By Daniel Ramos

LA PAZ (Reuters) -Bolivia's lithium resources are now estimated at 23 million metric tons, its president said on Thursday after government studies that further cement the South American country's position as the global leader in lithium resources.

The new figure, reached after more than 66 wells were explored across the Coipasa and Pastos Grandes salt flats, compares with a previous estimate of 21 million metric tons.

President Luis Arce told reporters the government had also begun talks with representatives of the European Union for investments in lithium projects.

"All eyes are on Latin America and Bolivia because of the wealth we have of lithium and strategic minerals," Arce said, adding that at a summit with EU representatives in Brussels earlier this week there had been interest not just in lithium but other minerals and metals in Bolivia.

Metals such as silver, zinc, lead and tin are also mined in the country.

Bolivia has previously turned to investments from Russian and Chinese firms to develop its huge but largely untapped lithium resources.

In the first half of this year, it signed three lithium deals with two Chinese and one Russian firm pledging to invest a total of $2.8 billion to industrialize Bolivia's resources.

The white metal, a key component for batteries used to power electric vehicles, has seen its price skyrocket over recent years as carmakers rushed to shift their production away from combustion engine vehicles to comply with more stringent regulations that aim to curb climate change.

South America's so-called "lithium triangle" holds more than half the world's lithium resources, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates. Bolivia's reserves, however, surpass those of its neighbors Argentina and Chile, estimated at 20 million metric tons and 11 million metric tons respectively.

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China does not want a trade or tech war but will definitely respond if the United States imposes more curbs on its chip sector, China's ambassador to Washington said on Wednesday.

Ambassador Xie Feng told the Aspen Security Forum China did not shy away from competition, but the way it was defined by the United States was not fair. He highlighted existing U.S. prohibitions on Chinese imports of equipment to make advanced chips.

"This is like ... restricting the other side to wear outdated swimwear in a swimming contest, while you yourself (are) wearing a Speedo," he said.

Xie referred to reports that Washington is considering an outbound investment review mechanism, and further prohibition on the export of AI chips to China.

"The Chinese government cannot simply sit idly by. There's a Chinese saying that we will not ... make provocations, but we will not flinch from provocations," he said.

"China, definitely ... will make our response. But definitely it's not our hope to have a tit for tat. We don't want ... a trade war, technological war, we want to say goodbye to the Iron Curtain as well as the Silicon Curtain."

The Biden administration has been finalizing an executive order that would restrict certain investment in sectors including advanced semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, and a senior administration official said the aim was to wrap up reviews of it by Labor Day.

China targeted U.S. chip maker Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) after Washington imposed a series of export controls on American components and chipmaker tools to ensure that they are not used to advance China's military capabilities.

The Cybersecurity Administration of China said in May that Micron failed its security review and barred operators of key domestic infrastructure from purchasing its products.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week at the end of a four-day trip to China she had spoken with Chinese counterparts about the proposed order, and said that any investment curbs would be "highly targeted, and clearly directed, narrowly at a few sectors where we have specific national security concerns."

She said the order would enacted in a transparent way, through a rule-making process that would allow public input.

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Australian dollar surged on Thursday after the country's employment data far outpaced market expectations, while the yuan marched higher after China's monetary authorities ramped up efforts to defend its weakening currency.

Australia employment handily beat expectations for a second straight month in June, figures on Thursday showed, as net employment rose by 32,600 from May, exceeding market forecasts for an increase of 15,000.

Its jobless rate also held near 50-year lows, in a show of labour market resilience that could risk further rate rises by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

That boosted the Aussie and sent it spiking nearly 1% to an intra-day high of $0.6840 in Asia trade, taking the New Zealand dollar along with it.

The kiwi was last 0.63% higher at $0.6303, with both Antipodean currencies on track to reverse four straight sessions of losses.

"The Australian dollar has spiked higher across the board after the economy delivered another rate-hike defying report," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.

"Ultimately, it's another strong set of employment figures which keeps the pressure on a data-dependant (Reserve Bank of Australia) to potentially hike rates in August."

