Latest News
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Cadeler to Install Turbines at Ocean Winds’ Polish Offshore Wind Farm
Danish offshore wind installation firm Cadeler has signed a firm contract with Ocean Winds for the transportation and installation of 26 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW offshore wind turbines at the BC-Wind offshore wind farm in the Polish Baltic Sea. The signing of this firm contract follows the Vessel Reservation Agreement (VRA) signed in February 2025 between Cadeler and Ocean Winds.The installation is set to start in 2028 and to continue for approximately four months. Cadeler will deploy one of its O-class wind turbine installation vessels and will operate from the Port of Gdańsk in Poland.When fully completed, BC-Wind will have a total capacity of up to 390 MW, supplying clean electricity to nearly half a million Polish households.The project is located about 23 km from the Polish coastline, north of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is Ocean Winds’ first project in Poland and will play an important role in the country’s ambitious offshore wind plans. “With this firm contract now signed, we are ready to bring our best-in-class fleet and experienced crews to support Ocean Winds on this important project. Poland is establishing itself as a key offshore wind market in Europe, and this project will be a significant step in strengthening the country’s renewable energy ambitions.“We look forward to expanding our presence in the Polish Baltic Sea, building on the strong pipeline of projects we have already secured in the region,” said Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler.
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Gold prices flatten as investors wait for more Fed signals after widely anticipated cut
The gold price was flat on Friday, as the Federal Reserve failed to meet investors' expectations of further easing. Markets were also waiting for more clues about the U.S.'s policy direction. As of 0311 GMT, spot gold had not changed much at $3646.23 an ounce. Bullion reached a record-high of $3,707.40 per ounce on Wednesday. The price of U.S. December gold futures was also unchanged at $3,678.90. "Sentiment has definitely cooled down a little bit, but it is still bullish." "The Fed did not really provide the dovish advice needed to drive gold higher," Capital.com Analyst Kyle Rodda stated. Rodda said that the forecast of only a single cut in 2026 is above the market price and has resulted in a rise of yields and the US dollar. We need to do something to change this dynamic and get gold back to its previous solid performance above $3,700. "Some weak U.S. statistics would probably be enough." The Fed cut rates again on Wednesday, and while it opened the door for further easing, its message was tempered with warnings about sticky inflation. This raised doubts over the pace of future rate cuts. Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the policy as a risk management cut in response the weakening of the labour market. He said that the central bank is in a situation where it has to "meet-by-meeting" about the rate outlook. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in 92% of another 25 basis-points reduction at the Fed’s October meeting. Low rates reduce the cost of holding bullion that does not yield. Data showed that the number of Americans who filed new claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week. However, labour market conditions softened due to a decrease in demand and supply. Platinum gained 0.2% at $1,386.10 and spot silver increased 0.7% to 42.11 dollars an ounce. Palladium was on its way to a weekly decline, having gained 0.6%, or $1,157.49. It has lost 3.3% this week. (Reporting and editing by Sumana Naandy in Bengaluru, Brijesh Patel from Bengaluru)
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Nikkei records record, Asian shares end week of central banks with gains
The Nikkei soared to a new record as the Bank of Japan opted not to raise rates again. This week, the central banks of the United States of America, Canada, and Norway all cut their interest rates, while the Bank of England remained unchanged. Bank of Japan's easy monetary policy is expected to remain unchanged Friday despite domestic political uncertainty. James Rossiter is the head of global macro strategy for TD Securities. We expect many central banks to cut their risk appetites at their next meeting, despite the fact that there is still a lot of uncertainty. Nikkei rose 0.7% on Friday to reach another record high before the BOJ meeting. This brought the weekly increase to 2%, after a 4% rise the previous week. The Japanese yen remained at 148 per $1. The data showed that Japan's core rate of inflation was 2.7% for the year ending August. This is the lowest pace in nine month, but it still exceeded the central bank's target of 2%. Chang Wei Liang is a FX & credit analyst at DBS Group. He said that given the political uncertainty, a BOJ interest rate hike could be delayed until the results of the LDP's leadership elections on the 4th October. He said that the LDP candidate Sanae Takaichi's comments, which she will make at a presser later on Friday, to explain her policy, may have an impact on the yen, given her preference for a monetary and fiscal policy that is accommodative. South Korea fell by 0.4%, but remained near its record high. The week-over-week gain was 1.5%, which brings the two-week total to almost 8%. