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Trump Budget proposes closing Northeast Heating Oil Reserve
The budget of President Donald Trump proposes that the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve be closed as soon as a few weeks. This reserve, which contains 1 million barrels and was created to protect consumers, stores diesel. The reserve created by the former president Bill Clinton in 2000 is enough to heat homes for approximately 10 days. The reserve hasn't been used since 2012 when emergency responders were provided with fuel in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. According to the proposal, proceeds from the sale of ultra-low sulfur fuel in fiscal year 2020 would be used for deficit reduction. The proposal said that at current prices the proceeds from a sale of ultra-low sulfur diesel would amount to $86 million. However, closing the plant could reduce maintenance costs. The U.S. Budget proposals outline an administration's policy, but what legislators ultimately adopt can differ from the White House requests. Former President Joe Biden had proposed to increase the reserve in November 2022 as a way to protect against inflation and spikes in heating oil costs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This plan was never implemented, but it would have funded the purchase of the reserve with revenue from the sale of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (the world's largest stockpile for emergency crude oil). The Department of Energy didn't immediately respond to an inquiry about the proposed closure of the heating oil reserves. (Reporting and editing by Timothy Gardner)
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Mali court adjourns the hearing on whether Barrick's Gold Mines should be placed under provisional management
The registry office of a Malian court and one of the lawyers concerned told reporters on Monday that the hearing to determine whether Barrick Mining's Loulo-Gounkoto Gold Complex should be placed under temporary administration has been adjourned until Thursday. If granted, this would be a significant escalation in the dispute between the West African nation and the Canadian miner. Operations at the complex had been suspended in January due to a disagreement over taxes and ownership. Barrick Mining (formerly Barrick Gold) and Mali’s military-led Government have been at odds over the implementation of the new mining code since 2023. The code raises taxes, while giving Mali’s government a larger share of the gold mines. The government seized 3 metric tonnes of gold in January, accusing Barrick of failing to meet its tax obligations. Barrick's exports of gold had been blocked by the government since early November. Barrick says it will only restart operations once the Malian government lifts its restrictions on gold exports. The gold price has risen by 28.5% this year, after gaining 27% last year. On April 22, the market reached a new record of $3,500.05 an ounce. Mali, as a shareholder of the complex, asked last month the Bamako Commercial Court for a temporary administrator to run the mines while negotiations continued between the two parties. Two people familiar with the matter said that the main sticking point in negotiations is Mali's request that Barrick move to the 2023 Mining Code. Under the new mining laws, the government has renegotiated contracts with other multinational miner companies. Four Barrick employees were detained in November 2024, and an arrest warrant for the Chief Executive Mark Bristow was issued in December 2024. Barrick has publicly denied the allegations against its employees without specifying exactly what they are. A court document reviewed revealed that they included money laundering and funding of terrorism. (Additional reporting by Divyarajagopal, Toronto; Editing and proofreading by Bernadettebaum)
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Goldman Sachs raises its second-half 2025 aluminum forecast to $2.280/t
Goldman Sachs raised its forecast of aluminium prices for the second half 2025 from $140 per metric tonne to $2,280, citing smaller than expected surpluses on the market. However, they expect prices to fall in early 2026. The bank stated that the impact of trade wars on global activity was less than expected. This led it to increase its global aluminium growth forecast for 2025 from 1.1% to 1.8%. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on Friday that he would increase import tariffs from 25% to 50%. Around half of the aluminium used for packaging, construction and transport in the United States is imported. As of 1421 GMT, the benchmark three-month aluminum on London Metal Exchange had increased by 0.8% to $2,463 per ton. Goldman Sachs predicts that aluminium prices will fall to a minimum of $2,100 a ton by early 2026. It forecasts that prices will average $2230 in 2026, and $2,500 by 2027. This is down from previous estimates of $2540 and $2800. Goldman Sachs has announced that three 0.5 MTPA smelters are expected to be operational in Indonesia by mid-2026. This is earlier than originally anticipated. The company expects a stronger production will result in the biggest surplus since 2020, a surplus of 1 million tons in 2026. The bank stated that "Cost deflation" will also put downward pressure on the price of aluminium through 2026 as the alumina and the energy prices continue to be weak and limit the sustained rise in aluminium prices. The bank's 2026 forecast was maintained, but its 2027 projection was lowered to reflect a slower growth of solar installations in China following recent policy adjustments. (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru. (Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Potter).
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The US construction sector's spending fell in April due to a decline in single-family housing.
