TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than 1% on Monday, dropping for a third session, after official data showed that refining throughput and economic activity slowed in China in an indicator that fresh COVID-19 outbreaks are crimping the world’s no.2 economy.
Brent crude was down 90 cents, or 1.3%, at $69.69 a barrel by 0649 GMT. U.S. oil fell by 97 cents, or 1.4%, to $67.47 a barrel.
Factory output and retail sales growth slowed sharply in July in China, data showed, missing expectations as fresh outbreaks of COVID-19 and flooding disrupted business activity. read more
“Oil futures weakness … is likely triggered by weaker-than-expected growth data from China, which is a major consumer of oil,” said Kelvin Wong, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore. “All in all, the global peak growth narrative has been intensified.”
China’s crude oil processing last month also fell to the lowest on a daily basis since May 2020, as independent refiners cut production amid tighter quotas, elevated inventories and falling profits. China is the world’s biggest oil importer. read more
In Japan, the world’s fourth-biggest importer of crude oil, many analysts expect modest economic growth in the current quarter as state of renewed emergency restrictions to deal with record cases of infections weigh on household spending. read more
“We expect (Japan GDP) growth to remain under pressure in the third quarter as spending and production continue to struggle amidst disruptions from the pandemic,” Moody’s said.
The International Energy Agency on Thursday said rising demand for crude oil reversed course in July and was expected to increase at a slower rate over the rest of 2021 because of surging COVID-19 infections from the highly transmissible Delta strain. read more
Money managers reduced their net-long U.S. crude futures and options holdings in the week to Aug. 10, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
Speculators also cut their futures and options positions in New York and London by 21,777 contracts to 283,601 over the period, the CFTC said.
Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard Pullin and Kenneth Maxwell
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Aug 9 (Reuters) – Two Federal Reserve officials said on Monday that the U.S. economy is growing rapidly and that while the labor market still has room for improvement, inflation is already at a level that could satisfy one leg of a key test for the beginning of interest rate hikes.
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said he is eyeing the fourth quarter for the start of a bond-purchase taper but is open to an even earlier start if the job market keeps up its recent torrid pace of improvement. Moreover, he and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin both said they believe inflation has already achieved the Fed’s 2% threshold, according to their separate assessments. That is one of two requirements to be met before rate hikes can be considered.
Their remarks are a sign that as Fed officials hold discussions about how and when to taper their asset purchases, they are also getting more detailed in their debate about what it will take to satisfy the Fed’s inflation target under the new framework.
Bostic, who has already penciled in late 2022 for the start of rate hikes, pointed to the five-year annual average for the core personal consumption expenditures index, or core PCE inflation, which by his calculation reached 2% in May.
“There are many reasons to think that we may be at that goal target right now,” Bostic told reporters. But he said the committee has yet to agree on the metrics it will use to measure that progress, something policymakers will need to discuss.
Barkin said high inflation seen this year may have satisfied one of the Fed’s benchmarks for raising rates, though there is still room for the job market to heal before rates should rise. Under the Fed’s current policy guidance, rates will rise “when inflation hits 2%, which I think you can argue it already has, and it looks like it is going to sustain there,” Barkin said at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce in Virginia.
Their remarks echoed comments made by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard last month, who said that the current pace of inflation, at 3.5% annually by the Fed’s preferred measure, is well above the central bank’s 2% target, and adequate in his view to make up for past weak inflation as required by the central bank’s new framework.
LABOR MARKET STILL BEHIND
Under a new framework unveiled last year, Fed officials agreed to leave rates at near-zero levels until the labor market reaches maximum employment, and inflation averages 2%, on track to moderately exceed 2% for some time.
Policymakers said in December they would continue purchasing government bonds at the current pace of $120 billion a month until there is “substantial further progress” toward the central bank’s goals for inflation and maximum employment.
With the elevated inflation levels reached during the pandemic, Bostic said, the Fed has effectively achieved the “substantial further progress” goal for inflation.
