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India will support steel imports that are affected by Europe's carbon taxes, says the federal secretary
The carbon tax and import quotas of the European Union will continue to impact India's steel exports. However, the government is taking steps to support the sector. These comments follow a trade deal signed by India and the European Union, which reduced tariffs in several sectors, but kept?the Carbon Border Adjustment mechanism, or border tax on carbon, intact. Indian steel mills export roughly two-thirds of their total output to?Europe. Exports will remain a challenge with the CBAM of the European Union, tariffs and quotas?and other challenges. We must take action," said Sandeep Poundrik, Steel Secretary, at a government function in New Delhi. India has been critical of the CBAM policy, which is the first in the world. It was announced by the EU 2021 and could hinder trade in steel. The EU has imposed fees on steel imports, cement, and other goods that produce high levels of carbon emissions. Reports indicate that India's exports of steel to Europe will likely fall as a result, leading mills to look for alternative buyers in Africa or the Middle East. Reporting by Neha arora in New Delhi; writing by Hritam mukherjee, editing by Rashmi aich
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Iron ore prices drop as inventories increase, and concerns about disruptions in Australian supply ease
Dalian iron-ore futures fell for a sixth session on Monday, as China's inventories rose amid low demand, and Australia’s main?iron-ore hub resumed operations following a cyclone warning. The most-traded contract for May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange traded 0.46% less at 761.5 Yuan ($109.89). As of 0705 GMT, the benchmark March iron ore contract on Singapore Exchange was up 0.57% at $99.6 per ton. Singapore's benchmark dropped below $100 per ton, as China's demand slowed in the lead-up to Lunar New Year. Data from Steelhome, released on February 6, showed that iron?ore inventories at major Chinese port rose by 0.58%. Portside stocks have been building as the industry enters its seasonal shutdown period. Port Hedland in Western Australia, the world's biggest iron ore hub, resumed its operations at noon on Sunday after being shut down on Friday due to tropical cyclone Mitchell off the coasts of the resource rich Pilbara region. ANZ Research released a report on Monday stating that this is the first major cyclone disruption in Pilbara for 2018. This follows a particularly active cyclone period between 2024 and 2025. Pilbara Ports stated on its website that while the Port of Port Hedland is now open, Ashburton and Cape Preston West remain closed. An alert will be issued when it is safe for them to reopen. Six cities in China's main steelmaking region, Hebei, issued air pollution alerts on February 8, causing concern about the?production cutbacks that will further dampen demand for feedstock. Coking coal and coke, two other steelmaking ingredients, also remained stagnant on the DCE. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have lost ground. Rebar fell 0.84%. Hot-rolled coils softened 0.55%. Stainless steel declined 0.74%. Wire rod dropped 0.89%.
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Russian drone strikes on Ukraine kill four including a mother and child
Officials in Ukraine said that Russian drone strikes across Ukraine overnight killed at least?four people including a 10-year-old boy and his mother. They also knocked out electricity for tens and thousands of people. The prosecutor's regional office reported that the boy and his mother died in an attack on a residential neighborhood in Bohodukhiv, a town in eastern Kharkiv. Six?people were injured in the attack, the report said. The region has been the target of many attacks during the four-year conflict that began with Russia's full scale invasion on February 24th 2022. Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia launched 11 ballistic missiles, and 149 drones at Ukraine overnight. It said that 116 drones and missiles were neutralised or shot down, while some missiles intercepted but did not reach the target. The attacks against Ukraine continue despite ongoing U.S.-brokered talks with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the Trump administration wanted Moscow and Kyiv to work together. Find a way to end the conflict before summer. Oleh Kiker, the regional governor of Odesa, said that a "massive" Russian attack by drone on Odesa's southern port city killed one person and injured another. Kiper said on Telegram that residential infrastructure as well as a gas pipe were damaged. "PEOPLE WERE ASLEEP" Viacheslav Chaus said that a drone attack on the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine killed a man aged 71 and injured four others. Chaus stated that "people were sleeping" and added that some buildings had been completely destroyed by the attack while others had suffered damage. Oleksandr Hansha, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk, confirmed that nine people, including a girl aged 13, were also injured by a drone strike in this region. Borys Karpus, the local mayor, said that Russia had damaged a substation of high voltage near the city?Novovolynsk, in the western Volyn area, which borders NATO member Poland. More than 80,000 customers were left without electricity. Workers are trying to restore power supplies in order to run critical infrastructure. Since the autumn of 2025, Moscow intensified its attacks against Ukraine's power grid and energy infrastructure. This has left millions without heat and power in freezing temperatures. Ukrainian National Railways reported that there were also new overnight attacks on the railway infrastructure in Sumy and Chernihiv. (Reporting and editing by Stephen Coates, Gareth Jones and Anna Pruchnicka)
