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Indonesia wants coal miners who supply more of their output to the domestic market to increase their share
Local media reported that the Indonesian government would ask coal'miners with special contracts' to supply a greater portion of their production domestically, as they are expected to receive their 'full output quota request. Kontan, citing a senior energy ministry official, reported that the government wanted 75 million metric tonnes of coal supplied to the state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara in early 2026 from holders of the first-generation 'contract of works' deals, and state-controlled 'coal miner's. A contract of works is a long-term agreement between the government and miners that has specific rules. This includes taxes. Tri Winarno, an official at the Energy Ministry was quoted as saying that these miners will be granted their output quotas because of the importance they place on royalty payments. The majority of coal?miners have switched over to newer mining permits which generally follow the law. Indonesia has a scheme that requires coal miners sell at least 25% of their production to the domestic market. Indonesia announced plans to reduce mining output quotas for many minerals this year to help support prices. In the past year, 32% (or 790 million tons) of the nation's coal production was sold on the domestic market. (Reporting and editing by John Mair; Fransiska Nanangoy)
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Iron ore prices fall as traders reduce their positions before the China holiday
Iron ore futures fell on Friday, as traders closed out their 'positions' ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in China. During this time, demand is expected to fall significantly. The most-traded May iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the daytime trading down 2.36% to 746 yuan (107.96 dollars) per metric ton. This contract has fallen 1.44% this week. As of 0715 GMT, the benchmark March iron ore traded on the Singapore Exchange at $97.25 per ton. This is a 2.34% decrease. The contract has fallen 1.76% this week and is on track for its fifth consecutive weekly drop. LSEG data shows that the trading volume for Dalian 'iron ore', which fell for six consecutive sessions before, increased as traders closed positions. Market will be closed from February 16 through to 23 due to the holiday. The demand for feedstock will likely decrease during the holiday season, when most steel mills are shutting down or performing planned maintenance. Atilla Wiednell, managing director of Navigate Commodities, stated that China's hot-metal production has continued to decline at 229 thermally monitored furnaces, as operators continue to idle or hot bank their furnaces in preparation for the holiday. Tropical cyclone Mitchell, which formed last week off the coast of Australia's resource-rich Pilbara area, has caused a decline in shipments. The Financial Times reported that Donald Trump, U.S. president, announced plans to reduce tariffs on aluminum and steel goods. Coking coal, which is used to make steel, fell by 0.31% on the DCE while coke rose by 1.05%. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed. Rebar rose 0.13%; hot-rolled coils remained unchanged; stainless steel fell 1.53%, and wire rod dropped 0.27 percent.
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Two dead and one injured after a shooting at South Carolina State University
In a school statement, officials reported that two people were killed, and another was injured, in a shooting at the?dormitory for South Carolina State University, an historically Black college. The campus was put on lockdown. According to a statement posted on Facebook, the shooting occurred at around 9:15 pm local time, in an apartment of?the Hugine suites student housing complex. There were few additional details immediately available. This included whether the perpetrators of the shooting are still at large. The statement stated that "University officials had not yet confirmed the identities of the victims or the condition of the injured person." South Carolina State is one of the two historically Black colleges in Orangeburg, South Carolina, which is a riverside college town located about 40 miles south of the capital of South Carolina, Columbia. Claflin University is the other historically Black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. On Thursday night, a person who answered the phone for the University Public Safety Office said they weren't at liberty to give any information regarding the incident. The university stated that it had asked the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate the shooting and cancelled Friday classes. Reporting by Steve Gorman, Los Angeles; editing by Stephen Coates
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JSW employees vote in favor of the agreement regarding benefits suspension
JSW announced?on Friday? that employees of the Polish state-controlled coal mining company JSW had backed an agreement between trade unions &?the firm to suspend certain worker benefits as a part 'of a restructuring plan. The agreement would suspend some annual bonuses in 2025 and 2026 as part of JSW’s efforts to secure up to $815.75 million in funding by the end of March. JSW stated in a?statement that more than 97% voted in favor of the agreement in a referendum. It called the decision "fundamental", for the future of the company and to protect jobs. The management of the company has also asked for a pay cut. Meanwhile, the state assets ministry is seeking a vote from shareholders to reduce the salary of the supervisory council. The European Union’s largest coking coal producer has been facing pressure due to a weak demand, cheaper imports, and high?operational expenses. State-controlled company has already cut investments and spent nearly its entire rainy fund. Its amount had shrunk to 100 million zlotys by October from 5 billion zlotys a year ago. The company lost 2.9 billion zlotys during the first three-quarters of last year. JSW's cost-cutting plan includes selling non-core assets, merging mines and selling non-core assets to improve efficiency. The negotiations over the agreement lasted months and were complicated by a fragmented employee representation structure, which includes 80 unions.
