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China's coal imports in April fell 16% on an annual basis
Customs data released on Friday showed that China's coal imports dropped 16% in April compared to the same period last year, due to lower domestic prices. According to the General Administration of Customs, imports were down 37.83 millions metric tons from 45.25 in April 2024. This was the second consecutive month that China's imports of coal fell year-over-year. They had increased previously every month from November 2022. January and February are excluded because they are affected by Lunar New Year holidays. Imported coal's profit margins are being cut by the domestic price, which is at a four-year low. According to the Bohai Rim Bay thermal coal index, China's price for medium grade coal with a heat rating of 5,500 kilocalories/kg was 648 Yuan ($89.55/metric ton) on 8 May. This was the lowest price since March 2021, and it was down from 676 Yuan a few months earlier. In March, domestic production hit a monthly record of 440.58 tons. Imports also increased in April 2024, partly because of a series fatal mine accidents that forced the closure of mines in Shanxi for inspection and lowered domestic production. The data revealed that coal imports for the first four-month period of 2025 were 152.67 millions metric tons. This was down 5.3% compared to 161.15 tons a year ago. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing; Colleen howe)
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Investors weigh Sino-US trade negotiations, slow demand and iron ore rangebound
Investors weighed the prospects of an easing in Sino-U.S. tensions with the seasonal weakness of demand from China, which is a major consumer. As of 0241 GMT, the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 0.43% lower. It was 697 yuan (US$96.14) per metric ton. The benchmark June Iron Ore at the Singapore Exchange rose 0.45% to $96.95 per ton. Donald Trump, President of the United States, predicted that the punitive U.S. Tariffs of 145% on Beijing would most likely be reduced. This is the latest indication of a softerening of the tone between these two superpowers. The United States has revealed details of a brand new trade agreement between the United States and Britain. Analysts and traders remained cautious ahead of this weekend's Sino-U.S. negotiations. Analysts said that while near-term ore consumption remained strong, signs of a weakening steel downstream consumption threatened to limit any potential upside. A survey by consultancy Mysteel revealed that the average daily hot metal production - which is typically used to gauge demand for iron ore - increased 0.1% to 2,46 million tonnes week-on-week as of May 8. This was the highest level since October 2023. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, have also lost ground. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have fallen. Rebar fell by 0.98%, while hot-rolled coils dropped 0.75%. Wire rod dropped 1.95%. Stainless steel was down 0.16%.
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Gold drops as US-UK deal weighs on safe haven appeal; US and China talks in focus
Gold prices fell Friday, after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that the United States and UK had reached a free trade agreement. This lowered gold's appeal as a safe haven, while the focus shifted towards U.S. China talks at this weekend. As of 0217 GMT, spot gold dropped 0.8% to $3277.67 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.7% to $3282.80. Trump and British Premier Keir starmer announced "a breakthrough deal". The 10% tariff on UK goods will remain in place. Britain has agreed to reduce its tariffs from 5.1% to 1.8% and allow greater access to U.S. products. Kyle Rodda, Capital.com's Financial Market Analyst, said: "I believe the progress in trade negotiations and the U.S. UK deal is the primary reason why we've seen gold drop from its highs." Gold is also being driven away by the high-level talks between the U.S.A. and China over the weekend. Trump said that he expected substantive trade negotiations to take place between the United States, China and themselves this weekend. He also predicted that U.S. punitive tariffs of 145% on Beijing would most likely be reduced. In an environment of low interest rates, gold, which is traditionally viewed as a hedge to economic and political uncertainty, thrives. Later in the day, several U.S. Federal Reserve representatives will speak to provide further insight into the economy and Fed's policies. The Fed had held its interest rates at the same level on Wednesday, and warned about rising unemployment and inflation risks. The World Gold Council reported on Thursday that the amount of money flowing into gold-backed exchange-traded funds was the highest since March 2022. China-listed funds were the main beneficiaries, due to China's trade dispute with the U.S. Silver spot fell by 0.7%, to $32.27 per ounce. Platinum rose by 0.2% to $877.85. Palladium dropped 0.4% to $971.86. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich in Bengaluru, Anushree mukherjee from Bengaluru)
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Oil prices remain stable ahead of Sino-US Trade Meeting