More progress is still needed in the labor market, but that goal could be accomplished after another month or two of strong job improvement, Bostic said. That puts the Fed on a path to begin trimming purchases between October and December, or sooner, if the gains in August are stronger than expected, he said.
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said on Monday during an interview with the Associated Press that the “substantial further progress” goal had been met for inflation but that more improvement was needed in the labor market. He said the tapering standard for employment could potentially be met by September.
“I would expect if we continue to have (jobs) reports like we’ve had over the last two, with very substantial payroll employment gains, that by the September meeting, we would, in my view, meet the substantial further progress criteria, and that would imply starting to taper sometime this fall,” Rosengren said.
Barkin did not specify a timeline for when the Fed may start to reduce its asset purchases, but said he is watching the employment-to-population ratio to evaluate whether the labor market has made enough progress toward the Fed’s goals.
In terms of how to structure the taper, Bostic said he supports a “balanced” approach that reduces mortgage-backed securities and Treasury securities at the same rate. He also said he would be in favor of tapering asset purchases over a shorter period than what the Fed has previously done. “I am in favor of going relatively fast,” Bostic said.
Reporting by Jonnelle Marte and Howard Schneider; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis
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Prudential, Citi, HSBC, BlackRock devising coal plan
Initiative aims to secure funding at COP26 summit
ADB preparing feasibility study on early closures
LONDON/MELBOURNE, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Financial firms including British insurer Prudential, lenders Citi and HSBC and BlackRock Real Assets are devising plans to speed the closure of Asia’s coal-fired power plants in order to lower the biggest source of carbon emissions, five people with knowledge of the initiative said.
The novel proposal, which includes the Asian Development Bank (ADB), offers a potentially workable model and early talks with Asian governments and multilateral banks are promising, the sources told Reuters.
The group plans to create public-private partnerships to buy out the plants and wind them down within 15 years, far sooner than their usual life, giving workers time to retire or find new jobs and allowing countries to shift to renewable energy sources.
It aims to have a model ready for the COP26 climate conference which is being held in Glasgow, Scotland in November.
The initiative comes as commercial and development banks, under pressure from large investors, pull back from financing new power plants in order to meet climate targets.
An ADB executive told Reuters that a first purchase under the proposed scheme, which will comprise a mix of equity, debt and concessional finance, could come as soon as next year.
“If you can come up with an orderly way to replace those plants sooner and retire them sooner, but not overnight, that opens up a more predictable, massively bigger space for renewables,” Donald Kanak, chairman of Prudential’s (PRU.L) Insurance Growth Markets, told Reuters.
Coal-fired power accounts for about a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, making it the biggest polluter.
The proposed mechanism entails raising low cost, blended finance which would be used for a carbon reduction facility, while a separate facility would fund renewable incentives.
HSBC (HSBA.L) declined to comment on the plan.
Finding a way for developing nations in Asia, which has the world’s newest fleet of coal plants and more under construction, to make the most of the billions already spent and switch to renewables has proved a major challenge.
The International Energy Agency expects global coal demand to rise 4.5% in 2021, with Asia making up 80% of that growth.
Meanwhile, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is calling for a drop in coal-fired electricity from 38% to 9% of global generation by 2030 and to 0.6% by 2050.
MAKING IT VIABLE
The proposed carbon reduction facility would buy and operate coal-fired power plants, at a lower cost of capital than is available to commercial plants, allowing them to run at a wider margin but for less time in order to generate similar returns.
The cash flow would repay debt and investors.
Reuters Image
The other facility would be used to jump start investments in renewables and storage to take over the energy load from the plants as it grows, attracting finance on its own.
The model is already familiar to infrastructure investors who rely on blended finance in so-called public-private deals, backed by government-financed institutions.
In this case, development banks would take the biggest risk by agreeing to take first loss as holders of junior debt as well as accepting a lower return, according to the proposal.
“To make this viable on more than one or two plants, you’ve got to get private investors,” Michael Paulus, head of Citi’s Asia-Pacific public sector group, who is involved in the initiative, told Reuters.
