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Gold prices ease as US job data boosts the dollar; Trump's tone towards Iran is softer
Gold prices fell on Wednesday, as the dollar rose on the back of weaker than expected weekly U.S. jobless claims data. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s moderate tone towards Iran further dampened demand for gold. As of 11:10 am, spot gold was down by 0.1%, at $4,614.97 an ounce. ET (1610 GMT). On Wednesday, gold reached a new record of $4,642.72. U.S. Gold Futures for Delivery in February fell by 0.3% to $4 619.80. The dollar index rose to its highest level in December 2012 and made bullion more costly for overseas buyers. "Recent data keeps expectations of a Fed on pause - perhaps for the first half year. The dollar index has reached a multiweek high, and this is causing a bit of a headwind to gold," said Peter Grant. Trump stated on Wednesday that he does not plan to fire Jerome Powell, despite the Justice Department's criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve Chair. However, it is "too soon" to predict what he will do. It is widely expected that the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates during its meeting on January 27-28, despite Trump’s calls for reductions. The markets, however, expect at least two 25-basis point rate cuts later this year. Trump said that he was told the killings of Iranian protesters appeared to be decreasing. He also saw no immediate plans for large-scale murders. Grant said that easing geopolitical concerns had slightly weighed down on gold prices. However, he viewed the move in gold as a corrective one and expected traders would treat any dips as "buying opportunities". Gold is a safe-haven asset that tends to perform well in times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty as well as low interest rate environments. Adam Glapinski, the governor of Poland's central banks, said that by 2025 they will have 550 tons gold and that they want to increase their reserves to 700 tonnes. Silver spot fell 2.4%, to $90.56 an ounce. It had earlier reached a session high of $93.57. Palladium fell 2.8%, to $1,789.68 an ounce. Spot platinum declined 0.5%, to $2,372.75 an ounce. (Reporting and editing by Sharon Singleton in Bengaluru, Anmol Choubey)
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CSN, Brazil's CSN, plans to sell major assets in order to reduce debt
CSN, a Brazilian steelmaker, announced on Thursday that it would begin a major asset divestment program, which includes its cement unit. The company said it was aiming to "definitively address" capital structure issues through reducing the?debt. The firm aims to deleverage between 15 billion and18 billion reais (2.78 billion to 3.34 billion dollars) as part a larger goal of doubling core earnings in eight years. Shares of the Sao Paulo company traded in the stock exchange rose by as much as 4,9% following the announcement. However, they later fell 5% and became one of the largest decliners of the Bovespa index. CSN, one of Brazil's largest steelmakers and miner, has been struggling in recent years due to an increased debt load, and cheap steel from China and other countries "flooding the local market". JPMorgan analysts praised the new strategic plan, but cautioned that "execution" is crucial. CEO SETS DEBT CUTTING AS A PRIORITY CSN is planning to sell its cement division, as well as a large stake in an infrastructure company that owns rail and port assets. It will also be evaluating alternatives and possible partnerships to increase cash flow at its steel unit. It's not that they are bad or unprofitable businesses. It's the opposite. CSN CEO Benjamin Steinbruch said on a conference call that waiting any longer is not logical. He added that the reduction of debt was "the number one priority". At the end of the third quarter of 2025, the company's leverage, as measured by net loan/earnings after taxes, interest and depreciation, was 3.14x. CSN's aim is to reduce it to 1.0x in eight years. Steinbruch stated, "We have never committed ourselves in a way that was so transparent and pragmatist." MINING DIVISION IS NOT FOR SALE CSN sold a minority stake in CSN Mineracao to?Japan's Itochu Corp at the end of 2024. However, CSN Chief Financial Officer Antonio Marco Rabello said on Thursday that CSN has no intention to sell an additional stake, describing the unit as a "major store of value". CSN sold its minority stake in CSN Mineracao in 2024 to Japan's Itochu Corp. However, CSN Chief Executive Officer Antonio Marco Rabello stated on Thursday that the company does not intend to sell an additional stake.