In Asia, China left its lending benchmarks unchanged on Thursday, as expected, though its central bank said in a statement it raised a parameter on cross-border corporate financing under its macro-prudential assessments to 1.5 from 1.25. The ratio dictates the maximum any company can borrow as a proportion of its net assets.

The move was meant to make it easier for domestic firms to raise funds from overseas markets, which comes at a time when the Chinese yuan is facing downward pressure as the country's economic recovery falters.

Allowing more capital inflows could alleviate the pressure on the currency.

The hike indicated the People's Bank of China's policy guidance to "defend the (yuan) and curb the excessive forex volatility alongside the strong CNY fixing bias", said Ken Cheung, chief Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank.

Sources also told Reuters on Thursday that China's major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to buy yuan in the offshore spot market in early Asian trades.

The yuan jumped in the onshore and offshore markets following the developments, with both strengthening more than 0.5% against the U.S. dollar.

The offshore yuan was last nearly 0.7% higher at 7.1840 per dollar, while the onshore yuan last traded 7.1770 per dollar, having earlier hit a session-high of 7.1620.

"(It was) a one-two punch driving (the yuan) firmer and supporting sentiment," said Christopher Wong, a currency strategist at OCBC.

But the move could be short term and the yuan could weaken again if disappointment over the absence of economic stimulus from China grows, he added.

RATES OUTLOOK

In the broader currency market, the U.S. dollar was on the back foot, though strayed away from its recent 15-month low.

Sterling was nursing deep losses after a sharp fall in the previous session following Britain's inflation data, which undershot market expectations.

The pound was little changed at $1.29385, after having slid more than 0.7% on Wednesday.

That inflation reading pulled back market expectations of further aggressive rate hikes from the Bank of England (BoE), with the prospect of Britain's rates rising above 6% now likely off the table.

Traders had at one point expected interest rates to rise as high as 6.5%.

"The market I think is a bit more reasonable now with its expectations for rate hikes by the BoE," said Joseph Capurso, head of international and sustainable economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY).

The euro rose 0.18% to $1.1220, as investors looked to next week's European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting for further clarity on its rate outlook.

ECB policymakers have in recent days taken a more dovish tone, with governing council member Yannis Stournaras the latest to guide that future rate rises past July's likely 25 basis points increase remains up in the air.

The U.S. dollar index slipped 0.15% to 100.10, but had regained some lost ground after last week's more than 2% slump.

The Japanese yen rose nearly 0.3% to 139.33 per dollar.

(Reuters) - BofA Global Research on Thursday cut China's economic growth forecast for this year to 5.1% on a disappointing second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth and potential delay in forceful policy response.

The brokerage previously expected the country's economy to grow at 5.7%.

It also lowered China's growth forecast for 2024 to 4.8% from the earlier 5%.

"The downward revision reflects our more cautious view on both investment and consumption growth, esp. in 3Q," the Wall Street bank said in a note.

"But as more signs of growth pressure emerge, policy makers will likely ramp up easing efforts by late 3Q, leading to a modest pick-up of growth momentum in 4Q."

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. government agencies are targeting buying 9,500 electric vehicles in the 2023 budget year, but face supply issues and higher costs, a federal report said on Wednesday.

That's almost three times the number acquired in the prior budget year.

The Government Accountability Office said 26 agencies with approved EV acquisition plans estimated they would need over $470 million for vehicle purchases and almost $300 million in estimated costs to design and install the necessary infrastructure and for other expenses. The vehicles purchase would cost almost $200 million more than the lowest-priced comparable gasoline-powered vehicles. The agencies represent more than 99% of the federal vehicle fleet excluding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which is an independent federal entity.

The White House did not immediately comment.

Agencies face hurdles to buy as many EVs as they would like or are unsure if EVs will meet all needs. The Transportation Department told GAO it initially wanted to order 430 ZEVs for 2022 but their order was scaled back to 292 due, in part, to order cancellations from manufacturers.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials told GAO they do not believe that EVs "can support law enforcement equipment or perform law enforcement missions in extreme environments, such as those on the borders," the report said.

President Joe Biden in December 2021 issued an executive order directing the government to end purchases of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. Biden's order also directs that 100% of light-duty federal acquisitions by 2027 be electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV).

