(FT) -- China's trade surplus jumped in July to its highest level in 18 months, raising new questions about whether the country's currency remains undervalued despite government efforts to introduce a more flexible exchange rate.
The trade surplus for July increased to $28.7bn, well ahead of the $20bn recorded the month before and significantly above analyst forecasts, according to data released on Tuesday.
The pace of increase in exports actually fell last month to 38.1 per cent, year-on-year, down from 43.9 per cent in June. However, import growth slowed even more, moving up 22.7 per cent against 34.1 per cent in June.
The rising trade surplus will increase the political pressure on Beijing to appreciate its currency more rapidly. Earlier in the year, Beijing was able to point to a series of much smaller monthly surpluses -- and a trade deficit in March -- as evidence that the economy was already rebalancing and was much less dependent on exports. However the figures over the last three months suggest that the surplus in the second half of the year is likely to be much larger.
Yet the slowdown in import growth in China could also be a reflection of a significant cooling in the domestic economy, which would make policymakers in Beijing more reluctant to strengthen the currency sharply.
"The two developments will only add to Washington's insistence on a stronger renminbi and to Beijing's resistance," said Ben Simpfendorfer, an economist at RBS in Hong Kong. Such a stalemate could lead to a new push in the US Congress to pass measures penalising Chinese exports, especially as the November mid-term elections approach.
China signalled a major shift in exchange rate policy in late June when it said would abandon the de facto currency peg it had operated for the previous two years against the US dollar. But since then there has only been very modest movement in the exchange rate, with the renminbi rising 0.78 per cent against the US dollar.
The pace of slowdown in the Chinese economy in the second half will be heavily affected by what happens in the property market, which the government has tried to cool after a period of feverish speculation in many cities. House prices last month in the country's 70 largest cities remained flat compared to June, according to figures released on Tuesday, although on a year-on-year basis the pace of increase slowed from 11.4 per cent in June to 10.3 per cent.
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الثلاثاء، 10 أغسطس 2010
الجمعة، 30 يوليو 2010
Health officials urge evacuations near Michigan oil spill
Health officials urge evacuations near Michigan oil spill
Officials in Michigan Thursday urged residents living near the Kalamazoo River oil spill to evacuate the area because of health concerns.
Between 30 and 50 homes are thought to be affected by the request, which was made by the Calhoun County Public Health Department.
The Environmental Protection Agency indicated Thursday the spill is largely contained.
Oil leaked Monday from a 30-inch pipeline, owned by Enbridge Energy Partners -- moving from Talmadge Creek into the Kalamazoo River, which flows from near the city of Battle Creek into Lake Michigan. The pipeline normally carries 190,000 barrels of oil per day from Griffith, Indiana, to Sarnia, Ontario.
The leak was stopped Tuesday, but not before an estimated 19,500 barrels of oil slipped out. The cause of the spill is under investigation.
"The Health Department is recommending evacuation due to the higher-than-acceptable levels of benzene found in air quality tests and the adverse long-term affect associated with exposure," officials said in a statement.
Benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid or irregular heartbeat, headaches, tremors, confusion, or unconsciousness, the department said.
Health officials have advised residents to stay away from oil fumes and to avoid the spill site.
The spill covers 25 miles and resources will be put in full force to prevent it from contaminating Morrow Lake and Lake Michigan, Environmental Protection Agency's Ralph Dollhopf said Thursday.
"We don't anticipate (the spill) getting beyond the containment it already has," Dollhopf.
Enbridge said that 2,400 barrels of oil have been recovered and pumped into large tanks by noon Thursday. An additional 10,000 barrels of oil have been isolated into a holding area and will be pumped into holding tanks, the company said.
Enbridge and the EPA doubled their resources in their bid to contain and clean up the spill and crews were busy along the river Thursday.
Mark Durno, the EPA's deputy incident commander for the site, said that the oil hadn't reached the popular Morrow Lake, between Battle Creek and the city of Kalamazoo, and that holding the oil back from the lake will be "the last line of defense."
Tom Sands, a Michigan state police captain overseeing Michigan's emergency response, said he saw an oil sheen on the lake. He also said containment efforts were falling short. He said he perused the area the day before and said more collections sites were needed.