The U.S. Construction spending fell unexpectedly in April. This was due to a decrease in expenditures on single-family projects, as well as higher borrowing costs. Census Bureau of the Commerce Department reported on Monday that construction expenditures dropped by 0.4% following a 0.8% decrease in March, which had been downwardly revised. The economists polled had predicted that construction spending would rebound by 0.3% following a previous 0.5% decline reported in March. In April, spending decreased by 0.5% on an annual basis. Spending on private construction fell by 0.7%. Residential construction investment fell by 0.9%. Outlays for new single-family homes declined by 1.1%. The economic uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies, such as the recent doubled of steel and aluminium duties from 25% to 50%, is also limiting home construction. The new housing stock is at levels not seen since 2007, and the supply of pre-owned homes is at its highest level in over four years. This leaves builders with little room to start building. In April, the expenditure on multi-family housing decreased by 0.1%. Investments in non-residential private structures such as offices and factories decreased by 0.5%. Spending on public construction projects increased by 0.4%. Spending by state and local governments increased 0.3% while federal spending jumped 2.7%. Lucia Mutikani, reporting; Andrea Ricci, editing
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Britain faces race to avoid $1 Billion in EU Carbon Tax Costs
Market experts say that Britain will have a difficult time linking its carbon market with the EU's within the next seven months to avoid UK companies being charged the carbon border tariff by the EU and facing annual bills of around 800 million pounds ($1.08billion) for the UK. As part of "a reset" of relations following Britain's exit from the European Union in 2016, the two sides announced that they would link their carbon emission trading systems by the year end. The two sides have not set a deadline or described the steps that need to be taken before January when Europe's border tax on carbon kicks in. It will probably take several years for the linkage to become effective. Ben Lee, senior emission analyst at Energy Aspects, said that the earliest date is 2028. However, it's likely to be 2030 or 2029. The UK government stated that a major benefit of joining the EU carbon market (or emissions trading system, ETS) is the ability to avoid being charged by the EU carbon border tariff, which will be implemented next year. This fee will be imposed on CO2 emissions associated to imports of goods such as steel, cement, and others. The UK government claimed that avoiding these costs could save them 800 million pounds a year. EU officials claim that in order to be exempted of the border tax, Britain must link its carbon market with the EU. Yan Qin, ClearBlue's carbon analyst, said that a full linkage would take several years due to the technical complexity of the process. He added that an optimistic scenario could lead to the link being formed in 2027. A British government spokesperson said that the British government will try to reach an agreement on a carbon market connection as soon as possible. They said that they would not be providing a constant commentary on the negotiations. TECHNICAL HURDLES For the UK to make this link, it must adjust its national rules on carbon trading permits. It also needs to bring its emission permit auctions into line with EU regulations and change the national cap for how much carbon can be emitted by companies that are covered by the market. Not only that. EU and UK schemes have not aligned yet on the number of free CO2 permits that they offer industries. The EU carbon market also has a "reserve", which can add or remove permits to the market in order to stabilize prices. The EU scheme lacks the "reserve" that Britain has, but it does have a mechanism to control costs and set a price ceiling. Ingvild Sörhus, senior analyst at Veyt, said that resolving the issue of an adjustment mechanism for supply will be one of many technical calibrations needed before the two systems are linked. Many businesses claim that these problems are easily resolved. Alistair McGirr is the Head of Policy and Advocacy for British energy company SSE. He said that with the right political will an ETS linking accord between the EU and UK can be signed in 6 months and operational by the year 2028. Energy UK, an industry group, said that linkage negotiations might be concluded within a year. However the UK should request a waiver from the EU border carbon tax until the link has been sealed in the event the talks drag on into 2026. "It's not a matter of major political roadblocks but rather of primarily technical processes... Adam Berman, Energy UK's Policy Director, said that the problems were not small, but not insurmountable. The UK is planning to introduce its own carbon-border tariff in 2027, a year after the UK. Brussels might be less in a hurry. Britain's carbon markets are less than one tenth the size of those in the EU, so any link would give British businesses access to a more liquid market. Although EU officials claim that the EU wants to extend carbon pricing to as many countries as is possible, in order to ensure they all put a price tag on greenhouse gas emission. The companies also claim that the move will reduce costs and avoid competitive distortions for EU and UK consumers. Pascal Canfin is a French member of the European Parliament who said that the benefits for Britain are more evident than those for the EU. Canfin said that the EU was motivated by a "political move". "The UK used to be part of [the EU] ETS." It's not a big deal. $1 = 0.7387 pounds (Reporting and editing by David Evans, Susanna Twiddale)
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Australia's Ioneer quadruples lithium reserves at Nevada project
Ioneer, a critical minerals miner based in Australia, announced on Monday that the ore reserves of its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium Boron Project have grown four-fold. Nearly half the mineral resource has been converted into reserves. According to the company, ore reserves have quadrupled from 60 million tonnes to 246,6 million tonnes by 2020. Ioneer said that the reserve contains 1,92 million tonnes equivalent lithium carbonate and 7,68 million tonnes equivalent boric acid, making it one of the largest lithium-boron reserves in existence. It allows Ioneer the flexibility to blend or prioritize ore in order to produce boric acid, which is a valuable co-product whose market has no correlation with that of the primary lithium product. This was stated by Bernard Rowe, Ioneer's Managing Director. Due to an oversupply of lithium, the price has fallen by more than 80% since its peak in November 2022. This has forced companies to shut down mines and postpone projects. Ioneer will prioritize high-boron ores in the first 25 production years, when lithium prices are low, to maximize revenues from boric acids sales. The upgrading of ore reserves follows months after Sibanye Stillwater announced it would not invest in the Lithium project due to the plummeting price of the rare metal. As part of its diversification in battery metals, Sibanye agreed to establish the joint venture between Ioneer and Sibanye by 2021. Ioneer estimates that the total capital cost to complete the project will be $1.67billion. (Reporting and editing by Shreya biswas in Bengaluru, Pooja menon from Bengaluru)