Biden's order covers 380,000 federal vehicles and covered agencies purchases about 45,000 annually. It does not apply to USPS.

Federal agencies quintupled purchases of EVs and PHEVs in the 12-months ending Sept. 30, 2022 moving from 1% of vehicle acquisitions in 2021 to 12% of light-duty purchases in 2022, or 3,567 total.

In May, USPS said it expected to receive next-generation delivery vehicles in June 2024, nine months behind schedule.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on Wednesday that would authorize President Joe Biden's administration to negotiate a tax agreement with Taiwan, seeking to foster investment as Washington works to shore up the island against a rising China.

The lawmakers, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and top Democrat Gregory Meeks, said the agreement, similar to a treaty, would facilitate investment, protect against tax evasion and allow businesses in both the United States and Taiwan to avoid double taxation.

"In addition to the advantages we will receive from more investment from Taiwan, this is another important step in safeguarding Taiwan and maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific," McCaul said in a statement.

The bill is a companion to a measure introduced in the Senate in May by lawmakers including the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Washington and Taipei do not have formal diplomatic relations, so the lack of a tax agreement means Taiwanese businesses and individuals are taxed on their income by both the U.S. and Taiwanese governments.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims.

Taiwan is a major global supplier of the semiconductor chips essential to a wide range of consumer goods and military equipment.

(Reuters) - Power demand in Texas hit a record high for a second straight day on Tuesday as homes and businesses cranked up air conditioners to escape a brutal heat wave.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state's power load, has said it has enough resources available to meet soaring demand.

Texas residents have worried about extreme weather since a deadly winter storm in February 2021 left millions without power, water and heat for days as ERCOT struggled to prevent a grid collapse after the closure of an unusually large amount of generation.

After setting 11 demand records last summer, ERCOT said usage hit a preliminary 82,592 megawatts (MW) at 1800 Central Time (2300 GMT), which would top the grid's previous all-time high of 81,911 MW set on July 17.

That is the fifth record high in ERCOT this summer.

One megawatt can power around 1,000 U.S. homes on a typical day, but only about 200 homes on a hot summer day in Texas.

Meteorologists at AccuWeather forecast high temperatures in Houston, the biggest city in Texas, would hit at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) every day from July 17-21. That compares with a normal high of 94 F for this time of year.

    Next-day or spot power prices at the ERCOT North Hub, which includes Dallas, fell to $45 per megawatt hour (MWh) on Tuesday from a nearly seven-month high of $475 on Friday. That compares with an average of $38 so far this year, $78 in 2022 and a five-year average of $66.

Rising economic and population growth has boosted electricity use in Sun Belt states like Texas and Arizona even though overall U.S. power demand is projected to ease in 2023 after hitting a record high in 2022.

(This story has been refiled to correct the GMT time in paragraph 4)

By Melanie Burton and Navya Mittal

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) flagged concerns about a global economic slowdown on Wednesday as it logged a raft of production issues across its operations but said its iron ore production should be at the upper end of its expectations for the year.

Prices of iron ore, from which Rio Tinto derives around 70% of its profits, eased over the second quarter on concerns over China's debt-ridden property sector, but could improve after Beijing on Tuesday pledged to roll out policies to boost growth.

"China's economic recovery has fallen short of initial market expectations, as the property market downturn continues to weigh on the economy and consumers remain cautious despite monetary policy easing," Rio Tinto said in its quarterly report.

"Manufacturing data in advanced economies showed a further slowdown and recessionary risks remain."

The Anglo Australian miner recorded a small miss on its second-quarter iron ore shipments on Wednesday, hurt by a train derailment during the quarter, but said it was on track for full-year shipments in the upper half of its forecast range of 320 million to 335 million metric tons.

"It's good to see solid iron ore production expectations for the full year, but on the margin it's probably slightly disappointing given other production downgrades," said Glyn Lawcock of Barrenjoey in Sydney, adding that Rio's $900 million increase in working capital could impact shareholder returns.