"This is a serious situation and we need more resources to that area," Sands said.
The action came a day after Gov. Jennifer Granholm demanded a large response to the spill, which was estimated at 19,500 barrels of oil.
Enbridge Energy Partners stopped the leak from its pipeline and is committed to cleaning up the oil, its CEO said Wednesday.
"Our intent is to return your community and the waterways to its original state," Patrick Daniel said at a news conference in Battle Creek, Michigan. "We've made significant progress since yesterday. We still have a lot of work to do."
The company set up a website (www.response.enbridgeus.com) and a toll-free number (800-306-6837) for residents and volunteers.
A Calhoun County Health Department water advisory was issued for anyone with an underground well within 200 feet of the river's banks as a precaution until the water quality can be evaluated, Health Officer Jim Rutherford said at a news conference Thursday. Bottled water will be available for affected residents, which is approximately 100 households.
Officials in Michigan Thursday urged residents living near the Kalamazoo River oil spill to evacuate the area because of health concerns.
Between 30 and 50 homes are thought to be affected by the request, which was made by the Calhoun County Public Health Department.
The Environmental Protection Agency indicated Thursday the spill is largely contained.
Oil leaked Monday from a 30-inch pipeline, owned by Enbridge Energy Partners -- moving from Talmadge Creek into the Kalamazoo River, which flows from near the city of Battle Creek into Lake Michigan. The pipeline normally carries 190,000 barrels of oil per day from Griffith, Indiana, to Sarnia, Ontario.
The leak was stopped Tuesday, but not before an estimated 19,500 barrels of oil slipped out. The cause of the spill is under investigation.
"The Health Department is recommending evacuation due to the higher-than-acceptable levels of benzene found in air quality tests and the adverse long-term affect associated with exposure," officials said in a statement.
Benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid or irregular heartbeat, headaches, tremors, confusion, or unconsciousness, the department said.
Health officials have advised residents to stay away from oil fumes and to avoid the spill site.
The spill covers 25 miles and resources will be put in full force to prevent it from contaminating Morrow Lake and Lake Michigan, Environmental Protection Agency's Ralph Dollhopf said Thursday.
"We don't anticipate (the spill) getting beyond the containment it already has," Dollhopf.
Enbridge said that 2,400 barrels of oil have been recovered and pumped into large tanks by noon Thursday. An additional 10,000 barrels of oil have been isolated into a holding area and will be pumped into holding tanks, the company said.
Enbridge and the EPA doubled their resources in their bid to contain and clean up the spill and crews were busy along the river Thursday.
Mark Durno, the EPA's deputy incident commander for the site, said that the oil hadn't reached the popular Morrow Lake, between Battle Creek and the city of Kalamazoo, and that holding the oil back from the lake will be "the last line of defense."
Tom Sands, a Michigan state police captain overseeing Michigan's emergency response, said he saw an oil sheen on the lake. He also said containment efforts were falling short. He said he perused the area the day before and said more collections sites were needed.
"This is a serious situation and we need more resources to that area," Sands said.
The action came a day after Gov. Jennifer Granholm demanded a large response to the spill, which was estimated at 19,500 barrels of oil.
Enbridge Energy Partners stopped the leak from its pipeline and is committed to cleaning up the oil, its CEO said Wednesday.
"Our intent is to return your community and the waterways to its original state," Patrick Daniel said at a news conference in Battle Creek, Michigan. "We've made significant progress since yesterday. We still have a lot of work to do."
The company set up a website (www.response.enbridgeus.com) and a toll-free number (800-306-6837) for residents and volunteers.
A Calhoun County Health Department water advisory was issued for anyone with an underground well within 200 feet of the river's banks as a precaution until the water quality can be evaluated, Health Officer Jim Rutherford said at a news conference Thursday. Bottled water will be available for affected residents, which is approximately 100 households.
Allen vows long-term U.S. commitment on Gulf oil spill
Federal officials are far from ready to "write the obituary" on the Gulf oil spill, even as crews count down toward two efforts to seal the crippled BP oil well once and for all.
