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Profit booking eases ahead of Trump-Xi talks, Fed rate call
The copper price eased Tuesday, as investors consolidated gains following the record-breaking rally of the previous session. This was fueled by optimism about the upcoming Donald Trump-Xi Jinping meeting and the Federal Reserve rate decision. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract erased the morning's gains and closed daytime trading 1.09% lower, at 86.980 yuan (12,211.15 dollars) per metric tonne. As of 0746 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper at the London Metal Exchange dropped 1.05% to $10,000 a ton. The decline ended London copper's 4-day rally, and Shanghai's 3-day rise after both reached 17-month highs Monday amid optimism the world's two largest economies were close to a deal de-escalating trade tensions. Traders said that investors booked profits when copper reached its highest point. The demand for red metal has continued to decline. The Yangshan Copper Premium The price of copper fell to $35 per ton from $58 at the end of September. The stakes are high before Thursday's meeting in South Korea between U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent, Xi Jinping. Both leaders are expected finalise a framework for trade that was hammered by officials on both sides at the weekend in Malaysia. Investors will also be watching the Fed rate announcement on Wednesday. The U.S. Central Bank is poised to reduce the short-term lending rate by one quarter of a percentage point. The market will be influenced by the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech after the decision. It will indicate whether an additional rate cut, which was widely anticipated, will occur in December. Aluminium, lead, tin, and zinc were all down 0.56%. On the LME, nickel fell 0.69%, tin dropped 0.31%, and lead declined 0.52%. $1 = 7.1230 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Sumana Jacob-Phillips and Sherry Jackson)
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Iberdrola approves an interim dividend and raises its full-year profit forecast
Iberdrola, the Spanish utility company, announced an interim dividend of 0.25 euro per share after announcing a full-year adjusted profit guidance of 6.6 billion euros (7.7 billion dollars). The company saw double-digit growth. Iberdrola reported a net profit of 5.7 billion euro last year. Iberdrola's reported net profit fell by 3% for the first nine-months of the year, due to the effects of the sale in Mexico of assets in 2024. However, the adjusted net profit without one-offs jumped up by 17% from January to September. Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Sanchez Galan stated that the improved outlook is due to increased investments in the United States of America and Britain. Iberdrola’s network business has driven gains in operating profits and cash flow. The biggest utility company in Europe by market value plans to invest more than 100 billion euro's worth of money through 2031, as it shifts its focus towards more regulated power grids such as those in Britain and the United States. The company released its latest strategic update last month. It outlines a significant increase in investments into power networks and a more selective approach towards renewable energy projects. It has committed to investing 58 billion Euros through 2028, two-thirds of which will be in power networks in Britain and America. Additional investments of 45 billion Euros are expected between 2029-2031.
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As sanctions threaten Russian supplies, Asia's refining margins are on the rise.
Analysts and trade sources reported that Asian oil refinery profits had risen to their highest level in 20 months. This was due to a strong diesel performance, which has been boosted by a tightening of the outlook following US sanctions against two major Russian suppliers. Singapore's complex refinery margin, a proxy of Asia's refining profitability rose to almost $9 a barrel Tuesday, the highest since February 2024. LSEG data shows that it was about $2 a barrel early October. The global diesel market has been the main driver of strength in recent weeks, with a strong demand and tighter supplies. On Tuesday, the price of refining cracks used to refine 10ppm gasoil benchmarked at sulphur reached $26 per barrel. This is a record high for more than 1 1/2 years. US SANCTIONS RUSSIAN OPEC EXPORTERS The markets were further boosted last week by U.S. Sanctions on Russian Oil Exporters Rosneft & Lukoil. The latest sanctions against Russia could threaten diesel exports, since Russia exports about 1 million barrels of diesel per day," ING commodities analysts said in a Tuesday research note. There is also a risk that Indian refiners will reduce their run rates if they cease to buy Russian oil. This would result in lower export volumes of middle-distillates from India," ING said. Diesel supplies from India were shifting to Europe before the latest sanctions as refineries reached peak maintenance and production dropped. According to June Goh of Sparta Commodities Senior Oil Market Analyst, the current diesel rally is a result of reduced Russian diesel exports as a result Ukrainian drone attacks and seasonal refinery turnarounds, along with limited Chinese clean products export quotas in Q4. "Also, the distillate arbitrages in the Arab Gulf and West Coast India are pointing East and tightly shutting into Europe. The diesel shortage in Europe is expected to be more severe, said Goh. The short-term sentiment was also boosted by the market talk that fewer spot shipments from Asian suppliers including South Korea China and Taiwan for November shipments. Other parts of the Barrels The profit on processing a barrel gasoline jumped nearly 30% to $13 this month, driven by the tight supply due to unplanned outages in Southeast Asia, while margins are narrowing in other regions as winter approaches, traders reported. Energy Aspects' monthly outlook on middle distillates stated that "Strong margins will keep refinery operations high and a rising OPEC+ supply, particularly medium sours, is expected to improve crude slate optimisation, boosting clean product yields, and increase crude slate optimisation." The margins on fuel oil remained mediocre. Low-sulphur cracks are down, while high-sulphur fuels have seen some recent gains.