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OPEC gains share in India after Russian oil imports fall in December
Trade data revealed that India's Russian imports in December fell to the lowest level since?two? years, as Western sanctions pushed refining companies to look for alternatives. This boosted OPEC?s?share?of imports?to an 11-month peak. The lower imports of Russian crude oil at a discounted price will likely hit the profits of refiners and consumers in the third largest oil consuming and importing nation in the world and force them to look for suppliers in the Middle East and the U.S. The data shows that tighter U.S. sanctions and European Union sanctions have slowed Russian oil exports to India. Imports dropped by 22% in December to 1,38 million barrels a day, down from 1.39 million the month before. This has reduced Russia's share of the Indian market to 27,4%, its lowest level since January 2023. OPEC now accounts for 53.2%. Reliance Industries (the largest Indian buyer) stopped receiving crude oil under its agreement with Rosneft during the last 10 days of December. Its imports of Russian oil fell to a two-year low. State refiners continued to buy Russian oil from non-sanctioned sources. RUSSIA RETAINS TOP SUPPLIER In spite of the decline, Russia was the largest supplier of oil for India in December, and the first nine months of the fiscal year up to March 31, 2026. Iraq and Saudi Arabia were the next two suppliers. The data shows that some cargoes arriving in December were released in January. India's Russian imports of oil are expected to be around 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January. The pullback is more likely to be a temporary disruption due to compliance issues than India completely abandoning Russia, according to Sumit Ritola. The Indian government wants to know the exact amount of crude oil purchased by refiners from Russia and America every week. OPEC SHARE RISES OPEC will have a 50% share of India's crude oil imports in 2025. This is up from 49% a year earlier. Russia's part has shrunk to 33.3% compared to 36% ten years ago. India became the largest buyer of discounted Russian crude oil after the Ukraine War in 2022. These purchases have sparked a reaction from the West, who have sanctioned Russia's energy industry, claiming that oil revenue helps fund Moscow's military effort. As punishment for the U.S.'s heavy purchases of Russian oil, it doubled its import tariffs to 50% on Indian goods last year. Both countries are currently in negotiations for a possible trade agreement.
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Critical Metals eyes Saudi JV for rare earths refinement from Greenland
Critical Metals Corp announced on Thursday that it might build a refinery in Greenland with a Saudi Arabian company to process rare earths from the mine. The?refined? material would be used to supply U.S. Defense. This move highlights Greenland's potential as a source of critical minerals, even though it is technically part of Denmark. U.S. president Donald Trump has been vocal in his desire to gain control of the country for reasons of national security. Critical Metals, based in New York, has announced that it signed a nonbinding term sheet for a joint-venture with Saudi Arabia's?Tariq Abdel Hadi Al-Qahtani and Brothers. The joint-venture would refine 25% the?planned production capacity of Tanbreez rare earths within the Kingdom. If finalized, the agreement would provide Critical Metals with guaranteed customers and ease its path towards full financing of the project. It is estimated to cost $290 millions to start production next year. Critical Metals has already sold 75% of its planned production, divided between the Europe The company's Greenland production is secured. Both companies have said that they will finalize the agreement "over the next few months." Abdulmalik Tariq Al-Qahtani is Tariq CEO. He said in a statement: "We believe that there are great opportunities to work with partners in the United States in order to develop and deploy materials to support next-generation technologies." Saudi Arabia would ship refined rare earths - which would then need to be converted into magnets for military use - to the United States. The agreement was reached a day after Denmark's Foreign Minister and his Greenlandic equivalent met with U.S. Sec. of State Marco Rubio in the White House. Discussions centered around the strategic location of Greenland and its minerals. While officials in the Trump administration are evaluating a Loan of $120 Million from the U.S. Export Import Bank Tanbreez is a project that has been launched.
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Gold prices ease as US job data boosts the dollar; Trump's tone towards Iran is softer
