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Sources say that dozens of US EIA employees are leaving, putting vital energy data in danger.
Five sources said that the U.S. Department of Energy's statistics division is likely to lose dozens after the Trump Administration's latest round resignation offers. This will put at risk some the most closely followed energy reports in the world, they added. Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes data on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis. This includes crude and fuel inventory, price forecasts, and figures for oil and gas production. These are all used by energy companies and traders as indicators of future demand and supply, which can affect prices. According to one source, up to a third of EIA’s 300-350 employees have left the agency or accepted buyouts. This has happened since the beginning of the year. Three EIA employees, among others, claimed that the number of departures was in the dozens. It's difficult to predict whether the weekly energy data will continue. One source said, "I can't imagine how they'll continue over time." Three sources, without mentioning the projects, said that the EIA has put new project development on hold or delayed. The EIA has not responded to a comment request. More than 2,600 U.S. Department of Energy employees have accepted resignation offers. The hardest hit offices were those dealing with power grid stability, and those that deal with loans for high-tech projects. A DOE spokesperson responded to an article's request for comments by saying that the DOE was conducting a review of its entire organizational structure. The spokesperson stated that "no final decisions have yet been made, and many plans are still under consideration." Market participants are closely following the EIA's publications in order to make trading decisions. The EIA also publishes smaller articles for the public to help explain jargon and describe trends in the energy industry. EIA data is used by industry analysts to create their own models or to confirm their models. According to the website of the agency, its data, analyses and forecasts do not require approval from any officer or employee of U.S. Government, thereby ensuring that it is free of bias. The EIA data was a great help in determining prices and leveling the playing field. John Kilduff of Again Capital, who has used the data as input in every model for more than 20 year said that it would be damaging not to have this data. Kilduff continued, "This information will be held closely by companies and I don't believe that it would be shared with the industry." Reporting by Arathy S. Somasekhar, Stephanie Kelly, in New York and Valerie Volcovici, in Washington D.C.
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Indonesia Nickel group demands a reevaluation of the new mineral royalty rules
Secretary general Meidy Kathrin, of the Indonesia Nickel Miners Association, said that on Wednesday they called on the government to reevaluate a recent regulation imposing higher royalty rates on nickel ore. Meidy says that the new royalties will burden miners already facing rising costs. She said that she understood that the policy had been officially enacted but hoped that the government would still allow for dialogue. Meidy stated that under the new rules Indonesia will impose a royalty rate of 14% to 19.0% on nickel ore. This is an increase from the existing single tariff of 10.0%. Semi-refined nickel pig iron, however, will be subject to a royalty of 5% to 7.0%. She said that the new regulation will take effect 15 days following its signing date on April 11. The rates are the same as those announced following a consultation held last month. Officials from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry did not respond when asked for comments on the new regulation. (Reporting and editing by John Mair; Fransiska Nanangoy)
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Putin and Qatari emir discuss Ukraine and Middle East
The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, will meet in Moscow to discuss Ukraine and Middle East. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin's spokesman, told reporters that there would be a "definitely" an exchange of views on Ukrainian issues between Putin and Emir of Qatar. There will be an exchange on regional issues as well. "The conflict potential in the region is enormous." Qatar is a major player in the efforts to resolve many problems," Peskov stated. The emir will arrive in Moscow on Tuesday and meet Putin on Thursday. Qatar has tried to mediate a number of disputes between Russia and Ukraine and helped arrange for the return of separated children from both countries. We highly value the current and potential level Peskov stated that Qatar was "a great partner for our economic and trade cooperation". And, of course our confidential dialogue, which covers many sensitive topics. (Reporting and writing by Anastasia Lyrchikova, editing by Guy Faulconbridge; Lucy Papachristou is the writer; Guy Faulconbridge is the editor).
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Sandvik's core profits miss expectations in the first quarter
Sandvik, a Swedish manufacturer of metal-cutting equipment and mining equipment, reported on Wednesday a core profit for the first quarter that was below expectations. The company also said that it expects tariffs to have a minimal impact on margins in future. Operating profit before amortization and items affecting comparableability increased 9% from a previous year to 5.77 billion Swedish Crowns ($588.75 millions) in the third quarter. However, it missed a median forecast of 5.91 million crowns by analysts polled at LSEG. In a recent statement, CEO Stefan Widing stated that the impact of tariffs on Sandvik's margins will be "limited". The global tariff announcements have not yet affected demand for Sandvik products. He said that the recent announcements of increased global tariffs would have an impact on the macroeconomic climate going forward. It is still too early to make any predictions about how the new regulations will impact our industries or market segments in the future. Sandvik's orders rose by 2% in value to 32.76 billion crowns compared with the same period of last year. Sandvik is a good indicator of the demand for industrial products in Scandinavia, given its large customer base and quick lead times. At 0935 GMT its shares were down by 1.6%, trading at roughly the same level as they did before it released its quarterly report.