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Indonesia Investment Ministry meets Agincourt and discusses future of Martabe Gold Mine
Indonesia's Investment Ministry said that it had met with Agincourt Resources to discuss the?legal and environment aspects of operations at Martabe Gold Mine, after Jakarta revoked their mining permits because of environmental violations. Agincourt is a part of the conglomerate Astra International. Astra's largest shareholder is Jardine Matheson. The government revoked the permits of 28 companies after accusations that they had violated environmental laws, which led to the worsening of the floods last year in Sumatra. At least 1,200 people were killed. The sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia headed by Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani has created a new company called PT Perusahaan Mineral Nasional, or Perminas to take over Martabe. Roeslani, in his capacity of Investment Minister, said that any decision made by the government about the mine would be taken cautiously. Roeslani stated that the government reiterates its commitment to making every decision and policy carefully, transparently and in accordance with the law, while also ensuring the trust of investors. Analysts said that the crackdown by President Prabowo on the resources industry, including the Martabe acquisition, could affect investor sentiment. (Reporting and editing by Ananda Terresia and Gayatri Suroyo)
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South African rand begins week stronger as gold rebound
The South African rand started the week stronger in early trade on Monday. This was largely due to higher yellow precious metal prices. At 0638 GMT the rand was trading at 15.97 per dollar, up roughly 0.5% from Friday's closing price. ETM Analytics said in a recent research note that "gold and platinum prices are recovering from their lows. This gives some comfort to the ZAR, as it will 'enjoy renewed commodity price benefits throughout the week. The U.S. Dollar last traded 0.2% weaker versus a basket currencies. Gold, an important South African export, was trading just above $5,000 per ounce as investors awaited the release of key inflation and jobs data later this week. This week, the domestic calendar includes an annual mining conference that will take place in Cape Town between February 9-12. The event brings together some of the top mining investors from around the world and government officials who will discuss the future of the industry. South Africa's Statistics Agency will publish mining and manufacturing figures for December on Thursday. ETM Analytics said that "for now, South Africa’s terms of trade are still favourable and the outlook for the ZAR remains?similarly favorable, particularly if foreign investors keep a low risk profile in mind." The yield on South Africa's 2035 benchmark government bond fell by 2 basis points, to 8.035%. (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair; Sfundo parakozov)
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Russell: India's sponge iron boom will save South African coal
It's been difficult to find thermal coal exporters in recent years, given the soft prices and lower demand from China and India. For Indonesian miners, it was also difficult because of the uncertainty surrounding government policy. One group of coal exporters seems to be quite optimistic. South Africa's coal miners look forward to increased demand from India, their biggest buyer. They also anticipate improvements in rail infrastructure which will enable them to increase volumes. The coal that South African producers are seeing a high demand for, however, is not the coal used for electricity generation. Instead, it's for industrial processes like making sponge iron or cement. Last week, the South African Coal Conference was held in Cape Town by McCloskey and OPIS. The main message was that South Africa is finally restoring its rail network, and as much as six million metric tonnes more coal will be transported in 2026. South Africa's coal exported in 2025 was 60.96 millions tons, according to commodity analysts Kpler. Half of that amount went to India. It was up from 58.13 millions tons in 2024, and the third consecutive year of growth. However, it is still short of the 77.2 Million recorded in 2018. South Africa's miner are confident of a growing market if they can increase exports from around 