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Gold falls to a three-week low amid optimism over US-China trade
Gold prices fell on Tuesday, reaching a three-week-low, as investors awaited major central bank announcements. As of 0652 GMT spot gold fell 1% to $3,941.65 an ounce, its lowest level since 10 October. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 1.5% to $3.957.50 an ounce. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst, said that the defrosting of U.S. China trade relations had a negative impact on the gold price because it has led to fewer safe-haven purchases. Top Chinese and U.S. economists hammered out the framework for a trade agreement that U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent Xi Jinping will decide on this week. If Trump and Xi had a productive trade meeting this week, gold could be swimming against the flow to a certain degree. Waterer noted that this could be countered if the Fed adopts a more dovish tone in its rate-cutting announcement this week. Trump told reporters that he believed a deal with China would be made. He also announced in Malaysia a series of deals with four Southeast Asian countries on minerals and trade. This was the first stop of a five-day Asia tour. Asian shares continued to consolidate recent gains on Tuesday, as the risk appetite remained high amid hopes of a thawing of global trade tensions. Investors are waiting for any future-oriented language from Fed chair Jerome Powell. The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to reduce interest rates by the end of their policy meeting on Tuesday. Both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan, are expected to keep rates unchanged this week. The gold price has risen by 53% in the past year. It reached a high of $4,381.21 at the end of October, boosted by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, bets on rate cuts, and central bank purchases. Spot silver dropped 0.8%, to $46.51 an ounce. Platinum fell 2.6%, to $1.549.85, and palladium fell 1.2%, to $1.385.50. (Reporting and editing by Sherry Jac-Phillips, Subhranshu Sahu, and Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru).
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Gold falls to a three-week low amid optimism over US-China trade
Gold prices fell on Tuesday, reaching a three-week-low, as investors awaited major central bank announcements. As of 0525 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2%, at $3,974.66 an ounce. Bullion fell to its lowest levels since October 10 during the morning session. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.8% to $3.989.10 an ounce. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst, said that the defrosting of U.S. China trade relations had a negative impact on the gold price because it has led to fewer safe-haven purchases. Top Chinese and U.S. economists hammered out the framework for a trade agreement that U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent Xi Jinping will decide on this week. If Trump and Xi had a productive trade meeting this week, gold could be swimming against the flow to some extent. Waterer noted that this could be countered if the Fed adopts a more dovish tone in its rate-cutting announcement this week. Trump told reporters that he believed a deal with China would be made. He also announced in Malaysia a series of deals with four Southeast Asian countries on minerals and trade. This was the first stop on his five-day Asia tour. Asian shares continued to consolidate recent gains on Tuesday, as the hopes of a thawing of global trade tensions fueled risk appetite. Investors are waiting for any future-oriented language from Fed chair Jerome Powell. The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to reduce interest rates by the end of their policy meeting on Tuesday. Both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan, are expected to keep rates unchanged this week. The gold price has risen by 53% in the past year. It reached a high of $4,381.21 at the end of October, boosted by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, bets on rate cuts, and central bank purchases. Other than that, silver spot fell by 0.5%, to $46.68 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1%, to $1574.25; and palladium rose 1.1%, to $1417.30. (Reporting and editing by Sherry Phillips, Subhranshu Sahu, and Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru).
