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Why is Saudi Arabia interested in a nuclear civil deal with the US
Saudi Arabia and the United States are discussing a deal to cooperate on the kingdom's ambitions to develop a civil nuclear industry, talks that have long been complicated by regional politics and concerns over weapons proliferation. Here are some of the main issues at play: WHY DOES SAUDI ARABIA WANT A NUCLEAR PROGRAMME? As the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia may not seem an obvious candidate for nuclear power, but it aims to reduce carbon emissions and free up crude for export under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 economic plan. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last year that 68% of Saudi electricity was generated by burning gas and 32% by burning oil, with 1.4 million barrels a day of crude being used for power generation during the peak month of June. Atomic power could displace some of that, including for energy-intensive water desalination and air conditioning, allowing the kingdom to make more money from oil sales. However, Saudi Arabia has also said that if old foe Iran develops a nuclear weapon it would have to follow suit - a declaration apparently aimed at ramping up pressure on Tehran, but which has also fuelled concern about its own ambitions. In January it said it would enrich uranium - a process that can also be used as part of a military programme - to create 'yellowcake' fuel for nuclear power generation that it could sell. Any deal with Washington would likely address safeguards to assuage worries about military ambitions, on top of Saudi Arabia's existing commitment not to pursue a bomb under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). WHAT'S IN IT FOR THE UNITED STATES? There could be strategic and commercial gains. Civil nuclear cooperation was an important inducement along with security guarantees in an effort by Trump's predecessor Joe Biden to broker a deal for Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations. However, those two issues are now uncoupled, has reported, though a nuclear deal could be a sweetener in U.S. diplomatic efforts with the kingdom. Riyadh has ruled out normalizing ties with Israel without Palestinian statehood. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright met Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in April and said the two countries were on "a pathway" to a civil nuclear agreement. He made no mention of a wider deal over other issues such as normalisation. A deal would put U.S. industry in a prime spot to win contracts to build Saudi nuclear power plants as well as providing insight into the kingdom's atomic programme that could alleviate any U.S. worries over weapons proliferation. Under Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the U.S. may negotiate agreements to engage in significant civil nuclear cooperation with other nations. It specifies nine nonproliferation criteria those states must meet to keep them from using the technology to develop nuclear arms or transfer sensitive materials to others. U.S. law stipulates congressional review of such pacts. SAUDI ARABIA HAS OPTIONS Should the U.S.-Saudi talks fail, several countries with established nuclear industries have expressed interest or are seen as potential partners for Saudi Arabia's nuclear programme. State-owned China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) reportedly submitted a bid in 2023 to construct a nuclear plant. Russia's state nuclear firm Rosatom, which built a nuclear plant in Egypt, has also signed preliminary cooperation agreements with Riyadh. Other potential contenders include South Korea, which built reactors in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, and France. The choice of partner will likely depend on technological offerings, financing, and geopolitical alignment, including conditions related to nuclear fuel handling. URANIUM ENRICHMENT A key issue is whether Washington might agree to build a uranium enrichment facility on Saudi territory, when it might do so, and whether Saudi personnel might have access to it or it would be run solely by U.S. staff in a "black box" arrangement. Without rigorous safeguards built into an agreement, Saudi Arabia, which has uranium ore reserves on its territory, could theoretically use an enrichment facility to produce highly enriched uranium, which, if purified enough, can yield fissile material for bombs. Another issue is whether Riyadh would agree to make a Saudi investment in a U.S.-based and U.S.-owned uranium enrichment plant and to hire U.S. companies to build Saudi nuclear reactors. There are diplomatic issues too: Washington's top regional ally Israel has repeatedly voiced opposition to the idea of a Saudi civil nuclear programme.