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell 0.3% on Friday, but it is still expected to rise by 0.5% weekly. It is not far off its four-year highs. On Friday, stock options, stock index options, and stock index futures expire all on the same date, resulting in increased trading activity and possible market volatility. Nasdaq and S&P futures both remained unchanged. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3%, as the Hang Seng slipped 0.2% ahead of a phone call expected between President Donald Trump with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Investors have a lot to consider before the meeting, with a possible deal on TikTok, China's Huawei revealing its chip plans and Beijing ordering tech companies not to purchase Nvidia AI chips. The benchmark S&P 500 index, Dow Jones and Nasdaq closed overnight at new records, thanks to better data on jobless claims and news that Nvidia would invest $5 billion into the struggling U.S. semiconductor maker Intel. Intel shares soared 23% while Nvidia rose 3.5%. The dollar recovered on the foreign exchange market after the Fed made its first cut in 9 months. The dollar index remained at 97.42 after plunging as low as 96.224, a multi-year record. The BOE held rates at 4%, and the pound lost 0.6% over night. Dollar gained 0.9% against the Norwegian crown following the Norges Bank's rate cut and indication that rates may continue to drop. The 10-year Treasury yields remained at 4,1102% on the bond market after gaining 3 basis points overnight. Oil prices on commodity markets were stable Friday after falling in the previous session. U.S. crude oil was barely changed at $63.60 per barrel, while Brent oil was unchanged at $67.47. Gold spot prices are held at $3.647 per ounce.
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Demand concerns outweigh US rate cuts buoyancy
The oil prices were not much different on Friday, after they had been lower the previous day, the day following the U.S. Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut this year due to concerns about fuel demand in America. Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to $67.43 per barrel at 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate futures dropped 4 cents to $63.53. Both benchmarks are on course to finish higher for the second consecutive week. The Fed lowered its policy rate on Wednesday by a quarter-point and said that more cuts were coming as a response to signs of weakness within the job market. Low borrowing costs usually boost oil demand and drive prices higher. The market was expecting a 1 million barrel increase. However, the U.S. stockpiles of distillate increased by 4 million barrels. This raised concerns about demand and pushed prices up. Tony Sycamore, IG's analyst, said that gains in the USD and U.S. Long-End Yields have further weakened support for crude oil. The dollar index increased by 0.43%, reaching 97.37. It strengthened by 0.52% against the Swiss Franc to 0.793 and grew 0.67% against the Japanese yen to 147.95. Data on the economy has also raised concerns. The latest data on jobless claims released this week showed that the U.S. labor market is softening, as both demand and supply are falling. Single-family home construction also plunged in August to a nearly 2-1/2 year low amid an oversupply of new homes. The Russian Finance Ministry has announced a new initiative to protect the state budget against oil price fluctuations as well as Western sanctions. This will ease some supply concerns. Daniel Hynes, an ANZ analyst, said that President Trump's statement that he prefers low prices to sanctions against Russia eased supply disruption concerns. (Reporting and editing by Tom Hogue; Sudarshan Varadahan)
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Zijin Gold to launch Hong Kong's biggest IPO in 2025, $3.2 billion
According to a prospectus published on Friday, Zijin Gold International is a wholly owned unit of China’s mining giant Zijin Mining and aims to raise HK$24.98billion ($3.21billion) through a Hong Kong Initial Public Offering, making it the largest offering of this kind in Hong Kong so far this year. The prospectus stated that Zijin Gold will sell 349 million shares for HK$71.59 each. Trading in shares is expected to begin on the stock exchange on September 29. Zijin Gold would be the biggest IPO in Hong Kong for this year. It would surpass Chery, a Chinese automaker, which offered on Wednesday. Chery aimed to raise $1.2 billion. The battery giant CATL raised $4.6 billion on May 15, the largest Hong Kong listing ever. In the prospectus, Zijin Gold, the company that owns all the gold mines of Zijin Mining outside China, stated it plans to use the proceeds of the sale over the next five-year period to upgrade and construct existing mines, as well as to enhance production. Morgan Stanley and CITIC Securities jointly sponsor the offering. According to Zijin, the spin-off of Zijin Gold International and its independent listing will improve financing efficiency and broaden financing channels. ($1 = $7.7771 Hong Kong Dollars) (Reporting and editing by Alan Barona in Hong Kong & Sherin Sunny, Bengaluru)
