, July 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices continued to declined on Tuesday morning on milder weather forecasts for next week, high wind speeds and stable supply.

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub was down 0.61 euros at 46.65 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) at 0947 GMT, according to LSEG data.

The contract for March was down 0.52 euro at 46.63 euros/MWh.

In Britain, the front-month contract fell by 2.04 pence to 116.76 pence per therm.

In north-west Europe, although another cold snap is forecast from Friday over the weekend, the latest forecasts are showing milder temperatures than yesterday from Jan. 15, according to LSEG data, Reuters reported.

Wind speeds are expected to remain quite strong today, limiting gas demand.

However, in north-west Europe, gas-for-power demand is expected 36 million cubic metres (mcm) per day higher at 78 mcm/day on the day-ahead.

"Wind speeds are expected still high today, before dropping sharply tomorrow with the cold spell arriving," said LSEG gas analyst Saku Jussila.

In Britain, Peak wind generation is forecast at around 15.1 gigawatts (GW) today and 14.7 GW tomorrow, Elexon data showed.

Analysts at Engie EnergyScan said EU net storage withdrawals have slowed due to a more comfortable spot balance but the storage gap compared to last year remains high. On 5 January, EU gas stocks were 69.94% full on average, compared to 84.96% last year.

Looking further ahead, analysts at Jefferies expect a tight year for global gas markets due to project delays and higher-than-expected demand.

"European and Asian LNG spot gas prices in 2025 could surpass those of 2024, driven by Europe's increased gas injection needs and the loss of Russian exports outpacing the expected growth in global LNG supply," they said.

"Post 2025, the market is expected to loosen with an additional 175 million tonnes of new supply coming online between 2026 and 2030, primarily from the US and Qatar," they added.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract was down 0.91 euro at 73.45 euros a metric ton.