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VCI, the German chemical lobby, predicts that there will be no recovery in the sector before 2026
Germany's chemical industry lobby VCI does not expect a sector upswing before 2026, even though the rapid downtrend the chemical-pharmaceutical industry has seen in recent years seems to be over, it said on Thursday. VCI reported that the chemical industry, including pharmaceuticals, recorded sales of 107.6 billion euros ($124.66 billion) during the first half 2025. This was down 0.5% compared to a year ago, due to lower output in industry as companies announced plant closures and layoffs. The situation is still tense. "Our industry has produced about 15 percent less in the first half of the year than it did in 2018, the year before the crisis," Markus Steilemann said in a Covestro press release. Chemical association reported that the industry saw a 1% decline in production while prices for producers remained unchanged. Third-largest industrial sector of Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, can be viewed as a bellwether. It produces materials components that are used across various industries ranging from agriculture and textiles to automotive and construction. Germany's BASF Covestro, and Brenntag have recently lowered their forecasts for the year, citing persistent economic weakness in the world, low demand, and U.S. Tariffs. There are no signs that a recovery is imminent. Steilemann stated that "the business location Germany is too expensive when compared to other countries." He blamed this on the excessive bureaucracy and non-competitive prices of energy, as well as high taxes, labor costs, and raw material prices. In order to overcome these challenges, Germany has implemented a number of fiscal measures in order to stimulate the slowing economy. These include a 500 billion Euro infrastructure fund, launched in March, and a 46 Billion Euro tax relief package, approved in June, to support businesses until 2029. Anna Wolf, an industry expert from the Ifo Institute of Economic Research, says that the German business community is most excited about the new infrastructure fund, and the electricity tax reductions for industry. $1 = 0.8626 Euros (Reporting and editing by Anastasiia Kozova and Isabel Demetz)
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Couche-Tard withdraws its $46 billion bid to buy Japan's Seven & i
Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian retailer, withdrew a $46 billion takeover bid for Japan's Seven & i Holdings. It blamed the lack of constructive engagement on the part of Japanese retailer. The 7-Eleven operator's "konbini stores" would have been the largest foreign acquisition of a Japanese firm. This is the timeline for the bid: AUGUST 19, 2020 Couche-Tard says that it has contacted Seven & i regarding a possible takeover. Both companies do not disclose the value of their offer. Seven & i shares surged almost 23%, to 2161 yen, valuing it at approximately 5.6 trillion yen (about 38 billion dollars). SEPTEMBER 6, 2020 Seven & i rejected Couche-Tard’s offer of $14.86, valuing the business at $38.5 billion. SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2024 Seven & i is classified as "core" by the Japanese finance ministry, leading to speculation that it could be protected from a takeover. The 9th of October 2024 Sources say that Couche-Tard has increased its bid for Seven & i to $47 billion. This is a 22% increase. 10 OCTOBER 2024 Seven & i reveals a plan for separating underperforming businesses and focusing on convenience stores. It also assesses Couche-Tard’s revised offer. 16 OCTOBER 2024 Artisan Partners, a U.S.-based fund, urges the Seven & i Board to allow Couche-Tard to conduct due diligence and negotiate a purchase price. They call the Japanese retailer’s restructuring plan “too little, late”. NOVEMBER 13TH, 2024 Seven & i has announced that a member of the founding Ito family made a white knight bid for $58 billion. NOVEMBER 14TH, 2024 Artisan Partners encourages the company to use a competitive bid process to ensure that it receives the best offer. DECEMBER 25, 2020 Sources say that Seven & i received bids in the first round of over $5 billion for its non-core asset from private equity firms KKR Bain Capital, and Japan Industrial Partners. FEBRUARY 26TH, 2025 Two sources claim that Itochu, a Japanese company, has withdrawn from the proposed buyout of Seven & i by the founding family. Couche-Tard, meanwhile, has reaffirmed its commitment to a purchase. FEBRUARY 27TH, 2025 Ito Family fails to secure financing of $58 billion for buyout bid MARCH 6, 2020 Seven & i appoints Stephen Dacus as its first foreign CEO. He is tasked with overhauling the business in order to engineer a turnaround and respond to Couche-Tard’s takeover offer. 10 MARCH 2025 Seven & i has confirmed that it is in discussions with Couche-Tard about a plan to sell its stores in order to overcome U.S. Antitrust concerns over a merger between the two leading players in its convenience-store market. Couche-Tard has revised its January bid to the yen-equivalent 2600 yen a share. 11 MARCH 2025 Couche-Tard is frustrated with Seven & i’s “limited engagement” and believes there is a clear path to overcome U.S. regulations hurdles. 13 MARCH 2025 Alain Bouchard, the chairman of Couche-Tard, says that if Seven & i would cooperate and reveal more financial data to Couche-Tard it could enhance its offer. MAY 1, 2025 Couche-Tard signs a non-disclosure (NDA) agreement with Seven & i, allowing the Canadian company to access the financial data of the Japanese retailer. JULY 17, 2020 Couche-Tard pulls out of its $46 billion bid, citing a failure to engage constructively by Seven & i's management and the Ito Family. Seven & i states that it is "fully committed" to its standalone value creation plan. Its shares fell 9% and closed 23% below the original offer price. $1 = 148.5700 yen (Compiled and edited by Clarence Fernandez, Kate Mayberry, Sonali Paul)
