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Document from the government shows that India is looking to attract copper mining companies with overseas connections.
India announced a number of measures to increase the production of copper, including encouraging foreign companies to establish smelters in India in exchange for investing in state-owned mining operations overseas. India, the second largest refined copper importer in the world, may need to import between 91% and 97% of its copper by 2047. According to the document, despite an estimated 12,2 million metric tonnes of copper resources, only 16% are classified as reserves. This highlights limited domestic availability. The government document stated that the growing demand for imports of concentrates requires diversification in supply and acquisitions of foreign assets. It also said this highlights the urgent need for strategic interventions to support the sector. The document stated that India will include a copper chapter in its ongoing talks on a free trade agreement with Chile and Peru, to ensure securing standardized quantities of copper concentrate. The document stated that "India's options for sourcing copper have been reduced due to the tightening of supplies from key exporters such as Indonesia and Panama." "Countries like Chile and Peru are committed to long-term relationships with global players such as Japan and China." India imported 1.2 millions metric tons (tonnes) of copper during the fiscal year ending March 2025. This is 4% more than a year ago. Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Hyderabad and Neha arora in New Delhi. Editing by Janane Vekatraman, Harikrishnan Nair.
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Financials are the top choice for foreign investors in June.
Data from depository institutions showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who have been buying Indian stocks for three consecutive months, continued to do so in June. Their top choices were financials and oil & gas stocks. FPIs poured 89.46 billion rupees ($1.05 billion) into financials in June - 61.3% of the month's total 145.90 billion-rupee inflows, aided by attractive valuations, a sharper-than-expected 50-basis-points interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India, and a 100 bps reduction in the cash reserve ratio. Since the beginning of the month, foreign funds have invested 456.57 bn rupees into the financial sector. This has fueled an 18% increase in the industry. After a large outflow of foreign investors in the first quarter of this year, they have now returned to Indian stocks. Saurabh PATHAK, Head-Investment Counsellor at PurnarthaPMS, said: "This sudden shift in stance is due primarily to improvements in the domestic fundamentals. "A favorable India-U.S. Trade Deal could boost FPI confidence significantly and encourage them to continue participating." India and U.S. negotiators have been racing to reach a deal before President Donald Trump’s deadline of July 9, 2017. Oil and gas stocks attracted inflows as well, particularly in late June when a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran brought down crude prices. The oil and gas index rose by 3.6% in the last month. The early monsoon, and the cooler temperatures than expected, slowed down demand. Also, consumer stocks worth 39.85 Billion Rupees have been sold. Kranthi Bathini is the director of equity strategy for Wealthmills Securities. She said that investors are waiting to see clear signs of an uptick in consumption. (One dollar = 85,3410 Indian rupees).
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Indonesian nickel miners ask government to keep mining quota for three years
The Indonesian nickel miners association APNI urged the Indonesian government on Friday to continue mining quotas for a period of three years, to maintain a consistent climate in business. The Mining Minister said on Wednesday that the government intends to reduce the duration of mining quotas (also known as RKABs) to one year in order to better control the supply and support the prices of commodities like coal and nickel. The resource-rich nation extended the validity of quotas to three years in order to reduce the burden on authorities and applicants. Companies are still able to make revisions to their respective quotas every year. APNI said on Friday that while it appreciated efforts to sustain mining, reducing quotas would create bottlenecks for the approval process because thousands of miners would have to apply for quotas each year. "The government must strengthen its internal evaluation and supervision capacity, rather than lengthening the bureaucratic chains with shorter licensing terms," APNI stated in a press release. It said that a medium-term plan is essential for planning and investment. Yuliot Tanjung, deputy mining minister, said on Friday that details of the changes are "still being formed" but declined further comment. He didn't comment on the request of the association. In a late-night statement, the ministry reiterated its plan to maintain price stability and mitigate the impact of price decreases on government revenues. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing; Additional reporting by Hongmei LI; Reporting by Fransiska Naangoy)
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Cadbury-parent Mondelez calls for delay to EU deforestation law
Cadbury chocolate maker Mondelez wants to delay the deforestation legislation of the European Union by one year, according to a senior executive. Massimiliano di Domenico is the vice president for corporate and government affairs in Europe. He said that while Massimiliano supports EU Deforestation Regulation, he urged policymakers not to ignore "on-the ground realities." Di Domenico spoke at the European Parliament and posted his comments later on LinkedIn. Nestle, Mars Wrigley and Ferrero supported the law by signing a joint document in July of last year. They also urged Brussels to give clearer guidance and assistance to help the companies meet the deadline for compliance. Companies and traders who import soy, beef and other products must prove that their supply chain does not contribute to deforestation. If they fail to do this, they will be fined. Di Domenico stated that the cocoa industry is "under enormous pressure" because of soaring prices and declining production in origin countries, as well as digital infrastructure gaps which could disrupt supply chains and affect compliance. Di Domenico wrote in his blog: "We respectfully, transparency and responsibly call for a one-year delay -- not to dilute our ambition but to allow practical, inclusive and effective implementation." After criticism from the industry, the EU has already postponed its launch for a year, to December 2025. (Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