The oil prices were not much changed on Friday morning after a rise of more than 3% the previous day. Trade tensions between the top oil consumers, the United States and China, showed signs that they are easing. Britain also announced a "breakthrough deal" with the United States. Brent crude increased 7 cents or 0.1% to $62,91 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was up by 7 cents or 0.1% at $59.98 a barrel as of 0121 GMT. Brent crude settled at $1.72, up 2.8% on Thursday. WTI was up 3.2% at $1.84. U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng of China will meet in Switzerland on 10 May to resolve trade disputes which have threatened the growth in crude oil consumption. Separately U.S. president Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir starmer announced Britain agreed to lower tariffs for U.S. imported goods to 1.8%, from 5.1%. The U.S. reduced duties on British cars, but kept a 10% duty on other goods. OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (or OPEC+), plans to increase production in other countries. This could maintain pressure on the oil price. A survey revealed that OPEC's oil production fell in April, as declines in Libyan, Venezuelan and Iraqi production outweighed a planned increase in output. A tightening of U.S. sanctions against Iran could limit supply and drive prices up. Sources told Reuters that sanctions on two Chinese refiners who bought Iranian oil had made it hard for them to get crude, and forced them to use alternative names to sell the product. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing; Sudarshan Varadahan)
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Metals on the edge ahead of China-US Trade Talks
As traders awaited the U.S. - China trade talks at this weekend, metal prices in London were in tight ranges. As of 135 GMT, the benchmark copper price on London Metal Exchange (LME), fell by 0.3% to $9.405 per metric ton. U.S. president Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir starmer announced on Thursday a limited trade agreement. The agreement leaves the 10% tariffs Trump imposed on British exports in place, but expands access to agriculture for both countries. It also lowers U.S. duty on British auto exports. After months of rising tensions, which pushed tariffs well above 100% between the two world's largest economies, traders have adopted a cautious approach ahead of this weekend's U.S. China meeting scheduled in Switzerland. Both countries will likely discuss the possibility of lowering tariffs on specific products and broader tariffs. The discussions between the U.S.A. and China are critical. We are cautious because of Trump's unpredictable stance. Other London metals include aluminium, which fell 0.2%, to $2408 per ton. Zinc rose 0.1%, to $2620; lead increased by 0.5%, to $1954; tin dropped 0.2%, to $31,800, and nickel remained flat, at $15,540. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's (SHFE) most traded copper contract rose by 0.1%, to 77.670 yuan per ton, with the help of rapidly declining stocks, monitored by SHFE, driven by robust demand in China. Yangshan Copper Premium On Thursday, the price of a ton of copper in China reached its highest level since December 2023, at $102 per ton. SHFE aluminium increased 0.6%, to 19,600 Yuan per ton. Zinc was flat, at 22,285 Yuan. Lead was unchanged, at 16,790 Yuan. Nickel was flat, at 123660 Yuan. Tin rose by 0.1%, to 260980 Yan.
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Hellman & Friedman begins sale process of US software company Enverus.
By Milana Vinn Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm, has begun a process to sell Texas-based software company Enverus. The deal could be worth around $6 billion according to sources familiar with the situation. According to the person who requested anonymity because the discussion is private, the private equity firm and investment bankers of Citi are working together on the possible sale. This has drawn interest from private equity firms as well as other companies. People said that the sale process was in its infancy and there were multiple options on the table. One of them included selling a stake within Enverus. They cautioned, however, that no deal would be guaranteed. Genstar Capital still holds a small stake in Enverus, the technology company that was sold to Hellman & Friedman for $4.25billion in 2021. Citi and Genstar refused to comment. Hellman & Friedman, Enverus and Citi did not reply to requests for comment. Enverus, based in Austin, Texas, provides oil and gas companies with data, analytics and software solutions. Sources said that Enverus generated around $400 million of annual earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization. It is likely to be worth close to 15 times EBITDA or $6 billion. Bloomberg reported that in 2024, private equity owners were exploring the possibility of selling or IPOing Enverus. Investors are increasing the pressure on private equity firms to sell portfolio companies or list them in an IPO to return capital following a year with little activity. Blackstone has been reported to be exploring the sale of Sphera - a software and consultancy services provider that specializes in sustainability. (Reporting from Milana Vinn, New York; additional reporting from Amy-Jo Crowley, London; editing by Dawn Kopecki & Cynthia Osterman).
