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Malaysian palm oil prices rise for the week due to strong competition and Indonesia's levy plan
Malaysian palm futures declined on Friday due to a 'profit-taking', but they posted a weekly increase based on the strength of rival edible oils on the Dalian and Chicago Exchanges and Indonesia’s plan to increase its palm oil export tax. The benchmark March palm oil contract on the Bursa Derivatives Exchange fell 5?ringgit or 0.12% to 4,038 Ringgit ($992.14) per metric ton as of?closing. The contract rose by 1.18% in the last week. After the recent rally on rumours about Indonesia's levy hike, there are a lot of profit-taking activities going on today. Profit-taking?starts when Dalian close firm draws a selloff on the high of the week, said a Kuala Lumpur based trader. Eniya Listeiani Dewi, an official from the energy ministry, told reporters that Indonesia would likely increase its palm-oil export levy in order to support biodiesel production. She cited a lack of funds. Dalian's palm oil contract rose 0.6%, while the most active soyoil contract grew 0.33%. Prices for soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.51%. As palm oil competes to gain a share of the global vegetable oils market, it 'tracks' the price movement of other edible oils. Technical analyst Wang Tao stated that palm oil will likely retest the support level of 4,024 Ringgit per metric ton, since it has failed to break through resistance at 4,074 Ringgit.
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China encourages industrial parks in China to use more green energy on site
China wants industrial parks to use their green power on-site rather than sending it to the grid. This is according to an official document released on Friday. According to the Industry?Plan for Green Industrial Microgrids 2026-2030, released by the state planner, asset, market, and energy regulators, industrial parks with newly installed wind and solar power should use at least 60 percent of the electricity generated on-site, and send no more than 20% into the grid. Green industrial microgrids are defined in the document as including?renewable energy generation, waste energy utilization, green hydrogen storage, digitalised energy and carbon management, and battery?storage. According to the document, the policy is intended to reduce emissions, increase the use of renewable energy and boost industrial competition. Analysts predict that in the next few years, more areas of China will experience high curtailment rates. Grid managers limit the amount of electricity entering the network to maintain a balance or because grid infrastructure is limited. The policy document stated that industrial?microgrids must support demand response. This is where users reduce their consumption during peak times to lessen the load on the grid. The report also called on heavy industry to use waste heat for energy generation or to recycle it. It also told manufacturers to integrate digitalised energy management and carbon management systems. (Reporting and editing by Toby Chopra; Colleen howe)
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Meta signs nuclear power agreements With Three Companies
Meta Platforms announced on Friday that it had signed 20-year contracts to purchase power from three Vistra nuclear reactors in the heartland of the U.S. and to develop projects with two companies wishing to build small modular units. Meta and other Big Tech firms want to ensure long-term power supplies, as artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres increase U.S. electricity demand for the first two decades. In a blog, the company announced that it would purchase power from Vistra’s Perry and Davis-Besse plant in Ohio?and Beaver Valley Plant in Pennsylvania. Meta said that the deal would help finance expansion of the Ohio plants as well as?lengthening the lifespan of plants which are licensed until at least 2036, with one of the two reactors at Beaver Valley being licensed until 2047. Meta will help to develop small modular reactors by Oklo, TerraPower and Bill Gates' TerraPower. SMR supporters say that the reactors can be built in factories instead of on-site, which will save costs. Critics claim they will have difficulty achieving economies of scale comparable to those achieved by current large reactors. The U.S. has no commercial SMRs yet, and these plants will need permits. Joel Kaplan is Meta's chief global affairs official. He said that the plans, along with the agreement made last year with Constellation, to keep a Illinois reactor operational for 20 years, "will make Meta one of the largest corporate purchasers in American history of nuclear energy." Meta stated that the agreements would provide nuclear power up to 6.6 gigawatts by 2035. A typical nuclear power station is around 1 GW in size. In 2024, Meta sought to solicit interest from developers of nuclear power for up to 4 gigawatts. Meta will fund TerraPower to develop?two reactors that can generate up to 690 Megawatts of electricity as early as?2032. Meta will also receive energy rights from up to six TerraPower reactors before 2035. TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque stated that the agreement would support rapid deployment. Meta has said that its partnership with Oklo could help Ohio develop up to 1,2 GW of electricity as early as 2030. Jacob DeWitte is Oklo co-founder, CEO and said that the support would help with "early procurement" and development. (Reporting and editing by Timothy Gardner, Valerie Volcovici, and Cynthia Osterman).