“There are some who are interested but they are not going to do it for free. They may not need a normal return of 10-12%, they may do it for less. But they are not going to accept 1 or 2%. We are trying to figure out some way to make this work.”
The framework has already been presented to ASEAN finance ministers, the European Commission and European development officials, Kanak, who co-chairs the ASEAN Hub of the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership, said.
Details still to be finalised include ways to encourage coal plant owners to sell, what to do with the plants once they are retired, any rehabilitation requirements, and what role if any carbon credits may play.
The firms aim to attract finance and other commitments at COP26, when governments will be asked to commit to more ambitious emissions targets and increase financing for countries most vulnerable to climate change.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has re-entered the Paris climate accord and is pushing for ambitious reductions of carbon emissions, while in July, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the heads of major development banks, including ADB and the World Bank, to devise plans to mobilize more capital to fight climate change and support emission cuts. read more
A Treasury official told Reuters that the plans for coal plant retirement are among the types of projects that Yellen wants banks to pursue, adding the administration is “interested in accelerating coal transitions” to tackle the climate crisis.
ASIA STEPS
As part of the group’s proposal, the ADB has allocated around $1.7 million for feasibility studies covering Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, to estimate the costs of early closure, which assets could be acquired, and engage with governments and other stakeholders.
“We would like to do the first (coal plant) acquisition in 2022,” ADB Vice President Ahmed M. Saeed told Reuters, adding the mechanism could be scaled up and used as a template for other regions, if successful. It is already in discussions about extending this work to other countries in Asia, he added.
To retire 50% of a country’s capacity early at $1 million-$1.8 million per megawatt suggests Indonesia would require a total facility of roughly $16-$29 billion, while Philippines would be about $5-$9 billion and Vietnam around $9-$17 billion, according to estimates by Prudential’s Kanak.
One challenge that needs to be tackled is the potential risk of moral hazard, said Nick Robins, a London School of Economics sustainable finance professor.
“There’s a longstanding principle that the polluter should pay. We need to make absolutely sure that we are not paying the polluter, but rather paying for accelerated transition,” he said.
Additional reporting by David Lawder in Washington; Editing by Amran Abocar and Alexander Smith
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A logo of China Evergrande Group is displayed at a news conference on the property developer’s annual results in Hong Kong, China March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
HONG KONG, Aug 2 (Reuters) – China’s most indebted property developer Evergrande Group (3333.HK) has agreed to sell stakes in its internet unit HengTen Networks Group Ltd (0136.HK) worth a total of HK$3.25 billion ($418.2 million), an exchange filing showed on Sunday.
Shares of Evergrande declined more than 2% in early trading on Monday on continued worries over its financial health, while HengTen jumped more than 30%. Shares of HengTen resumed trading on Monday after a suspension on Thursday.
Worries over the developer’s debt and the potential for systemic financial risk have intensified after Evergrande said in June its project companies had not paid some commercial paper on time, but it said it was arranging payment.
Fitch downgraded its credit rating on Wednesday, signalling its concern of a potential default. read more
To ease the pressure, Evergrande will sell a 7% stake at HK$3.20 per share to a unit of Tencent Holdings Ltd. for HK$2.07 billion and a 4% stake to an unidentified buyer for HK$1.18 billion. The filing did not give a timing for the sale.
Before the transaction, Evergrande held a 37.55% stake in the company, while Tencent (0700.HK)held 16.9%. Evergrande’s stake will go down to 26.55% and Tencent’s holdings will increase to 23.9% after the sale, the filing showed.
Evergrande has agreed to provide a 5-year loan of HK$2.07 billion to HengTen to support its business development, the company added in the filing.
HengTen’s shares are expected to resume trading on Aug. 2 after being halted on July 29, the filing showed.
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Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Additional reporting by Clare Jim; editing by Barbara Lewis and Sonali Paul
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MANAVGAT, Turkey, July 30 (Reuters) – The death toll from wildfires on Turkey’s southern coast has risen to four and firefighters were battling blazes for a third day on Friday after the evacuation of dozens of villages and some hotels.