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India's imports of iron ore will increase due to JSW Steel demand and falling prices
Analysts and traders expect India's imports of iron ore to increase this year due to increased demand by JSW Steel, India's largest steelmaker in terms of capacity. This is because falling global prices have made overseas purchases more appealing. Dhruv Ghoel, the chief executive officer of commodities consultancy BigMint, said: "We expect iron ore imports this year to be between 8-10 million metric tonnes, largely from JSW Steel." Goel stated that India's imports of iron ore totaled around 6 million tonnes last year. JSW Steel accounted for the majority. He said that a drop in prices from $110 per metric ton to under $90 this year will likely support the demand. JSW Steel's iron ore needs are met by a combination between its own mines and purchases from external sources. Hui Ting Sim is an assistant vice-president at Moody's Ratings Singapore. She said that the company plans to increase the capacity of its Vijayanagar facility in southern Karnataka from 1.5 to 2 millions tons per year during the current financial year until March 2026. Hui Ting stated that a separate plan is in place to increase production at the Dolvi plant, located in Maharashtra's western state. A company spokesperson responded to a comment request by saying that JSW Steel was in a period of quietness ahead of the announcements for its quarterly earnings. India imports iron ore primarily from Australia and Brazil. However, imports of Oman have increased this year. Last week, India's iron pellet manufacturers urged the Indian government to curtail a surge of imports that were routed through Oman. They claimed the imports originated from Iran, despite U.S. sanction, and warned that cheaper supplies might harm the local industry. Iron ore imports are likely to increase due to the rising steel consumption in India. Florence Sun, commodities analyst at Macquarie Group, said: "We estimate India's steel production will grow by 8% to 162 millions metric tons this year." India's finished steel consumption in the first two months (2025-26 fiscal) was 25.1 million tonnes, an increase of 7.1% over the previous year. Reporting by Neha arora and Manvi pant; Editing Mayank bhardwaj, Emelia Sithole Matarise
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Iron ore prices rise on China's steel demand and production restrictions
Iron ore futures rose for the second session in a row on Thursday. This was boosted by a strong steel demand, despite production restrictions in major steel-producing regions of China. The contract for the most traded September iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose by 1.81%, to 785.5 Yuan ($109.39), per metric ton. By 0713 GMT, the benchmark August iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was up 0.86% at $100.8 per ton. Broker Galaxy Futures reported that China's steel production has recovered, due to the rapid accumulation of building material, robust manufacturing demand, and continued strength in exports. Galaxy reported that the two main steel-producing regions of Shanxi, and Tangshan had begun to implement output restrictions. Hexun Futures, a broker, stated that despite the fact that it's off-season, steel demand has increased. Some blast furnaces will be undergoing mid-year maintenance. Analysts said that iron ore shipments by top suppliers Australia, Brazil and South Africa have declined after an increase at the end of last quarter. Rio Tinto's second-quarter output of iron ore was the highest since 2018. However, shipments fell short of analyst expectations and were at their lowest level for the first half of 2014 due to weather-related delays. Analysts at ANZ said that improving mill margins have started to boost the optimism about demand. BHP has said that the costs associated with establishing an "eco-iron" industry in Australia are still too high. This is despite Australia and China reaching an agreement last week to work together on decarbonising their steel supply chains. Australia, which provides 60% of China's needs for iron ore, produces lower grade iron ore that cannot be processed directly into steel using renewable energy. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also rose on the DCE. They increased by 1.55% and 1% respectively. All steel benchmarks at the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose. Hot-rolled coils rose 1.23%. Wire rods grew 0.86%. Stainless steel firmed by 0.32%. ($1 = 7,1810 Chinese yuan). (Reporting and editing by Lucas Liew, Sumana Nandy, and Subhranshu sahu).