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JPMorgan M&A global head Aiyengar says rising risks to drive surge in deals
Anu 'Aiyengar', JPMorgan Global Head of Advisory & M&A told a reporter that dealmakers will have another banner year - 2026 - with a record amount of deals on the way. CEOs are seeking the safety and scale of a large company to help them weather the mounting geopolitical and economic risks. Anu?Aiyengar, JPMorgan's Global Head of Advisory and M&A, said in an interview that last year saw the second highest amount of M&A deals ever, totaling $5.1 trillion. This was despite the stomach-churning gyrations caused by President Donald Trump’s changing trade policies, as well as a government shut down that stopped U.S. initial public offerings for over six weeks. Aiyengar stated, "We live in a world with a wide range of shocks and shock sources." "It is technology disruption, AI, supply chain risk, geopolitical risks, oil, energy, all of it." Trump's second tenure has brought about a new era where policy changes that were once unheard of now present a daily challenge to corporate CEOs. U.S.-China and Russia relations remain volatile, as the Trump Administration launches risky and dramatic military operations. These include an attack on the?Iran nuclear facilities last summer and a military campaign in Venezuela which ousted Venezuela's president. Trump is facing increasing protests at home after ICE agents 'killed' a 37-year old Minneapolis woman on Wednesday. This was the day he vowed not to allow defense contractors to buy back their stock if they didn’t speed up weapons production. Aiyengar stated that "if you're running a business, the amount of information you have to deal with and process is immense... no one could actually deal with it and come up wth perfect answers." She added, "Companies with scale can withstand this level of volatility because they have more levers at their disposal." Economic and political uncertainty are driving deals to get bigger. According to LSEG data, there were 68 record deals worth $10 billion and more in 2018, which is twice as many as 2024. JPMorgan ranked second in global M&A last year. In global M&A, last year, JPMorgan ranked No. Glencore confirmed on Thursday that it was in the early stages of talks with Rio Tinto to acquire its metals mining business. This could create the largest miner in the world. Rio Tinto, the world's largest iron ore mining company, is worth approximately $142 billion. Glencore was valued at $65?billion as of the latest stock market closing. She said that commodities will continue to be a sector to watch in this year along with energy and technology. She added that consumer and healthcare companies were also interested in various tie-ups. She said that in the past, the M&A activity was driven by the optimism of the economy and excess capital. But this time, boardrooms look at larger combinations to survive the rising political turmoil, AI disruptions, economic uncertainty, and market volatility. It reflects the mood. You don't wish to be left behind. "You know that there will be a lot of shots and volatility coming at you." (Reporting from Dawn Kopecki & Edmund Klamann).
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PPC raises the 2026 Japan Copper Premium to a record $330/T
Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), Japan’s largest supplier, has offered to sell the metal to domestic customers for a record price of $330 per metric ton by 2026. This was revealed on Friday by a source within the company. It reflects fundamentals of demand and supply. The physical delivery rate is three times higher than the benchmark LME price of $88, and is paid over and above LME benchmark prices. The rate also includes costs such as taxes and transport. The source said that this year's rise is due to a steep fall in treatment and refining fees (TC/RCs), which are the fees miner pay to smelters for converting concentrate into refined metal. This has boosted the raw material acquisition costs, prompting a company to pass on the burden to its customers. Concerns that the United States could impose tariffs on ingots of copper later this year has sparked speculative metal flows into North America. This has led to a tightening of supply in Asia. Source declined to identify themselves due to the sensitive nature of the subject. Mitsui Mining and Smelting, Marubeni and JX Advanced Metals own 47.8% of PPC. Mitsui Mining and Smelting holds 32.2% and Marubeni 20%. As their global counterparts, Japanese copper smelters also face a tumbling TC/RC, shrinking margins for smelting due to a lack of concentrate supply, and growing smelting capacities in China. Two?sources who are familiar with the situation said that Antofagasta, a Chilean copper miner, and a Chinese copper smelter reached an agreement last month to have zero TC/RCs by 2026. In 2025, the lack of supply at mines such as Grasberg in Indonesia and Kamoa-Kakula, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was so severe that spot processing fees became negative. Smelters were left paying for a source of revenue they normally rely on. (Reporting and editing by Clarence Fernandez; Yuka Obayashi)