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Dollar in a funk as Trump's deadline for tariffs looms
As the deadline for U.S. president Donald Trump to reach a trade deal looms next week, most Asian equity markets struggled and European stocks appeared set to open lower, despite Wall Street's overnight record highs. As traders weighed the implications of Trump's expected signing of a sweeping spending bill later that day, the dollar lost some of its gains from Thursday. U.S. S&P futures dipped by 0.3% after the cash index had risen overnight by 0.8% to a new closing high. Wall Street will be closed for Independence Day on Friday. The price of STOXX futures in Europe fell by 0.5%. Trump announced that Washington will begin sending letters on Friday to countries specifying the tariff rates they will be facing on exports into the United States. This is a significant shift from his earlier promises to reach scores of individual agreements before a deadline on July 9, when tariffs may rise dramatically. Tony Sycamore is an analyst with IG. He said that investors are "just waiting for July 9" and the lack of optimism in the market for trade agreements has contributed to some of the weakness of equity markets, especially those export-dependent Asia, such as Japan and South Korea. Sycamore stated that the jobs data on Thursday showed that "the U.S. Economy is holding up better than most people anticipated, which indicates to me markets can continue to do well" from here. Nikkei gained 0.1% at 0550 GMT, after trading in the early hours of the day saw gains and losses. South Korea's KOSPI fell 1.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4% while mainland Chinese blue-chips added 0.7%. Taiwan's equity benchmark lost early gains and fell 0.9%. Investors cheered Thursday's surprisingly robust employment report, sending all three major U.S. equity indices soaring in a short session. The House approved Trump's 869-page signature bill after the vote ended. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, this would add $3.4 trillion dollars to the $36.2 trillion national debt. TRADE IS THE KEY FOCUS FOR ASIA Trump announced that he expects "a couple" of more trade deals after signing a deal on Wednesday with Vietnam to add to the framework agreements with China, and Britain which are so far his only achievements. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, said this week that an agreement with India was close. The White House had once said that agreements with Japan and South Korea would be announced as soon as possible. However, it appears these deals have fallen through. In a note to clients, Kristina Cliftons, a Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist, stated that "high tariffs on large economies such as Europe and Japan will increase the narrative of'sell U.S.,' weighing down USD." The USD would be supported by news of trade agreements ahead of the deadline of 9 July against major currencies such as GBP, EUR, and JPY. The U.S. Dollar rose overnight by as much as 0.7% against a basket major counterparts after traders backed off any expectation of a Federal Reserve rate cut in this month. It finished Thursday with a 0.4% increase. The U.S. dollar gave up some of its gains on Friday. It fell 0.4% to 144.31 Japanese yen, and 0.3% to 0.7926 Swiss Franc. The euro rose 0.2%, to $1.1783, and the pound sterling rose 0.2%, to $1.3681. The U.S. Treasury Bond market is closed for the holiday on Friday, but the 10-year yields increased 4.7 basis points to 4.34% and the 2-year yield increased 9.3 bps at 3.882%. Gold rose 0.4% to $3.339 an ounce. Brent crude futures dropped 21 cents, to $68.59 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 11 cents, to $66.89. (Reporting and editing by Stephen Coates, Kim Coghill, and Kevin Buckland)
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ASIA GOLD - Demand for gold in Asian hubs is muted as prices rise, and Indian discounts are narrowed
The demand for gold in India has decreased due to lower imports. Indian dealers are offering a discount This week, the official domestic prices will be discounted by up to $14 per ounce, including 6% import duties and 3% sales taxes, compared to last week's up to $18 discount. A Mumbai-based dealer of gold bullion with a private banking firm said that despite a weak demand for jewellery, the low imports of gold in May and early June have led to lower discounts. The price of gold in India was around 97.100 rupees for 10 grams, after reaching a record high of 101.078 rupees a month ago. According to a bullion dealer in Kolkata, many jewellers offer discounts on the so-called "making charges", but retail demand remains low due to higher prices and a lean monsoon season. As of 0500 GMT, spot gold was trading at around $3340. In a July 1 note, HSBC stated that "the combination of sluggish growth, constrained real incomes, economic uncertainty and, most importantly, historically high prices will keep the demand for gold jewelry depressed in this year, and probably in 2026, as well." Dealers in China, the world's largest gold consumer, charged premiums ranging from $4.2 to $33 per ounce over global benchmark spot prices. This is a significant increase compared to last weeks premiums of $12 to $14. Hugo Pascal is a precious metals dealer at InProved. He said that the trading volume of the physical gold proxy contract, AU9999, traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange continued to indicate a sluggish market. He said that gold needs to be above $3,400 with a higher volume of sales and implied volatility in order to attract buyers. Hong Kong saw the price of gold rise from parity to $1.60 above market value While in Singapore Prices ranged from the par price to a premium of $2.50. In Japan, bullion Changed hands from a par to a dollar premium A Japan-based trader stated that if the U.S. and Japan trade deal does not end well for Japan, the yen could weaken, which would lead to the public considering purchasing gold. (Reporting from Anmol Choubey, Bengaluru; Rajendra Jadhav, Mumbai; editing by Mrigank Dahniwala).