More than 70 wildfires have broken out this week in provinces on Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts as well as inland areas, President Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that 14 were still burning.
Planes from Russia and Ukraine helped battle the flames and another from Azerbaijan was joining them. “As of midday, with the arrival of the planes, we are turning in a positive direction,” Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers.
Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said fires raged on in six provinces and officials promised to bring to account anyone found responsible for starting them.
Villages and some hotels have been evacuated in tourist areas and television footage has shown people fleeing across fields as fires closed in on their homes.
Pakdemirli said fires were still blazing in the Mediterranean resort region of Antalya and the Aegean resort province of Mugla.
A forest fire burns near the town of Manavgat, east of the resort city of Antalya, Turkey, July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Kaan Soyturk
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“We were hoping to contain some of the fires as of this morning but while we say cautiously that they are improving, we still cannot say they are under control,” he said.
Wildfires have broken out elsewhere in the region, with more than 40 in Greece in the last 24 hours, fanned by winds and soaring temperatures, authorities said. On Tuesday, a blaze tore through a pine forest north of Athens, damaging more than a dozen homes before it was brought under control.
Fires also burned large swathes of pine forest in the mountainous north of Lebanon this week, killing at least one firefighter and forcing some residents to flee.
In Turkey, firefighters on the ground and in helicopters were fighting a blaze that killed three people in Manavgat, 75 km (45 miles) east of Antalya. Urbanisation Minister Murat Kurum said 27 neighbourhoods were evacuated there.
One person was found dead on Thursday in Mugla’s Marmaris area, 290 km west of Manavgat. The blaze continued in Marmaris but residential areas were not at risk, Pakdemirli said.
Erdogan said at least five planes,45 helicopters, drones, and 1,080 firefighting vehicles were involved in firefighting efforts at 1,140 sites.
Istanbul governor’s office banned entry to forest areas until the end of August as a precaution against fires.
Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen, Daren Butler, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara, Karolina Tagaris in Athens, Laila Bassam in Beirut; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Giles Elgood
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Housing starts increase 6.3% in June; May revised down
Single-family starts rise 6.3%; multi-family up 6.2%
Building permits drop 5.1%; single-family down 6.3%
WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) – U.S. homebuilding increased more than expected in June, but permits for future home construction fell to an eight-month low, likely reflecting hesitancy caused by expensive building materials as well as shortages of labor and land.
The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday suggested a severe shortage of houses, which has boosted prices and sparked bidding wars across the country, could persist for a while. Demand for houses is being driven by low mortgage rates and a desire for more spacious accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though lumber prices are coming down from record highs, builders are paying more for steel, concrete and lighting, and are grappling with shortages of appliances like refrigerators.
“Reports of multi-month delays in the delivery of windows, heating units, refrigerators and other items have popped up across the country, delaying delivery of homes and forcing builders to cap activity, and many builders continue to point to a shortage of available workers as a separate challenge,” said Matthew Speakman, an economist at Zillow.
Housing starts rose 6.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.643 million units last month. Data for May was revised down to a rate of 1.546 million units from the previously reported 1.572 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast starts would rise to a rate of 1.590 million units.
Despite last month’s increase, starts remained below March’s rate of 1.737 million units, which was the highest level since July 2006. Homebuilding increased in the West and the populous South, but fell in the Northeast and Midwest.
Single-family starts rose 6.3% to a rate of 1.160 million units. The volatile multi-family homebuilding category advanced 6.2% to a pace of 483,000 units.
Starts increased 29.1% on a year-on-year basis in June.
Permits for future homebuilding fell 5.1% to a rate of 1.598 million units in June, the lowest level since October 2020. Permits are now lagging starts, suggesting that homebuilding will slow in the coming months.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher after a sharp selloff on Monday. The dollar (.DXY) gained versus a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury yields fell.
BUILDERS CAUTIOUS
While lumber futures have dropped nearly 70% from a record high in early May, economists caution that higher prices are likely to prevail because of wildfires in the Western United States.
