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Copper stablises in the face of Iran's escalation fears
Copper prices were flat on Friday as fears faded of an economic hit and a drop in metal demand due to a spate of tit for tat attacks between the U.S.?and Iran. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was?largely steady, with a drop of only 0.01% at $13,487.5 per metric ton as of 0700 GMT. The red metal prices are now close to the levels they were at the beginning of the week. This is the culmination of a few volatile days, during which fears about a new round in the conflict between the U.S. Prices were affected by concerns about a new round of fighting between the?U.S. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose by?1.38%, to 103 710 yuan per ton ($15 298.72). The dollar is on course to drop for a third consecutive day. This will support copper prices, as buyers who use other currencies can buy it at a lower price. John Williams, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, on Thursday downplayed inflationary effects from the latest Middle East flare-up. Copper, an industrial metal that is dependent on economic growth and is heavily influenced by inflation and interest rates, has a high price. Interest rates that are higher dampen the demand for industrial metals like copper by reducing economic activity. Aluminium, however, was on track to have its best week ever since the beginning of April. It gained 3.33%. On the LME, it reversed its early gains and fell 0.11%. The SHFE saw a gain of 0.26%. Aluminium has seen a'supportive' slide in stocks, and a forecast of a deficit overall this year. On Thursday, the LME Cash-to-Three-Month Aluminium Spread edged into backwardation, signaling a tighter physical availability in the near term. LME zinc fell 0.21% after rising more than 3% Thursday due to a reported fire in a South Korean smelter. The SHFE price rose?1.06%. Lead was stable on the LME, while nickel rose 0.08% and tin fell 0.12%. On the SHFE, lead fell 0.34%. Nickel gained 0.95%. Tin rose 1.85%. $1 = 6.7790 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar).
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Australian shares snap four day decline as banks, miners and miners rise
After a positive session on Wall Street on Friday, Australian shares ended a four-day loss streak. This was despite a resurgence in the Middle East conflict raising supply concerns. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended the week 0.5% higher, at 8,806.00. The benchmark index lost 0.4% during the week. Wall Street's overnight performance was boosted by Micron Technology’s plans to invest over $250 billion in the U.S. until 2035. Iran launched attacks against U.S. military installations in Gulf States on Thursday, raising fears of a further disruption of supply at the Strait of Hormuz. Tim 'Waterer, KCM Trade chief market analyst said: "Today’s positive price movement on the benchmark indicates investors are still leaning towards?optimism...A better night on Wall Street improved sentiment." BHP and Rio Tinto, two of the world's largest mining companies, are due to report earnings next week. William Taylor, ETF Shares COO and Portfolio Manager, said: "Given the combined weight of the index, the banks and major miners are likely to attract the majority of investor attention." BHP Group posted its best day for nearly a week, gaining 2.5%. The mining index gained 2.5% and ended four consecutive sessions of losses. The banks' margins improved by 0.6%, the best since the week ended May 22. This was due to a rate environment that has been higher for longer. All "Big Four' banks were in the black. Gold stocks followed suit and rose 2.7%. This was the best day for the index in a whole week. Gold miner Genesis Minerals gained 3.9%. Energy stocks, which had been on a roll, dropped by 0.2% but still posted their best week for nearly four months. The New Zealand markets were closed for the?public holiday on Friday. (Reporting by Aamir Shaik Khalid in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman) |1|For more information on DIARIES & DATA: U.S. earnings diary Wall Street Week Ahead Global Economy Week Ahead ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets |1|
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Japan's Nikkei climbs on AI rally, as hopes of pension asset shifting lift yen and bonds
The Nikkei index rose on Friday, helped by a rally of AI-related stocks. Japan's currency and bond markets also grew on the back of a possible reorientation in the investment strategy?of its vast pension funds. The Nikkei closed at 68 557.73 after rising up to 2.4% in the previous session. The Topix index rose 0.39%, to 4,036.08. The yield on Japan’s 10-year government bonds fell by 11.5 basis points to 2.76%. This is a decline from the previous high of three decades. The yen gained?0.5% versus the greenback, reaching 161.550. Wall Street tech shares soared when Micron Technology announced plans to invest $250 billion in the United States by 2035. Shuutarou Yasuda is a market analyst with Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory. Kazuaki Shimada is the chief strategist of IwaiCosmo Securities. He said that the index had trimmed its early gains because?South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI was losing strength. Sumco, a chip-related company, surged 15.40% and reached a limit daily high of 5,244yen. SoftBank Group, an investment conglomerate in the tech sector, rose 10.65%, while chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest climbed 2.3%. Satsuki Catayama, Finance Minister, said on Thursday that the Government would look at ways to encourage pension funds (including the Government Pension Investment Fund) to increase their investments in domestic financial assets. Bonds and the yen both benefited from the prospect that Japan's largest pension fund investors would direct more funds to local markets. Both have been under pressure for years. Masahito Sugawa, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, said that Katayama's comments helped reverse the selling trend of Japanese government bonds and the yen. "Now, half of the assets held by?Japanese Pension Funds are in foreign assets. The market bet that a possible shift in asset allocation to Japanese assets would be positive. Miki Den is a senior Japan rate analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities. She said that the yields continued to decline as foreign investors purchased JGBs in order to cover their short positions following the opening of the European'market. Fast Retailing shares closed down 3.59%, their biggest one-day decline since May 12.