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Gold reserves in London vaults increase in April due to the return of US bullion
London Bullion Market Association reported on Thursday that the amount of gold in London vaults at the end April was 8,536 metric tonnes, an increase of 0.6% over the previous month. This is because more precious metal was returned to London from New York after being dislocated. After months of being high, the premium between the COMEX gold spot prices and the most actively traded COMEX futures prices was normalized in April when the Trump Administration excluded precious metals from the broader U.S. tariffs. In the period between December and March, market players increased their gold deliveries to the U.S. to cover COMEX positions in anticipation of possible import tariffs by the U.S. These additional stocks were sourced from Switzerland and London, which is the largest gold trading hub in the world. This reduced liquidity on the London market. This led London's bullion traders to borrow gold from the central banks that store their bullion at the Bank of England vaults. The LBMA, the London Market Authority, said that while gold stocks at Bank of England decreased at a similar rate to March, the number of holdings in commercial vaults throughout London increased again by a month. This trend confirms that gold continues to leave CME's warehouses, as the tariff fears have eased and arbitrage possibilities disappeared. COMEX gold stocks According to COMEX data on Wednesday, the outflows were 925,559 troy-ounces (28.8 tonnes) valued at $3.1 billion. The LBMA reported that there were 22,859 tonnes of silver in London vaults as of April, an increase by 3.3 % compared to March. The LBMA reported that silver holdings in London increased for the first since October 2024. (Reporting and editing by Paul Simao; Polina Devtt)
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NY Fed survey shows deteriorating household financial situations
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported on Thursday that Americans' perceptions of their financial situation, including their future expectations of earnings and income and their views about inflation outlook, deteriorated in April amid mixed opinions. The bank's latest Survey of Consumer Expectations found that, last month, when President Donald Trump launched a trade war with the rest of world, household perceptions of both their current and future financial situation "deteriorated dramatically." Survey respondents also predicted slower income and earnings gains in April compared to March and higher unemployment and a harder time finding a job. The bank found that spending expectations rose from March to April. Inflation was mixed. The survey respondents expected inflation to be 3.6% in the year ahead, the same as March. However, the expectation for three years ahead rose from 3% to 3.2%. Survey respondents expect inflation to be 2.7% in five years, compared with 2.9% in March. In the report, it was found that consumers expect a rise in rent, gas and college costs. They also anticipate a 3.3% increase in home prices over the next year, up from 3%. The New York Fed released its report after the Fed announced on Wednesday that it would hold the short-term rate target constant amid high economic uncertainty and growing risks. The Fed believes that the economy is doing well, but the Trump administration's trade tariff policy has changed the outlook. Many economists expect it to increase inflation and unemployment while slowing down growth. In a press briefing following the Fed policy meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that "despite increased uncertainty, the economy remains in a strong position." Powell warned that the data on consumer sentiment was not a reliable indicator of consumer spending. Fed calculations have been heavily influenced by the state of inflation expectation data, because Fed officials are generally in agreement that what people expect for price pressures has a big impact on their current situation. New York Fed data have not shown the same increase in inflation expectations as other surveys, such as those from University of Michigan. In recent weeks, many Fed officials said that it is important to maintain expectations amid the uncertainty and inflation risk caused by Trump's agenda. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Michael S. Derby)
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Sources say that Guinea wants to revoke EGA's license over the alumina refinery dispute
People familiar with the matter said that the Guinean government's decision to revoke Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA's) mining license was due to the company's failure in fulfilling its commitment to build an alumina refining plant. Reports on Wednesday indicated that Guinea had begun a process of revoking the EGA license, intensifying a dispute which began in October when the Emirati firm's mining and bauxite-export operations were suspended. Guinea's move, as the second largest bauxite producer in the world, could disrupt global supply chains for aluminium and signal the country's increasing hostility toward foreign miners, especially since the September 2021 junta is pushing more local processing. Sources close to the matter, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized speakers, said that "the Guinean government took action after EGA failed to fulfill its promise to construct an alumina refining plant." Second source in the Guinean Ministry of Mines said that officials sent a final letter of reminder to EGA about its refinery obligations, but EGA did not respond. Source: The letter's main point was the financing of the refinery. Emirates Global Aluminium is owned equally by Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala and Dubai sovereign fund Investment Corporation of Dubai. It began operating in Guinea through its Guinea Aluminium Corporation subsidiaries in 2019. By 2022, it will export around 14 million tons of bauxite. In June 2024, EGA's local affiliate signed a nonbinding agreement for the construction of a refinery with a capacity of 2 million metric tons by September 2026. Sources and a mining company that was contracted by the company to perform operations claim that the company declared force majeure when its bauxite sales were suspended in October of last year. This forced hundreds of employees to go on furlough. In a Wednesday statement, the company stated that it is working with Guinea in order to resolve this issue and resume its operations. Saliou Samb, in Conakry; Hadeel al Sayegh, in Dubai; and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, in Dakar. Writing by Bate Felis. Editing by Sharon Singleton.
