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Aluminium prices fall as stocks and Chinese supplies increase
Prices of aluminium fell on Monday, following a rise in stocks registered at the London Metal Exchange and Chinese data showing a rising production. In official open-outcry trade, the benchmark three-month aluminum on the LME fell 1.2% to $2,452 per metric tonne. Aluminium stocks on warrant in the LME Daily LME data revealed that the number of tons rose to 343,025 after 92950 tons were returned on warrant. A title document conferring ownership, this is a document which confirms ownership. Reverse cancellation has reduced the number of cancelled warrants in total to 12.8%, easing concerns over the availability of aluminium on the LME ahead of this week's expiration of contracts. Spread between cash contract and 3-month aluminum On Friday, it was at a premium of $6. Data showed that China's aluminium production increased by 3,4% between January and April, to 14,8 million tons. This added further pressure. The slowdown in China's manufacturing output and disappointing retail sales figures, coupled with the stagnation of new home prices, also impacted sentiment. The LME Aluminium is supported by a 21-day moving Average of $2,435. Concerns about the future supply of bauxite, the raw material used to make alumina, from Guinea also contributed to a rise of 4.5% in alumina on Shanghai Futures Exchange. This was their highest level since March. Citi stated in a recent note that the decision of Guinea's military to revoke 51 mining licenses for bauxite and gold concessions as well as diamonds, graphite, and other minerals, last week, has added to the growing uncertainty around mining operations in Guinea. In official activity, LME copper climbed 0.7% to $9.515 per ton as the dollar dropped against a variety of currencies. Dollar-priced materials become more appealing to buyers who use other currencies when the dollar is weaker. Other metals saw a 0.1% decline in zinc to $2,689.5 per ton. Lead fell 0.7% to 1,986, Tin increased 0.1% at $32,860, and Nickel dropped 1.1% at $15,470. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman.)
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China's crude oil surplus surged in April, as refinery output dipped. Russell
In April, the amount of crude oil that was available in China for storage grew for a second consecutive month. Imports were relatively high while refinery processing declined. According to calculations based upon official data, China's crude surplus amounted to 1,89 million barrels a day (bpd), the highest since June 2023, and an increase from 1,74 million bpd last March. China, which is the world's largest crude importer and has been a major buyer of oil, has bought large quantities of discounted oil, mainly from Iran and Russia, in countries that are under Western sanctions. China does not reveal the volume of crude oil flowing in or out of its strategic and commercial stockspiles. However, an estimate can still be made if you subtract the amount of crude oil that is available through imports and domestic production from the total crude. According to data released by the government on Monday, refiners processed 14,12 million barrels per day in April. This is down from 14,85 million barrels per day in March, and 1.4% less than one year ago. Crude imports in April were down from a 19-month high (12.11 million bpd) in March. Last month, domestic production fell slightly from its 14-year-high of 4,48 million bpd in March. After subtracting the refinery output of 14,12 million bpd, there is a surplus 1.89 million BPD. The surplus crude was 880,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first four quarters of the year. This is up from the 580,000 barrels per day for the first three months. China's refiners used up their inventories for the first time since 18 months in the first two-month period of 2025. They processed about 30,000 barrels per day more than they could get from crude imports or domestic production. The massive surpluses of March and April, however, have reversed this earlier trend. Not all this excess crude has likely been stored, as some is processed in plants that are not included in the official data. Even if you ignore the gaps in official data, there is no doubt that China imported crude oil at a rate far greater than what it needed to meet its domestic fuel needs in March and in April. Options What is the likely trajectory of China's crude oil imports and refinery production in the next few months? Refiners have more options with the large amount of crude oil surplus that has accumulated in recent months. China's refineries are known to buy surplus crude oil when prices are low and reduce imports when prices rise too fast or too high. The increase in imports between March and April is largely due to refiners purchasing Iranian and Russian crude. This was partly because these grades are cheaper than other grades but also partially due to fears that U.S. sanctions against vessels and buyers could be effective. According to commodity analysts Kpler, China's seaborne exports from Russia reached 1.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, and 1.22 millions bpd during March. These were the two strongest months since 1.51million bpd was recorded in October of last year. Kpler estimated that imports from Iran fell to 743,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April. This was down from 1,39 million bpd, the highest monthly figure since October. If they can find a way to avoid the U.S. sanction, it's likely Chinese refiners would continue to purchase Russian and Iranian crude. It would appear that if the volume of crude they can import from these two suppliers is limited, they will have enough in stock to avoid the risk of driving prices up by importing other sources. These are the views of a columnist who writes for.
