Latest News
-
Shanghai copper falls on US-China trade concerns; weak dollar limits decline
Shanghai copper fell Friday, as investors continued to focus on the risks of trade tensions. However, a weaker U.S. Dollar and rising expectations for another Federal Reserve rate reduction limited losses. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract closed the daytime trade down 0.76%, at 84 390 yuan per metric ton ($11 841.88). The week-end decline was 2.52%. As of 0730 GMT the benchmark three-month price for copper at the London Metal Exchange had fallen 1.38% to $10,500.5 per ton and was heading towards a weekly loss of 0.18%. Market participants continue to be cautious as they closely monitor trade developments between China, the United States and other countries as a high stakes meeting is near. China blamed Thursday the U.S. of stoking global panic about its rare earth export controls. The U.S. official's comments on Wednesday that China's export of rare earths is a global threat, and that it could decouple, led to the accusation. Beijing claimed that the U.S. "seriously misrepresented" China's actions and intentionally stoked unnecessary confusion and panic. The weaker dollar helped copper, but the rising odds of more Fed policy ease this year also contributed. The soft dollar makes commodities that are traded in greenbacks cheaper for investors who use other currencies. Fed Governor Christopher Waller announced on Thursday that he would be on board with another rate reduction later this month. Citing weak labour market statistics, his colleague Stephen Miran called on a more aggressive path of rate cuts. Other base metals in the SHFE fell by 0.12%. Zinc dropped by 0.62%. Lead was down 0.23%. Tin rose 0.26%. Nickel was up 0.2%. Aluminium was down by 0.7% on the LME, zinc fell by 1.29%, Nickel dropped 0.83%, Tin declined 1.19% and Lead posted a 0.38% gain.
-
The weekly iron ore loss is set to rise on the back of renewed US-China tensions and rising supply
Iron ore futures are headed for a loss of 1% per week, as concerns about the demand outlook are exacerbated by the U.S.-China tensions. This coincides with the prospect of a rising ore supply in the rest of the year. The contract for January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the daytime trading 0.19% lower, at 771 Yuan ($108.19), pushing the weekly decline to 3.1%. As of 0755 GMT, the benchmark November iron ore price on Singapore Exchange was $0.65% lower. So far, it has declined by 2%. The price of key steelmaking ingredients was supported by the strong demand from China, the top consumer. This helped to limit further declines on Friday. Mysteel data showed that the average daily hot metal production was 2.41 million tonnes in the week ending October 16. This level indicates a steady ore supply despite a small drop of 0.2% from week to week. Trade frictions between the United States, China and other countries have re-ignited concerns about China's ability to achieve its economic growth goal of 5%. U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened to end some trade relations with China and slap additional 100% tariffs upon imports after Beijing expanded export restrictions last week on rare earths, which are essential for electric vehicles and the defense sector. The expectation of increased supply in the fourth-quarter added pressure to ore prices. Rio Tinto, the world's biggest iron ore supplier, said Tuesday that it must finish strong in order to reach its target for iron ore shipments. Analysts said that other steelmaking ingredients such as coking coal, coke, and others gained 1,46 and 1,64 percent, respectively, due to supply restrictions caused by safety checks. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have been moving sideways. Rebar was little altered, while hot-rolled coils dropped 0.16%. Wire rod climbed 0.72%, and stainless steel rose 0.68%. $1 = 7.1262 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair; Amy Lv, Colleen Howe)
-
SIG, a British construction company, reports a slowdown in sales
SIG, a British building materials company, said on Friday that the demand for construction materials in Europe remained tepid in the third-quarter, and showed no signs of improvement. As with Travis Perkins and Ibstock, the company has also been hampered by cautious customers who have backed off on projects because of rising costs. SIG of Sheffield, which operates across six European key markets: UK, France Germany Ireland Poland and Benelux said that demand was below historical levels in all markets. European construction is stuck in a cycle and the recovery has taken longer than expected. SIG reported that overall like-forlike sales, which is a measure of revenue from ongoing operations excluding acquisitions or closures, were 664 million pounds (893.81 million). The full-year profit forecast was also unchanged and remained at 31.6 million pounds. SIG's UK revenue grew by 1% during the period due to a strong performance from its interiors division. Ireland and Germany saw the biggest declines, with 11% apiece.