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Nvidia shares fall as US chip sales curbs hurt the company. Gold hits record levels
Asian and European stocks fell along with U.S. futures on Wednesday as AI darling Nvidia was hit by U.S. restrictions against chip sales to China in the midst of the intensifying trade war. Gold rose to a new record, and the dollar declined. Treasury yields fell slightly before a speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, scheduled for later that day. The traders are wondering if Powell will echo the tone of his Fed Governor Christopher Waller. Washington has issued overnight new export licensing requirements to China for Nvidia’s H20 artificial intelligence chip and AMD’s MI308 artificial intelligent chip. Nvidia shares fell 6% after hours trading after the company said that it would cost $5.5billion. Daniel Ives is an analyst at Wedbush. He said: "This disclosure shows that Nvidia has huge restrictions and obstacles in selling to China." The Street will react with apprehension, as they are worried that these are the opening shots in the US-China tech war and Beijing/Xi won't just take the news and walk off. Donald Trump also ordered an investigation into the possibility of new tariffs for all U.S. imports of critical minerals, in addition to reviews on pharmaceuticals and chips imports. Beijing continues to be aggressive, and has reportedly told airlines to stop delivering Boeing aircraft. Early European stock markets fell, with the STOXX 600 Index down by 0.9%. U.S. S&P futures dropped 0.7%, while Nasdaq Futures dropped 1.3%. In the afternoon, Asian stocks began to decline. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan dropped 1% and ended a four-day streak of gains. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1.9%, despite the fact that the blue chip index of China rose 0.3% as investors digested solid GDP data which pre-dated the April tariff increases. Aneeka Gupta is an economist and strategist with WisdomTree. Gupta stated that the Chinese restrictions have raised concerns about access to global technology hardware. This is also leading to a little risk-off feeling in the market today. The White House stated that Trump is willing to make a deal with China, but Beijing must be the first one to move. GOLD SHINES Gold has been unstoppable in the face of uncertainty, and it is now at a record high of $3.318 an ounce. This was a 2% increase. The Australian bank ANZ updated its forecast on Wednesday for gold to reach $3,600 per ounce by year's end, arguing safe-haven demands for the asset will pick up. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks currency against six peers fell 0.5%, to its lowest level since April 2022, as investors continued to be cautious with U.S. assets. The Japanese yen, and Swiss francs, which are seen as safe assets in times of market turmoil, have rallied by around 0.4% and respectively. The yen has reached its highest levels since September, while the franc has hit its highest levels in 10 years. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said to the Sankei daily that the central banks may have to take action if U.S. Tariffs hurt the Japanese Economy, indicating the possibility of a halt to the bank's rate hike cycle. As stocks declined, investors moved into government bond markets. However, U.S. Treasuries rose less than German Bunds. The benchmark 10-year rate was down by 1 bp to 4.316% after yields surged on last week's concerns over the stability of the U.S. economic system. Germany's 10-year Bond yield is now at 2,501%. This is the lowest it has been since early March. Prices and yields are inversely related.
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Trade war worries cause major Gulf markets to fall
The major stock markets of the Gulf region fell on Wednesday morning amid concerns over the impact of the U.S. China trade war and uncertainty about changing U.S. policies. Trump has increased tariffs on Chinese products to eye-watering amounts, prompting Beijing slap retaliatory duty on U.S. Imports. Markets fear that this will intensify the trade war between two of the largest economies in the world and lead to global recession. Trump, who had already ordered reviews of chip and pharmaceutical imports, also ordered an investigation into possible new tariffs. Beijing continues to be aggressive, as it has reportedly told airlines to stop delivering Boeing aircraft. Saudi Arabia's main stock index fell 0.4%. This was due to a 0.6% drop in the oil giant Saudi Aramco, and a 1.3% decline in Riyad Bank. Separately United Carton Industries Company announced on Tuesday plans to floated a 30% stake in the Saudi Exchange main market. This would be the company's first initial public offering (IPO) since trade tensions caused a sell-off on the Kingdom's equity markets. Dubai's main stock index dropped 0.7%. The top lender, Emirates NBD, fell 2.3% while blue-chip developer Emaar Properties declined 1.3%. In Abu Dhabi the index fell by 0.4%. Oil prices, a key factor in the Gulf's financial market, have fallen as the uncertainty caused by the U.S. trade policies has increased. Traders are now assessing the impact the U.S. vs. China trade war could have on the economic growth and the energy demand. The Qatari Index fell 0.2% due to a drop of 0.6% in Qatar Islamic Bank.