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China vows to crackdown on price wars as iron ore gains for the second consecutive week
Iron ore futures prices continued to rise on Friday, and are headed for their second weekly gain in a row. This is due to an improved market mood after Chinese officials called for a reduction in aggressive price competition. The September contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the morning trading 1.03% higher, at 735.5 Yuan ($102.65). This week, the contract has gained 3,01%. As of 0345 GMT the benchmark August iron ore was $96.55 per ton on the Singapore Exchange. It was up 2.4% this week. The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission has called for more stringent measures to combat aggressive price cutting amongst companies. Analysts said that this has led to hopes for a second round in supply reforms, which could increase steel margins and mills' tolerance of price for ingredients. The upside potential was limited by signs of a softening in demand, in part because of environmental protection-related production controls in Tangshan (China's largest steel-producing hub). The average daily hot metal production, which is a measure of iron ore consumption, fell by 0.6% from the previous week to 2.41 million tonnes as of July 3. This was the lowest level since April 19. The dollar rose on Thursday, following a surprising robust report on jobs. Dollar-denominated investments become more expensive to holders of other currencies when the greenback is stronger. Coke and coking coal, the other steelmaking ingredients, traded in a sideways manner. All steel benchmarks at the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange all increased. ($1 = 7.1651 Chinese yuan). (Reporting and editing by Eileen Soreng; Lucas Liew)
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Australia commits $283m to Orica's green hydrogen project, as the industry is hesitant
Australia announced on Friday that it will invest A$432,000,000 ($283.82,000,000) in a project to produce green hydrogen, led by Orica. Orica is the largest explosives manufacturer in the world. The investment supports the industry's growth amid a recent wave of cancelled and delayed projects. The funding will be used to support the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub. This hub aims at decarbonising Orica's nearby explosives and ammonia manufacturing operations, and ultimately supplying green ammonia fuel for export. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said that the funding of the project on Australia's east coast would help secure the country's energy future. He also stated that green hydrogen is a key component to the government's net-zero goal. Bowen stated in a press release that the project would also reduce emissions at Orica's ammonia plant and produce green ammonia to be used domestically by mining, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors. The green hydrogen industry in Australia is now a step closer to success after a number of delays and withdrawals cast doubts on its viability. Plans to build a A$12,5 billion CQH2 plant in Queensland, Australia, collapsed on Sunday after the project's lead developer, State-owned energy company Stanwell, ceased its involvement. This was one of Australia's most ambitious and advanced projects. Orica's Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub was once a joint-venture with Origin Energy. Last year, the power producer pulled out, citing concerns about costs and the challenges in the green hydrogen industry. Orica stated that the government's support was "essential", in order to bridge the "commercial gap" of the project. The explosives manufacturer added that in recent months, it has received a lot of interest from potential partners and will work to reach a final decision on investment "in due time". Sanjeev gandhi, CEO of Orica said: "We are committed to helping our customers achieve their decarbonisation goals through low-carbon products and supporting Orica in its next phase of decarbonisation." The hub's first phase is expected to produce 12 tonnes of green hydrogen per day, using a 50-megawatt electrolyser powered with renewable energy. (1 Australian dollar = 1.5221 dollars) (Reporting and editing by Kate Mayberry in Sydney)
Eastern China is sweltering under an early heatwave that threatens crops and industry
On Friday, sweltering heat engulfed China's east coast as a high pressure system settled over its most populous area, baking agricultural and manufacturing hubs on the Yangtze River, and raising fears of potential economic losses.
Over the next week, large swathes in China's economic core are expected to reach temperatures between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius (99 and 102 Fahrenheit). Forecasters warn that temperatures in parts of Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Henan provinces could reach 40 C.
This year, the subtropical heat wave has come early.
The 'Sanfu Season,' an ancient agricultural mark in China that has been used for more than two millennia, usually begins mid-July. It lasts until late August. People seek shelter from the intense heat of summer.
Meteorologists have linked extreme heat to climate change. This has become a major problem for Chinese policymakers. In addition to scorching crops and eroding incomes from farms, higher temperatures also impact manufacturing hubs, disrupt operations in important port cities and strain the already overburdened health care systems.
Authorities in eastern and central China warned workers about the dangers and urged them to take precautions. Extreme heat and high humidity combined with commutes create a higher risk of heatstroke.
China experienced its worst heatwaves in 2022. Many parts of the country were subjected to a 79 day hot spell between mid-June and late August. China doesn't keep a count of heat-related deaths and neither did the Chinese government. However, domestic media sometimes report on fatalities that are attributed to local authorities.
A report in The Lancet from 2023 estimated that heat wave-related deaths in the second largest economy in the world would double to 50,900 in 2022.
The national meteorological center forecasts more torrential rainfall in parts of north and south-west China this weekend. Videos on Chinese social media show residents canoeing their way through the flooded streets of Chengdu. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast, Xiuhao Chan and Joe Cash.)
(source: Reuters)