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EU advisors warn against lowering new climate goal
Independent advisers to the European Union have warned against softening 2040's climate target, while EU officials are considering a softer goal to limit a backlash to ambitious environmental policies. In July, the European Commission will propose a legally-binding target for EU countries to reduce their emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. Brussels, however, is considering options to overcome the pushback of governments. These include setting a lower goal for domestic industries and using international credits to bring up the gap. The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, or ESABCC, warned against this strategy, saying that it could divert funds from investments into European industries and infrastructure. In an analysis of 2040's target published on Monday, the ESABCC stated that using international carbon credits, even partially, would undermine the creation of domestic value by diverting resources away from the transformation needed in the EU economy. The Commission's spokesperson did not respond directly to the advisors' caution about carbon credits. The spokesperson stated that "the Advisory Board is faithful to its mission to provide scientific advice with full independence and reminds us in today's report of the urgent need for ambitious climate action as well as the importance of setting a target of 2040 emission reduction," Carbon credits are a way for EU countries to buy credits from projects abroad that reduce CO2 emission - such as forest restoration in Brazil. These credits can then be used towards the EU's goal. These credits, say their supporters, are an important way to raise money for projects that reduce CO2 emissions in developing countries. Some EU officials remain cautious. In 2013, the EU banned international credits on its carbon market after an influx of cheap credits that had weak environmental benefits led to a crash in carbon prices. ESABCC, despite geopolitical headwinds such as looming U.S. Tariffs and high energy costs, said that it would stick to its 2023 recommendation, which was for the EU to agree to a net reduction of 90-95% in greenhouse gas emission by 2040. This, they said, is achievable, and in line to global goals in order to avoid worse climate change. It would be necessary to have a power sector that is almost entirely free of emissions by 2040, and electrify industries that pollute. They said that this would have many benefits, including fewer pollution-related illnesses, a boost in investments for modernising industries, and improved security, as Europe would be less dependent on fossil fuel imports. (Reporting and editing by Kirsten Doovan and Hugh Lawson).
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Russian seaborne diesel exports rise in May, data shows
According to LSEG and market sources, the increase in fuel production led to a rise in Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports during May. Calculations based on data from the industry suggest that Russia's idled diesel production capacity is expected to be down 8.1% in May compared to April, to 1.6 millions metric tons, or 52,700 tonnes per day (around 392 088 barrels per day). The increase in fuel production and exports is a result of the lower idle production. Calculations based on data from LSEG, and other market sources, showed that diesel and gasoil exported from Russian ports in May rose to approximately 3.7 million metric tonnes, an increase of 7% compared to April. Shipping data shows that in May, the two main importers of Russian gasoil and diesel were Turkey and Brazil. Last month, the Russian ports exported 1.3 million tonnes of diesel and gasoil to Turkey, an increase of 15% over April. However, loadings to Brazil dropped by 14%, from 0.7 to 0.63 millions tons. Shipping data revealed that Russia's diesel and gasoil imports from Africa in May increased by 7% compared to the previous month, totaling about 0.83 millions tons. Ghana, Tunisia and Senegal were among the top four African importers. According to LSEG, a total of 0.35 million tonnes of diesel and gasoline from Russian ports is waiting for discharge on ships-to-ship transfers in the vicinity of Limassol. Shipping data showed that ships loaded with diesel in Russian ports in May, about 230,000 tonnes, had their destinations marked "for orders", which means their discharge points were either not known or not declared. Mark Potter, Mark Potter (Reporting in Moscow)
South African Health Agency calls for phase-out of coal-fired electricity stations
A South African government agency that is influential recommended Thursday that the country phase out its coal-fired energy stations. It published a study over ten years which showed people who lived near these power plants were 6% more susceptible to dying than those living elsewhere.
South African officials, as well as citizens, are arguing over how quickly the country should implement a programme partly funded by donors to move away from coal and towards solar and wind power. The fossil fuel is responsible for three-quarters of the country's power, and 90,000 jobs are supported by it.
The South African Medical Research Council and the Department for International Development of Britain (DFID), in a report, collected and compared nearly 3 million death records from 1997-2018.
The study found that communities near power plants had higher rates of birth defects, and deaths among all age groups -- particularly from heart and lung diseases.
Caradee Wright, co-author of the report in Pretoria, said: "Some recommendations include... the decommissioning of power stations."
She said, "We know... it won't happen right away." "But... (coal-fired energy) has such a negative effect on human health."
Wright called for a more strict enforcement of the harmful emission limits in South Africa’s coal belt. The region is home to 3.6 million people.
Eskom, the state-owned power company, and Sasol, the coal-to liquid fuel producer, are often exempted from these limits by the African National Congress, which is divided on the future of coal-fired plants in the country.
(source: Reuters)