Gold prices declined on Wednesday, as the dollar rose on weaker than expected U.S. jobless claims data. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s more moderate stance on Iran weighed further on demand for gold. As of 09:32 am, spot gold was down by 0.3%, at $4,607.59 an ounce. ET (1432 GMT). On Wednesday, gold reached a new record of $4,642.72. U.S. Gold Futures for Delivery in February fell by 0.5% to $4.612.50. Data showed that new U.S. unemployment benefit applications unexpectedly dropped last week. This pushed the dollar index up to its highest level since December 2, and made bullion prices more expensive for foreign buyers. "Recent data kind of?keeps expectation towards a Fed pause perhaps for the first six months of the year. So the dollar index has reached a multi-week peak and this is causing a little headwind for gold at this stage," said Peter Grant, Zaner Metals' senior metals analyst and vice president. Trump stated on Wednesday that he does not plan to fire Jerome Powell, despite the Justice Department's criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve Chair. However, it is "too soon" to predict what he will do. Federal Reserve officials are expected to keep interest rates the same at their meeting on January 27-28, despite Trump’s demands for a cut. The markets, however, expect at least two 25 basis-point rate cuts later this year. Trump also said that he was told the killings of protesters in Iran appeared to be easing, and that there were no immediate plans for large-scale executions. This signals a wait-and see approach after previous threats of intervention. Grant stated that easing geopolitical pressures had slightly affected gold prices. However, he viewed the?movement as a corrective move and expected traders would treat any downturns as opportunities to buy. Gold is a safe-haven asset that tends to perform well in times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty as well as low interest rate environments. Spot silver fell 3.6% to $89.29 an ounce, after reaching a session high of $93.57. Palladium fell 1.8% to $1.806.68 an ounce. Spot platinum declined 0.4% to 2,375.55 dollars per ounce. (Reporting and editing by Sharon Singleton in Bengaluru, Anmol Choubey)
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Ghana scraps mining stability pacts and doubles royalties
Ghana's regulator said it would scrap long-term mining investments?stability agreement and double royalties as part of sweeping reforms. The country is Africa's largest gold producer, and wants to reap more benefits from the surging bullion price. Isaac Tandoh said that the changes were part of a "broad" overhaul aimed at balancing the government's desire to increase mining profits with investor confidence. A VIOLATION OF MINING STABLITY AGREEMENTS HAS OCCURRED African governments tighten mining rules in order to take advantage of high prices. They often raise royalties and local content demands, which has led to clashes between global miners and African governments over cost and contract certainty. Ghana is the sixth largest gold producer in the world. Tax and royalty agreements are usually locked in for five to fifteen years, in exchange for investment of $300 million to $500 millions for mine expansions and builds. Renewal is only available to companies that meet certain conditions. These include extending the mine life for at least three more years and increasing production by 10%. Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields are currently operating under stability agreements. They did not respond immediately to requests for comments. Tandoh stated that the changes to be written into legislation will mean Newmont’s stability agreement, which expired in December, will not be renewed. AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and other companies will phase out similar agreements when they expire in 2027. The draft bill, which is expected to be presented to Parliament in March, proposes that royalties start at 9%, and rise to 12%, if gold reaches $4,500 an ounce or more, about double the current range of 3% to 5%. The spot gold price is currently around $4,990 per ounce. Reforms include stricter rules on local content for procurement in Ghana and the support of Ghanaian companies. Tandoh stated in an interview last week that "renewal (of investment stability agreements) will not happen." "Renewal of (investment stability agreements) is conditional and not automatic," Tandoh said during the interview last week. He said that all development agreements would be scrapped because they had been abused. We've seen some companies using revenue from Ghana to purchase mines in other countries while refusing even to pay basic obligations such as contributions to district assemblies. This cannot continue." NEWMONT REQUESTED RENEWAL OF EXPIRED AGREEMENT Ghana was the first to introduce stability agreements during the early 2000s. These agreements helped unlock foreign investment worth billions of dollars, which allowed Ghana to surpass South Africa as Africa’s largest gold producer. Newmont's Ahafo agreement, for instance, established a corporate tax rate of 32.5% and a royalty scale ranging from 3% to 5% (rising up to 3.6%-5.6% within forest reserve areas). Inputs that met the criteria were also eligible for duty and VAT exemptions. A revised 2015 agreement revealed that the extension was linked to a $300 million minimum investment, and targets on mine life, output and Ghanaian jobs. Tandoh stated that Newmont had requested an extension. However, the government is aiming to phase out this regime and replace it with broader rules which "indigenise", more value in the home country and enforce stricter compliance. He said that authorities "listened" to the concerns of smaller and newer projects regarding the proposed royalty increases and would strive for a formula which preserves investment and raises revenue when prices are higher. Tandoh denied that the harsher conditions would scare away capital. "They are operating under harsher conditions and still making profits." "Mining is all about numbers," said he. The Ghana Chamber of Mines didn't immediately respond to comments. Maxwell Akalaare Adombila & Emmanuel Bruce. Editing by Veronica Brown and Mark Potter.
