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Nvidia and HPE build supercomputers in Germany
Nvidia, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre announced on Tuesday that they will be partnering to build a supercomputer using Nvidia’s next-generation chip. Scientists will be able to use the Blue Lion supercomputer in early 2027 using Nvidia "Vera Rubin' chips. The announcement was made at a conference on supercomputing in Hamburg, Germany. It follows Nvidia’s announcement that Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, in the United States, also plans to build an system using these chips next year. Nvidia has also announced that Jupiter, a supercomputer that uses its chips and is located at the German National Research Institute Forschungszentrum Julich in Germany, has officially been named Europe's fastest system. These deals are a way for European institutions to remain competitive with the U.S. on supercomputers, which are used in scientific fields ranging from biotechnology to research into climate change. Nvidia was a pioneer in artificial intelligence long before it became a powerhouse. Its goal was to convince scientists to use their chips to accelerate complex computer problems such as climate modeling. These problems involved many calculations, which could take several months. Nvidia now works to convince scientists to use artificial intelligent. These AI systems can use the results of some precise calculations to make predictions. While not as accurate, they can still be helpful and take much less time. Nvidia unveiled its AI model, "Climate in a Bottle", on Tuesday. Dion Harris from Nvidia's data center product marketing said that scientists would be able input some initial conditions, such as sea surface temperature, and generate a weather forecast for the next 10-30 years. Harris explained that researchers will combine classic physics with AI to solve turbulent atmospheric flow. This technique will enable them to analyze thousands of thousands more scenarios with greater detail than before. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast in San Francisco, with Stephen Nellis reporting from San Francisco.
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London copper prices drop as US-China discussions are in the spotlight
London copper prices fell on Tuesday as the market watched closely the progress of the ongoing trade negotiations between the two world's largest economies taking place in London to determine the price direction. The London Metal Exchange's three-month contract for copper fell 0.6%, to $9,738 a metric ton, by 0703 GMT. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract gained 0.3%, to 78.880 yuan ($10,975.22) a ton. The U.S. and China trade talks will continue into Tuesday's second day, as Washington, Beijing, and other parties try to resolve a bitter dispute, which has expanded from tariffs and rare earth restrictions to a wider range of issues, including a threat to the global supply chain and an economic slowdown. The Trump administration is ready to lift a recent flurry of measures that targeted ship design software and jet engine parts. It also targets chemicals and nuclear material. Markets were encouraged by the apparent cooling in trade tensions. This offset fears that the trade conflict is having a negative impact on economic activity", ANZ stated. Copper Stocks In LME-registered storage warehouses, the amount of copper dropped by 10,000 tons to 122 400 tons on Monday, suggesting that shipments to the U.S. have continued despite the threat of U.S. import tariffs. Nickel, among other LME metals fell 0.1% to $15.400. Aluminium, however, slipped by 0.2% to 2.473 per metric ton. Zinc fell 0.3%, to $2.642.5. Tin also declined 0.8%, to $32,450. Lead, on the other hand, gained 0.3%, to $1.993. Zinc, a metal traded on the SHFE, has been softer for a third day. Its price fell 1.3%, to 21,845 Yuan per ton. This is its lowest level since late April. The Shanghai-based research firm SHMET reported that "China's demand for domestic products has been weakening in recent months, and buyers are buying to meet their needs immediately at the lowest prices possible." SHFE nickel dropped 1.1% to 121 390 yuan. Aluminum fell 0.1% at 19,980 yuan. Lead gained 0.9% at 16,880 and tin increased 0.2% to 263,420. Hongmei Li (Reporting; Sumana Niandy, Editing)
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Gold prices rise as investors await the outcome of US-China Trade Talks and inflation data
The gold price edged up on Tuesday as investors awaited clarity in the U.S. China trade talks. They also awaited key U.S. Inflation data that is due this week, which could give insight into future Federal Reserve interest rate decisions. As of 0818 GMT spot gold prices were up 0.2%, at $3333.89 per ounce. Earlier in the session, they had fallen to a low price of $3301.54. U.S. Gold Futures remained at $3,354.70. Gold found some support amid dip-buying, but the rise lacked bullish confidence. Jigar Trivedi is a senior commodity analyst with Reliance Securities. He said that fiscal concerns and Fed rate-cut bets were the catalysts for the recovery of the prices. The top officials of the two world's largest economies met in London for a second-day trade meeting to try to resolve a bitter dispute, which has expanded from tariffs and restrictions on rare earths to include other issues. In April, both the U.S.A. and China implemented reciprocal tariffs which sparked trade war fears. Last month, however, both countries agreed on a temporary suspension of tariffs, which offered some relief to the financial markets. Investors are now awaiting the Consumer Price Index on Wednesday in order to analyze the Fed's future policy. The CPI report is one of the final key data points before the Fed meeting on June 17-18, when the central bank of the United States is widely expected to keep rates unchanged. Silver spot was also down 0.6% at $36.51 an ounce. It is hovering around a 13-year high. Platinum fell 1.1% to 1,206.42 after reaching its highest level since 2021. Palladium dropped 1% to $1,000.32. