Australia

The Federal Court of Australia fined Mobil Oil Australia A$16 Million ($11.3 Million) for misleading claims made about fuel sold in petrol stations?in Queensland, said the country's competition regulator on Tuesday. Exxon Mobil owns Mobil Oil Australia, which supplies fuels such as petrol, diesel and other products to retailers in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took the local unit in 2024 to court. They claimed that the company misled its customers regarding fuel sold at six of their branded petrol stations located in Queensland. ACCC stated that Mobil acknowledged on Tuesday it had falsely claimed to consumers between...

Ampol, Australia's largest fuel retailer, forecast higher full-year earnings?Wednesday. This was supported by solid gains at its convenience retail arm and New Zealand operations. It also reported higher quarterly output. New South Wales based firm, whose EBIT is expected to reach around A$945 ($662.35 millions) in fiscal year 2025. This is up from A$715.2 (A$715.2) million the previous year. The full-year EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation) is expected to be around A$1,435million. Retail convenience volumes fell to 889 million (ML) litres in the fourth quarter, from 864 ML one quarter earlier. New Zealand volumes also dropped to 984...

On Tuesday, Australian shares recorded their worst session for over a week as rate hike fears shook heavyweight financials. Meanwhile, miners dropped after BHP warned that long-running negotiations with China's largest iron ore buyer are putting pressure on prices. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed at 8,815.90, a 0.7% decline. This is the steepest drop in a single day since December 15, 2025. Financials dropped by 1.1%. The four largest banks declined between 0.9% and 1.8%. According to Philip Pepe?, senior equities analysts at Shaw and Partners, the sector is losing momentum as investors are rotating out. He said that lower...

Coal India, which is focused on coking coal, has been scouting for partnership opportunities to mine rare-earth metals in?Australia and Russia as well as Argentina, Chile, and several African nations, said a senior?executive from its unit. This move follows China's decision to restrict exports of rare-earth materials late last year. The restrictions threaten operations in industries such as autos and electronics, which rely on these?critical minerals. "In our own country as well as in other countries, we will?invest. We are going explore. We are also working with other companies to find rare earth metals. Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chairman and Managing...

Customs data revealed that China's coal imports in December rose to a "record monthly high" due to winter stockpiling and rising domestic prices. According to the General Administration of Customs, imports in December reached a monthly record of 58.59?metric tons. This is a sharp rebound from'supply constraints caused by major exporters Indonesia Australia and Russia in November. Buyers stock up on coal in anticipation of the coldest months, when heating demand drives consumption higher. A government index also showed that domestic coal prices rose to nearly a year high by the end of November. This would have led buyers to...

Australian shares recovered early losses and closed little?changed? on Thursday. Gains in heavily-weighted miners offset?a??drop? in top oil & gas producer Woodside Energy, after its CEO announced a surprising move to lead BP. After a three-day decline, the S&P/ASX 200 Index fell up to 0.4% and closed unchanged at 8,588.20. The main index, however, was on track to end its last full trading week in 2025, with a 1.3% drop, as sticky inflation and strong economic growth shattered expectations of future interest rate reductions. The markets now expect the central bank to make its next move upwards in the second...

The British Financial Reporting Council announced on Monday that it has opened an investigation into Ernst & Young’s audit of Shell’s 2024 financial reports for possible violations of audit partner rotation regulations. Shell announced in July that it would update the 2023 and 2024 annual reports, due to EY not complying with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s audit partner rotation rules. The financial statements, however, would remain unchanged. U.S. SEC regulations require 'lead and review audit partners' to rotate every five years, with a cooling-off period of five years. 'Other key partners must rotate every seven?years after a two-year...

SolGold announced on Friday that it would "recommend to its shareholders, Jiangxi copper?an improved offer?valuing the gold and copper mining company at approximately?842?million pounds? ($1.13 billion) amid a worldwide race for copper assets. Jiangxi Copper has increased its offer to 28 pence per Share, marking the third time that it has proposed to buy SolGold. This is a 7.7% rise from their previous bid of 26 pence per Share which was rejected last month. SolGold, a company based in Ecuador, said that its board will tell shareholders to accept Jiangxi Copper's (JCC) offer if it is firm. JCC's pursuit for...