Real estate signs advertise new homes for sale in multiple new developments in York County, South Carolina, U.S., February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
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Dustin Jalbert, head of Fastmarkets RISI’s lumber team, also noted that log prices are soaring in the interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia and duties are potentially set to increase on Canadian producers later this year.
There are also signs that the exodus to suburbs and other low-density areas in search of larger homes for home offices and schooling is gradually fading as COVID-19 vaccinations allow companies to recall workers back to offices in city centers.
A rise in COVID-19 infections among unvaccinated Americans also poses a risk to the housing market outlook.
Economists expect the housing market, one of the economy’s star performers during the coronavirus pandemic, was a mild drag on gross domestic product in the second quarter.
Still, homebuilding remains underpinned by the dearth of homes available for sale. The inventory of previously-owned homes is near record lows, leading to double-digit growth in the median house price.
A survey from the National Association of Home Builders on Monday showed confidence among single-family homebuilders fell to an 11-month low in July.
Shortages and higher input prices likely weighed on new home sales in June. The Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey, which was published on Tuesday, showed mortgage applications for new home purchases fell 23.8% in June from a year ago. Applications decreased 3% compared to May. The data has not been adjusted for typical seasonal patterns. The Commerce Department is due to publish new home sales data for June next Monday.
Homebuilders and a group of other stakeholders met last Friday with White House officials, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, to discuss strategies to address the short-term supply chain disruptions in the homebuilding sector.
Building permits fell in all four regions in June. Single-family permits dropped 6.3% to a rate of 1.063 million units, the lowest since August 2020. Permits for multifamily housing slipped 2.6% to a rate of 535,000 units.
The backlog of single-family homes yet to be started grew in June to the highest level since October 2006.
“Widespread anecdotal reports point to builders delaying or turning down orders to allow shortages to ease and to catch up to a growing construction backlog,” said Mark Palim, deputy chief economist at Fannie Mae in Washington.
Housing completions fell 1.4% to a rate of 1.324 million units last month. Single-family home completions declined 6.1% to a rate of 902,000 units, the lowest level since October.
Realtors estimate that single-family housing starts and completion rates need to be in a range of 1.5 million to 1.6 million units per month to close the inventory gap.
The stock of housing under construction rose 1.8% to a rate of 1.359 million units last month.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao
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July 19 (Reuters) – China’s Tencent (0700.HK) will buy British videogame developer Sumo (SUMO.L) in a $1.27 billion deal, it said on Monday, adding new titles to its growing portfolio of chart-topping videogames.
The purchase, which will boost the Chinese internet giant’s presence globally, brings together Sumo’s racing and snooker games with Tencent’s more high-profile range of games that includes Call of Duty’s mobile version.
Shareholders in Sheffield-based Sumo will get 513 pence in cash per share, a 43% premium to the last price and valuing the company at 919 million pounds, Tencent said, sending Sumo’s shares surging 42% to a record high.
The deal comes days after China’s market regulator decided to block Tencent’s plans to merge videogame streaming sites, Huya (HUYA.N) and DouYu, on antitrust grounds.
It is the second major deal involving a British video game company over the past year, following U.S. video game maker Electronic Arts’ (EA.O) deal to buy Britain-based Codemasters. read more
Tencent, with stakes in companies that make Fortnite and League of Legends, is the world’s second-largest videogame group by revenue after Sony.
“Chinese deals may imply a higher regulatory risk, but we see no likely resistance or counterbid,” Jefferies analysts said.
EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES
Sumo, which counts Microsoft’s Xbox, Amazon Game Studios, Apple, Google and BBC as its clients and partners, has seen its value soar since a 2017 listing on LSE’s junior market AIM at 100 pence.
“The Board of Sumo firmly believes the business will benefit from Tencent’s broad videogaming eco-system, proven industry expertise and its strategic resources,” non-executive chairman Ian Livingstone said.
Tencent owns 8.75% and is the second-biggest shareholder in Sumo, which has 14 studios in five countries and released the video games including Hotshot Racing, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and WST Snooker last year.
