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Grain prices fall due to profit-taking and China trade concerns
U.S. soybeans futures fell on Thursday, after two days of gains. Profit taking and technical sales were a factor as well as growing concerns over a promised package for farmer assistance and the breakthrough in U.S. China trade negotiations. Corn futures fell alongside soybeans as U.S. harvesting accelerated. Wheat futures were a little bit mixed. The federal government shutdown delayed the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly supply and demand report for Thursday. Analysts said that the shutdown prevented traders from getting the latest information on corn and soybean production. Plant diseases and dry conditions in late season likely affected yields. Details of the possible $10 billion-$15 billion package of farmer aid promised by U.S. president Donald Trump last week are still unknown. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins stated that the administration would be able to deliver the aid as soon as the government reopened. Jack Scoville is an analyst at the Price Group. He said, "I think that farmers will have to sell some of their production to raise some money, and we're beginning to factor that in." China's decision to expand export controls on rare-earth metals raised concerns about a resolution of the U.S./China trade dispute ahead of a later meeting between President Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. The two leaders are expected to discuss China’s lack of U.S. purchases of soy. Scoville explained that "soybeans have rallied recently and that I believe that this was due to hopes that Trump and Xi will come to a type of deal by the end of the Month." Chicago Board of Trade December corn fell 3-3/4 Cents to $4.18-1/4 per bushel, while November soybeans dropped 7-1/4 Cents to $10.22-1/4. CBOT December Wheat fell 3/4 cents to $5.06-1/4 a bushel.
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Argentina mining investment paused as midterm elections approach
The main mining industry group in Argentina warned on Thursday that political uncertainty and unclear policy signals are holding back project development. No one will make any decisions today. It's very clear," Roberto Cacciola said, President of the Argentine Chamber of Mining Companies. Argentina is set to hold midterm elections on October 26, a crucial test for President Javier Milei as he enters the second half of his term amid falling approval ratings and stalled legislation in an opposition-controlled Congress. Cacciola said that the national government should resume dialogue with provincial governors – who, under Argentine laws, control mineral resources – to restore investor trust and ensure governability. Argentina is one of the world's leading producers of lithium, gold and silver. It also has significant reserves of copper that are still untapped. CAEM estimates that Argentina will record record mining exports in 2025 of $5.09 Billion, representing an 14% increase over 2024. Of this, 80% is gold, followed by lithium at 14% and silver at 12%. The gold production is expected to drop by 10% on a year-on-year basis and 39% from 2018. The lithium industry is expected to grow 54% by 2025. Exports are also set to increase 43%. However, global oversupply, as well as rising costs at home, have slowed down some projects. Cacciola stated that the price drop was delaying some of the planned construction projects. There are no major layoffs but there are signs of restructuring. Cacciola called for the government to abolish export duties on lithium, gold and silver as well as withholding taxes. She also urged the government to clarify the law that defines the extent of the glaciers to protect and to invest in infrastructure to boost the sector's competitiveness. (Reporting and editing by Marguerita Choy)
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Silver eases off record highs, gold falls below $4,000/oz
Gold prices dropped 2% on Friday, falling below $4,000/oz for the first session since the milestone was breached. The dollar rose and investors in gold made profits after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Silver also slipped from its record high $51.22 an ounce, under pressure from the same factors that impacted gold. Gold spot fell by nearly 2%, to $3.959.48 an ounce at 01:53 pm. ET (17:53 GMT). U.S. Gold futures for delivery in December fell 2.4%, to $3,972.6. Silver was unchanged at $48.93 an ounce. Dollar-priced gold is now more expensive to overseas buyers due to the 0.5% increase in the dollar index. As the Gaza ceasefire comes into effect, speculators will be taking gold chips off of the table. This is because it lowers the temperature within a historically volatile area," said Tai Wong. Israel and Hamas have signed a cease-fire agreement, which is the first step in President Donald Trump's initiative for ending the Gaza war. Wong stated that "gold and silver need to consolidate, but the primary factors driving the rally remain the diversification of reserves and the large global sovereign debt growth, which keep the bullish outlook in tact." On Wednesday, the price of gold surpassed $4,000 an ounce for a first