-
Gold gains above $4,300/oz for the best week since 17
Gold reached a new record high of $4,300 per ounce on Friday, and was set to have its best week since over 17 years. Investors were drawn to gold by signs of weakness among regional U.S. banks, global trade frictions and a firming bet for rate cuts. As of 0615 GMT spot gold was up 0.8% at $4,359.31 an ounce after reaching a record high earlier of $4,378.69. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery jumped 1.6% at $4,372.10. Bullion is on track to have its best week ever since September 2008. Each session has seen a record-high price. Silver spot rose by 0.1%, to $54.26 an ounce. This represents a weekly gain of 8%. Prices reached a new record high earlier in the session of $54.35 as they tracked the rally in spot gold and a squeeze on the short market. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst, said that the $4,500 target for gold could be reached sooner than expected. However, it will depend on how long the concerns over U.S. China trade and the shutdown of the federal government continue to linger. China has accused the U.S. again of creating panic with its controls on rare earths, but it rejects calls to reverse the export restrictions. Christopher Waller, the U.S. Federal Reserve governor, has also expressed support for a further rate cut in response to concerns about the labour market. Investors expect a reduction of 25 basis points at the Fed meeting on October 29-30 and another in December. Wall Street also closed lower Thursday. Signs of weakness among regional banks have frightened investors who were already jittery over the U.S.-China tensions. Waterer stated that "the resurgence of regional bank credit concerns in the United States has given traders another reason to purchase gold." The non-yielding gold, which does well in low-interest rate environments, has gained over 65% in the past year, thanks to geopolitical tensions and aggressive bets on rate cuts, central bank purchases, dedollarisation, and strong exchange-traded fund inflows. On Thursday, U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to hold another summit about the war in Ukraine. The West continued to pressurize Russia on its oil sales. Britain even imposed sanctions against major Russian oil companies. Palladium dropped 0.2%, to $1,611.24. Platinum declined 0.7%, to $1699.45. Both metals are headed for weekly gains. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi Soreng, Subhranshu Saghu, and Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru)
-
Sources say that Indian refiners rarely purchase Guyanese grades
Sources in the trade said that two Indian refiners bought 4,000,000 barrels of Guyanese oil from Exxon Mobil, a U.S.-based major, to be delivered by the end of 2025, or early 2026. This is a rare import from the South American producer. Indian Oil Corp., the largest refiner in the country by capacity, purchased 2 million barrels (or a grade of crude oil called Golden Arrowhead) for its first purchase. The shipment will arrive late December or early January. Sources said that Hindustan Petroleum Corp., another refiner, had purchased Liza and Unity Gold for the first time. 2 million barrels are due to be delivered during the same period. India diversifies its crude supply by experimenting with new grades of crude oil from South America, where production is increasing. Addition of crude sources will also assist refiners in replacing some Russian oil imports. The U.S. has urged New Delhi to stop purchasing Russian crude in order to end the conflict in Ukraine. Guyana has increased its exports after the fourth floating production facility of a consortium led Exxon reached 770,000 barrels per daily (bpd). Data from Kpler, an analytics firm, showed that the country's crude oil exports hit a record high of 938, 000 bpd last month, since July, when it began exporting GAH, its latest grade. Reporting by Nidhi in New Delhi, and Florence Tan in Singapore. Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jamie Freed and Clarence Fernandez.
-
Huayou will begin production of lithium sulphate in Zimbabwe by early 2026
The company announced on Thursday that Zhejiang Cobalt, a Chinese company, will begin producing lithium sulphate in the first quarter 2026 at its $400 million plant located in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is pushing for more local processing. A senior executive told a group of journalists that the newly-completed plant at Huayou’s Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe’s Arcadia Mine has a capacity of more than 50,000 metric tonnes of lithium sulphate per year. Lithium Sulphate is a product intermediate that can be refined to a battery grade material, such as lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. Henry Zhu, general manager of Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, told reporters that the company would begin production at the start of next year. Zhu continued, "The amount of lithium sulphate will be greater than 60,000 tons. However, it depends on the configuration of this plant because it's brand-new." Zimbabwe, Africa's largest lithium producer, has encouraged miners to process this mineral in Zimbabwe to help boost its economy. Huayou acquired Arcadia Lithium Mine for $422 Million in 2022. In 2023, Huayou commissioned a 300 million dollar lithium concentrator. Sinomine, Chengxin Lithium Group and Yahua Group are among the Chinese companies that dominate Zimbabwe's mining of lithium. They produce concentrates, which they then ship back to China. Huayou export 400,000 tons lithium concentrate to Zimbabwe by 2024 In order to encourage more local processing, the country in southern Africa will ban exports of lithium concentrates by 2027. Sinomine announced plans to build an $500 million lithium-sulphate facility at its Bikita Mine in Zimbabwe. (Reporting and editing by Nelson Banya, Lincoln Feast, and Chris Takudzwa Muronzi.