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China's copper stocks are set to drop again, raising supply concerns
Four traders predict that copper inventories at the Shanghai Futures Exchange SHFE will continue to decline this week. The rapid drawdown is likely to boost prices and encourage traders to send back copper to China. The SHFE copper inventories have declined by 60% in just one month, with the final tally of 89,307 tons being the highest ever. The traders said they expect to see an even greater decline in stocks when the stock reports are released on Friday afternoon. This could increase prices and cause a backwardation of SHFE copper, one of China's most important metals for its vast manufacturing sector. Backwardation is when the cost of securing a commodity to be delivered in a contract for a long term is less than that of a contract for a short-term. This is usually due to a strong current demand or a tight supply. On Thursday, the closing price of the SHFE front month June copper contract was 2,1% higher than that of the October contract. This compares to 0.75% at the end-of-March. There are still buyers who have taken delivery of the copper they ordered when prices plummeted after Trump announced reciprocal tariffs. One trader predicted that the copper stock will drop even further. A second trader stated that while most of the refined copper traded in China is domestically produced, it is expected that more copper from overseas will flow into China, as prices could rise compared to overseas markets. On Wednesday, the Yangshan copper price premium, which reflects the demand for imported copper into China, hit $100 per ton, its highest level since December 2023. The price has increased by 43% since March. Chinese consumers are struggling to find copper on a market that is already very tight. This has been exacerbated by the U.S.-China Trade tensions which have impacted China's top scrap metal source. Instead, traders from all over the world rushed to import copper into the United States before President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported goods. This has led to a rise in U.S. COMEX Stocks reached 156,623 tonnes on Wednesday, an increase of 61% from the end March, and their highest level since November 2018. Reporting by Violet Li, Lewis Jackson and Varun H K
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Copec's Q1 profits in Chile fell 8.5% due to a weaker forest unit
Empresas Copec, a Chilean conglomerate of industrial companies, announced Thursday a 8.5% decline in its first-quarter profits. This was partly offset by the stronger performance of the energy sector. The first-quarter profit was $208 million, compared with $228 million for the same period last year. Revenues increased by 1.8% to $7.25 Billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected a net loss of $220 millions and revenues of $6 billion. Arauco's core earnings fell by 22.4% due to lower pulp prices, lower volumes and higher wood prices. Copec reported that while the sector had positive pricing trends, and sales improved towards the end of the third quarter, the overall market conditions deteriorated in the month of March due to escalating tensions with trade partners and newly announced tariffs. The energy operating income increased on the back of higher sales at Copec Chile and Terpel’s lubricants division, as well as improved results from Abastible due to its new Gasib Unit in Europe, and stronger performances across Latin America. Copec confirmed that construction on its "Sucuriu Project", a $4.6 billion pulp mill in Brazil, began in April. The plant will produce 3.5 millions metric tons dry cellulose per year, and operations are expected to start in late 2027.
Tariff angst is overshadowing soft inflation as stocks fall sharply and bond prices rise
On Thursday, global equities fell and U.S. Treasury yields also did. This was due to concerns about global trade tensions as well as the impact of inflation and economic growth.
Trump warned that the EU would not be able to remove the whiskey surcharges imposed by the United States if it did not do so. The increased tariffs were imposed on Wednesday after Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the United States.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, released data on Thursday that showed U.S. Producer prices (PPI), which were expected to rise faster than consumer prices (CPI), actually remained unchanged in February.
Tim Ghriskey is a senior portfolio strategist with Ingalls & Snyder, New York. He said that if it weren't for the ongoing trade war, the market would have been up strongly on the inflation data. "Traders have their attention on the trade conflict."
Ghriskey said, "It appears that the administration (in the U.S.) is very aggressive. They seem to be committed to the long-term and personalities are unlikely to change their minds in the near future."
Bill Adams, Chief economist at Comerica Bank, wrote in a note of research that the outlook for inflation depends more on government policy such as tariffs and deportations, or Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), than "the data released right now which is looking backwards."
At 02:47 pm on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 399.18 or 0.97% to 40,951.75. S&P 500 dropped 51.21 points or 0.91% to 5,548.09, while Nasdaq Composite declined 231.66 points or 1.31% to 17,416.75.
The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 6.69 points or 0.81% to 824.16.
The pan-European STOXX 600 Index closed earlier down 0.15%, after rising by 0.81% the previous session.
The U.S. S&P 500 is down nearly 6% this year. However, European stocks have done better thanks to government plans for defense spending and a possible peace agreement with Ukraine. The STOXX Index is up 6.5% for the year, despite recent drops.
U.S. Treasury Yields fell on Friday as falling stocks boosted demand to buy safe haven U.S. Government debt. Trade wars between the United States, and its trading partners are escalating and threatening growth and inflation.
The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 3.6 basis points from 4,316% at late Wednesday to 4.28%.
The 30-year bond rate fell by 2.9 basis points, from 4.631% to 4.6016% late on Wednesday.
The yield on the 2-year bond, which is usually in line with expectations of interest rates for the Federal Reserve (Federal Reserve), fell by 4.2 basis points, to 3.953% from 3.995% at late Wednesday.
The U.S. Dollar was mixed in terms of currencies. It weakened against the safe-haven Japanese yen, but gained on the Euro and Canadian dollar.
The euro fell 0.28% against the dollar to $1.0855, but the dollar dropped 0.34% against the Japanese yen to 147.74.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.39% against the dollar to C$1.44 each. The pound fell 0.06% to 1.2952.
Oil prices fell on Thursday after rallying on Wednesday due to a bigger-than-expected withdrawal of gasoline from U.S. stocks. Traders weighed macroeconomic worries and demand versus expectation.
U.S. crude oil settled at $66.55 per barrel down $1.13 or 1.67% and Brent settled at $69,88 per barrel down 1.51% or $0.07 for the day.
Gold prices soared to record levels on Thursday and were just a few cents away from the $3,000 mark per ounce. The momentum was driven by increased tariff uncertainty as well as bets placed on the Federal Reserve's easing of monetary policy.
Spot gold increased 1.71% to 2,981.92 dollars an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures increased by 1.51% to $2.983.50 per ounce.
(source: Reuters)