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India's palm oils imports surged 51% to a four-month high in January
India's palm-oil imports increased by 51% from a year earlier in January, reaching their highest level in four months. A?wider discount on rival?soyoil? encouraged refiners and oil companies to increase purchases of tropical oil. India's increased palm oil imports, as the world's biggest buyer of vegetable oil, could reduce inventories among top producers Indonesia and Malaysia. The Solvent Extractors Association?of India (SEA), which announced the figures on Friday, said that India imported 766.384 metric tonne of palm oil in September, the highest amount since September 2025. The industry trade group reported that imports of sunflower oil fell by 23.8% and soyoil imports dropped more than 44 percent to 278,888 tonnes, the lowest level since June 2024. The data revealed that India's total imports of edible oils in January were down 3.7% compared to a month ago, to 1,31 million tons. This was due to fewer imports of sunflower and soyoil. The SEA reported that the Vegetable Oil stocks in India dropped to 1.75 millions tons as of February 1 from 2.18 million tonnes a year ago, mainly due to lower imports over recent months. A Mumbai-based trader with a global trading house said that palm oil was currently selling at a discount over $100 per ton compared to soyoil. This made it "a much more appealing option for Indian refiners." He said that palm oil imports will exceed 800,000 tonnes in February as Indian buyers switch from costly sunflower oil to more affordable palm oil. India imports soyoil, sunflower oil, and palm oil, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia. It also imports oil from Argentina and Brazil.
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Trump is planning to reduce tariffs on some steel and aluminum goods, reports FT
The Financial Times reported that Donald Trump intends to?reduce some tariffs on?goods made of steel and aluminum, citing a number of people who are familiar with the issue. The?Commerce Department officials and the?U.S. The FT reported that the trade representative's office believes the tariffs hurt consumers by increasing prices of goods such as pie tins, food-and drink cans, and beverage bottles. Cost-of-living and consumer prices are major concerns for voters nationwide as they head into the midterm elections in November. Recent /Ipsos survey showed that 30% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of rising costs of living. 59% disapproved, including 9 in 10 Democrats and 1 in 5 Republicans. Trump has used levies to negotiate with trading partners and hit steel and aluminium imports up to 50% in tariffs last year. The FT reported that the Trump administration has begun reviewing a list containing products subject to the tariffs. It plans to exempt certain items, stop the expansion of these lists, and launch targeted national security investigations into specific 'goods. White House and Commerce Department didn't immediately respond to requests outside regular business hours for comment. Trump has recently bragged about his economic record in Detroit. He is trying to refocus the attention on U.S. Manufacturing and his efforts to reduce high consumer costs. The White House wants to demonstrate that it is taking steps to address the 'economic anxiety' gripping U.S. householders. Last year, the U.S. Commerce Department raised steel and aluminum tariffs for a total of 400 products, including wind turbines, mobiles cranes, appliances and heavy equipment. Also included were motorcycles, marine engines and furniture, as well as railcars. Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru, Editing by Jamie Freed and Muralikumar Anantharaman; Thomas Derpinghaus.