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank. He said that the recent lack of interest in macro data has allowed platinum and silver to take the spotlight. Both metals have traded sharply higher over the past few sessions, but there are signs of profit taking in the current session. (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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Investors expect US-China trade talks to progress as they increase the dollar value of stocks
The dollar and global stocks both edged up on Tuesday, as the United States and China are set to continue their trade talks for a second consecutive day. This gives investors reason to believe that tensions between two of the largest economies in the world may be easing. After Monday's meeting, U.S. president Donald Trump emphasized the positive aspects of the discussions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as well as U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts again on Tuesday in London. Markets will likely be relieved if the talks progress, given Trump's frequently changing tariff announcements. These have disrupted supply chain and threatened to stymie global growth. The MSCI All-Country World Index, which reflects world stocks, reached near-record highs while the dollar clawed higher against a variety of currencies. "While market participants clearly take a half-full outlook on the outlook, both in terms of trade policy and broader, we do not think this should be interpreted to mean that tariffs will fully be unwound," Jonas Goltermann said, deputy chief markets analyst at Capital Economics. Goltermann expects U.S. duty on Chinese goods will settle at around 40 percent, while the majority of analysts say that the 10% universal levy on imported products into the United States will remain. STOXX 600 in Europe was flat for the day. Investors focused on vaccine manufacturers after U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired an entire panel vaccine experts. GSK shares fell by 0.6% while Sanofi, Bavarian Nordic and Bavarian Nordic all rose between 0.6-1.3%. In Tokyo, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato announced that policymakers are looking into measures to promote the domestic ownership of Japanese Government Bonds. This comes a day following reports that Japan was considering buying back super-long government bond issued in previous years at low interest rates. Last month, yields on super-long JGBs reached record levels due to the waning demand from traditional investors such as life insurance companies and concerns over rising global debt levels. The yield of the 10-year JGB remained flat at 1.47%. Meanwhile, 30-year yields increased by 1 bp to 2.92% after a decline from a high of 3.18% in late May. Dollar pares some Monday's losses in currencies The dollar was unchanged at 144.6 yens. After weak UK employment figures, the euro dropped 0.13% to 1.14 and sterling fell 0.5% to 1.003477. QUALITY, NOT SIZE Investors' confidence in U.S. assets has been eroded by Trump's unpredictable trade policies, and concerns over Washington's increasing debt. The dollar is down more than 8% so far this year. The deficit will remain stable, and the Americans won't be able to blow up their fiscal situation. Samy Chaar is an economist with Lombard Odier. You'll have macropayoffs if you spend and invest on productive investments. You'll develop an industry, strengthen your economy, create jobs. "If you reduce revenues by cutting taxes on people that don't require the money, then they won't consume more or invest more. So the macropayoff is limited," said he. U.S. Treasuries yielded around 4.45% on Monday, down 3.2 basis point from the previous day. The impact of tariffs on the price of goods could be revealed by data on U.S. Consumer Inflation for May, due to be released on Wednesday. The report on the producer price index will be published a day after. Kevin Ford, Convera’s FX and macrostrategist, said that the May CPI and PPI figures in the United States will be closely examined for any signs of inflationary pressures. If core CPI continues to be elevated, rate cuts may not occur at the FOMC meeting on June 18. The traders expect that the Fed will leave rates unchanged during its next policy meeting. By December, only 44 bps of easing had been priced in. Oil prices increased on commodity markets as a result of the optimism that Tuesday's U.S. China talks would ease trade tensions, and increase demand for energy. Gold spot rose by 0.15%, to $3332 per ounce.