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US seizes Venezuelan-linked tanker before Trump-Machado Meeting
US officials have announced that the United States has taken another Venezuelan-linked tanker. Officials told reporters on Thursday that the United States had seized another Venezuela-linked tanker, before a meeting with?U.S. Donald Trump and Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado. The seizure marks the sixth vessel that has been targeted in the last few weeks, either for carrying Venezuelan oil in its cargo or having done so previously. Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the seizure occurred in the Caribbean. Southern Command of the U.S. Military confirmed that U.S. Forces apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica without incident. The Veronica "operated in defiance of President Trump's established Caribbean quarantine for sanctioned ships." In a press release, Southern Command stated that "the only oil leaving Venezuela is oil that has been coordinated correctly and legally." The seizures were part of Trump's campaign, which culminated with the?U.S. On January 3, he and his wife were seized by forces that swooped into the country. Since then, Trump said that the United States intends to control Venezuela's crude oil resources indefinitely while it works to rebuild Venezuela's decrepit oil industry. The vessels that have been intercepted to date were either under U.S. sanction or part of an unregulated "shadow fleet" of ships that hid their origins in order to transport oil from major sanctioned suppliers -- Iran, Russia or Venezuela. The U.S. seizes a Russian flagged oil tanker after two weeks of pursuing it across the Atlantic. Moscow condemned the move. The latest seizure was made ahead of the upcoming meeting between Trump, Machado and their first face-to -face meeting since the U.S. ousted Maduro. Trump called her before a "freedom warrior" but rejected the idea of installing her as Venezuela's leader after Maduro was ousted, saying that she didn't have enough support at home. A classified CIA report presented to Trump concluded Maduro's loyalists including Rodriguez were the best positioned for stability. Reporting by Idrees Al and Phil Stewart, Editing by Alex Richardson and Aidan Lewis
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Yara will reconsider US ammonia project if EU stops carbon levy
EU considers suspending carbon border levy on fertilisers Farmers pressured to move ahead Yara: Uncertainty puts US plans for low-carbon ammonia in doubt By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS - Yara International's CEO said that if the European Union were to suspend its carbon?border levy, it would force the company to reconsider a low-carbon ammonia plant in the U.S. The EU's Carbon Border Levy, which went into effect on 1 January, imposes CO2 emission fees on imports such as fertilisers and steel to prevent foreign producers from gaining an unfair advantage over European companies that have to pay for their emissions. The European Commission announced last week that it would publish guidance on how to temporarily suspend the carbon fee for fertilisers if "unforeseen" circumstances in the market justified it. Svein Holsether, CEO of Yara, said that the uncertainty has thrown investment plans for low-carbon energy into chaos. Yara intends to make a final decision by summer on a joint project with Air Products in Louisiana. The aim is to produce ammonia low in carbon emissions in Louisiana and sell it to fertiliser producers in Europe. Holsether stated in an interview that "if there is a suspension or cancellation of CBAM we will not be able go forward with what we intend to invest in the U.S." CBAM (EU carbon border levy) improves the case for low-carbon imports of ammonia by requiring them to pay lower emission fees than on "traditional fossil fuel-based" ammonia. If Brussels suspends this mechanism, Yara could instead invest in conventional ammonia. "That's a question we should rethink: Is it possible to decarbonise when there is no market for low-carbon goods? Holsether stated that it was unlikely. Yara will also reassess viability of projects that are low-carbon in Europe. These were developed under the assumption that the border levy would equalize the playing field between more expensive products and those with lower carbon emissions. Holsether stated that "everything must be reevaluated" in light of the new information. The Commission did not specify what conditions could lead to a suspension. Brussels announced last week that it would temporarily reduce import tariffs for some fertilisers. Wopke H. Hoekstra, EU Climate Commissioner, said that temporary measures are needed to deal with the challenges faced by farmers. Hoekstra stated in an interview last week that the goal was to keep the current design. Reporting by Kate Abnett. Mark Potter (Editing)
Brazil's crop agency confirms record soybean crop in new estimate
Conab, the Brazilian crop agency, projected a record soybean production of 176.12 millions metric tons for the upcoming marketing year 2025/26. This is a 2.7% increase from the previous 'crop. Conab's slightly lower yields of 3,619 kilograms per hectare in this year are cited as the reason for the updated estimate. This is 1 million tons less than what was projected by Conab back in December.
Conab reported that Brazilian soybean farmers planted 48.67?million hectares (120.2?million acres), a 2.8% rise from the previous season.
It added that the harvesting of Brazil's soy new crop has already started in Parana and Mato Grosso states, as well as Acre and?Para.
In Mato Grosso (Brazil's largest farming state), the weather has been "favorable", with abundant and uniform rainfall throughout December. These conditions have benefited the development of the crop and helped to recover areas that were affected by the lack of rain in October and November.
Conab reported that Brazil, which is the world's biggest soybean exporter and producer, will ship 111.8 millions tons of?soybeans during the current marketing season. The majority of Brazil's soybeans are sent to China. Conab stated that farmers have already started harvesting?their?first corn from fields.
Conab predicts that Brazil's first corn production will reach nearly 26 million tonnes.
Brazil's second corn crop will be planted after farmers harvest their soybeans and sow them on the same fields.
According to preliminary estimates by Conab, Brazil's second crop of corn will reach 110.46 millions tons in 2026. (Reporting and editing by Ana Mano, Joe Bavier, Aide Lewis and Paul Simao).
(source: Reuters)