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Blackstone's $11.5 billion TXNM Energy investment is a bet on the soaring demand for power
Blackstone Infrastructure is acquiring utility company TXNM Energy for $11.5 billion, including debt. The investment firm is betting on the rising demand for electricity in the U.S. and a move to cleaner energy sources. TXNM shares rose 9.2% in premarket trade to $57.75 after Blackstone Infrastructure, a New Mexico-based utility, announced on Monday that it valued the company at $61.25 a share. This represents a 15% premium compared to the last close of the stock, according to LSEG. More companies are investing in utilities as the U.S. is expected to have a record-breaking power demand in 2025. This will be driven by increasing energy consumption in AI and cryptocurrency datacenters, as well as residential and commercial consumers. Utility NRG Energy announced last week that it will acquire certain power generation assets in a $12 billion deal from energy infrastructure investment company LS Power. Earlier this month, KKR Investments and PSP Investments bought a 20% share in American Electric Power’s transmission network. The deal was worth $2.82 billion. Last week, it was reported that Blackstone is in negotiations to purchase the utility focused on New Mexico and Texas. This information came from people who are familiar with the situation. Blackstone, a $60 billion infrastructure asset manager, bets that the high capital requirements in grid modernization and stable, regulated returns make TXNM an ideal long-term investment. TXNM said that the long-term capital provided by Blackstone will help it meet its clean energy and electricity demands, while maintaining grid stability. The company also plans to issue another $400 million in equity before the Blackstone deal is completed. According to its website, TXNM Energy supplies electricity to 800,000. TXNM reported that CEO Pat Collawn would step down after the closing of the deal, which is expected to take place in the second half 2026. He will be replaced by Don Tarry, an insider. Tanay Dhumal reported from Bengaluru. Editing was done by Anil D’Silva and Shinjini Ganguli.
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Malaysia's Prefchem restarts its gasoline unit after repairs, say sources
Four sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that Malaysia's Pengerang Refining Company, or Prefchem, has restarted its residue fluid catalytic (RFCC), after it was shut down for repairs in early 2018. One source said that the run rates of the Pengerang complex, in Johor which produces primarily gasoline, are still not at full capacity. They said that the unit had been closed since the end of January because of technical problems. In addition, the crude processing rate at the 300 000 bpd refinery has also fallen to an average of around 50% in the last four months. Prefchem, the joint venture between Malaysian state-owned energy giant Petronas, and Saudi Aramco did not respond immediately to a comment request. Three sources confirmed that Prefchem's RFCCs experienced production problems in the fourth quarter of last year. Since last Friday, a source has reported that there have been sporadic offers from refineries for gasoline cargoes to be loaded in June. Kpler data on ship tracking showed that the refiner should receive 4 million barrels or more of crude oil imports in May, which is similar to April. According to an estimate from a trade source, diesel should load 5-6 300 000 barrel cargoes in May. Shiptracking data from LSEG & Kpler revealed that diesel exports were less than one million barrels in May. Three other sources confirmed that Prefchem had also taken offline the only cracker in the complex, which produces 1.2 million metric tons of ethylene per year, for repairs. The unit is expected to be restarted by the second half of June. (Reporting and editing by Florence Tan, Louise Heavens and Trixie Yap)
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German Spot rises due to higher demand