time, hitting a new record high at $4,059.05. This non-yielding investment, which is traditionally used as a hedge in times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty, gained 52% so far this year. The rally was fueled by geopolitical uncertainty, central bank purchases, ETF inflows on the rise, and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. The minutes of the September meeting of the U.S. Central Bank, released on Tuesday, revealed that Fed officials agreed that the risks to the U.S. employment market were sufficiently high to warrant a cut in interest rates, but they remained cautious due to stubborn inflation. In September, the Fed began a new cycle of rate cuts with a reduction of 25 basis points. The traders see a 25-basis point reduction in October, and another one in December with 95% and 80% chances, respectively. Silver's rise this year has been driven by the macroeconomic forces that have propelled gold's rally, and the tight supply on the spot market. A precious metals trader stated that "Liquidity is low in the London Silver Market due to ETF purchases and metals still being shipped to the U.S." India's Kotak Mahindra has temporarily halted new investments Silver ETF despite a shortage Palladium fell 1.7% to 1,425.36 and platinum dropped 2.4% to $1622.25 (Reporting and editing by Arun K. Koyyur and Kirby Donovan in New York; Additional reporting and editing by Sarah Qureshi, Anjana Anil, and David Gregorio; and Anushree. Mukherjee and Kavya Balaraman, Bengaluru.
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King Charles and his son William support the upcoming COP Summit
The King of Britain and his heir, Prince William, made a rare appearance together on Thursday in support of the upcoming COP30 Climate Summit. This was at a moment when a U.S. led retrenchment had raised doubts about the summit's potential. In four weeks, political leaders, climate activists and businessmen will meet in Brazil for the United Nations meetings. The talks aim to achieve more ambitious actions - and financial support - in order to combat the rising temperatures around the globe. These events will be held amid an increased pushback from some world leaders, which threatens to fracture the global climate consensus. This is due to factors such as resistance to the costs of subsidising green power projects and prioritisation for defence spending. Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump told U.N. General Assembly climate change is "the biggest con job" around the world. The leader of Britain's main opposition Conservative Party, who is currently leading opinion polls in the country, said that she would support increased oil and gas extraction in the North Sea. Reform UK, on the other hand, said they would tax the renewable energy sector, and scrap the net zero target. Charles has been a champion of the environment for many years, long before it became a mainstream issue. He has also attended COP meetings in the past, but William's office announced Thursday that he would be taking Charles' place at the event this year. William launched the Earthshot Prize 2020, which aims to solve environmental problems in a decade. The award ceremony for this year will take place in Brazil, just before the COP Summit. The two royals attended an event entitled "Countdown to COP30 : Mobilising Action for Climate and Nature" at London's Natural History Museum on Thursday. They met with the Brazilian ambassador in London and viewed exhibits that showcased British solutions to climate change. Buckingham Palace stated that "for more than 50 years, the King has used his unique platform for sustainability, highlighting the fundamental link between mankind and nature." (Reporting and editing by William James, with Michael Holden)
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India's Kotak Mahindra stops new investments in ETF silver amid shortage
Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company has suspended new lump-sum investments and switch-ins into the Kotak Silver ETF Fund of Fund until October 10, 2025. The company announced this in a Thursday statement. Kotak explained that this is due primarily to a shortage in physical silver on the domestic market, which has pushed premiums sharply higher than benchmark prices. Silver is currently trading at a higher price than international prices, according to the statement. Silver spot reached a new record of $51.22 an ounce, topping the $51 level for the very first time. Silver premiums over official domestic rates in India, the largest silver consumer in the world, jumped up to 10% on Thursday due to strong investment demand and limited supplies ahead of an important festival, according bullion dealers. Kotak Silver ETF, an Exchange Traded Fund that replicates/tracks the price of Silver in India (which reflects domestic silver prices), is open-ended. The company stated that the increase in domestic silver prices has a direct impact on the Scheme's valuation. The suspension will only last until further notice. According to a bullion seller with a Mumbai private bank, a large number of imported silver is expected to arrive in the next week. This will increase supply, and lower premiums to more normal levels.
