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Coal India is looking at rare earth deals in Australia, Russia, and Africa, a unit executive says
Coal India, which is focused on coking coal, has been scouting for partnership opportunities to mine rare-earth metals in?Australia and Russia as well as Argentina, Chile, and several African nations, said a senior?executive from its unit. This move follows China's decision to restrict exports of rare-earth materials late last year. The restrictions threaten operations in industries such as autos and electronics, which rely on these?critical minerals. "In our own country as well as in other countries, we will?invest. We are going explore. We are also working with other companies to find rare earth metals. Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Coking?Coal Ltd told an interview that the project is just in its infancy. Agarwal stated that Coal India is pursuing opportunities both locally and overseas. It also aims to work with the state-run IREL and Hindustan Copper. The partnership will be funded by the proceeds of BCCL's initial public offering ($119 million) which closed on Tuesday, after it was oversubscribed?nearly 14 times. The company's offering, which consisted of existing shares and no new issuances, will be listed?Monday. Agarwal said that BCCL plans to purchase coking coal mines from Australia and Russia within the next two or three years. He said that the company aims at increasing its coking 'coal production capacity from 40.5 MTPA to 56 MTPA by fiscal 2030. Investors?bet BCCL's success will be a result of India's infrastructure drive, which relies on steel as an important industrial raw material. Coking coal is an important ingredient in steel production. (Reporting from Hritam Mukherjee, Bengaluru; and Neha Arora, New Delhi. Editing by Tasim Zaid)
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Investors keep a wary eye on Greenland and Iran as gold prices steadily rise
Concerns over?U.S. policy prompted a reversal in gold prices on Thursday. Investors weighed the Iranian situation against President Donald Trump's focus of Greenland. As of 1200 GMT, spot gold was unchanged at $4,619.54 an ounce. Prices fell by almost 1% in the morning session as Trump's comment that he might pause military action against Iran weakened demand for safe-haven assets. Bullion reached a record of $4,642.72 Wednesday. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery fell by 0.3% to $4,623.80. Fawad Rasaqzada is a market analyst for City Index and FOREX.com. He said that the price of gold was supported by concerns over?the situation? in Greenland. Trump said on Wednesday that Denmark could not be relied upon to protect Greenland, and that the U.S. needed the island. As a precaution, the United States began to withdraw some personnel from Middle East bases. Trump told reporters at the White House that he was informed by Iranian officials that the crackdown against protests is easing. He adopted a wait and see attitude after threatening to intervene earlier. Trump announced?on? Wednesday that he has decided to forgo imposing tariffs at this time on rare earths and lithium, as well as other essential minerals. He instead instructed his administration?to seek supplies from international trading partners. Gold is a safe-haven asset that tends to perform well in times of economic and geopolitical?uncertainty as well as when interest rates are low. The markets expect the U.S. Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged during its meeting on January 27-28, but are pricing in at least 2 25-basis point rate cuts this year. Spot -silver fell 1.7% to $91.22 an ounce, after reaching a session high of $93.57. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank. He said that a normalization would see silver fall by 1/3 in relation to gold and raise the ratio (gold-silver to 70). After reaching a record high of $2,478.50 per ounce on December 29, spot platinum fell 0.6%, to $2,369.02, while palladium dropped 1.1%, to $1,806.75. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise in Bengaluru)
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India will reduce the IPO float requirements for large companies to allow Jio to list
MUMBAI - The Indian government approved a reduction in the percentage of shares that large companies seeking to list are required to sell. This has been reduced from 5% to 2.5%. SEBI chair Tuhin Kanta Pandey stated that the Securities and Exchange Board of India has also agreed to a settlement in principle with the National Stock Exchange to resolve a legal dispute which had delayed?the NSE’s initial public offer. Last year, the regulator halved minimum IPO floats for large companies. Companies valued at more than?5 trillion (57 billion dollars) could sell only 2.5% of paid-up capital after their listing. The measure was waiting for a government approval before it could be implemented. Its goal is to?make it easier for the?market to absorb?heavy offerings. Reliance Jio Platforms, Reliance's telecom division, is looking at a listing in this year. The firm would float 2,5% of its shares and could be India's biggest-ever IPO. It's worth over $4 billion. The regulator has eased regulations and accelerated clearances on the?second largest market in the world for initial public offering. Pandey announced on Saturday that regulators will issue the necessary approvals this month for NSE to launch their stock market offering. Reports on Monday stated that the 'exchange' plans to file draft listing documents by the end of March and is currently in discussion with investment banks and?lawfirms to gauge investor interest. NSE is the largest derivatives exchange in the world. It has tried to go public for years but due to ongoing legal cases and concerns about governance, it failed to get regulatory approval. Its main rival BSE Ltd. is listed. (Reporting and writing by Jayshree Upadhyay, Urvi Dugar in Mumbai and Nishit Navin in Bengaluru. Editing and proofreading by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Emelia Sithole Matarise and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
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The dollar is stronger and the US tariffs are fading, which has led to a decline in copper prices.