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Trump cancels the second wave of attacks against Venezuela
?U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a second round of attacks against Venezuela had been canceled following the South American country's cooperation. On Friday, the president announced that Venezuela would be releasing many political prisoners in a show of "seeking peace" following last week's dramatic U.S. operation which resulted in capturing?President Nicolas Maduro. "This is an important and intelligent gesture. Trump stated on "Truth Social" that the U.S.A. and Venezuela work well together in rebuilding their oil and natural gas infrastructure, which is much larger, better and more modern. His post continued, "Because of the?cooperation', I have cancelled the second wave of attacks, which appears to not be necessary. However, all ships will remain in place for security and safety purposes." Trump's remarks come after he said in an interview with 'Fox News,' "Hannity", that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado would be coming to Washington, next week. He had previously dismissed the idea of working together, saying "she does not have the respect or the support" within the country. The Republican president had, however, told the New York Times Wednesday that the U.S. The Venezuelan government and acting interim president Delcy Rodrguez "getting on very well". Trump said in the Fox interview that he would also meet oil executives at the White House this Friday, and that the companies would spend $100 billion in Venezuela. He repeated these statements in his Truth Social posting. (Reporting from Shubham Kalya in Bengaluru, editing by Philippa Fetcher, Mark Heinrich, and Alex Richardson.)
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Indian shares have their worst week for over three months due to US tariff fears
Investors were rattled by renewed worries?over U.S. Tariffs, which led to a fall in Indian equity benchmarks for the fifth straight session. The Nifty 50 dropped 0.75%, to '25,683.3. ', while the Sensex slipped 0.72%, to 83576.24. Each index lost around 2.5% for the week. 15 of 16 major sectors declined during the week. Small-caps fell by 3.1%, while mid-caps dropped 2.6%. According to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, U.S. president Donald Trump has supported a bipartisan measure targeting countries that do business with Russia. The bill would impose tariffs of up to 500% on imported goods. India is 'the second largest buyer of Russian crude oil after China. Amit Jain, cofounder of Ashika Global Family Office Services said that if such extreme tariffs were enacted the immediate impact would be volatility in sectors related to U.S. Trade, pressure on export competition, and renewed caution among foreign investors. He added that this would increase risk pricing in equities currencies, and commodities. Later in the day, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely rule on whether Trump's tariffs are legal. Reliance Industries, which has not received any Russian crude oil deliveries since October 2024 due to increased tariff uncertainty, saw its stock fall 7.4% this week. India's largest lender by private equity and the heaviest weighted stock HDFC Bank The quarterly business update raised concern over a slower growth in deposits. The?banks Index was down 1.5% this week. Clothing Retailer Jewellers lost 9.9% in the last week due to a continued slowdown in revenue growth in the December quarter. Sales grew by a strong 3.7%. Manappuram finance?fell 7.6% the day after it was reported that the central banks raised objections against Bain Capital?s plan to?buy a majority stake in the gold financier. Investors are focusing on the U.S. employment data that is scheduled to be released later today. This could have an impact on the Federal Reserve’s future rate decisions.