The retired Coast Guard admiral overseeing the federal response, Thad Allen, offered that assurance to Gulf area residents Friday, as preparations continue for the first of the efforts -- known as a "static kill" -- when mud and cement are poured into the well from above. The static kill has been pushed back about a day, and now is likely to happen Monday or Tuesday, so that debris that collected during Tropical Storm Bonnie can be cleared out.
That will be followed by a final "bottom kill" after a relief well intercepts the crippled well -- a step expected by the end of August. But sealing the well is not the end of the story.
"We should not be writing any obituary on this event," Allen said. He vowed that won't happen "until the well is completely sealed, until we have no more oil on the surface of the water, until we understand where all the oil has gone to, until the beaches are clean -- and state and local officials agree that the beaches are clean."
He noted that tar balls and oil will be "showing up on beaches for quite some time."
"We're still engaged in this fight, and we need to stay engaged," he said.
The next priority, after the well is sealed, will be getting a better picture on how much oil was released and how much oil remains below the surface, even though it's getting harder and harder to spot oil from the air, according to Allen
Flights are going out continually to check for surface oil, including 103 sorties Thursday and 98 Friday, he said. But recently, little has been detected beyond thin sheens of oil.
In fact, there are so many flights, Allen met before Friday's briefing with service personnel at Tyndall Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle to review air coordination efforts. The briefing then was held at the base.
Allen said a coming priority will be to develop an "oil budget" -- estimating how much was released altogether during the nearly three months the BP well was spewing out oil after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, how much was removed from the surface by skimming ships, how much evaporated, how much was removed from burning surface oil and how much was broken up through the application of dispersants.
A ream of additional data will come when the static kill is performed, he said. But in addition, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ships are combing the Gulf -- with about five operating at any one time -- testing the water for hydrocarbons that would indicate the presence of oil. Another method involves placing in the water modified crab pots that contain oil trapping devices.
"Right now, it's incumbent upon us to acquire as much information as we can," Allen said.
Another step expected in weeks ahead involves gradually removing the 11 million feet of boom arrayed along the Gulf Coast. It was effective in helping to stop thick oil from reaching shore but does little to stop tar balls from washing up from the ocean depths.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources made that point as it outlined a plan to remove all boom off its shores by the end of August.
"While we will continue to see tar balls come on shore, they are scattered events that are cleaned up by BP contractors, and they maintain the capability to quickly move tar balls," the department said in a news release. "Boom does not stop tar balls most of the time, and the placement of some booms could cause severe damage to our marshes and property damage if we have a storm."
The department developed the plan after meetings with coastal mayors and county officials.
Allen's comments followed similar assurances from incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley -- that BP has a "long-term commitment" to the region.
Dudley, currently the company's managing director, stressed during a visit to Mississippi that the spill has been a "catastrophe" and a "real wake-up call for change." We have to "treat it as an opportunity to change for the better," he said.
Shortly before Dudley made his remarks, BP announced that it is setting up a $100 million charitable fund to support unemployed oil rig workers experiencing economic hardship due to the deepwater drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration.
The establishment of the Rig Worker Assistance Fund "fulfills the commitment" BP made on June 16 to provide $100 million in assistance "as a gesture of good will for the people of the Gulf region," according to a company statement.
The company also announced that James Lee Witt, director of Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton administration, will be advising Dudley on BP's disaster response efforts.
Witt, who was appointed in June to conduct an independent review, joined Dudley in Mississippi.
There was a bit of good news for residents of South Florida, the Florida Keys and the East Coast. A NOAA analysis indicates the region will be spared much of the fallout from the spill -- assuming the BP well remains capped.
"The coast remains clear," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a news release. "With the flow stopped and the loop current a considerable distance away, the light sheen remaining on the Gulf's surface will continue to biodegrade and disperse, but will not travel far."
Meanwhile, the man on the receiving end of much of the public anger over the disaster -- outgoing BP chief Tony Hayward -- said in an interview published Friday that he has become "a villain for doing the right thing."
"But I understand that people find it easier to vilify an individual more than a company," he told the Wall Street Journal. "I didn't want to leave BP, because I love the company. ... (But) because I love the company, I must leave BP."
Hayward will be replaced by Dudley on October 1.