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Thailand still has not approved transmission charges for regional electricity deal
The deputy energy minister of Thailand said that the country has not yet approved transmission charges to extend a deal for hydropower to be sent from Laos in Singapore. The Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, first unveiled in 2022, has been recognised as a precursor to an ASEAN Power Grid, an attempt to reduce Southeast Asia's growing reliance on fossil fuels for power generation. In October, Malaysian energy minister stated that approval could be granted as soon as next month. Sompop Pattanariyankool said that the Thai authorities must still approve the second phase of this power project. He was speaking on the sidelines of a Singapore event. Pattanariyankool stated that "the movement of charges from Malaysia to Singapore has already been done." "Thailand needs to approve it." Pattanariyankool stated that he was unable to provide a timeframe for approval as it depends on the National Energy Policy Council's decision. The membership of the council changed last month when a new administration took office. The term "wheeling charges" refers to the costs associated with transmitting electricity over a grid. In the absence of an agreement on wheeling between Singapore and Thailand, exports to Laos would be blocked until a solution is found. The power generated in Laos is transmitted via Thailand. Malaysia's Energy Minister said earlier this month that political changes delayed the resume of power exports to Singapore from Laos. Singapore announced on Monday that a restart was imminent, but did not provide any further details. (Reporting and editing by Thomas Derpinghaus; Sudarshan Varadan, Florence Tan)
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Sany Heavy Industry debuts in Hong Kong after $1.6 billion IPO
Sany Heavy Industry's shares rose up to 4.7% on their Hong Kong debut Tuesday, after the Chinese construction equipment maker raised HK$12.36bn ($1.59bn) in one the biggest listings in the city this year. According to the prospectus, this company was founded in 1994 and is part of the Sany Group. It is now China's leading construction machinery manufacturer, and ranks among the top three worldwide. Sany, which manufactures excavators and concrete machinery as well as road construction equipment and cranes, operates 16 production bases in different countries and sells its products to more than 150. The stock price opened at HK$21.30 and matched the offer, but then rose as high as 4.7%, to HK$22.30. Later, it trimmed these gains to trade at HK$21.84 slightly higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index remained unchanged. Sany's Hong Kong listing joins a long list of recent large share offerings, including Zijin Gold International's $3.2 billion IPO - the biggest deal of its kind globally to date. Dealogic data shows that companies raised $23 billion total in Hong Kong during the first nine month of this year. This is more than three-times the amount of the same period of 2024. Sany's Shanghai listed shares fell 1.9% to 22.11 Yuan. Stocks have gained 34% this year, mainly due to strong demand and growth overseas. The company's market value is now $26,8 billion. According to the company prospectus, Hillhouse, BlackRock and Temasek via Aranda Investments were among the cornerstone investors of the Hong Kong offering. Sany stated that it would use proceeds to fund overseas growth, invest in intelligent and electric machinery research and development, repay debt, and for general operating capital. Reporting by Yantoultra NGi; editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Subhranshu Sahu
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Report: Climate change is closing the window for fast-marathons.
New research, released in advance of the New York City Marathon on Sunday, shows that climate change will limit the opportunity for world-record performances. Athletes are concerned that rising temperatures will change the face of running marathons. Some cities will be more affected than others. Last month, Berlin's marathon was held in temperatures that were unseasonal at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Climate Central, a non-profit organization based in the United States, found that 86% (or 221 global marathons) analysed for their dates of 2025 are expected to experience a decline of the odds of running optimally by 2045. This includes all seven Abbott World Marathon Majors. Mhairi Mclennan said that the findings reflect the growing challenges for elite runners. Maclennan stated that "at the elite level, the conditions can make or break performance." "We train every day for years, managing our lives in order to perform at our best. But that elusive goal keeps slipping away as the ideal temperature becomes rarer. Climate change isn't only about the races getting harder. It's also about knowing that record performances may soon be beyond reach if conditions continue to get hotter. The report identifies the'sweet spot" for marathon temperatures which supports peak performance. Men perform better in cooler temperatures (on average 4 degrees Celsius, or 39 degrees Fahrenheit), while women do better with warmer temperatures (10 C). However, the report warns that global heating is making it increasingly difficult to find these conditions. Tokyo has the highest probability of having ideal temperatures for male elite runners (69%) but also the greatest decline projected by 2045. Heat waves in 2025 have already driven race-day temperatures above the thresholds for peak performance. However, starting races earlier can improve conditions modestly. Catherine Ndereba, former world record holder in the sport, said that it was already adapting. Kenyan Ndereba said that climate change had changed the marathon. He is a four-time Boston champion, two-time World Champion and a world champion. Dehydration can be a serious problem, and even simple mistakes in calculations can cause a race to end before it has begun. Even the strongest steps will fail if we do not take care of our environment. Ibrahim Hussein echoed this sentiment. He is the first Kenyan ever to win the New York Marathon and the Boston Marathon. Hussein stated that "the climate is now part of the course." If we don't preserve it, future records and enjoyment will be less likely. Reporting by Martyn Davis Editing by Toby Davis
The key facilities of Iran's nuclear program
The Omani Foreign Minister said that a sixth round of U.S. - Iran nuclear talks would be held in Muscat on Sunday, following the announcement by U.S. president Donald Trump that Tehran will not be permitted to possess a nuclear device.