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Copper prices fall as investors prepare for US tariff impact
The price of copper fell in London and Shanghai Thursday as the markets continued to be under pressure before the United States' 50% tariff on imports and other trade duties that will take effect August 1. As of 07:05 GMT the London Metal Exchange's three-month copper price fell 0.38%, to $9,598 a metric ton. The most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange also dropped 0.15%, to 77,840 Yuan ($10,838.81). ANZ stated that the U.S. market will likely draw from its existing stockpile with the announcement of a 50% tariff by U.S. president Donald Trump. This will put downward pressure on COMEX and LME Copper prices in the near term. In an interview with Real America's Voice, Trump stated that the U.S. was very close to reaching a deal with India. An agreement with Europe could also be possible, but it is still too early to tell if a deal will be struck with Canada. Copper stocks in LME registered warehouses will be depleted by Wednesday The LME warehouses in Hong Kong that began formal operations on Tuesday received 5,975 tonnes of copper. Nickel - 396 Tonnes 100 Tons of Zinc . and 25 tons of Tin . These warehouses were built by the LME to enhance its presence in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the gateway into China, which is the largest metal consumer on the planet. LME tin rose 0.45% to $32,945 per ton. Zinc fell 0.66% at $2,693, while lead dropped 0.48% at $1,967. Nickel fell 0.44% at $14,960. Aluminium slipped by 0.37% to $2,568. SHFE nickel dropped 0.6% to 119.880 yuan per ton. Tin fell 0.59% at 261,920 yuan. Lead was down by 0.3% to 16,845 Yuan. Zinc gained 0.52% at 22,130 Yuan. Aluminium edged up by 0.12% to 20,455 Yuan. Click or to see the latest news in metals, and other related stories.
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Minister: India can still secure oil even if Russian imports are sanctioned
Hardeep Singh Puri, the Oil Minister of India, said that India will be able to meet its oil requirements from other sources in case secondary sanctions are imposed on Russian supplies. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, warned earlier this week that countries buying Russian exports may face sanctions if Moscow does not reach a peaceful agreement with Ukraine in 50 days. Puri stated that India could deal with any issues with Russian imports through sourcing supplies from other countries. Puri said that there were many new suppliers on the market, such as Guyana, and existing producers like Brazil and Canada. India has also increased its exploration and production activities. "I am not at all worried." Puri told an industry event in New Delhi that if something happened, they would deal with it. He said that India has diversified its sources of supply. "We have gone from buying from 27 countries to 40," he added. India's oil purchases from Russia increased marginally during the first half this year. Private refiners Reliance Industries Ltd. and Nayara Energy made up about half of all the purchases. The data shows that Russia continues to be India's top supplier, accounting for approximately 35% of India’s total supplies. Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also among the top suppliers. Indian Oil Corp. will, in the event that Russian supplies are cut off, "return to the same template" (of supplies) used before the Ukraine crisis when Russian supply to India was below 2%," said company chairman A.S. Sahney to reporters at the conference.