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EUROPE GAS - Prices drop on Higher Temperatures
The wholesale gas prices in the Netherlands and Britain fell on Tuesday morning, as temperatures rose and gas demand decreased. LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was 34.88 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), or $11.65/mmBtu at 0805 GMT. This is a decrease of 0.68 Euro. The Dutch day-ahead contracts was down by 0.4 euros at 34.93 Euros/MWh. The British day-ahead contracts was down 1.25 pence to 82.25p/therm. Analysts at Engie EnergyScan say that in Europe, temperatures will be 5-7 degrees Celsius higher than normal on Friday before cooling down next week. LSEG data showed that the demand for local distribution zone gas, which is primarily for heating, was down 112 gigawatt-hours/day (GWh/d), to 894 GWh, on Wednesday. Prices were also affected by changes to the maintenance program for Norway's Oseberg Gas Field. Analyst Yuriy Onieshkiv of LSEG said that "the comfortable supply-demand imbalance and a further revision downward in the expected impacts of Oseberg Maintenance could contribute to a somewhat bearish tone". The field's full shutdown will now begin on 12 June, one day later than originally expected. Onyshkiv stated that Oseberg would have 13 million more cubic metres/day of capacity on 11 June than originally anticipated. The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was down 0.75 euros at 73.48 euro per metric ton. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, editing by Nina Chestney).
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Rolls-Royce wins UK small nuclear reactor deal
The UK has chosen Rolls-Royce SMR as the company to build its first small modular reactors (SMRs) in order to accelerate the decarbonisation process of the electricity network by the mid-2030s. The government pledged on Tuesday 2.5 billion pounds ($3.4billion) over the next four-years for the SMR program, with the aim of launching one of Europe's earliest small-scale nuclear industries. The SMRs can be as large as two football fields, and the parts are built in factories. This makes them cheaper and faster than the traditional plants that take over a decade to build and have planning delays in Britain. The government has also said Tuesday It would invest 14,2 billion pounds in the construction of a large-scale nuclear plant called Sizewell C in eastern England as part "of the biggest nuclear roll-out for a century". Rolls-Royce SMR (majority owned by FTSE 100 engineer Rolls-Royce) which manufactures the power systems for Britain’s nuclear submarines said that it would build three units. Ed Miliband, Energy Minister at Sky News said: "Doing many of them allows you to lower the cost. That's the great prospect." It's a great opportunity for Britain, and it's a big deal for energy security. SMRs are being considered by dozens of countries around the world including the United States and Canada. Romania, the Czech Republic and Romania will also be interested if the British project succeeds. Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls-Royce, said he expects Rolls-Royce to grow "materially". Great British Energy - Nuclear (GBEN), the state-owned energy firm in Britain, will sign a contract and select a site with Rolls-Royce SMR later this year. In mid-2030s when they are connected to grid, SMRs will be able to support about 3,000 jobs as well as power 3 million homes. In a two-year contest for the SMR contract, Rolls-Royce SMR beat out Westinghouse and Holtec Britain as well as GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy - a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Japan's Hitachi Ltd. $1 = 0.7396 pounds (Reporting and editing by Sachin Ravikumar, Paul Sandle).
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Iron ore prices continue to fall due to a growing supply, but China's resilient demand is limiting the loss.