The European spot electricity price for Tuesday delivery increased on Monday, compared with the previous week, due to a decline in wind production and a rise in demand, which outweighed heightened German solar production. French nuclear production also increased. LSEG data show that the German baseload electricity price for Tuesday at 0930 GMT was 92.25 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), up 13.2% compared with last Monday's price. Data showed that the equivalent French contract had not been traded. LSEG analyst Florine Engl said that residual load in Germany is expected to rise on Tuesday as a result of decreasing wind energy supply and increased consumption. Imports are expected throughout the day. LSEG data indicated that the German wind power production was expected to drop by 1.6 gigawatts to 5.7 GW while French output is projected to decline by 340 megawatts to 4.4 GW. The data indicated that the German solar generation is expected to increase by 1.6 GW to 17.1 GW on February 2. The Netherlands has decided to postpone the tendering of two offshore wind farms, with a combined capacity of 2 gigawatts (2 GW), due to a lack interest among potential bidders. The Dutch government announced this on Friday. On Tuesday, power consumption in Germany will increase by 2.1 GW. Demand in France will rise by 1.4 MW. The French nuclear capacity has increased by one percentage point, to 65%. The German baseload power for the year ahead fell by 1%, to 87.75 Euros/MWh. The French equivalent fell 3% to 57.5 Euros. The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets fell by 1%, to 70.25 Euros per metric ton. Reporting by Forrest Crellin, Editing by
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According to Ukrainian media, Russians have killed an elderly woman and man in Kherson.
Police and regional officials confirmed that a man and a woman in their 70s were both killed in separate Russian strikes on Kherson in southern Ukraine. Local authorities and police reported on Telegram that a 75-year old woman died and two others were injured in shelling of the central part of Kherson late Sunday night. Police said that a 76-year old man was killed by a drone on Monday morning in the Kakhovka District of Kherson, on the Dnipro River. The police posted photos on Telegram of the damaged buildings and vehicles following the attacks. They said that the attacks had caused damage to two apartment buildings, seventeen private homes, a factory and other infrastructure. Russia, who began its full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February 20, did not comment immediately on the reports. On Sunday, it carried out the largest drone attack in the war. The White House is stepping up its efforts to stop Russia's war against Ukraine, and President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
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Gold prices rise on dollar weakness and US downgrade
Gold prices increased by more than 1% Monday. This was due to a weaker US dollar and a demand for safe-haven assets after Moody's lowered the credit rating of the U.S. Government amid persistent trade concerns. At 0839 GMT the spot gold price was $3,234.41 per ounce, reversing previous session losses. U.S. Gold Futures rose 1.6% to $3237.70. Carlo Alberto De Casa is an external analyst with Swissquote. He said that gold has recovered above $3,200 after a week of negative performance. This is due to the increased appetite for safe-haven assets as a result of concerns about the U.S. economy outlook. Moody's, the largest rating agency, downgraded the United States' sovereign credit rating on Friday by one notch. The ratings agency cited concerns over the growing debt of $36 trillion. The dollar fell 0.7% against a basket other major currencies. This made greenback priced gold more affordable for overseas buyers. In television interviews, U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent stated that Donald Trump would impose tariffs on trading partners who do not negotiate "in good faith" at the same rate that he had threatened last month. The risk sentiment on the financial markets was also affected by China's soft economic data. Gold, which is often used to store value during times of political or financial uncertainty, reached an all-time record of $3,500.05 for one ounce of gold on April 22, and has risen 22% this year. Goldman Sachs stated in a report that despite the delayed Fed cuts and lower U.S. economic risk, they maintain their gold price forecast at $3,700/oz for year-end, and $4,000/oz for mid-2026. In a Saturday social media post, President Donald Trump said that the Federal Reserve "should cut rates sooner rather than later". Spot silver increased 0.6%, to $32.46 per ounce. Platinum rose 0.7%, to $994.60. Palladium gained 0.8% to $968.32.
