Coal

The Trump administration took a major step on Tuesday in leasing new areas for a North Dakota mine that plans to operate until 2045. Why it Matters The publication of an environmental draft analysis of the new lease areas of North Dakota's Freedom Mine aligns with President Donald Trump’s goal of increasing U.S. fossil-fuel production and reviving coal for electricity production. The United States' electricity supply, formerly dominated by coal, is now only about 16 percent, as natural gas and renewable energy are cheaper. By the Numbers Freedom Mine is owned by a NACCO division and produces between 11.5 to...

The benchmark index of British stocks fell on Monday. However, gains in mining stocks held losses in check as investors awaited the details of reciprocal U.S. levies. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.1% while the midcap FTSE 250 ended flat. Pharmaceuticals and biotech sectors lost 1.5%. AstraZeneca, the blue-chip index's heavyweight, was down by 1.3%. The industrial metals miners, on the other hand, rose 1.6% due to higher copper prices. Traders bought the metal to send to the United States where President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs against imports. JPMorgan has also upgraded the European...

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 rose on Monday. Investors were also waiting for more clarity about U.S. president Donald Trump's proposed tariffs. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.19%. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 index gained 0.12%. Anglo American Antofagasta Rio Tinto Glencore Fresnillo and Fresnillo are among the top gainers in the blue-chip index. They rose between 3.6% and 2.4%. The copper price in London has also risen, following the weakness of the dollar. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4%, led by mining stocks. This week, key economic data will be released including UK inflation numbers, a budget...

The UK's FTSE 100 ended flat on Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision that would be made later in the day. Energy stocks also helped to keep declines at bay. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was barely changed while the domestically focused FTSE 250 Index edged up 0.1%. The energy sector led the gains in all sectors, boosted by rising oil prices and hopes for a rise in U.S. demand and a limited ceasefire between Ukraine & Russia. . The Fed's decision to change its policy will be the highlight of a...

Investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision scheduled for later that day. The blue-chip FTSE 100 dropped 0.2% at 7.40 GMT. Compass Group was among the biggest losers in the blue-chip index. Its shares dropped 4%, after Exane BNP Paribas lowered the stock's rating from "outperform" to "underperform." Metal miners are weakening, with Fresnillo down 2%. Glencore dropped 1.5%, while Anglo American fell 1.3%. This was after HSBC lowered price targets for both mining companies. The Federal Reserve's decision to change its policy is the highlight of a week that has been packed with meetings...

The best way to navigate the challenges that the U.S. president Donald Trump's inconsistent and erratic trade policies are posing for the global commodity markets is to ignore the noise and concentrate on the fundamentals. While the media focuses on every headline-grabbing announcement or social media post regarding new and retaliatory duties from the U.S. president and his administration the commodity markets continue to do what they have done in the past: adapt to rapidly changing conditions. It's important to distinguish between commodities that are already affected by Trump's policies and those likely to be impacted in the future. There...

On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced regulatory rollbacks that included a repealing of emission limits for power plants, a reduction in protections for waterways, and a rollback on tailpipe pollution curbs. This was an attempt to meet President Trump's goals. Donald Trump Energy dominance agenda The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is unwinding 31 Biden-era rules that were intended to boost industries from agriculture, electric utilities, oil, petrochemicals, and automobiles. This aligns with Trump's pledges to cut red tape. However, they will also weaken the core environmental protections in U.S. water and air. In a video posted on X by EPA...

According to sources familiar with the situation, the Trump administration plans to reverse pollution rules that reduce soot emission from U.S. power plants. This is a move to keep some of America's dirtiest coal-fired plants operating. Because they are small enough to enter the bloodstream, soot particles have a negative impact on health. The plan is in line with Trump's executive orders of January 20, which directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review measures that affect energy reliability. They also declared a National Energy Emergency to increase government powers for boosting fossil fuels and electricity production. The White House...

The Indonesian Mining Association urged the Government to reconsider its plan to increase royalty rates on mining products, as the miners already struggle with increasing operational costs and tightening cash flow. Indonesia may consider raising the royalties that mining companies pay for commodities such as coal, nickel and copper. Authorities say this is to improve the industry's governance. Hendra Sinadia, Executive Director of the group, said: "An increase in royalty rates will increase the burden on the business community. It can also affect production and investment planning." He said: "We ask that the government reconsider its plan to raise tariffs,...

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Bloomberg News in a Monday video interview that the United States should restart coal-fired plants that have been shut down under President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency. Burgum, the chair of Trump's National Energy Dominance Council in Houston, spoke in an interview at the CERAWeek Energy Conference in Houston. "I believe that as part of President Trump's national energy emergency, we have to keep all plants open. "We need to restart any coal plants that were shut down," he added. At the dawn of the 20th century, coal accounted for more than...

Utility Southern Co’s Alabama unit announced on Monday that it would develop a utility-scale, battery energy storage system of 150 megawatts (MW) at the former site of its coal-fired plant in Walker County. CONTEXT The new Gorgas Battery Facility is designed to house lithium-ion phosphate battery packs with a 2-hour lifespan. Construction should begin in this year, and be finished by 2027. Alabama Power said that the seven-acre facility would be designed as an independent system, which will be connected to and charged directly from electric grid. Why it's important BESSs have become increasingly important as companies and countries move...

Kenan Gashi, a shop owner in Kosovo, saws the limbs of old mannequins and then throws them in machines donated by the U.S. Government that shred the plastic and clean it so that it can be reused. Gashi's business of recycling in Fushe Kosova has been transformed since it received equipment from USAID two years ago. This prompted him to plan to hire more employees. Gashi, however, is now worried. Gashi is worried now. Now, the Trump administration has frozen USAID's funding and is attempting to reduce the agency and U.S. Foreign Aid in line with his "America First Agenda"....