45 million tons to 65 millions in 2026. India is the largest producer of sponge-iron, an intermediate between iron ore (ore) and crude steel. According to the Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association it produced about 55.7 millions tons in fiscal year 2024-25. Analysts estimate this could rise to 75 million tons by 30 given India's high demand for steel. South African coal meets the requirements for producing each ton of sponge-iron. The most efficient way to produce sponge iron is by using coal with an energy level of 5,000-?5,500 kilocalories (kcal/kg). South Africa has an advantage on the basis of delivered costs over Australia, Russia and U.S. mines, despite producing similar quality coal. Indonesia is the largest coal exporter in the world. It produces lower energy coal that is very popular among Indian electric utilities, as it is less expensive than other grades. South Africa, which has little competition from Indonesia as a supplier, is preferred by India's producers of sponge iron, who are unable to obtain enough domestic coal because policy dictates power companies take priority. The additional coal consumption if sponge iron production increases by 20 million tonnes per year by 2030 is 24 million tonnes. South Africa is unable to meet the demand alone, but the exporters of the country will sell any volume they can due to the high demand. CEMENT HELPS India's cement manufacturers also depend on coal imported from other countries. They also expect their output to rise, going from 453 millions tons in fiscal year 2024-25 to around 480 in the current 12-month period. Although cement production is less energy-intensive than the production of sponge iron, up to 250kg of coal are required to produce a ton. The increase in cement production will result in a rise of several million tons per year for India's coal consumption. However, the domestic market will not be able meet the entire demand, so imports will again become a major factor. This demand is likely to spark a rise in coal prices. They dropped to four-year levels in the middle last year and have only modestly recovered since. China, Japan, South Korea and other developed economies in North Asia will play a major role. As Japan and South Korea reduce coal-fired electricity generation, and China continues its rapid rollout of renewables, it's likely the demand for high quality thermal coal will remain flat or?trending lower. Even if the seaborne price is relatively stable, South Africa’s exporters will still be able sell as much as they can given their relative advantage. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, who is also an author. (Editing by Christian Schmollinger).
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RPT-Angola wants to own 20%-30% of De Beers, a senior official has said
Angola wants to buy a 20-30% stake in Anglo American De Beers' diamond division. This proposal is currently being discussed with other African diamond producing nations, according to a senior official of the Angola mining ministry. Anglo has put De Beers up for sale amid the falling prices of diamonds and the rise of synthetic diamonds. Angola made a bid in October 2025 for a majority share in De Beers, although it originally sought a minor stake. Paulo Tanganha is the national director for mineral resources in Angola. He said at the African mining conference held in Cape Town that "taking the majority stake in luxury commodities can be very risky because it depends on market conditions." To de-risk this, we need to have a part of our economy that is sustainable. We are pleased with the range of between 20% and 30%. NEIGHBOURS TALK IN PRIVACY Angola’s bid for a majority share in De Beers has set up the country for a possible bidding war against Botswana. Botswana owns 15% in De Beers, and it has stated that it is working to acquire a majority interest in the company. Tanganha stated that discussions were ongoing behind closed doors between Botswana and Angola as well as Namibia and South Africa in order to find a consensus on the benefits each country could gain from owning De Beers. However, no agreement has yet been reached. "There's a saying that says: Together we are stronger. We are doing this. If my?neighbour suffers, then I too will suffer. We must fight as a united team, Tanganha said. Tanganha stated that the government of Angola would purchase De Beers shares from state-owned diamond mining company Endiama as well as its national diamond trading firm Sodiam. Tanganha has not disclosed how Angola will fund the acquisition of the De Beers stake but stated that the country has many sources for funding. Anglo announced on Thursday that it would be reviewing the value the De Beers diamonds after the production of rough diamonds for 2025 dropped. De Beers and Endiama's joint Angolan venture discovered a kimberlite group in the country last year. It was the first discovery of this kind in over 30 years, proving the promise that the vastly unexplored country holds geologically. Kimberlite, a rare type of rock where diamonds can be found, is the most common. (Written by Olivia Kumwenda Mtambo, edited by Helen Popper).