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Six dead, 14 missing after landslide at Indonesian Papua gold mine
Officials said that torrential rains on Monday forced a halt to the search for Indonesia's 14 missing people in its easternmost region, Papua. A landslide at a gold-mining site killed six workers and injured four others. Abdul Muhari said that the rains were responsible for the landslide on Friday, which struck a small mine operated by residents in the Arfak Mountains of West Papua Province. The authorities will resume their search on Tuesday for the missing following the disaster that engulfed temporary housing used by miners. Yefri Sabarruddin, leader of a 40-person team, which included police and military officers, and recovered five bodies, said that the search was hindered by "damaged tracks and mountains as well as bad climate". He said that it would take 12 hours to travel from the nearest city to the site. The Monday tally has been updated from the earlier figure of 19 missing and one dead. In Indonesia, accidents caused by illegal and small-scale mining have often occurred in areas where minerals are found in remote locations with conditions that are difficult to regulate. The number of fatalities could increase. In September last year, heavy rains caused a landslide that led to the collapse of a gold mine illegal in West Sumatra. In July of last year, another landslide at a gold-mining site on the island of Sulawesi killed 23 people. (Reporting and editing by Ananda Teresia, Clarence Fernandez, and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Asian petrochemical producers chase ethane gains as margins dwindle
As they struggle with thin margins and a global oversupply of petrochemicals, executives from several Asian companies said that they plan to reconfigure crackers in order to process more Ethane. This will reduce costs and allow them to take advantage of the rising U.S. supply.
SP Chemicals, a Chinese company, and YNCC in South Korea are two of the largest cracker operators. Mitsui Chemicals in Japan is researching the use of ethanol to fuel existing crackers.
This change will enable operators to maintain flexibility in their feedstocks, with U.S. exports of ethane expected to increase by about 7% by 2025. Ethane is a byproduct from shale gases and it's usually cheaper than naphtha, which is more commonly used.
You-Jin Lee, the CEO of South Korea's YNCC, said that it is reevaluating its investment plan to improve cost-efficiency at its crackers. These have run at a minimum utilisation rate of 70-80% this year.
Lee said that one way to do this is by increasing the use of ethane.
SP Chemicals in China is studying the possibility of increasing ethane usage at its petrochemical facility in Jiangsu Province, eastern China to as much as 90%.
Source at east-China naphtha cracker, who refused to be identified because they weren't authorised to talk to the media: "Flexible Crackers will be the most fit to survive when margins plummet."
Armaan Ashraf is the global head of Natural Gas Liquids at the consultancy FGE. He was referring to the petrochemical project in the Middle East.
PTT Global Chemical, Thailand, will use U.S. ethane at its petrochemical facility as an alternative feedstock, starting in 2029. The company announced this in a report presented at APIC.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in its report of May 6, that INEOS was building a cracker capable of producing 1.45 million tonnes per year. This is happening because global chemical giants are closing plants due to high costs and low margins.
EIA estimates that this project will use up to 75,000 barrels of ethane per day when it becomes operational in mid-2026.
An Indian industry source stated that other importers such as India will need to invest in infrastructure, including storage and vessels, to increase the use of Ethane in their plants.
For example, ONGC seeks partners to build large ethane carrier ships to ship in 800.000 metric tons of ethane per year starting May 2028, for its Western India petrochemical plants.
EIA predicts that U.S. production of ethane will rise to a record 3.1 millions bpd by 2026, up from 2.9million bpd.
EIA stated that this will increase U.S. Exports to 540,000 BPD in 2025, and 640,000 BPD in 2026.
EIA estimates that Wanhua Chemicals' newly opened cracker in Yantai, eastern China, which can either process ethane, or naphtha will add between 50,000-75,000 barrels per day (bpd) to U.S. demand for ethane this year.
(source: Reuters)