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US sanctions against third China teapot refinery and ports
The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against a third independent Chinese oil refinery - also known as a "teapot", and port terminal operators from China on Thursday for purchasing Iranian oil. The U.S. Treasury has designated three terminal operators and the Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Co in China. The Trump administration has targeted the independent Chinese refinery as part of its efforts to reduce Iran's revenue from exports and to pressurize Tehran to reach a nuclear deal. The U.S. Treasury issued a statement saying that "so long as Iran tries to generate oil revenue to fund its destabilizing activity, the United States holds both Iran and its partners in sanction evasion responsible." Sources familiar with the situation said that previous sanctions imposed by China on two small refiners who bought Iranian oil caused difficulties in receiving crude oil. They were forced to stop purchases and sell oil under different names. Three sources reported that these sanctions are also preventing other independent Chinese refiners, who are larger, from purchasing Iranian crude.
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Copper producer Aurubis aims to boost US sales without tariffs
Toralf Haag, CEO of Europe's biggest copper producer Aurubis, told analysts that the company is interested in increasing its sales to the U.S. because there are no tariffs on imports. The U.S. did not include copper in its list of reciprocal tariffs, announced in April. However, President Donald Trump had ordered an investigation into the imports of copper in February. Aurubis stated that its findings should be available by the end of November 2025. Haag added that the company had limited sales in the U.S. Haag announced in April that Aurubis will increase its copper recycling smelter capacity in the U.S. in this year. Additional investment is possible in future years. The only U.S. operations of the company are located in Richmond County, Georgia. Steffen Hoffmann, CFO, said that projects such as Richmond, the multimetal recycling facility in the United States, would contribute to earnings of the company before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization next year. The company's core profit for the first half of this year was higher than expected, thanks to higher prices for sulphuric acids and precious metals. Operating earnings before taxes (EBT) dropped 5.8% from 243 millions euros to 229,2 million euros in the six-month period ending March 2025. This exceeded the 221 million euro expectation of analysts in a poll provided by the company. Aurubis stated that the EBT operating result was negatively affected by the reduced concentrate throughput due to lower treatment and refinement charges, and the higher ramp-up cost for strategic projects such as the multimetal recycling facility in the United States. The metals recycling and smelter confirmed their forecast for 2024/25, adding that they expected the full-year operating EBT to be around the middle of the range between 300 million and 400 million euros. $1 = 0.8836 Euros (Reporting from Bernadette in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak. Jane Merriman edited the article.