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Silver surpasses $50; gold falls below $4,000/oz
Gold prices dropped over 1% Thursday, falling below $4,000/oz, which was breached in the previous session for the first. The dollar rose and investors took profits after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Silver prices rose for the first-time above $50 an ounce, boosted by the momentum in the gold markets, strong investment demand, and a persistent shortage of supply. By 12:38 pm, spot gold had fallen 1.1%, to $3,993.41 an ounce. ET (1638 GMT). U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 1.6% to $ 4,006.40. The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.5%, hovering near a 2-month high. This made dollar-priced gold more expensive for foreign buyers. Tai Wong is an independent metals dealer. "Speculators take some gold chips off of the table when the Gaza ceasefire comes into effect, since it lowers the temperature in this historically volatile area," he said. Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on Thursday, which is the first step in President Donald Trump's initiative for ending the Gaza war. Overall, however, this trade's faith is not diminished. Wong stated that this rally was so rapid, no real support came in until $3.850. On Wednesday, the price of gold surpassed $4,000 an ounce for a first time, hitting a record-high $4,059.05. This non-yielding investment, which is traditionally used as a hedge in times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty, gained 52% so far this year. The rally was fueled by geopolitical uncertainty, central bank purchases, ETF inflows on the rise, and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. The minutes of the September meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, released on Tuesday, revealed that officials were in agreement about the risks to the U.S. employment market being high enough to warrant rate cuts, but they remained cautious due to stubborn inflation. In September, the Fed began a new cycle of rate cuts. The benchmark rate was lowered by 25 basis points. The traders are pricing in an October 25 basis point reduction and another for December with 95% and 80% chances, respectively. Silver prices rose 1.3% to $49.49 an ounce. The price of metals has increased by more than 70% in this year. This is due to the same macroeconomic factors that are driving the gold rally, and the tight supply on the spot market. David Meger is the director of metals at High Ridge Futures. He said that silver was playing catch-up at this time, and has been moving up more than gold over recent sessions. Palladium fell 1.2% and platinum 1.7%, respectively, to $1431.58. (Reporting and editing by Anushree mukherjee in Bengaluru, Kavya balaraman, and John Biju; Arun Koyyur and Kirby Donovan, David Gregorio).
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Dollar gains against the yen and euro; stocks decline
Investors weighed the prospects for Japan's fiscal policy as major stock indexes slid on Thursday. The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Wednesday despite the ongoing U.S. shutdown, political risks in Japan and France, and other factors that have made investors nervous. On Thursday, the euro fell again against dollar. Investors weighed the potential impact of a Gaza ceasefire agreement on Middle East tensions with the stalled peace negotiations in Ukraine. Gold prices rose above $4,000 per ounce this week for the first. Last week, spot gold fell 0.41% to $4,021.19. Sanae Takaichi said that she didn't want to see the Japanese yen fall too much. After the comments, the dollar briefly eased against yen. The dollar was up by 0.24% to 153.04yen, after reaching 153.21 earlier. This is the highest level since February 13. The U.S. federal government shutdown that began last week has prevented investors from receiving key economic reports. Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments, New York, stated that despite Thursday's decline, the stock market is still buoyant. He added that stocks may weaken if there is a prolonged government shutdown. He said: "We are in a very solid bull market which refuses to fall meaningfully." "I expect a pullback to happen at some point, but the market is strong for now." The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 148.24, or 0.32 %, to 46.453.54, while the S&P 500 lost 18.44, or 0.28 %, to 6,735.11, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 77.11, or 0.33 %, to 22966.75. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated that there is a greater risk of a major correction in the U.S. Stock Market within the next 6 months to 2 years. He cited factors such as geopolitical tensions and government spending. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 3.04 points or 0.31% to 993.07. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index fell 0.35%. French bonds maintained gains from the previous day on the optimism that the country will avoid a snap elections. The office of French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that he will appoint a prime minister in the next 48 hours. The 10-year French bond yield increased by 0.2% on the day to 3.529%. The euro last fell 0.15% to $1.1608. The oil prices fell slightly on Friday, with U.S. Crude falling by 0.3% to $62.36 per barrel and Brent dropping to $66.03 a barrel, down by 0.33% for the day. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 0.9 basis points, to 4.14% from 4.131% at late Wednesday.