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Gold prices to drop this week as Gulf attack reinforces rate-hike betting
Gold was?lower? on Friday, and?was?on track for a?fall weekly? on concerns that escalating U.S. -Iran tensions might fuel inflation and force the Federal Reserve to maintain a hawkish monetary policies. Spot gold dropped 0.1% per ounce to $4,115.79 by 0601 GMT. It was on track for a weekly drop of 1.4%. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell 0.4% to $4,124.90. Tim Waterer is the chief analyst at KCM Trade. He said that gold was consolidating today after yesterday's gains. Traders were hesitant to commit further to an increase in price due to the uncertainty surrounding US-Iran relationships. The oil?prices are on course for a weekly increase as the U.S. continues to trade attacks with Iran. On Thursday, Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. infrastructure in Gulf states following an attack by?U.S. Strikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces. The Fed is likely to raise rates this year as inflation fears have been heightened by the latest round of strikes. According to CME's FedWatch, the markets are now pricing in 63% of a rate hike for September, up from 54% just a week ago. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but it can lose its appeal in an environment with high interest rates. I expect gold to continue attracting buyers on dips, as long as oil remains at current levels. Waterer warned that a'sharp spike' in oil could reignite inflation fears and interest rate concerns, which would hurt gold. The minutes of the Fed’s June meeting, published earlier this week showed that policymakers were growing concerned about 'elevated inflation. HSBC reduced its average gold price predictions for 2026-2027 on Thursday. They cited a hawkish change in?U.S. Expectations about monetary policy and the'stronger dollar' were cited as reasons for HSBC to lower its average gold price forecasts for 2026 and 2027. Silver spot rose 0.3% to $60.19 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.4% at $1,632.99, and palladium increased 1.9% to 1,270.54. All three metals are on course for a loss this week. (Reporting from Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru and Swati verma; Editing by Sherry Phillips and Subhranshu sahu.)
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Taganrog evacuates following drone attack on Taganrog's Ilsky Oil Refinery
Local officials said that a drone strike caused the fire at the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Krasnodar, and authorities in Taganrog evacuated residents after another strike. The authorities reported that preliminary information indicated no injuries. In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on 'Russia's energy infrastructure and other infrastructure to undermine Moscow’s war effort. The Ilsky refinery with its capacity of?around 138,000 barrels per day has been attacked before. Fuel shortages and price increases across Russia are a result of the attacks on oil refineries. Yury Slyusar, the Governor of Rostov, said on Telegram that fires are being put out at two fuel depots in the region and at?Taganrog's seaport. Svetlana kambulova, Taganrog's mayor, said via the Max app that authorities had evacuated people from their homes in the affected areas. She stated that a private home was damaged and the roof of a?administrative structure caught fire. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that air defence units shot down 376 Ukrainian drones over night. (Reporting and editing by Jacqueline Wong).
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India's ONGC plans a 1.75 million tonne national strategic oil reserve
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp, India's largest explorer, will build a 1,75 million metric ton national strategic petroleum reserve at Mangalore (in southern India), the company announced in a late-night stock exchange filing. India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, has been severely affected by the blockade of Strait of Hormuz following the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran. Around a fifth (25%) of world energy passes through the waterway. To strengthen its emergency supply, the 'South Asian nation' is increasing its energy cooperation with other countries, such as Japan and the United Arab Emirates. In the?filing, ONGC said it would ask the federal government for permission to use the storage in "national interests" for commercial purposes. New Delhi has already allowed commercial use of part of its strategic storage, built in three locations in southern India - Mangalore Padur and Vizag. This allows up to 5,33 MT crude to be stored. The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. manages these storage facilities. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd is a subsidiary of ONGC that operates a refinery capable of processing 300,000 barrels per day in Mangalore. It has already leased the half of the 1.5MT Mangalore - SPR. The remaining capacity is leased by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. ADNOC, during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE in early this year, announced plans to expand crude oil'storage' in India up to 30,000,000?barrels. ADNOC announced that India would also explore the possibility of storing crude oil at Fujairah, as part of India's strategic reserves. India is also planning to build a 4 MT strategic storage facility in Odisha, and a 2.5 MT facility in Padur in southern India. (Reporting and editing by Nidhi verma)
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Gold prices to drop this week as Gulf attack reinforces rate-hike betting