Sumo’s boss Carl Cavers said he and co-founders Paul Porter and Darren Mills would reprise their roles.
“The opportunity to work with Tencent is one we just couldn’t miss,” said Cavers, who founded the company 18 years ago.
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Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Edmund Blair
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CHRIST CHURCH, Barbados, July 2 (Reuters) – Hurricane Elsa blew roofs off homes, toppled trees and sparked flooding in the island nation of Barbados then pounded St. Vincent with heavy rain and winds on Friday, as the storm was tracking towards Haiti.
Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs Wilfred A. Abrahams urged Barbadians to shelter in place and only leave their homes if the structures were damaged.
Elsa strengthened into a hurricane earlier in the day and was about 95 miles (153 km) west-northwest of St. Vincent, blowing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (140 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
“The island definitely cannot handle any sort of damages at this point because we still haven’t recovered from the volcanic eruption yet,” said 20-year-old student Queriise Thomas in the community of Choppins in southern St. Vincent.
Earlier this year, heavy rains slammed St. Vincent with major flooding and landslides after a series of volcanic eruptions blanketed large swathes of the island in a thick layer of ash. read more
Thomas said intermittent heavy rain caused flooding and parts of the island lost electricity. St. Vincent’s water and sewage authority cut water supply to all residents as a precaution due to potential mudflows.
The NHC forecast 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) of rain with a maximum of 15 inches (38 cm) across the Windward and southern Leeward Islands including Barbados, which could lead to isolated flash flooding and mudslides.
A man views damage to a home after strong winds of Hurricane Elsa passed St. Michael, Barbados July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Nigel Browne
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Hurricane conditions were expected in Haiti and possible in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica by late Saturday, the agency said.
The Barbados minister said damage was reported in the south of the island including power outages, fallen trees, flash flooding and damaged roofs.
Emergency services were unable to reach people, but there were no reports of injuries or deaths.
A resident in south Barbados, 43-year-old structural engineer Greg Parris, whose home lost power around 7 a.m., said: “It was scary. Most of us, we haven’t experienced anything like this for a while.”
Elsa’s progress should be monitored by the Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Cayman Islands, the Miami-based NHC said.
Little change in Elsa’s strength was forecast over the next 48 hours and some decrease in winds is possible on Monday, the hurricane center said.
Elsa’s storm surge was expected to raise water levels by as much as 1 to 4 feet above normal tide levels in some areas. Puerto Rico could receive up to 5 inches of rain, the NHC.
Reporting by Robert Edison Sandiford in Christ Church, Barbados and Kate Chappell in Kingston, Jamaica; Additional reporting by Anthony Esposito in Mexico City and Nakul Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Cynthia Osterman
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An earthquake of magnitude 6 struck India’s rugged northeastern state of Assam on Wednesday, causing cracks in the walls and floors of some structures, but no immediate casualties were reported.
The quake hit at a depth of 34 km (21 miles) near the town of Dhekiajuli, 140 km (86 miles) north of the main city of Guwahati, the United States Geological Survey said.
“This earthquake was the biggest I can remember, there was first a big jolt and then a smaller one,” said a police official in the town. “We did not receive any distress calls, but people did run out of their homes.”
People streamed into the streets for fear of fresh tremors, with some saying the quake left cracks in their homes.
“Our entire multi-storied apartment has witnessed massive damage with roofs and walls caving in,” said Subham Hazarika, a businessman living in an upmarket apartment in Guwahati. “Luckily no one got injured.”
Strong tremors repeatedly struck other northeastern areas and the neighbouring mountainous region of Bhutan.
“We don’t have reports of any casualties but we are seeing images and visuals of extensive damage,” Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told Reuters.
Earlier, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) had put the quake’s magnitude at 6.2.
India’s disaster management officials were assessing reports of destruction and casualties, said one of the officials, who sought anonymity.
“I pray for the well-being of all and urge everyone to stay alert,” Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told Reuters television partner ANI.
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