The Australian government released on Thursday its first offshore oil and natural gas acreage available for auction since 2022. The five areas are located in the Otway Basin, offshore of?Victoria in Commonwealth waters. They were announced a day after?the Victorian Government offered state waters for companies to bid on. In 2020, over 40 areas - most of them in the north - were put up for bids. By 2022, there were only 10. Canberra hopes that the offer will prevent a future shortage of gas on Australia's east coast. Madeleine King, Resources Minister, said: "Exploration will be key to meeting...

The General Administration of Customs reported on Monday that coal imports from China, the largest buyer in the world, dropped 20% from their record high of the previous year. Imports in November, at 44.05 millions metric tons, were up by 6% compared to 41.74 tons in October. Imports in November of the previous year had reached 54.98 millions tons, a monthly record. The China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association's (CCTD) website reported in late November that although imported coal has a slight price advantage, this arbitrage has decreased as domestic coal prices have fallen. CCTD stated that due to supply...

Investors said that BHP should focus on its own growth strategy and move away from Anglo American, following the Australian firm's last minute appeal to the London listed company, which is close to a $60 billion deal with Canada's Teck Resources. In recent days, the world's biggest miner contacted Anglo's board to determine if there was any interest in a merger. This was reported by Sunday. BHP announced on Monday that it would not pursue the bid, but instead focus its efforts on growth. The decision to leave comes before the votes of Teck and Anglo shares - scheduled for...

BHP Group, the mining company, has renewed its takeover bid for rival Anglo American, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. This comes just months after BHP and Teck Resources, the Canadian miner, agreed to merge to form a global heavyweight in the copper industry. Anglo American refused to comment. BHP didn't immediately respond to an outside normal business hours request for a comment. Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that BHP made overtures to Anglo American recently. The report added that discussions are still ongoing and a deal is not certain. Anglo American has...

Japan's Nikkei stock average fell on Tuesday as the post-election euphoria waned and U.S. Presidents' Day'market holiday' left 'investors' with 'few' trading 'cues. As of 1300 GMT, the Nikkei Index was down by 0.6% to 56,451.43, extending its slide for a 4th consecutive session. The Topix index fell 0.4% to 3,771.16. Ryotaro?Sawada is a senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory. The price movement seems to be primarily driven by technicals and demand-supply. The post-general-election rally from last week, following fiscal dove Prime Minister ?Sanae Takaichi's landslide victory, also appeared to fade, ?he added. SoftBank shares fell 4.6%. They were...

BlueScope Steel, the Australian target for a takeover bid, forecasted on Monday higher second-half earnings. It also reported a first-half profit that was above expectations. Spreads, increased volumes in key markets and cost-effectiveness are the main factors that helped BlueScope Steel, a target for takeover, to forecast higher second-half earnings on Monday. The steelmaker anticipates that the second-half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) will be between A$620 and A$700 ($437.72 and $494.20 millions). BlueScope's six-month period ended December 31 saw underlying EBIT at A$557.5m and underlying Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) at A$382m, which is more than double the...

South32, an Australian diversified mining company, reaffirmed that it would put its Mozambique aluminum plant on care and maintenance in the next month after a drought affected power supply. It posted a first-half profit higher than analysts' expectations on Thursday. The announcement comes just days after Mozambique Energy Minister Estevao Palae stated that "the government will do everything required to ensure that the (Mozal ) plant does not go into maintenance." South32 took a $372-million impairment last year on its business due to the impact of the drought on Mozambique’s hydroelectric power utility. South32 was unable to reach a deal...

Northern Star Resources, Australia, reported a 49% increase in its first-half profits on Thursday. The higher gold prices boosted the profit, sending shares to record highs. The benchmark index was up 0.6% at 0044 GMT. Shares of the firm rose 6.7%, reaching a new high of A$30.16. They were also among the top gainers. Northern Star has announced an interim dividend of 25 Australian cents. This is the same as last year. Gold miner reports a 19% increase in revenue for the half-year period to A$3.41billion, driven by an increase of 31% in its average gold price. The half-year gold...