On Thursday, copper prices fell from their record highs?on the strength of the dollar and the easing of concerns about the possible imposition?of U.S. Tariffs on the metal. Benchmark three-month Copper?on the London Metal Exchange?slid 0.8% at 1030 GMT to $13,082 per metric ton, after touching a record high of $13,407 Wednesday. U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would not impose tariffs on lithium, rare earths and other essential minerals. Copper is listed as a?U.S. The U.S. has a list of critical minerals that could face a 15% import tariff as early as 2027. However, Trump did not mention this in his statement. Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree, said that if there is a reduction in the desire to impose tariffs on other metals now, it will reduce the risk of copper. "So there might be a small premium going away." The premium on the LME cash copper contract for the three-month ahead The price of metal has dropped to $44 per ton from $90 on Monday, which indicates a less urgent demand for metal. The dollar's strength also affected prices. The dollar is stronger, making metals denominated in dollars more expensive to buyers of other currencies. Zinc rose 1.5% to $3325.50 per ton after touching $3355 - its highest level since February 3, 2023. The cash LME Zinc contract traded at a $14 discount per ton compared to the three-month ahead . Shah, who is a zinc expert, said that he did not believe the supply of zinc would be particularly tight in the future. Lead rose 0.3% to $2.084.50, a new two-month record. Tin increased 0.5% to $53,715, a close second to the record high of $54,760 set on Wednesday. Nickel fell 1.9% to $18,350, after touching a high of 19 months in the previous session, in a bullish beginning to 2026. Aluminium, on the other hand, dropped 0.6% to $3168. David Wilson, senior commodities strategist at BNP Paribas, said: "It is very difficult to think that these kinds of parabolic price increases are sustainable." (Reporting and editing by David Goodman. Additional reporting by Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson, and Tom Daly)
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Gold safe-havens fall as geopolitical tensions ease
On Thursday, gold prices eased following a record-high in the previous session. This was due to a reduction of geopolitical risks and trade concerns after U.S. president Donald Trump said he might pause military actions against Iran. Washington also held off on imposing duties on vital minerals. As of 0931 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.4% to $4,602.99 an ounce. Bullion reached a record high of $4,642.72 per ounce on Wednesday. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery fell by 0.6% to $4.607,60. "(Gold and?silver), slid down after Trump signalled that he might hold off attacking Iran for the time being, and?after the U.S. did not impose tariffs on imports critical minerals. This eased a key worry which in recent months?had driven unusually high flows of metal to the U.S. before a possible announcement,"?said Ole Hansen. Trump announced on Wednesday that he has decided to forgo imposing tariffs at this time on rare earths and lithium, as well as other essential minerals. He instead instructed his administration in order to obtain supplies from international trading counterparts. Trump told reporters at the White House that he was informed by Iranian officials that protests are easing. He then adopted a wait and see attitude after threatening to intervene. Gold is a safe-haven asset that tends to do well in times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty as well as when interest rates are low. The markets?expect that the U.S. Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged during its meeting on January 27-28, but they are pricing in at least two 25 basis-point rate reductions this year. Silver spot fell?3%, to $89.97 an ounce. It had earlier reached a session high of $93.57. Hansen said that a normalization would see silver fall by 1/3 in relation to gold and the ratio (gold-silver), rise to 70. After reaching a record high of $2,478.50 per ounce on December 29, spot platinum fell 1.8%, to $2340.54, while palladium dropped 1.2%, to $1,804.29 an ounce. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise in Bengaluru)
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Oil drops over 3% following Trump's comments that ease Iran fears
The oil prices dropped?more than 3% on Friday after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that the killing of protesters in Iran's nationwide demonstrations had stopped. This tempered concerns about military action and supply disruptions against Iran. Brent futures fell $2.19 or 3.3% to $64.33 per barrel at 0845 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude had fallen $2.07 or 3.34% to $59.95 per barrel. Brent futures rose to $66.50 per barrel on Wednesday, before giving back most of the gains following Trump's comments that reduced expectations about a possible U.S. strike on Iran. John Evans of PVM said that Trump's comments that he received assurances from Iran that the killing of protesters had ceased had changed the mood on oil markets. Evans added that Thursday's prices reflect a narrative of an upcoming near-term future with oversupply. A U.S. official announced on Wednesday that the United States was withdrawing personnel from its military bases in Middle East. This came after a senior Iranian officials said Tehran told its neighbours that it would strike American bases if Washington struck. The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that the increase in crude and gasoline stocks in the United States was greater than what analysts had estimated. Venezuela, on the other hand, has also begun to reverse oil production cuts that were made as a result of a?U.S. Three sources confirmed that crude exports had also resumed. On the demand front, OPEC announced on Wednesday that it expected oil demand to increase at a similar rate in 2027 as it did this year. It also published data indicating a close balance between supply and?demand?in 2026. This is contrary to other forecasts that predicted a major glut. China's crude imports increased by 17% in December compared to a year earlier, and total imports for 2025 rose by 4.4%. The daily volume of crude imports also reached all-time records in December 2025. Mohi Nairah in New Delhi, Yuka Obayashi and Christopher Cushing in Tokyo contributed to the report; Lisa Shumaker and Neil Fullick edited it.
