Sept 6 (Reuters) – Bitcoin’s been called a lot of things. Buzzy, beguiling, baffling, even bogus. But never boring. 

Yet, of late, it’s been eerily subdued. 

The king of the swingers has been uncharacteristically treading water for days at around $20,000 and hasn’t ventured far beyond that since June. 

That spells trouble for traders and exchanges that profit from bitcoin’s wild price lurches, and is opening the door to its archrival ether which is preparing to up its crypto game by moving to a meaner and leaner blockchain. 

Full coverage: REUTERS

Exclusive: Gazprom Says Nord Stream 1 Resumption Depends On Siemens Energy

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Russian natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 will not resume shipments until Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) repairs faulty equipment, Gazprom’s (GAZP.MM) Deputy Chief Executive Officer Vitaly Markelov told Reuters on Tuesday. 

“You should ask Siemens. They have to repair equipment first,” he said on the sidelines of Eastern Economic Forum in Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok, when asked about when the pipeline could start pumping gas again. 

Full coverage: REUTERS

Oil Prices Ease On Symbolic OPEC+ Output Cut

SINGAPORE, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Oil prices inched lower on Tuesday, paringgains from the previous session, as an OPEC+ deal to cut output by 100,000 barrels per day in October was seen as a largely symbolic move to bolster prices after the market’s recent slide. 

Brent crude futures had fallen 81 cents, or 0.9%, to $94.93 a barrel by 0354 GMT. 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures inched up from Monday to $88.57 a barrel, and were $1.70 higher, or 2.0%, than Friday’s close. There was no settlement on Monday, the U.S. Labor Day holiday. 

Full coverage: REUTERS

Lufthansa Pilots To Strike Again This Week, Union Says

FRANKFURT, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Pilots at German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) will strike again this week, a labour union said on Tuesday, escalating a wage dispute that will further plague a summer of travel chaos. 

It follows a strike last week that forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights. 

The strike would affect pilots of both passenger and cargo divisions of the airline, said the union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), which groups more than 5,000 pilots. 

Full coverage: REUTERS

Honda Forms Partnership To Secure Supply Of Battery Metals

TOKYO, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co (7267.T) has formed a partnership with trading company Hanwa Co (8078.T) to secure stable supply of metals used in batteries for electrified vehicles, the Japanese automaker said on Tuesday. 

Honda will be able to obtain essential metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium through the partnership in the medium to long term, it said in a statement. 

Procurement of those elements will be among many challenges for automakers worldwide as stricter environmental regulations accelerate production and sales of cleaner, electrified cars. 

Full coverage: REUTERS