South Africa's currency, the rand, fell to its lowest level in 18 months Monday. Local stocks also plunged and then recovered as financial markets were shaken by fears of a global recession due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The rand was trading at 19.31 per dollar, down 1% since Friday's closing, and its lowest level since October 2023. Trump did not show any signs of rescinding his tariff plans Sunday and on Monday, investors flocked to safe-haven currencies such as the Swiss franc and yen. The emerging market index is heading for the biggest one-day drop since 2008's global financial...

China's iron and steel sector is caught between the expectation that conditions will improve and the reality of much of the data that currently exists. This dynamic was highlighted by the National Bureau of Statistics' data released on Monday, which showed a decline in China's investment, sales and property prices. Data from January-February showed that property sales and investment fell by 9.8% and 5.1% respectively year-on-year. New construction started dropped by 29.6% after a drop of 23.0% in 2024. The new home price fell by 4.8% from the previous year in February, adding to data that showed that Beijing's efforts...

China's coal exports increased 2.1% in the past year, according to official data released on Friday. The import arbitrage was still open, despite the risks that could affect the outlook of imports. China releases data for both months together to reduce the impact of Lunar New Year which can fall in either month. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that imports from January to February were 76.12 millions metric tons. This is up from 74.52million tons the previous year. Two major industry groups last week called for limits on coal imports from China, especially low-quality coals, due to...

Beijing has largely promised to continue the mild stimulus policy seen last year. The news that the United States and Canada have agreed to a 5% economic growth goal and promised to increase consumption as well as deal with any negative effects of the trade war, were positive. The parliament meeting of this week was also far short of any sort of announcements of stimuli that could have given commodity markets confidence that China, as the largest buyer of natural resources in the world, will see a meaningful increase in imports by 2025. What's likely to happen is that the...

The impact of China's retaliatory duties on U.S. energy exports will be felt most strongly in the seaborne coal market. Beijing imposed an import tariff of 15% on U.S. coal, liquefied gas (LNG), and crude oil on 4 February after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tax on all imports. Tariffs could kill energy trade between China and the United States. The United States is the biggest exporter of LNG, but ranks fourth for coal and crude oil. The U.S. shares of China's crude oil and LNG imports are small at around 2% each, so the global markets...

Industry officials have said that India's thermal imports will fall in 2025 for the second consecutive year due to a decreasing reliance on coal as a power source, slowed economic activity, and record-high inventories. The six Indian and foreign coal traders who spoke at the Coaltrans India Conference in New Delhi all expected that shipments would decline this year. Three traders predicted that imports would plummet by about 10%, to 155 million tons. Two traders predicted a drop of 1-2% while the third forecasted a decline of 7-8%. The traders did not want to be named as they weren't authorised...

Five industry officials have said that the United States will increase coal exports to India following China's tariffs on U.S. energy imports. This could lead to a decline in Australia and Russia’s market share in India. China's Finance Ministry announced last week that it would impose a 15% tax on the import of U.S. Coal. The officials claimed this could force U.S. miner to ship coal to India, the second largest coal importer in the world behind China. "Three U.S. shipments that were meant to go to China are now in India, and another 10 shipments are awaiting." "These are...

After Beijing retaliated to President Donald Trump’s tariffs by imposing its own measures, the trade between China and the United States in crude oil and liquefied gas is now effectively dead. China, which is the largest importer of three energy commodities in the world, imposed import duties on Tuesday of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG, and 10% for crude oil and farm machinery. Beijing made its move after the Trump administration imposed a 10% additional tariff on all Chinese imports into the United States. The 10% tax was less than the 60% Trump had threatened during his last-year campaign...

China's iron ore imports and seaborne coal arrivals are expected to be soft in the first quarter, with January arrivals falling to multi-month lows. The price trend for two of the most important bulk commodities is divergent. Iron ore has held steady, while thermal coal has fallen to its lowest level in almost four years. According to Kpler, commodity analysts, China is the largest iron ore purchaser in the world. It will import 99.5 millions metric tons of this key raw material for steel in January. This would be a drop from the official December customs figure, which was 112.5...

There are two ways of taking a look at the 1.7% decrease in China's steel output last year. The first is that it confirms that the world's largest producer of the key commercial metal is now in a developed downtrend, and even more weakness is likely this year. The second is that the steel industry is actually remarkably resilient in the face of major financial challenges, and that output has been essentially flat at extremely strong levels for the previous 5 years. Both are basically factual, and show the classic glass half-full or half-empty predicament. On the half-empty side of...

China, the world's leading coal importer, bought less Russian coal in 2024 while increasing purchases from other key providers, led by Australia, throughout a. record year for coal imports, customs data revealed on Monday. Purchases by China in 2015 reached an all-time high of. 547.2 million tons, or a record 41% of internationally traded coal,. according to LSEG research, providing China increased rates power. in international markets. Chinese need is helping assistance rates at levels that,. according to the International Energy Firm (IEA), are 50%. higher than the average during the 2017-19 period. In 2015, imports from leading supplier Indonesia...

China, the world's. most significant coal consumer, extended its lead in imports over No. 2. buyer India in 2015 to the largest because at least 2013, customizeds. information shows, cementing its hold on worldwide coal markets and. assisting to suppress a slide in rates. International thermal coal costs have pulled away from record highs. hit after Russia's 2022 intrusion of Ukraine, however are 50% greater. than the average during the 2017-19 duration, according to the. International Energy Firm (IEA). China's hunger is triggering prices to remain in the existing. variety. If not, costs will really decrease, Ramli Ahmad,. president director...