The world's biggest iron ore producer shipped 79.1 million metric tons of the steel-making ingredient from its Pilbara operations in the three months ended June 30, down slightly from a year earlier and short of an estimate of 81 million metric tons compiled by Visible Alpha.

Rio downgraded its expectations for refined copper production, alumina production, and output at its Canadian iron ore operations and warned of rising costs.

"Production downgrades during the quarter highlight that we still have much more to do," Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said in the report.

Rio cut its refined copper guidance by about 10% to 160,000 to 190,000 metric tons and raised its cost guidance due to a smelter rebuild at its Kennecott operations in Utah that has also been delayed by a month.

Wildfires in Northern Quebec impacted Canadian iron ore production, it said.

Meanwhile, Rio is reviewing the $140 million estimate and development timeline for its Rincon lithium project in Argentina due to rising costs. Rio will report its first-half profit on July 26.

(Reporting Melanie Burton in Melbourne, and Navya Mittal and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sonali Paul)

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has decided to raise the minimum wage by a three-year low of 2.5% in 2024, its Minimum Wage Commission said on Wednesday, amid slowing growth and high inflation.

The minimum hourly wage will be raised to 9,860 won ($7.80) next year, up from 9,620 won this year, the commission said. The figure was reached after 110 days of discussion, the most number of days it has ever taken reach an agreement.

It will be the smallest increase since 2021, when the wage was raised by a record low of 1.5% amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

($1 = 1,263.9500 won)

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar held just above an over one-year low on Wednesday as traders assessed the U.S. rate outlook, while the New Zealand dollar spiked briefly after a higher-than-expected inflation reading pushed back prospects of policy easing further out.

The U.S. dollar managed to nudge up after a mixed retail sales report overnight, with sales growth missing forecasts in June but consumers boosted or maintained spending elsewhere, pointing to consumer resilience that is likely to keep the economy on a solid growth path.

Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar rebounded from a 15-month low hit in the previous session, with its index steadying at 99.943 in early Asia trade.

"The (data) showed retail sales being resilient, and I think that's because the U.S. wage growth is still strong," said Tina Teng, market analyst at CMC Markets.

The greenback has paused its steep decline from last week in the wake of a cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation reading that led to traders pricing in an imminent peak in U.S. rates.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the Federal Reserve to deliver a 25-basis-point rate hike at its upcoming policy meeting this month, with a majority betting that to bring an end to the central bank's current monetary tightening cycle.

Across the Atlantic, European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers are also adopting a more dovish tone on the rate outlook, with governing council member Klaas Knot saying in an interview on Tuesday that the ECB will look closely for signs of inflation cooling down in the coming months to avoid overly tightening policy.

The euro was last steady at $1.1230, away from the previous session's 17-month peak of $1.1276.

Sterling bought $1.3035, ahead of UK inflation data due later on Wednesday.

"The stickiness of UK inflation measures has contrasted notably with price measures in both the euro zone and the U.S. which have been moving lower," said Rabobank's head of FX strategy Jane Foley.

"If the UK economy remains resilient, we expect that (the pound) is likely to react well to hawkish expectations regarding (Bank of England) policy.

"However, if recession risks rise in the UK, the pound may revert to pushing lower on rate rises as investors take fright on the overall UK economic backdrop and cut back their long (pound) positions."

Over in New Zealand, consumer inflation came in slightly above expectations in the second quarter, data out on Wednesday showed, causing a brief spike in the kiwi as traders pushed out expectations for when the Reserve Bank of New Zealand might start cutting its cash rate.

It was last 0.25% higher at $0.6291, after jumping more than 0.6% to a session high of $0.6315 following the release.

"While inflation is 'lower', it is not 'low' by any stretch of the imagination. Importantly, measures of core inflation are continuing to run at rates of around 6%, and some have actually picked up in the June quarter," said Satish Ranchhod, senior economist at Westpac in New Zealand.

"That points to lingering strength in underlying price pressures."

The Australian dollar was last 0.08% lower at $0.68065.

Elsewhere, the Japanese yen fell marginally to 138.88 per dollar.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday there was still some distance to sustainably and stably achieving the central bank's 2% inflation target, signalling his resolve to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy for the time being.