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MORNING Bid EUROPE - Japan markets welcome the chance to have a long-staying PM
Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The markets like it when there is a political event. Sanae Takaichi, Japan's first woman Prime Minister, blew the competition out of the water in the election. This sparked a rally of 4.5% in the Nikkei index to "all-time" highs. The index actually broke 55,000, 56, 000, and 57,000 in a single go. The LDP's best ever result was a resounding victory as it took 316 out of 465 seats at the lower house of parliament. Takaichi, together with its coalition partner Japan Innovation Party, controls 352 seats, a supermajority two-thirds. If Takaichi follows through on her election promises, this will open the door to more defence spending, tax reductions, corporate reform, and a reflationary strategy in general. Two-year JGB yields reached their highest level since 1996, at 1.3%. The yen was already sold in anticipation of victory. So the knee-jerk adjustment to the position helped the currency make a modest recovery. The dollar dropped around 0.3%, to 156.80yen. Meanwhile, the euro and Swiss Francs slid from their early record highs. In the longer term, Japan may have a leader and government that will last 'for more than one year or two, providing a period of welcome stability in a time when geopolitical changes are tearing at its foundations. The Mandelson scandal claimed another victim, and Prime Minister Starmer had to bid his chief adviser goodbye over the weekend. There is still no clarity on whether Starmer will be able to hold onto power or who would succeed him if the party were to remove him. This leaves gilts susceptible to periodic debt fears. The carnage of leveraged momentum play seems to have slowed down for the time being, with the price of silver rising another 3%, and Bitcoin remaining steady, if a little bit drunk. The payrolls report, retails sales and CPI are all expected to be released this week due to delays in U.S. data. This could be a first. Forecasts vary from a 10% drop to 135,000 jobs, due to statistical quirks and the birth-death models. Analysts assume that there will also be significant downward revisions in the payroll levels for last year. Markets are heavily pricing in a rate cut from the Fed for June, so any positive surprise would have a huge impact. Market developments on Monday that may have a significant impact ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks, as does board member Philip Lane. Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann is speaking - Fed speakers are governors Christopher Waller, Stephen Miran and Fed Bank of Atlanta president Raphael Bostic
Climate spending may push some nations to the brink of bankruptcy due to record debt costs
The IMF/World Bank's spring meetings will see emerging countries pay an unprecedented $400 billion in debt service this year. Nearly four dozen of these countries cannot afford to spend money on climate adaptation or sustainable development, without risking default, according to the report by Boston University.
The report of the Debt Relief for Green and Inclusive Recover Project (DRGR), found that 47 developing nations would reach the threshold of external debt insolvency, as defined by IMF in the next five year if they invest the necessary amount to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement Goals.
If they tried to raise this kind of funding, they would have been in such debt distress, they would be on the verge of default, given the current debt climate, said Kevin Gallagher. He is the director of Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center.
Another 19 developing countries do not have the financial resources to meet their spending targets, even though they are still below the default threshold.
The report recommended a restructuring of the global financial system, debt forgiveness for countries at risk and increased access to affordable credit and finance.
Gallagher, a reporter, said: "We must mobilize more money and lower the cost of capital to countries if we are to be able to do anything to address this."
The DRGR Project is collaboration between the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Heinrich-Boll-Stiftung, the Centre for Sustainable Finance, SOAS and the University of London.
The report also urges the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to change the way they calculate debt sustainability - arcane assessments that are vital to determining the amount of debt relief countries defaulted on receive.
If the IMF decides that a nation can manage a debt amount too high, they can put the nation in a situation where it cannot afford to pay the payments. This could push them back into default.
The Fund's analysis has been criticized by private creditors as being too pessimistic. This makes them politically charged and closely monitored.
The DRGR states that the IMF is reviewing the analyses for years and must include climate spending requirements as well as buffers against shocks, such a pandemics, economic crises or climate.
The report warns that "if the international community fails to act swiftly and uniformly in providing comprehensive debt relief, where necessary, alongside new liquidity and grants, and concessional financing for development, the costs of inaction would be exorbitant",
(source: Reuters)