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India's Titan reports higher quarterly profits on demand for premium jewellery and gold coins
Indian watchmaker Titan posted a profit increase of nearly 13% in the fourth quarter on Thursday, as demand from wealthy customers for gold coins and premium jewellery remained strong despite rising bullion costs. The company's net profit for the three months ended March 31 was 8.71 billion rupees (101.97 millions dollars), compared to last year's 7,71 billion rupees. The price of gold rose by nearly 17% during the first quarter of this year, and 10 grams of 24-carat gold exceeded 90,000 rupees (1,062.39 dollars) at the end of the month. Reports indicate that despite record-high jewellery prices, the demand for it has continued to grow. Many people are exchanging their old jewelry for new pieces in order to keep within budgets when planning for weddings and festivals. Titan said in April that while demand in Titan's lower price segments cooled, wealthy customers continued to purchase high-end jewellery as well as investment-grade gold coin. The mainstay jewellery business of the company, which includes the brands 'Tanishq and 'Mia,' and is the source of the majority revenue, saw a 25 percent increase in sales. Titan's gold coin segment saw sales increase by 64% on an annual basis as more Indians invested in bullion. Titan's profit margins contracted from 12.1% to 11.9% during the third quarter, a decrease that was primarily due to the lower profitability of jewellery compared with gold coins. In an interview conducted in February, Ashok sonthalia, the company's finance director, said that rising gold prices might threaten its target margin of 11% to 11,5% for fiscal 2026. The company's second largest business, watches, also saw a 20% increase in revenue. This was due to the premium products offered under its Raga Sonata Fastrack brands. Ajoy Chawla, head of the jewellery division at the company, will replace C. K. Venkataraman as managing director by year's end. $1 = 85,4150 Indian Rupees (reporting from Ananta Aggarwal and Praveen Parmasivam; editing by Sonia Cheema & Vijay Kishore).
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China-led funds drive largest monthly inflows into gold ETFs for three years
Data from the World Gold Council on Thursday showed that the inflow of physical gold ETFs in April was the highest since March 2022. China-listed funds led the way due to China's trade conflict with the U.S. In April, the two world's largest economies traded tit-fortat import tariffs. However, investors looking for shelter from political and financial volatility have been moving into gold exchange-traded funds since 2025. Last month, gold ETFs received 115.3 metric tonnes worth $11.2 billion, the highest amount since March 20,22, when the global markets were still grappling with the immediate effects of Russia's invasion in Ukraine. The total gold ETF holdings increased by 3.3%, to 3,560.8 tonnes by the end April. This is the highest amount since August 2022. The previous record was 3,915 tonnes in October 2020. The WGC reported that China-listed funds were the top inflows in April with 64.8 tonnes, followed by U.S. listed funds at 42.4 tons. It added that, in addition to trade wars, and demand for safe havens, the appetite for gold ETFs is driven by rising gold prices. Gold prices are up 28 percent so far this season after reaching a record of $3,500 an ounce last April. (Reporting and editing by Paul Simao; Polina Devitt)
EU makes it easier to hunt wolves in Europe
The European Parliament approved on Thursday plans to make it easier for wolves to be hunted in the EU. They cited their increasing numbers and the danger they pose to livestock, as reasons to downgrade the animals' status of protection.
The Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats has changed the status of wolves in EU law from "strictly" protected to "protected".
It means that EU countries will be able to allow wolf hunts, but must take measures to prevent the animals from becoming endangered. For example, they can limit hunting seasons.
Since 1979, Bern Convention has prohibited wolves being intentionally hunted or trapped unless they pose a serious risk to livestock or human health.
Herbert Dorfmann, a member of the European People's Party (EPP), a centre-right party, said: "Farmers are now able to breathe sighs of relief."
It's time for us to adapt to the realities of today. He said that this means finding a balance between our conservation efforts and protecting farmers.
Some EU legislators and campaigners have accused European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen of targeting wolves for personal reasons. Her pony had been killed by a wild wolf in the year 2022.
JuttaPaulus, a Green EU legislator, said: "This is not helpful to livestock farmers and damages forestry and the nature." By controlling game populations, wolves can help forest ecosystems.
The Commission made the proposal for a change in the status of the wolf under EU law. It said that it was based upon an in-depth study and reasoning, including the fact wolf populations were increasing in the EU with approximately 20,300 animals in 2023. This has caused increased damage to livestock.
The EU was opposed to a proposal made by a non-member Switzerland, in 2022, that would have lowered the protection status of wolves under the Bern Convention.
The European Parliament approved this proposal with 371 votes for, 162 votes against and 37 abstentions on Thursday.
The final vote is expected to be passed by the EU countries. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones.)
(source: Reuters)