Gold was?on course for a weekly 'fall' on Friday, amid?concerns about the potential impact of escalating U.S. - Iran tensions on inflation and keeping the Federal Reserve in a hawkish monetary policies. By 0426 GMT, spot gold had fallen 0.2% per ounce to $4113.29 and was on track for a weekly drop of 1.5%. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell by 0.4% to $4122.70. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that gold?is consolidating today after yesterday's gains. Traders are hesitant to commit further to a?gain due to the uncertainty surrounding US-Iran relationships. The oil prices were on course for a weekly increase as the U.S. & Iran traded strikes. Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. Military Infrastructure in Gulf States on Thursday after?U.S. Strikes on Iran's eastern and southern provinces. The Fed is likely to raise rates this year as inflation fears have been heightened by the latest round of strikes. According to CME's FedWatch, the markets are now pricing in 63% of a rate hike for September, up from 54% just a week ago. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but it can lose its appeal in a high interest rate environment. I expect gold to continue to attract buyers on dips, as long as oil remains at current levels. Waterer warned that a'sharp spike' in oil could reignite inflation fears and interest rate concerns, which would hurt gold. The minutes of the Fed’s June meeting, published earlier this week showed that policymakers were growing concerned about 'elevated inflation. HSBC reduced its average gold price predictions for 2026-2027 on Thursday. They cited a hawkish change in?U.S. Expectations about monetary policy and the'stronger dollar' were cited as reasons for HSBC to lower its average gold price forecasts for 2026 and 2027. Silver spot rose 0.6%?to $60.34 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.4% at $1,632.16. Palladium rose 1.6% to 1,267.71. All three metals are on course for a loss this week. (Reporting from Swati and Pablo Verma, Bengaluru. Editing by Sherry Phillips and Subhranshu Shu.
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India's TCS rises on revenue beat and AI momentum Fueling Recovery Hopes
Shares of India's largest?software exporter,?Tata Consultancy Services, advanced by more than 4% the day after beating a?quarterly revenue estimate.?Deal wins and increasing AI-related revenues raised hopes for a slow earnings recovery. TCS traded 1.8% higher, at 2,086 Rupees, at 9:59 am IST in Mumbai. This boosted the?Nifty50 index by 1.1%. The IT index rose about 2%. The results of the IT company kicked off India's first-quarter earning season, which saw earnings downgrades due to a slowdown in client spending and concerns that AI could disrupt the business models of software companies. TCS's quarterly sales increased 14% over the previous year to 722.75 billion rupies ($7.58 billion). CEO K Krithivasan was "optimistic", he said, about a turnaround of tech spending by manufacturing and life science clients in the second quarter. The order book of the IT firm was $9.5 billion, while its AI revenue rose to $2.6 billion annually. CLSA said the ?firm's revenue ?growth was better-than-expected, helped by strength in banking, financial services and insurance, high-tech and ?regional markets. HSBC stated that the outlook for manufacturing, pharma and Energy was "incrementally optimistic". Nomura analysts said that despite macro-uncertainty, a near-term growth rebound was'reasonably visible' thanks to a $800 million megadeal.
Australia confirms the first H5N1 bird influenza case in a local seabird and dead seal is tested
Australia confirmed Friday the first case in Australia of the deadly H5N1 bird virus. It also said it was 'testing a seal that had died for possible infection. This has raised concerns about the disease spreading more widely since it arrived in the country last week.
The National Science Agency of Australia confirmed that the virus was present on a greater crested bird found in Robe, a coastal town in South Australia. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed this.
All other cases were found in seabirds migrating.
The total number of positive tests in the country now stands at 12, with two more infections confirmed on Friday in South Australia and another in Western Australia.
Collins stated that the situation was "concerning", but not surprising, and added that there were no signs of mass mortality or spread to poultry or other animal populations.
She said that "our scientists are doing further research to determine the 'potential pathway' which resulted in a?Australian Seabird infection".
What we know is that it is a coastal bird that shares a range with migratory birds that have tested positive for the H5 virus in the past.
Hamish McCallum is an infectious disease ecologist from Griffith University. He said that the virus spreading to local seabirds was "very bad."
He said that it is likely this case will be just the start of many more.
A spokeswoman for the New South Wales environment department confirmed that H5N1 tests were also being conducted on samples taken from a young seal who died in Central Coast, New South Wales.
If the test is positive, it would be the first time mainland Australia has confirmed a H5N1 infection in a mammal.
New South Wales is the third state in Australia to have detected H5N1, following a positive test from a migratory bird on the Mid-North Coast earlier this month.
Since 2021, the virulent strain has infected poultry farms, dairy farms, and some farmworkers. It has killed millions of birds and mammals.
In June, Australia became the 'last continent to confirm an H5N1 case on a continental level. The virus was first detected in 2025, in the subantarctic territory Heard Island.
Scientists estimate that the virus may have killed 13,000 seal pups at Heard Island.
(source: Reuters)