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Rhine River shipping is hampered by low water levels despite rain in Germany
The Rhine river is still experiencing low water levels due to dry weather. Rain in the past few days has only caused a modest rise in water level, according to commodity traders. The river is choking due to low water levels, especially south of Duisburg/Cologne and at the chokepoint at Kaub. In general, cargo vessels can only sail half-full. Traders said that freight is still delivered by using multiple vessels to transport loads instead of just one. Traders said that the volumes of cargo vessels can load has increased slightly. Shallow water is when vessel operators increase freight rates in order to compensate for not fully loading the vessels. This increases costs for cargo owners. The next week is expected to bring some rain in river catchment regions, which should at least stop the water level from falling further, according to traders. The Rhine is a major shipping route for grains, minerals and ores. It also carries coal, oil products, heating oil, and other oil-based products. German companies were faced with production and supply problems in the summer of 2022, after a heatwave and drought caused unusually low levels of water on the Rhine. Michael Hogan reported the story. Mark Potter (Editing)
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Officials say that at least 60 people have died in a fire at a mall in Iraq.
Two police sources and the city's medical authorities confirmed that a massive fire at a hypermarket located in al-Kut, iraq's eastern city, has killed or injured 60 people and left 11 more missing. Social media videos showed a five-storey al-Kut building engulfed in flames overnight, as firefighters attempted to put out the fire. The videos could not be independently verified. A city official said that although 59 victims' identities had been confirmed, one was so badly burnt it was difficult to identify. Ali al-Mayahi, a city official, said: "We still have bodies under the fire debris that we haven't recovered." State news agency (INA), reported that the cause of the fire is not known at this time, but the governor of the province said the preliminary results of an investigation will be released within 48 hours. The governor was quoted by INA as saying, "We have filed suits against the owner and mall of the building." Reporting by Aref Mohammad and Ahmed Rasheed from Baghdad; Nayera Abdallah from Dubai; Editing and production by Himani Sarkar, Bernadettebaum and Bernadette Baum
G20 Finance chiefs meet in South Africa under a tariff cloud
The G20 finance chiefs are meeting in South Africa this Thursday, under the shadow cast by President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Questions will be raised about their ability to work together and tackle global challenges.
Since years, the club has been hampered by disagreements among its key players, exacerbated in part by Russia's conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow.
Under its motto of "Solidarity Equality Sustainability", the host South Africa has sought to promote an African agenda. Topics include high capital costs and funding climate change action.
The G20 is a group that aims to coordinate policy, but its agreements are not binding.
U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent won't attend the two-day gathering of finance ministers, central bank governors and other officials in Durban. This is his second absence at a G20 meeting in South Africa in this year.
Bessent skipped the Cape Town meeting in February, when several officials from China and Japan were absent. Washington will assume the rotating G20 presidency at the end the year.
Michael Kaplan, acting U.S. undersecretary of state for international affairs, is Washington's representative at the meetings.
G20 delegate who requested anonymity said that Bessent's lack of presence was not ideal, but the United States were engaging in discussions about trade, global economy, and climate language.
The finance ministers of India, France and Russia will also miss the Durban Meeting.
Lesetja Kganyago, the governor of South Africa's Central Bank, said that it was important to represent.
What matters is that there is a person with a mandate behind the flag, and is everyone represented by someone behind the banner? Kganyago said.
U.S. officials are not saying much about their plans to assume the presidency in the next year. However, a source who is familiar with Washington's plans says that Washington will reduce the number non-financial groups and streamline the summit agenda.
Brad Setser said that he was expecting it to be a "scaled-back G20, with less expectations of substantive results."
'TURBULENT TIMES'
Trump's tariff policy has rewritten the rules of global trade. The tariffs will be implemented on August 1 with a 10% base rate on all U.S. imported goods and rates up to 50% on steel, aluminium and autos.
The threat of further tariffs of 10% on BRICS countries -- eight of which are G20 members -- raised concerns about fragmentation in global forums.
German sources in the German Finance Ministry said that on Tuesday, Durban would be a meeting to strengthen global relationships during "turbulent" times.
Duncan Pieterse, South Africa's Treasury director general, said that the group hoped to release the first communiqué under the South African G20 Presidency by the end the meetings.
The G20 last issued a communique that was agreed upon by all members in July 2024. They agreed on the necessity to resist protectionism, but did not mention Russia's invasion into Ukraine. Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda Mtambo, Kopano Goko, Colleen GOKO, Philip Blenkinsop in Durban and Andrea Shalal, Washington. Writing by Olivia Kumwenda Mtambo. Editing by Philippa FELTCHER
(source: Reuters)