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Gold breaks $50 barrier for the first time, and silver holds above $4,000.
Gold prices fell on Thursday, as investors took profits. However, they remained above $4000 per ounce as the demand for safe-haven assets was driven by expectations of U.S. rate cuts and global uncertainty. Silver has broken through the psychological barrier at $50 an ounce, thanks to the momentum of the gold market and strong investment demand. By 1207 pm ET (1607 GMT), spot gold had fallen 0.5% to $4.019.30 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.9% to $ 4,035.30. Tai Wong is an independent metals dealer. "Speculators take some gold chips off of the table when the Gaza ceasefire comes into effect, since it lowers the temperature in this historically volatile area," he said. Israel and Hamas agreed to cease firing on Thursday, which was the first step in President Donald Trump's initiative for ending the Gaza war. Overall, however, this trade's faith is not diminished. Wong stated that this rally was so rapid, no real support is seen until $3,850. On Wednesday, the price of gold surpassed $4,000 an ounce for a first time, hitting a new record high at $4,059.05. The non-yielding investment, which has traditionally been considered a hedge in times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty, is up more than 54% for the year. The rally was fueled by geopolitical uncertainty, central bank purchases, ETF inflows on the rise, expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts and economic uncertainties related to tariffs. The minutes of the September meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, released on Tuesday, revealed that officials were in agreement about the risks to the U.S. employment market being high enough to warrant rate cuts, but they remained cautious due to stubborn inflation. In September, the Fed began a new cycle of rate cuts by lowering its benchmark rate to 25 basis points. The traders are pricing in a rate cut of 25 basis points in October and another in December with 95% and 88% chances, respectively. Silver rose 2.6% to $50.13 an ounce. The metal's price has increased by more than 69% in this year. This is due to the same macroeconomic factors that have driven the gold rally, and the tight supply on the spot market. David Meger is the director of metals at High Ridge Futures. He said that silver was playing catch-up at this time, and has been moving more aggressively upwards than gold over recent sessions. Palladium rose by 1.8% and platinum fell 0.2%, to $1.659.10. Platinum was down 0.2% at $1,659.10, while platinum was up 0.2%. (Reporting and editing by Arun K. Koyyur and Kirti Donovan in Bengaluru, Kavya B. Balaraman, Anushree Mukherjee)
Sources: EXCLUSIVE: German PSI Software is nearing a takeover, as investors circle around.
Three people with knowledge of the situation said that Germany's PSI Software, a maker of software to manage energy networks, is on the verge being acquired by a group financial investors.
One source said that PSI is looking for funding to develop next-generation products. PSI is currently recovering from last year's cyberattack.
Sources said that among the potential suitors were technology investors Thoma, HgCapital, and Warburg Pincus. A decision could be reached within a few days.
The PSI share price surged by 13.9% at 1514 GMT on the news.
PSI's software, which helps power and gas grids, as well as factories run, posted a loss of 15,2 million euros (17.62 million dollars) last year, as it was hampered for weeks by the hacker attack.
The group's sales for 2024 are expected to be 260.8 million euro, a value of close to 400 millions euros at the stock exchange.
The management of PSI has predicted a 10% rise in revenue and a return of profits before tax and interest for this year.
The group's peers, including Norway's Volue are cutting costs. However, this is unlikely to have an impact on the industry before 2026.
E.ON is the second largest shareholder in PSI, with nearly 18% of its stock. It intends to keep its stake.
Norman Rentrop, a German newsletter publisher and businessman, is PSI’s largest shareholder. He holds a 23% share.
PSI's and Norman Rentrop’s investment holding did NOT respond immediately to a comment request.
Thoma Bravo and Warburg Pincus, as well as E.ON and HgCapital, declined to comment.
(source: Reuters)