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Asian shares fall from record highs as bonds and tech-jitters rally
Asian shares fell from record highs Friday, as investors rushed to safe-haven bonds in anticipation of U.S. inflation data. Wall Street's technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell?2%? after Cisco Systems reported a quarterly adjusted gross margin that was below expectations due to the rising costs of memory chip. This drove Cisco's shares down by 12%, wiping out $40 billion from its market capitalization. The selling spilled into the tech giants, like Apple. Apple fell 5% on a daily basis in April of last year after President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day tariffs" spooked the markets. Transport companies were also affected by the fear of AI disruption. Chris Weston is the head of research for Pepperstone. He said that "the prevailing tone" in markets was a rotation towards more defensive areas and companies with more predictable, steady and less cyclical earnings. Investors are attempting to price an uncertain future with structural disruption. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan dropped 1.1% on Friday, reducing this week's gains to 3.7%. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.3% but still gained almost 5% this week. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 2.1%, while the blue chip index in China dropped 0.9%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures both fell by 0.2% while the EURO STOXX futures rose 0.1%. Financial Times reported on Friday that Trump plans to'scale back tariffs on some steel and aluminum goods, citing sources familiar with the issue. TRADERS AWAIT OUR INFLATION TEST Overnight, the yield on the 10-year benchmark note fell 7 basis points, the biggest drop since October 10th. Early Friday, it was unchanged at 4.1134%. The 30-year bond auction was very successful, and this helped to drive down the longer-term rates. Overnight, 30-year yields fell 8.5 basis points to 4.728%. This is the lowest level since December 3. Fed funds futures rallied as well to reverse the majority of the losses that were caused by the payroll data, which led the markets to reduce the likelihood of a June rate cut. The odds of a rate cut in June are now priced at 70%. A total easing this year is expected to be?60 basis point. The U.S. data on inflation will receive a lot of attention. Forecasts are based on a 0.3% monthly increase in the core measure. This would be sufficient to slow the annual rate to 2.5%, from the previous 2.7%. Jose Torres is a senior economist with Interactive Brokers. He said that even a result in line would represent a significant deceleration compared to December. This could bolster the animal spirits of traders and bring energy back into cyclical trading. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar have taken a step down on the currency markets. The Aussie fell 0.2%, to $0.7071 after losing 0.5% overnight. Meanwhile, the Kiwi eased by 0.1%, at $0.6029. Gold and silver are trying to recover after heavy losses. Gold rose by 1.3% to $4.984 per ounce after losing more than 3% overnight. Silver climbed 2.5% to $75. an ounce. After a steep 3% drop overnight, oil prices continued to decline. AP reported on the transfer of a U.S. Aircraft carrier from the Caribbean into the Middle East, as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to escalate. Brent crude futures dropped 0.2% to $77.37 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $62.66 a barrel.
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MORNING BID EUROPE - No longer the Apple in their eye
Stella Qiu gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The tech selloff is back with a vengeance. Cisco was the cause of this latest slump, as its margins were squeezed due to the rising?costs for memory chips. This frightened investors who had been expecting booming profits. AI is causing a lot of concern about the future of jobs. Overnight, trucking and logistics companies suffered a sharp drop in stock prices. This was not long after the software sector plummeted as Anthropic released Claude Cowork to fuel job concerns. Apple was not spared. Apple, the iPhone maker, lost 5% of its market value and astonished investors with a $200 billion drop. It was their worst day since President Donald Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariffs in April last year. Retail investors could take advantage of this dip, as stocks are still near record highs. Maybe the machines are really coming after us. Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman said to the FT that he expected most white-collar 'tasks' to be fully automated. Most Asian markets are in the red. MSCI's regional market index is down 0.8% but still has a 3.9% gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.9% but still gained 5.3% in the past week. In the midst of risk-off, defensive stocks were able to find buyers. Treasuries also benefited from bids for safe-haven assets. Gold and silver tried to recover after heavy losses, while oil was heading for a second consecutive week of losses. The U.S. data on inflation is due later today. Forecasts call for a 0.3% monthly increase in the core measure of the January data. This is enough to slow the annual rate to 2.5%, from the previous?2.7%. Wall Street may need a number that is even higher or better to recover and reach new highs. However, a hot report could cause traders to abandon bets on a June rate cut, sending yields skyrocketing. The following are key developments that may influence the markets on Friday. CPI data in the U.S. for January -- Euro Zone GDP flash estimate for Q4
Wildfires in Canada: An unexpected benefit
Colin Penner, a farmer who farms 3,700 acres about an hour north of the U.S. Border, crunched a handful of canola pods, and blew away the chaff in a stiff prairie wind. In his hand, a small pile of black seeds was left.