Trump stated on Wednesday that U.S. military personnel are being removed from the Middle East, because it "could be a dangerous area".
Here are some of Iran’s most important nuclear facilities.
Where are Iran's nuclear facilities?
The Iranian nuclear programme is spread out over many different locations. Despite the fact that Israel has been threatening airstrikes for decades, some sites are only built underground.
IRAN HAS A NUCLEAR WEAPONS SYSTEM?
The United States, as well as the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, believe that Iran had a secret and coordinated nuclear weapons program which it stopped in 2003. The Islamic Republic has denied ever possessing or planning one.
Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities as part of a 2015 agreement with world powers. The deal fell apart in 2018, when Trump, then in his first term of office as president, pulled out the United States and Iran began to abandon the restrictions.
IS IRAN INCREASING ITS URANIUM ENRICHMENT?
Yes. Since the deal fell apart, Iran has expanded its uranium-enrichment programme. The time it takes to reach weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon is now days or a little over a week instead of a year as was the case under the 2015 agreement.
It would take more time to actually make a bomb using that material. The exact time is not known and the debate continues.
Iran enriches uranium up to 60% fissile purity, which is close to 90% weapons-grade. It has two sites where it does this. In theory, the country could make six bombs if they enriched the material further.
NATANZ
Complex at the centre of Iran's nuclear enrichment program, located on a plain bordering mountains south of Tehran in the Shi'ite holy city of Qom. Natanz is home to two enrichment facilities: the massive, underground Fuel Enrichment plant (FEP) as well as the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plan (PFEP).
In 2002, an exiled Iranian group revealed that Iran was building secretly Natanz. This sparked a diplomatic standoff with the West over Iran's nuclear intentions. The standoff continues to this day.
The FEP is a facility designed for commercial enrichment, with a capacity of 50,000 centrifuges. There are approximately 16,000 centrifuges installed, of which 13,000 are operational, and they refine uranium up to 5% purity.
The FEP is described by diplomats who are familiar with Natanz as being three floors underground. It has been a long-running debate as to how much damage Israeli aircraft could cause.
Other means of damage have been used to destroy centrifuges in the FEP, including an explosion that occurred and a power outage in April 2021 which Iran claimed was an Israeli attack.
The PFEP above ground houses only hundreds centrifuges, but Iran enriches up to 60% purity here.
FORDOW
Fordow, on the other side of Qom is a site for enrichment dug into the mountain. It's probably better protected against potential bombardment as the FEP.
Iran was not allowed to enrich at Fordow under the 2015 agreement with major powers. The centrifuges are mostly advanced IR-6 machines. Up to 350 of these can enrich up to 60%.
In 2009, the United States announced that Iran has been building Fordow secretly for years without informing the IAEA. Then, U.S. president Barack Obama stated: "The size of the facility and its configuration are inconsistent with a peace programme."
ISFAHAN
Iran's second-largest city, Isfahan has a major nuclear technology center on its outskirts.
The facility includes the Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant and the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), which can convert uranium to uranium hexafluoride, which is then fed into centrifuges.
Diplomats claim that Iran stores uranium enriched at Isfahan.
There is equipment at Isfahan to make uranium metal, a process that is particularly proliferation-sensitive since it can be used to devise the core of a nuclear bomb.
Isfahan will be a new location for 2022, according to the IAEA. It has machines that can make centrifuge components.
KHONDAB
Iran has a heavy-water reactor that is partially constructed. It was originally named Arak, and it's now called Khondab. Heavy-water reactors are a risk for nuclear proliferation because they produce plutonium easily, which can be used, just like enriched Uranium, to create the core of atom bombs.
The 2015 agreement saw construction halted and the core of the reactor removed, then filled with concrete, rendering it useless. The reactor would be redesigned to "minimize the production of Plutonium and not produce weapon-grade Plutonium during normal operation". Iran informed the IAEA it planned to begin operating the reactor by 2026.
TEHRAN RESERVE CENTRE
The Iranian nuclear research facilities at Tehran include a reactor for research.
BUSHEHR
The only nuclear power plant in Iran, located on the Gulf Coast, uses Russian fuel, which Russia takes back after it has been used, reducing proliferation risks.
(source: Reuters)