POLAND: Tusk-"A Certain Line Has Been Crossed" In Railway Sabotage
Nov-18 12:50
Reuters reporting comments from PM Donald Tusk, who is addressing the Sejm (parliament) regarding the explosion on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line to Ukraine over the weekend, which the PM identified as "an unprecedented act of sabotage". Tusk says that Polish authorities have identified two individuals responsible for the two acts of sabotage, claiming they "aimed to cause a railway catastrophe".
- Tusk claims "The identified individuals are two Ukrainian citizens who have been operating with Russian intelligence agencies for a long time,". He says one of them has been sentenced by a Ukrainian court in Lviv in absentia, while the other is from the Donbas. Both lived in Belarus and travelled to Poland this autumn.
- The PM says the incidents are the most serious since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Tusk: "Today we are dealing in Poland with an act of sabotage, the result of which could have been—and this was aided by the attackers' mistake—a serious disaster with casualties. That's why I'm saying that a certain line has been crossed, and the matter is very, very serious."
- There have been previous incidents of Russian missiles landing on Polish territory, as well as cyberattacks and Russian aerial incursions into Polish airspace. These have either been labelled as mistakes (in the case of the missiles) or hybrid attacks (the latter). An act of sabotage on key infrastructure risks being viewed not as a hybrid attack, but as a direct attack on a NATO member state, which could see the Article 5 collective defence clause invoked.
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LOOK AHEAD: US Week Ahead Headlined By Delayed CPI Report On Friday
Oct-17 20:51
- The September US CPI report will be released on Friday, delayed amidst the government shutdown but with the BLS making a special exception on social security payment considerations.
- Bloomberg consensus looks for headline CPI inflation at a rounded 0.4% M/M after 0.38% back in August and for Y/Y inflation to firm two tenths to 3.1% for what would be its highest since May 2024.
- Core inflation is seen at a rounded 0.3% M/M after 0.35% in August (exceeding the median unrounded estimate of 0.31%) and 0.32% in July. It’s expected to see core CPI inflation hold at 3.1% Y/Y having in August increased to its highest since February.
- Core details should see focus on both goods and services angles: underlying goods inflation has clearly firmed in recent months on tariff pressures although the median increase has currently seen a peak back in June, whilst services will be watched for any spillover after some strong recent non-housing readings.
- The report will come within the FOMC blackout period ahead of the Oct 28-29 decision, with a 25bp cut fully priced and likely needing a large surprise to alter this.
- As for broader inflation details, Fed Chair Powell this week confusingly suggested that we will have the September PPI report but the BLS had previously said “No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services”.
US DATA: Latest Jobless Claims Estimates During The Shutdown
Oct-17 20:30
As noted earlier, MNI estimates initial jobless claims at a seasonally adjusted 218k in the week to Oct 11 and continuing claims at a seasonally adjusted 1929k in the week to Oct 4.
- To give a better idea of sensitivity around these estimates, which rely on estimates for some missing states, we note the below analyst estimates:
- Goldman Sachs have a central estimate of 217k for initial claims in a range of 211-225k, whilst they see continuing claims at 1917k in a range of 1885-1930k.
- JPMorgan meanwhile also see 217k for initial claims whilst they see continuing claims as having held constant at 1927k.
NATGAS: Venture Global in Talks with Ukraine for more LNG Deliveries, Reuters
Oct-17 20:28
Ukraine is seeking more cargoes from Venture’s Plaquemines facility as the embattled nation approaches the winter heating season, according to Reuters sources
- Venture is in talks with Ukraine’s DTEK to procure more LNG cargoes after a year of gas infrastructure attacks by the Russians.
- Venture Global CEO Michael Sabel met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday October 16.
- DTEK signed an agreement in 2024 for an undisclosed amount of LNG from the facility, as well as 2 mtpa from Calcasieu Pass Phase 2 currently under construction.
- Plaquemines currently has spare capacity to deliver more cargoes to Ukraine on the spot market, per Reuters.
- Plaquemines now sends out the second highest LNG volume in the US, with feedgas demand averaging 3.45 bcf/d according to MNI figures.