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Stocks surge ahead of US employment report and tariff ruling
Global stocks edged up on Friday, ahead of an important U.S. report. Investors also awaited the Supreme Court's ruling on President Donald Trump’s global tariffs which shocked markets last year. Geopolitical tensions around the world have boosted oil and defence stocks. Traders will continue to be concerned about developments in Venezuela, Iran, and Greenland. The U.S. Supreme Court's possible ruling on tariffs will dominate Friday's news. The reduction of tariffs may impact U.S. revenue, driving Treasury yields up and causing new waves in volatility. Kyle Rodda is a senior financial markets analyst with Capital.com. He said that the Supreme Court's ruling on Friday was the "real wildcard". He said that if the courts overturn U.S. Tariffs, this would boost market sentiment. "A constraint could be that the Trump administration will not 'roll over' even if tariffs are declared illegal. They may look for other ways to maintain levies." For the moment, traders are reluctant to bet on market events. Last week, the Stoxx 600 index in Europe was up around 0.4%. The major regional indices are in positive territory. The French CAC 40 is up around 0.6%. Fast Retailing 9983.T (the operator of Uniqlo) is the company that has boosted the Nikkei.N225 by 1.6% in Asia. S&P 500 (.SPX) ended Thursday flat, but the aerospace and defense index.SXPARO climbed to a record high. European defence stocks also hit a new all-time high. S&P futures EScv1 rose 0.1%, indicating a modest increase at the opening later. US JOBS REPORT DECK The December U.S. Jobs Report will also be a key topic of discussion, following a series of data releases on the labour market earlier in this week. "On the positive side, there's no sign of a recession on this labour market. That's a good thing. There is also no indication of a strong acceleration on the subdued front. Samy Chaar is chief economist at Lombard Odier. He said that this was consistent with an economy growing moderately. There's no sign of overheating or growth above potential. The JOLTS report on hirings and ADP's private sector payrolls released earlier this week showed that employment in the largest economy in the world is slowing down. We want to see the JOLTs, the ADP and the claims we received yesterday confirmed today. "We don't want an upward surprise in the unemployment rate, or job creation," Chaar stated. Currently, the markets expect two rate reductions from the Federal Reserve in this year. This expectation could be reduced if the monthly employment report is strong. A survey by economists estimates that nonfarm payrolls increased by 60,000 jobs in December after recovering by 64,000 jobs in November. In October, the economy lost 105,000 positions, which is the biggest drop in almost five years. Most of these jobs were taken by federal employees who deferred their buyouts. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes US10YT=RR remained at 4,189%, after increasing 4.5 basis points in the previous day. The dollar index, which measures six currencies against the U.S., was hovering around a month-high. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Thursday that he expects Trump to make a quick decision on who will replace Jerome Powell when the Fed Chair's term ends in May. Markets are expecting Trump to appoint someone dovish. The oil prices rose on Friday to their highest weekly level since late October. Investors were concerned about the situation in Venezuela, and also worried about supplies coming from Iraq, Iran and Russia. In a Friday social media post, Trump announced that he had cancelled the previously anticipated second wave of attacks against Venezuela due to its cooperation. Two sources said that foreign embassies are preparing for a visit next week by representatives of American and European oil companies. Brent futures LCOc1 fell 0.23% to $61.85 per barrel but are still on track for a gain of nearly 2% a week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) CLc1 fell 0.16% to $57.68 per barrel. (Reporting from Sophie Kiderlin, London. Ankur Banerjee contributed additional reporting from Singapore. Editing was done by Shri Navaratnam and Amanda Cooper.
India detains environmental activist over anti-fossil fuel work
Indian officials announced on Wednesday that an environmental activist who was working to coordinate a global agreement to phase out fossil fuels had been detained and then released as part of a probe into foreign funds being used to 'undermine Indian energy policy.
India's Enforcement Directorate conducted a search of the home of Harjeet and Jyoti Singh, who are the founders of the environmental NGO Satat Sampada. The raid was part of an investigation into the "suspicious" foreign remittances received by the group to promote the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation treaty in India.
Vanuatu proposed the treaty in 2022. It aims to end fossil fuel production and bring about a "transition" toward green energy. The treaty is supported by 18 developing nations, including Colombia and Pakistan.
Satat Sampada stated in a statement that Singh had been granted bail, and that both he and Awasthi were "willing to extend complete cooperation and provide any further information required".
The investigation comes after the conclusion COP30 Climate Summit in Belem (Brazil), where several countries complained about a final result that avoided stronger plans to rein in greenhouse gas emissions or phase out fossil fuels.
The Indian agency stated that "while presented as a climate change initiative, its adoption may expose India to legal challenges in international fora such as the International Court of Justice. This could severely compromise India's energy security.
Last July, the ICJ released an advisory opinion that stated wealthy nations had a'responsibility' to curb climate changes.
Tzeporah Bernman, the founder and chairperson of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Initiative, was unable to comment on the details of the investigation but stated in a press release that the treaty is meant to support India, not undermine it.
The proposal aims to assist developing countries, including India, through international cooperation, economic diversification and access to finance. She said that the goal was to promote a fair and orderly transition to renewable and accessible systems with a special focus on those in most need. (Reporting from Washington by Valerie Volcovici and Singapore by Sudarshan Varadhan; editing by Matthew Lewis).
(source: Reuters)