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Nigeria leads the continent-wide campaign for unification of oil regulations
The Nigerian oil regulator announced that African oil regulators, led by Nigeria, have launched a forum to harmonise oil regulation. This is in an effort to attract investment in the rapidly growing energy sector in the region. African oil regulators, due to the decline in investment dollars, are betting on a more transparent and consistent energy market that is integrated across all jurisdictions. Sixteen countries gathered at Accra for the signing of the charter establishing African Petroleum Regulators Forum. Gbenga Kmolafe was the chairperson of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, which is the upstream regulator of Nigeria. Eight countries, including Nigeria Ghana, Somalia Gambia Madagascar Sudan, Guinea and Togo have endorsed this charter formally, while seven other countries have pledged their support, pending consultations at home. AFRIPERF aims at becoming the continent's leading platform for regulatory co-operation, knowledge sharing and promotion of investment in the petroleum industry. Its mission is to create standards, improve transparency, and address cross-border issues such as the gas trade, emissions, and digitalisation. Komolafe said that this is a crucial step towards building a sustainable and harmonized petroleum industry in Africa. He noted that the forum would help to ensure Africa's oil and gas resources are managed "with innovation, responsibility and foresight." The forum's governance will be overseen by an executive committee made up of regulatory heads. They will be supported by a technical panel of subject matter experts, and a rotating Secretariat. In the next few months, AFRIPERF will elect its chairperson and location of headquarters. This move reflects the growing desire of African nations to align their energy governance standards with global ones, while also asserting a greater voice in international policy.
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US judge declares defaulted Venezuelan bonds valid
On Thursday, a U.S. court upheld the validity and the 2020 bonds of Venezuelan oil company PDVSA. This led to the suspension of an auction of shares of the parent company of Venezuelan-owned U.S. refining firm Citgo. The bonds are secured by a majority stake in Citgo, which is ultimately owned by Caracas-headquartered PDVSA. The company defaulted in 2019 on the bonds, putting the refiner under threat of seizure from creditors. Since years, bondholders and companies expropriated by Venezuela have been fighting in U.S. courtrooms for the country's assets abroad, including Houston-based refiner Citgo Petroleum valued at $13 billion. Venezuela defaulted in the payment of those bonds and others issued by PDVSA and the country. After winning arbitration cases, several companies whose Venezuelan assets had been expropriated from them by the late president Hugo Chavez now seek to seize Venezuela's overseas assets. Citgo cut ties with PDVSA after Washington sanctioned it in 2019 to try and oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. The Venezuelan political opposition then took over the company's control. The opposition is trying to protect Citgo, and other assets, from creditors or companies that are seeking compensation for expropriated assets or defaulted debt. The opposition argued that 2020 bonds had not been issued in accordance with Venezuelan law. Katherine Polk Failla, U.S. district judge in Manhattan, ruled on Thursday that the bonds had indeed been issued properly. The bonds were declared valid by the judge in 2020. However, an appeals court ordered a further review. Failla's decision led to a brief suspension of a separate Delaware auction for shares in Citgo parent company, before U.S. district judge Leonard Stark. This was done to allow the court time to consider the implications of Failla’s ruling. Citgo, the 7th largest oil refiner in the United States, will likely be determined by the auction. 15 companies, including bondholders, are bidding for Citgo's assets. The auction includes a subsidiary from Gold Reserve, and Amber Energy, a division of Elliott Investment Management. Lawyers for Venezuela said in Stark's Stark courtroom earlier this week that they would appeal if the validity of 2020 bonds was confirmed. Sources close to preparations say that after Failla's decision, the boards overseeing Citgo met urgently with their lawyers in order to plan future action. The sale proceedings are now in their fourth week. The judge has yet to make key decisions regarding pending procedural questions or confirm the auction winner.
