Danube water levels plunge amid prolonged heatwave, threatening Serbia's grain exports

Falling water levels on the Danube River, driven by persistent heat, are disrupting Serbia's grain exports along the key shipping route.

The Vojvodina Province in northern Serbia, a crucial grain-producing area for the country, has been particularly hard hit. As the Danube shrinks, ships are being forced to reduce their loads to stay afloat, driving up transportation costs and squeezing profit margins for farmers and exporters.

"Today, the water level at the monitoring station in Novi Sad stood at minus 44 centimeters. Normally, it should be around 150 centimeters this time of year. So the river is now roughly two meters lower than usual. This has created significant shipping difficulties. Some sections of the river have become nearly impassable, forcing ships to reduce their loads just to get through," said Bozidar Belos, advisor to the director of public water management company Vode Vojvodine.

Serbia's hydrometeorological department has warned that Danube water levels are expected to fall even further in the coming days.

To address the crisis, Serbia is working with neighboring countries on dredging the river and building sluices and dams to ease pressures on both navigation and irrigation.

Danube water levels plunge amid prolonged heatwave, threatening Serbia's grain exports

The Japanese yen hit 163 against the U.S. dollar in New York on Tuesday, a level unseen since December 1986, as investors sought the greenback as a safe asset amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The yen's slide has driven up import costs from energy to food, hitting Japan's resource‑dependent economy and millions of households.

Analysts warn that renewed hostilities in the Middle East could disrupt vital energy shipping routes and send global oil prices surging. For Japan, which relies heavily on imported fossil fuels, higher crude costs would swell the trade deficit and prompt investors to sell yen for dollars in anticipation of a worsening current account balance. Meanwhile, domestic factors are adding to the yen's weakness. The wide interest rate gap between Japan and major Western economies remains a drag, while markets expect Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration to press ahead with its "proactive fiscal policy," easing budget discipline. Traders see that stance as a signal for further yen depreciation.

At its lowest in nearly four decades, the yen is fueling expectations of fresh intervention by Japan's government and central bank.

Japanese yen falls to 39-year low amid Middle East tensions