Albemarle is the world's biggest producer of lithium. It posted a?larger-than-expected loss on Wednesday. The company also announced that it would be?idling a major Australian?processing?plant due to its continued?struggle with low prices for battery metal. After-hours trading saw shares of the Charlotte-based company fall 3.1%. Prices of lithium have fallen by more than 90 percent in the last two years, largely due to an oversupply coming from China. This has led to layoffs, buyouts, and project delays at Albemarle, and other companies. Prices have increased in recent months but remain below the all-time highs of 2023. Albemarle announced that it...

China's Zijin Mining plans to start Congo's first lithium production in June at the disputed Manono mine and export it immediately, according to Cominiere, a state-owned mining company. This is a significant step for Beijing in its push to secure critical minerals in Africa. Zijin previously stated a start in the first quarter of 2026, but said on Tuesday that this is now updated planning. After the Democratic?Republic of Congo revoked the permit of Australian miner AVZ, the Manono resource is now at the center of arbitration. Zijin, in a joint venture with Cominiere, reassigned a part of the site....

Nickel rose on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive session after the?world's largest nickel mine, located in Indonesia? received a?dramatically reduced production quota this year. As of 1705 GMT, the benchmark three-month Nickel?on London Metal Exchange?was up by 2.7% to $17.955 per metric ton. The nickel used in the production of stainless steel and rechargeable battery earlier rose as high as 3%, to $18,020. This was its highest price since January 30. French miner Eramet announced on Wednesday that its PT Weda Bay Nickel joint venture with China's?Tsingshan and Indonesia's PT Antam received an initial production allowance for 2026 of 12...

It's been difficult to find thermal coal exporters in recent years, given the soft prices and lower demand from China and India. For Indonesian miners, it was also difficult because of the uncertainty surrounding government policy. One group of coal exporters seems to be quite optimistic. South Africa's coal miners look forward to increased demand from India, their biggest buyer. They also anticipate improvements in rail infrastructure which will enable them to increase volumes. The coal that South African producers are seeing a high demand for, however, is not the coal used for electricity generation. Instead, it's for industrial processes...

Itochu, Japan's largest retailer, posted a record-breaking 4% increase in its nine-month net profits through December 31st, to 705.3 billion dollars. This was a result of strong consumer businesses, such as food, textiles and the convenience store chain. The trading house's food unit saw a 38% increase in profit to 82.5 billion Japanese yen, up from 60 billion last year. This was due to higher banana sales and production, as well as growth of the packaged foods division at Dole agriculture. Tsuyoshi Hachimura, Chief Financial Officer of the company, said at a press conference that "core profits in non-resources sectors...

Australian Rio Tinto shareholders have welcomed the decision of the mining giant to end merger discussions with Glencore. They said that now it is up to the company's new strategy, which they had placed so much emphasis on. The proposed merger, first announced in January, was intended to create the largest mining company with a value of more than $200 billion. Rio announced on Thursday that the two companies were unable to reach a deal which would have provided shareholders with enough value. Rio's investors feared that the miner could overpay Glencore to make a deal. Sources said that Glencore...

Maas Group, an Australian company, announced on Thursday that it would be selling its building materials division up to A$1.70billion ($1.19billion) in order to pivot to artificial intelligence infrastructure. This caused its shares to drop by more than 26%. Maas Group is selling its Construction Materials (CM), a?unit, to Heidelberg Materials' local subsidiary, HMA. It will also invest A$100m in Nvidia AI infrastructure?firm Firmus Group, for a 1.7% share. The conglomerate was founded by former rugby player Wes Maas over 20 years ago. It is now selling an unit that generated approximately half of the A$219 millions in core operating...

Australia's Ardea Resource said that on Thursday, its Kalgoorlie Nickel Project received separate letters from Export Finance Australia (A$1 billion) and the U.S. Export-Import Bank to support a possible funding of up A$1 Billion ($699.90 Million). The funding will be used to support Kalgoorlie Nickel’s Goongarrie hub?project in Western Australia. This project is expected to supply nickel and cobalt which are both critical minerals in lithium batteries. Ardea shares jumped 9.6% by 0058 GMT to A$0.745, their highest level for nearly two weeks. They also snapped out of three sessions in losses. The 'Trump administration' has increased efforts to secure...