The retired Coast Guard admiral overseeing the federal response, Thad Allen, offered that assurance to Gulf area residents Friday, as preparations continue for the first of the efforts -- known as a "static kill" -- when mud and cement are poured into the well from above. The static kill has been pushed back about a day, and now is likely to happen Monday or Tuesday, so that debris that collected during Tropical Storm Bonnie can be cleared out.
That will be followed by a final "bottom kill" after a relief well intercepts the crippled well -- a step expected by the end of August. But sealing the well is not the end of the story.
"We should not be writing any obituary on this event," Allen said. He vowed that won't happen "until the well is completely sealed, until we have no more oil on the surface of the water, until we understand where all the oil has gone to, until the beaches are clean -- and state and local officials agree that the beaches are clean."
He noted that tar balls and oil will be "showing up on beaches for quite some time."
"We're still engaged in this fight, and we need to stay engaged," he said.
The next priority, after the well is sealed, will be getting a better picture on how much oil was released and how much oil remains below the surface, even though it's getting harder and harder to spot oil from the air, according to Allen
Flights are going out continually to check for surface oil, including 103 sorties Thursday and 98 Friday, he said. But recently, little has been detected beyond thin sheens of oil.
In fact, there are so many flights, Allen met before Friday's briefing with service personnel at Tyndall Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle to review air coordination efforts. The briefing then was held at the base.
Allen said a coming priority will be to develop an "oil budget" -- estimating how much was released altogether during the nearly three months the BP well was spewing out oil after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, how much was removed from the surface by skimming ships, how much evaporated, how much was removed from burning surface oil and how much was broken up through the application of dispersants.
A ream of additional data will come when the static kill is performed, he said. But in addition, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ships are combing the Gulf -- with about five operating at any one time -- testing the water for hydrocarbons that would indicate the presence of oil. Another method involves placing in the water modified crab pots that contain oil trapping devices.
"Right now, it's incumbent upon us to acquire as much information as we can," Allen said.
Another step expected in weeks ahead involves gradually removing the 11 million feet of boom arrayed along the Gulf Coast. It was effective in helping to stop thick oil from reaching shore but does little to stop tar balls from washing up from the ocean depths.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources made that point as it outlined a plan to remove all boom off its shores by the end of August.
"While we will continue to see tar balls come on shore, they are scattered events that are cleaned up by BP contractors, and they maintain the capability to quickly move tar balls," the department said in a news release. "Boom does not stop tar balls most of the time, and the placement of some booms could cause severe damage to our marshes and property damage if we have a storm."
The department developed the plan after meetings with coastal mayors and county officials.
Allen's comments followed similar assurances from incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley -- that BP has a "long-term commitment" to the region.
Dudley, currently the company's managing director, stressed during a visit to Mississippi that the spill has been a "catastrophe" and a "real wake-up call for change." We have to "treat it as an opportunity to change for the better," he said.
Shortly before Dudley made his remarks, BP announced that it is setting up a $100 million charitable fund to support unemployed oil rig workers experiencing economic hardship due to the deepwater drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration.
The establishment of the Rig Worker Assistance Fund "fulfills the commitment" BP made on June 16 to provide $100 million in assistance "as a gesture of good will for the people of the Gulf region," according to a company statement.
The company also announced that James Lee Witt, director of Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton administration, will be advising Dudley on BP's disaster response efforts.
Witt, who was appointed in June to conduct an independent review, joined Dudley in Mississippi.
There was a bit of good news for residents of South Florida, the Florida Keys and the East Coast. A NOAA analysis indicates the region will be spared much of the fallout from the spill -- assuming the BP well remains capped.
"The coast remains clear," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a news release. "With the flow stopped and the loop current a considerable distance away, the light sheen remaining on the Gulf's surface will continue to biodegrade and disperse, but will not travel far."
Meanwhile, the man on the receiving end of much of the public anger over the disaster -- outgoing BP chief Tony Hayward -- said in an interview published Friday that he has become "a villain for doing the right thing."
"But I understand that people find it easier to vilify an individual more than a company," he told the Wall Street Journal. "I didn't want to leave BP, because I love the company. ... (But) because I love the company, I must leave BP."
Hayward will be replaced by Dudley on October 1.
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