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Oil prices fall as markets evaluate impact of US-China Trade War
Oil prices dropped on Wednesday, as traders weighed the impact of the U.S. trade war and changing tariff policies on the U.S. economy and energy demand. Brent crude futures dropped 39 cents or 0.6% to $64.28 per barrel at 0758 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 43 cents or 0.7% to $60.90. Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil, said that "oil was under pressure due to the IEA lowering its estimates of global oil demand growth". The International Energy Agency reported on Tuesday that the growth of global oil demand in 2025 will be at its lowest level for five years and U.S. output gains will also slow down due to President Donald Trump's trade tariffs and their retaliatory actions. The IEA forecasts that global oil demand will rise this year by 730,000 barrels a day (bpd), a sharp drop from its previous estimate of 1.03 million bpd. The IEA's reduction in the demand estimate is greater than the cut made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Monday. Imad Al Khayyat, research leader at London Stock Exchange Group, stated that the tariff dispute between China and the U.S. remains the greatest threat to global oil demand and the economy. Al-Khayyat stated that "each week without any signs of an end to this standoff increases the probability of a worldwide recession and lowers price ceiling". Oil prices have fallen by 13% in the last month due to concerns over Trump's escalating trade tariffs and rising production from OPEC+, which includes OPEC, Russia, and other allies. Several banks, such as UBS, BNP Paribas, and HSBC have cut their crude oil price forecasts due to the uncertainty surrounding trade tensions. Trump has increased tariffs on Chinese products to eye-watering amounts, prompting Beijing retaliatory duty on U.S. imported goods in an intensifying war of trade between the two largest economies. Data released on Wednesday revealed that China's GDP (gross domestic product) increased 5.4% in the first three months of the year, beating the polled 5.1% growth rate. The PVM's Varga stated that "the better than expected performance is due to exporters who frontloaded shipments before the implementation of U.S. Excise Duty on Chinese Goods and will, most likely, not be repeated in the remainder of the year, as the two largest economies in the World are trying their best decouple." Market sources cited American Petroleum Institute data on Tuesday to say that U.S. crude stock rose by 2.4 millions barrels during the week ending April 11, while gasoline inventories dropped by 3 million and distillate stocks fell by 3.2million barrels.
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Iron ore prices fall on increased Sino-US tensions and China stimulus uncertainty
The price of iron ore futures fell on Wednesday as the trade tensions between China and America escalated, causing concerns about demand prospects. Meanwhile, doubts grew over stimulus prospects after a series of positive Chinese data. The September contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange recovered some of its earlier losses and ended daytime trading 0.14% lower, at 708 yuan per metric ton. As of 0717 GMT, the benchmark May iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell 1.28% to $97.35 per ton. Data released on Wednesday showed that China's economy grew by 5.4% in the first quarter of this year, exceeding estimates. This growth was largely due to solid industrial output and consumption. China's new-home prices were also unchanged from the previous month in March, indicating a slight improvement over February when prices dropped 0.1% on a month-to-month basis. The hopes that Beijing would launch an aggressive stimulus program to counter U.S. Tariff shocks in order to achieve its annual target of growth have somewhat dimmed. This has put downward pressure on ferrous markets. Prices fell despite signs that supply was lower and demand was resilient. Rio Tinto has reported its lowest iron ore shipment in the first quarter since 2019. The company also warned that further weather disruptions may lead to an unmet forecast for 2025. Brazilian miner Vale has produced 67.7 millions metric tons iron ore during the first quarter 2025. This is down 4.5% compared to a year ago. China's crude output of steel in March increased 4.6% compared to the previous year. This was due to higher margins and robust international exports. Coking coal and coke, the other steelmaking ingredients, were both mixed. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have lost ground. Rebar dropped 1.06%, while hot-rolled coils fell 1.05%. Wire rod also lost 0.72%, and stainless steel was down by 0.08%. Analyst Zhuo Quqiu at Jinrui Futures said that the steel demand showed signs of easing from last week. The impact of trade tensions in May will likely be seen. The focus is on the potential stimulus, its timing and size. (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Colleen Waye and Mrigank Dhaniwala).
JX Advanced Metals raises $ 2,97 billion by setting IPO price at the upper end of its marketed range
JX Advanced Metals (a unit wholly owned by Japan's Eneos Holdings) raised $438.6 billion through its initial public offering, after the shares were priced above their market range.
The company valued its initial public offering (IPO) at 761.3 billion Japanese yen, or 820 yen each share. The Tokyo Stock Exchange will debut the shares on March 19.
According to LSEG data, the offering is larger than Tokyo Metro's IPO from October and is Japan's largest listing since SoftBank's Telecoms Unit in 2018.
JX Advanced Metals, a leader in the manufacture of sputtering target materials that are used to produce thin metal films for chip production.
After suffering massive impairment losses due to its investment in and operation of Chile's Caserones copper mining, the metal company has changed its focus, from mining and smelting, to supplying advanced material, with a particular emphasis on semiconductor parts.
It will continue to mine and smelt to ensure the availability of essential metals such as tantalum that are needed for advanced materials.
Eneos Japan, the largest oil refinery company in Japan, intends to use the proceeds to increase shareholder returns and for growth investments.
(source: Reuters)