-
Gold rallies above $4,300/oz for the best week since 17
The price of gold reached a new record high on Friday, surpassing $4,300 per ounce. Investors were pushed to the metal as signs that regional U.S. banks are struggling, trade tensions around the world, and hopes for further rate cuts pushed them. As of 0439 GMT spot gold was up 0.9% at $4,362.39 an ounce after reaching a record high earlier of $4,378.69. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery jumped 1.7% at $4,375.50. Bullion is on track to have its best week ever since September 2008. Each session has seen a record-high price. Silver spot rose by 0.3%, to $54.41 an ounce. This represents an 8.2% increase in the weekly price. Prices reached a new record high earlier in the session of $54.35, following the rally in spot gold and a squeeze on the short market. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst, said that the $4,500 target for gold could be reached sooner than expected. However, it will depend on how long the concerns over U.S. China trade and the shutdown of the federal government continue to linger. China has accused the U.S. again of creating panic with its controls on rare earths, but it rejects calls to reverse the export restrictions. Christopher Waller, the U.S. Federal Reserve governor, has also expressed support for a further rate cut in response to concerns about the labour market. Investors expect a reduction of 25 basis points at the Fed meeting on October 29-30 and another in December. Wall Street also closed lower Thursday. Signs of weakness among regional banks have frightened investors who were already nervous about the U.S.-China tensions. Waterer stated that "the resurgence of regional bank credit concerns in the United States has given traders another reason to purchase gold." The non-yielding gold, which does well in low-interest rate environments, has gained over 66% in the past year, mainly due to geopolitical tensions and aggressive bets on rate cuts, central bank purchases, dedollarisation, and strong exchange-traded fund inflows. On Thursday, U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to hold another summit about the war in Ukraine. The West continued to pressurize Russia on its oil sales. Britain even imposed sanctions against major Russian oil companies. Palladium increased 0.3%, to $1 618.95, while platinum fell by 0.4%, to $1 706.45. Both metals are headed for weekly gains. (Reporting and editing by Rashmia Aich, Subhranshu Saghu and Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru).
-
Reliance's IT counter-pressure helps India's Nifty reach a one-year high
India's equity benchmarks reversed their early losses on Friday. The Nifty 50 reached a new high of one year, with gains from Reliance Industries before its results, outweighing losses by Infosys, and Wipro. Both companies fell due to margin concerns, despite strong earnings. As of 10:36 am IST, the Nifty 50 index rose by 0.42%, to 25,693.3. This is its highest level since October 1, 2024. The BSE Sensex also increased by 0.50%, to 83887.58. Both indexes dropped about 0.2% when they opened. The benchmarks reached a three-month high on Thursday and are now less than 3% off their record peak in September 2024. Two analysts said that the markets are experiencing a bullish consolidate following a recent rally and before the results from ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank this Saturday, as well as Reliance Post Market on Friday. Reliance Bank and ICICI Bank both rose by 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively. HDFC Bank gained by 0.4%. VK Vijayakumar is the chief investment strategist of Geojit Investments. He said that "good results from HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Reliance can support the markets and if Reliance joins in the rally after its results, then the market can continue to sustain the momentum." Ten of the sixteen major sectors posted gains. Small-caps gained 0.2% while mid-caps lost 0.1%. Analysts raised concerns over margin pressures resulting from recent acquisitions and deal ramp-ups, causing the IT sub-index to drop by 1.3%. Wipro fell 4.5%, despite exceeding second-quarter revenue expectations. Infosys, which reported strong results for the September quarter, also fell 1.8%. CLSA said that the company's revenue forecast for fiscal 2026 of 2% to 3% was too conservative. Asian Paints, a major paintmaker's input, rose by 5% among individual stocks. This was aided by the drop in oil costs, which is a significant factor. Nestle India rose 1.2% after rising 4.5% Thursday, following the release of a report on sales and volume growth for the third quarter. Zee Entertainment dropped 3% following a dramatic drop in its second-quarter profits. (Bharath Rajeswaran, Bengaluru. Sumana Niandy, editing)
US climate change pullback threatens planned Debt-for-Nature deals
The debt agreements worth billions of dollars that were designed to protect ecosystems in Africa and Latin America could unravel or need to be reworked amid fears of the U.S. backing drying up under Donald Trump.