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Hyundai Motor will increase US production and trim profit margins on tariff hit
Hyundai Motor announced on Thursday that it will produce over 80% of its vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030, in response to U.S. Tariff Policies. The South Korean automaker is ramping up capacity at their Georgia plant. In a press release, the automaker announced that it had lowered its target for 2025 operating profit to 6-7%. This was down from an earlier stated 7-8%. The company cited U.S. Tariffs as a reason. The company still expects its profit margins will improve to 7-8% in 2027, and 8-9% in 2030. Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp, the third largest automaker in the world by sales, announced that their Georgia factory would reach a production capacity of 500,000 cars a year by 2020, using a mixture of hybrids and electric vehicles. Jose Munoz said, on Thursday, at a Hyundai Motor investor day in New York that he hopes South Korea and the U.S. can work together to find solutions for short term business travel by specialised workers. Munoz stated that many of the workers detained were helping to calibrate and test advanced production technology in a facility supporting Hyundai's U.S. operation. Hyundai reported that 40% of the vehicles it sold in America, its largest market, which generates about 40% of revenue, were manufactured in America in this year. Shin Yoon Chul, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said that Hyundai's plan to produce 80% of its vehicles in the United States, which is the highest production in the industry, may later turn into a fixed cost burden. Shin said Hyundai would need to prove that maintaining U.S. manufacturing at this level makes sense even if the tariffs are removed. For example, by showing that after its Georgia factory breaks-even, humanoid robotics could be deployed there in order to further increase profitability. The automaker will also expand its global lineup of hybrid vehicles to 18 models or more by the end the decade. This is up from the 14 models that were announced last year. It will also launch its first midsize pickup truck in North America in 2030 and extended range electric vehicle (EREV) in 2027. The company's Georgia factory will manufacture a mixture of hybrid and electric models. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on July 30 that the U.S. would charge a tariff of 15% on South Korean imports, compared to the 25% threatened, and lower duties on auto imports, from 25% to 15%, as a reward for Seoul investing $350 Billion in the United States. Washington has implemented a 15% lower tariff rate for imports of autos and auto parts coming from Japan. South Korea, on the other hand, still faces 25% tariffs. Seoul and Washington are still struggling to resolve details of the $350 billion fund for investment that was agreed upon in July. Hyundai Motor reported that U.S. Tariffs cost them 828 billion won (606.37 million dollars) in the second-quarter. The impact is expected to be greater in the period from July to September. Reporting by Heekyong Ya, Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Ji; editing by Ed Davies, Nia Williams
OPEC oil output falls in April, led by Iran and Iraq, survey finds
OPEC oil output has fallen in April, a study discovered on Tuesday, showing lower exports from Iran, Iraq and Nigeria versus a backdrop of continuous voluntary supply cuts by some members agreed with the larger OPEC+ alliance.
The Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 26.49 million barrels daily (bpd) this month, down 100,000 bpd from March's modified overall, the study, based upon shipping information and information from industry sources, discovered. << PRODN-TOTAL >
A number of members of OPEC+, that includes OPEC, Russia and other allies, made new cuts in January to counter economic weakness and increased supply outside the group. Manufacturers agreed in March to keep the cuts in location up until completion of June.
OPEC+ is arranged to satisfy on June 1 to choose its next output policy steps.
The greatest output reductions in April came from Iran, Nigeria and Iraq, the survey discovered.
Output in Iran, exempt from quotas, slipped from an upwardly revised March figure that equated to a five-year high reached in November, the survey found. Iran posted one of OPEC's. biggest output increases in 2023 despite U.S. sanctions still in. place.
Iraq in March guaranteed to lower exports to offset. pumping above its OPEC target, but
information on Monday
showed it missed the promise last month. April output is. down slightly from March, according to the study.
Nigerian production decreased, with exports falling more. greatly according to some ship trackers as the Dangote refinery. took in more freights. An interruption briefly affected the Bonny. production stream, a source said.
OPEC fell about 140,000 bpd short of its targeted cuts. in April, mainly due to the fact that of Iraq and Gabon pumping more than. they had gone for, the survey discovered. Nigeria is pumping below. its target, unlike earlier in the year.
Saudi production edged up and there were small increases. from Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, the survey discovered.
The study intends to track supply to the marketplace. and is based on shipping data supplied by external sources, LSEG. flows information, info from business that track circulations - such. as Petro-Logistics and Kpler - and information supplied by. sources at oil business, OPEC and specialists.
(source: Reuters)