The harsh sun and high temperatures last summer scorched the yellow flowers of canola and destroyed their pollen. This led to lower yields in Western Canada. Smoke from nearby wildfires covered the skies in July and shielded Penner's young crops from the sun's rays. This resulted in more seeds and pods per plant.
He said, "Look at these pods." He will wait to see the harvest, but "smoke is likely to be a good thing."
Canola farmers are finding unexpected benefits from the summer skies, as long as it is in July when the crop flowers.
Smoke protects delicate canola flower petals and pollen from the intense heat and sun, reducing the impact of the drought that lasted for most of the summer.
Scientists believe that prolonged periods of heavy smoking have negative effects on food quality and crop yields.
We spoke with dozens of canola farmers and 10 crop specialists who all agreed that the midsummer smoky sky had mostly positive effects for the crop. However, the experts warned that further research was needed. Bruce Burnett, an analyst for the Western Producer Markets Desk, said that the cooling effect of smoke countered the high temperatures during the day and at night, which can harm the crop.
Canada is the largest canola producer in the world, with 21 million acres of land planted along Canada's vast forests. The seeds of canola are crushed and used to produce cooking oil, biodiesel, and animal feed.
Canola is a cool-climate crop that grows mainly in the northern plains of North America and Europe, as well as Australia. It does not tolerate heat. Heat can cause its pollen to melt, which prevents fertilization and seed formation. The harsh sunlight can cause flower petals to burn.
Curtis Rempel is vice president of the Canola Council of Canada's crop production and innovations.
He said that smoke can reduce temperature and reduce sunlight.
SCIENTISTS REVISE IDEAS ABOUT SMOKES
In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a climate science panel of the United Nations, predicted that a warmer world and shorter winters will lead to more intense wildfire seasons. Canadian officials stated in August that the intensity and length of wildfires are increasing as winters get shorter and spring, summer, and fall become warmer.
Four crop experts said that smoke was probably the worst for North America's largest crops like corn and soya beans, as it reduces heat and sunlight, which plants require to grow. Smoke from wildfires in California has severely damaged wine grape production. The damage was severe both in 2017 and 2020. Researchers in Ohio found mixed results. Researchers found that while the smoke reduced temperatures and light, corn, soybeans and wheat yields reached their highest level in 10 years.
Raju Soolanayakanahally is a senior researcher with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. He said that the Canadian government will launch research on wildfire smoke's impact on canola and wheat.
Soolanayakanahally stated that despite farmers' claims of benefits for this year's crop, smoke could also slow down and weaken the development of crops. The haze may degrade chlorophyll, which is vital for photosynthesis, and decrease the efficiency of enzymes critical to plant development.
A review of the existing research into the effects of smoke in U.S. corn found that it had a largely negative impact. Mark Jeschke of Corteva Agriscience Pioneer Seeds, the author of the study and Agronomy manager, said that further research is needed to determine how airborne and ground-level smoke affects corn during its pollination and maturation. The timing of an event that causes stress can be very important.
Smoke-tainted wine was discovered in 2020 when over 8,000 fires spread across 4.3million acres of California. Most vineyards were spared direct damage. Vintners discovered that the grapes had produced a slurry with a foul smell and taste, rendering it unsuitable for making wine. The term "smoke-taint", which was used to describe the taint, became a part of wine lexicon.
According to the California Association of Winegrape Growers, up to 325,000 tonnes of wine grapes valued at more than $650 million were destroyed that year.
Researchers and the industry have been testing treatments that remove smoky components from fermented wine slurry. They also tested a spray to prevent grapes on the vine from absorbing smoke.
Natalie Collins, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers said: "We have so much work to do."
(source: Reuters)