Debt-for nature swaps have become more popular in recent years. Deals involving the Galapagos Islands and coral reefs as well as the Amazon rainforest are among the most notable.
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has played a major role in the swapping of debt, with nearly 90% of the $6 billion being covered by the DFC.
Sources with direct knowledge said that the DFC has about five swaps on the way. These are now being questioned by the CEO-in-waiting Ben Black, and the U.S. Government efficiency chief Elon Musk.
Source did not specify the amount of debt covered by swaps, but noted that the last DFC-backed transactions involved more than $1 billion per deal.
Requests for comments on the future involvement of the DFC in such deals were not responded to by the White House or the DFC spokespersons.
Unnamed DFC officials confirmed that they stepped down as co-chairs of the global task force established in 2023 for expanding the use of debt exchanges.
Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, has also criticized multilateral lenders who are working on climate change issues. This comes amid a wider retreat by the U.S. that has seen them withdraw from Paris Agreement in order to reduce global warming.
Four sources who have worked directly on the projects say that Angola, Zambia and one Latin American nation are among those countries whose debt-for-nature swap plans may need to be reworked and even abandoned because of uncertainty surrounding DFC.
Vera Daves de Sousa, Angola's Finance Minister, said that her country has been in talks with the DFC regarding two possible swaps. Her country is among the most indebted countries in Africa, and its rivers are vital to the Okavango Basin, which supports endangered elephants and Lions.
One is a debt-for-nature deal, the other a broader 'debt-for-development' swap tied to education and young people.
De Sousa said recently that he felt "openness" from DFC, especially in relation to the debt-for development swap.
She added, "We respect their view." "For us, there's no difference. We have opportunities both on the development and nature sides."
Things have also changed in Zambia. Late last year, the country was considering a trade involving its large national parks, which are home to more than 40% of Africa's Elephants.
Situmbeko Musokotwane, the Finance Minister of South Africa, said that although the swap was not entirely shut down at the moment, the country did not intend to actively pursue it.
NEW REALITY
Smaller nations that are struggling with debt and climate change can generate money by exchanging expensive government bonds for less expensive ones.
According to the UK-based non-profit International Institute for Environment and Development, the 49 world's poorest countries most at risk of a debt crisis could exchange a quarter the $430 billion in debt they currently owe.
Sebastian Espinosa of White Advisory, managing director, has advised Barbados and Belize on swaps.
These could include credit guarantee from multilateral development bank, along with private sector insurers, and guarantors. The Bahamas pioneered this last year.
In the past, DFC support has been critical in scaling up deals. It offers up to $1 billion of political risk insurance. This protects the people who purchase the lower-cost bonds in the event that the governments fail to pay.
"Who will step up?" Eva Mayerhofer, at the European Investment Bank who backed a Barbados swap in 2023 said: "I don't know (to replace DFC)." "We won't have the ability to convert debts so regularly."
The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), which has been involved in five out of nine of the debt-for-nature swaps over the past decade, often alongside the DFC, declined to comment on the impact of these swaps on its plans.
Stephen Liberatore of Nuveen, a leading investor in debt swaps, says that while it is possible to find substitutes for DFC, its knock-on effect has yet to be determined.
What is the cost of a private entity providing risk insurance compared to a public entity such as the DFC? Liberatore stated. "Does this change the amount saved?" The money is then used to conserve. "That is the ultimate question."
(source: Reuters)