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The UAE's ALTERRA, and Spanish lender BBVA are planning to launch a $1.2 billion climate fund
The two companies announced on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates climate fund ALTERRA plans to launch a $1.2 billion coinvestment vehicle to finance climate-aligned investments globally?across infrastructure?, private equity? and private credit. In a joint press release, BBVA announced that it had committed $250 million to the ALTERRA Opportunity Fund. They said that the?fund would invest in climate investments, including energy transition, industrial decarbonization and climate tech, with a focus on North America, Latin America and Europe, as well as "other growth markets." ALTERRA was established in 2023 with $30 billion by the UAE. It aims to mobilize $25 billion globally by 2030. The majority of its investments have been made through climate and transition funds managed by global investment firms BlackRock Brookfield and TPG. The two firms said that the initiative "accelerates ALTERRA’s ambition to mobilize a third-party capital and expand its global networks of institutional collaborators". The fund's domicile will be the Abu Dhabi financial centre ADGM once it is launched and approved. The fund will consolidate co-investments made by ALTERRA Acceleration into a dedicated structure, managed by the Emirati firm.
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Saudi Arabia to invest $500 Million in Yemen after UAE withdrawal
Saudi Arabia announced a series of development projects worth $500 million in southern?Yemen, including many areas that were long held by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and their allied separatists. These areas were swept away in a Saudi-backed assault this month. This move is a sign of an increasing assertiveness by the Gulf Arab country in Yemen, in response to a dispute with the UAE. Last year, the separatist Southern Transitional Council advanced up to the Saudi border after sweeping through the south. Riyadh called the STC's?move an attack on its national security and demanded that the UAE withdraw. It also backed an offensive to remove the STC. According to a posting on his official X account, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman held a meeting with the leader of 'the internationally recognized government' and several members of the Presidential Leadership 'Council' to affirm the Kingdom's'support'. The same post announced projects and aid in 10 provinces including construction of schools, hospitals and roads, and donation of fuel for increased power production. The construction of a new mosque on Socotra, named "The Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques" - a reference to Saudi Arabia's official title - was also announced. Up until recently, the UAE had held this strategic island. The?post stated that "this support represents the Kingdom's desire to enhance security and stability and contribute to building a brighter future for Yemen and the people of its country." Saudi Arabia and UAE worked in a coalition to fight the Iran-backed Houthis during Yemen's civil conflict, which was one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet. The two largest Gulf countries have sharp disagreements on a range of Middle East issues, from geopolitics and oil production to the STC's advance. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise in Riyadh)
Kremlin: Trump was right to say Zelenskiy is holding up a Ukrainian peace deal
The Kremlin announced on Thursday that Russia and Donald Trump agreed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was the one holding up any potential peace deal to end Ukraine's war. Trump's assessment of the situation in a?interview contrasted with that of European allies who have maintained that Moscow is not interested in ending the war and only wants to gain as much land as possible while trying to avoid further Western sanctions.
Trump said, "I think Putin is ready to make a bargain," when he spoke to him in the Oval Office. "I don't think Ukraine is ready to do a deal," Trump said.
When asked why U.S. led negotiations have not yet resolved Europe's biggest land conflict since World War Two, Trump replied: "Zelenskiy."
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, told reporters that he agreed with Trump when asked if he thought that was true: "I do agree. That is?in fact the case." Both President Putin and Russian officials remain open to talks. The Russian position is well-known. The Russian?position is well-known to American negotiators and President Trump.
Russia controls a fifth (or more) of Ukraine. This includes the Crimean Peninsula which it annexed back in 2014. Moscow wants Kyiv's troops to leave parts of the Donetsk Region that it does not control, but claims as its own. Ukraine, which rejects the idea of giving Moscow territory, wants to stop the fighting along the front lines. The U.S. proposed a free-economic zone if Ukraine withdraws its troops.
In recent weeks, U.S. negotiations focused on security assurances for a postwar Ukraine following a possible peace deal. However, some European officials have warned that Putin is unlikely to accept certain of the terms.
After Russia accused Ukraine of attempting to undermine the talks last month, the talks have further been stalled.
Attack on a residential property
Kyiv has called the allegation that?Putin is a liar.
Peskov stated that Moscow would invite Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son in law Jared Kushner for further talks about Ukraine after a date had been set. Dmitry Antonov reported; Lucy Papachristou wrote; Andrew Osborn edited.
(source: Reuters)