Iron ore prices continued to fall on Tuesday. They were dragged down by the expectation of an increase in supply. However, resilient demand from China, their top consumer, and hopes for easing Sino-US tensions helped limit losses. The daytime trading price of the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was 0.85% lower, closing at 698.5 Yuan ($97.16 per metric ton). As of 0700 GMT, the benchmark July iron ore traded on the Singapore Exchange had fallen 0.63% to $94.1 per ton after earlier hitting its lowest level since June 3, at $93.9. Data from Mysteel revealed that shipments of the main steelmaking ingredient, alumina, from Australia and Brazil rose nearly 2% compared to the previous week. This was the highest weekly level since December. Analysts at Shanghai Metals Market wrote in a report that iron ore imports are expected to increase in June as mills will use imported cargos more due to the lower price and miners will increase shipments to meet quarterly targets by the end of the month. Analysts at Hongyuan Futures wrote in a report that "Given the healthy steel margins, hot metal production is likely to be at a high-level." Mysteel data shows that the hot metal production is a good indicator of iron ore consumption. The daily average was 2.42 million tonnes on June 5, which is 2.6% more than the previous year. Investors are also hoping for a better relationship between the U.S.A. and China as they begin another round of talks in London, on Tuesday. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also saw gains. They were up by 0.51% and 0.48 percent, respectively. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were traded within a narrow range. Rebar, hot-rolled coil and wire rod were all little changed. Stainless steel dropped 1.46% and wire rod fell 0.12%. $1 = 7.1889 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson)
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After protests, Indonesia cancels mining permits for nickel ore in Raja Ampat
Indonesia, a major nickel ore producer, has revoked the permits of four mining companies in Raja Ampat, its easternmost region, Papua. This follows a public uproar over their environmental impact. Last week, protests against mining in Raja Ampat - a beautiful UNESCO Global Geopark famed for its marine biodiversity - dominated Indonesian social networks. Users shared a graphic showing the blue waters of the area with the hashtag #SaveRajaAmpat. Bahlil lahadalia, Indonesia’s energy minister, stated that President Prabowo decided to revoke permits for the four nickel-producing companies in the region starting Tuesday to protect the environment. He said that we need to pay attention to the marine life in these areas and to conservation. The nickel companies that operate in Raja Ampat are PT Nurham Mining, PT Kawei Sejahtera Mining PT Anugerah Surya Pratama PT Mulia Raymond Perkasa. Bahlil stated that the government had not granted quotas for these four companies because they did not meet administrative requirements. This means they are not currently in production. Bahlil stated that the permit for another nickel miner PT Gag Nikel - a subsidiary company of the state miner Aneka Tambang - was not revoked because the company operated outside of the geopark. Gag Nikel is the only production company in the region. It has a 3 million ton quota per year. Indonesia's Energy Ministry temporarily halted mining activities of the company last week following protests. The Energy Ministry did not respond immediately to a Tuesday request for comments on whether this suspension had been lifted. Bahlil stated that the government will monitor its activities, including its regulatory practices "exhaustively". Antam claimed that Gag Nikel replanted trees and protected coral reefs last week. On Tuesday, PT Wanxiang Nickel Indonesia (the parent company of Anugerah Pratama, Gag Nikel and Kawei Sejahtera Mining) did not respond immediately to requests for comments. Nurham and Mulia Ray Perkasa could not be reached for comment. Last week, Greenpeace activists held a small protest at a mineral convention in Jakarta to highlight mining activities around Raja Ampat. Greenpeace later said in a press release that mining has destroyed more than 500 acres of native forest, coral reefs, and marine ecosystems. (Reporting and editing by David Stanway; Stanley Widianto)
FTSE 100 falls with US Fed rate decision on horizon
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 by central banks. The U.S. central bank is expected keep rates the same, and any future rate reductions to support growth are crucial.
On Thursday, the Bank of England is expected to keep its rate unchanged.
The markets have already priced in two rate reductions from the BoE and Fed this year.
The domestically-focused FTSE 250 index was flat for the day.
Softcat, a provider of IT services, led the gains in the midcap index. It surged 13% after it announced that its operating profit forecast for 2025 was to grow by a low-double-digit percentage, up from the previous high-single-digit estimate.
Goodwin, a mechanical engineering company, rose 4.7% following the announcement that its forward order book had reached a record PS300m ($389m) at the end of February.
Ferrexpo, a premium iron ore-pellet producer based in Ukraine, reported a 30% drop in its FY24 core profit.
Brightmine, a human resources data company, reported that the latest data shows British employers' pay increases have been in line with inflation since October 2023. (Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
(source: Reuters)