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Britain will increase the price guarantee for offshore wind power by 11%
Documents from the government show that Britain will increase its guaranteed price for offshore wind projects by 11% in this year’s renewables auction, due to rising costs of projects because of inflation and supply-chain bottlenecks. Labour's government faces increasing pressure from the opposition over its affordability of net-zero and after a 66% increase in prices for offshore wind at last year’s auction. In a late-Wednesday document, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated that "renewable technologies continue face macroeconomic uncertainties and supply chain restrictions - this is especially true for wind technology." Offshore wind is at the core of the country's plans to decarbonise electricity by 2030. The country aims to increase capacity from 15 GW to 43-50 GW by the end decade. In Britain's annual renewables auctions project, developers bid for contracts-for-difference (CfD), which offer them a guaranteed price for their electricity. The government will recover the cost if wholesale prices fall below the strike price or guaranteed level. Developers pay the difference if wholesale prices fall below the strike-price. The strike price for offshore wind projects in 2012 will be 81 pounds per Megawatt Hour (MWh), up from 73 pounds in the last auction. The technology is still in its early stages of development. Floating Wind Projects will now be priced at 194 pounds/MWh. This represents an increase from the previous 176 pounds. Construction costs have increased in recent years. This has been felt by major infrastructure projects. Adam Berman said that this is true for both gas-fired plants and wind turbines. The AR7 auction will start in August, with results being announced between December 2026 and February 2026. (Reporting and editing by Ed Osmond, Susanna Twidale)
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REFILE: Gulf markets fall as trade uncertainty and mixed earnings weigh down on sentiment
Gulf stocks dipped in choppy trade on Thursday, as investors assessed a range of corporate earnings while monitoring U.S. negotiations before a deadline for tariffs. Market participants remain cautious as they await clarity regarding the direction of global policy. Recent developments such as Washington's agreement with Tokyo on lowering tariffs on Japanese imports, and signs of a potential agreement with the European Union appeared positive. Saudi Arabia's benchmark Index fell 0.2%. Index heavyweight Al Rajhi Bank lost 0.5% while Alinma Bank dropped 1.6% despite reporting an increase in earnings for the second quarter. The Abu Dhabi Index fell by 0.1% as investors stayed away from the market due to a number of earnings that were expected. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the country, declined 1.2% after a positive earnings report the day before. Bank of Sharjah shares fell by more than 2% after traders took profits on the back of a strong half-year result. Dubai's main index of shares was barely changed during a narrow trading session, due to a 2.3% decline in Emirates NBD. Top lender, Emirates NBD, reported a 9% drop in its first-half profits, due to lower recoveries and higher tax rates. Financials was the sector that performed the worst on the index. Qatar's stock index was slightly down but still near its two-and-a half-year high.
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The IEA predicts that global coal demand will stagnate through 2026.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that global coal demand is expected to plateau over the next two-years after reaching a record in 2024. The IEA data revealed that coal demand is forecast to increase by 0.2% globally in 2025, after a decline of less than 1% during the first half. This will be followed by a slight drop in 2026, which would bring the demand down just below the levels in 2024. The Chinese demand for electricity is expected to drop by less than 1% between 2025 and 2050 due to a decline in the growth of electricity demand. The U.S. is expected to see a 7% increase in demand as coal replaces natural gas, which is more expensive. The report stated that India's coal consumption declined in the first half 2025 as a result of a growth in renewable energy sources and a slower rate of electricity demand, whereas EU demand increased due to lower wind and hydro production and higher gas prices. The IEA stated that the trend is expected to reverse by 2026. China's demand for coal will recover and India's demand will increase by 2.5%. Demand in the U.S. should return to levels of 2024. The coal production is expected to reach a record high in 2025 mainly because of China and India. However, it will fall in 2026 due to lower prices and inventories. The report stated that the global coal trade will contract in 2025, for the first drop since 2020. It is also expected to decline further in 2026. This would be the first two-year drop in this century. The IEA reported that oversupply had pushed prices up to levels seen in early 2021. Indonesian production is expected to see the biggest volume drop, while Russian exporters will face the most difficult market conditions. Reporting by Forrest Cressin, Editing by Mark Potter
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Indian cement firm ACC's profit rises on strong volumes, prices
The Indian cement manufacturer ACC announced a 5% increase in its first-quarter profits on Thursday. This was due to strong volumes and higher construction materials prices. Adani Group said that the standalone profit after tax, which excludes non-core realty subsidiaries and infrastructure, rose from 3.66 billion rupees to 4.46 million rupees in the three-month period ended June. Cement makers typically have a weak season between April and June, when summer heatwaves are followed by monsoon rainfalls that slow down construction. Analysts have stated that ACC's volumes of sales have been insulated against seasonal fluctuations thanks to the cement deals signed by Gautam Adani, the billionaire owner, to compete with UltraTech Cement, the industry's leader. ACC's volume grew 12% during the quarter reported, which is higher than the range of growth projected by four brokerages. According to brokerage Ambit Capital, cement prices have also been a major support. They rose about 2% in average on a year-over-year basis during the third quarter. This has extended its recovery this year, which began with sluggishness last year. ACC's revenue grew nearly 18% year-on-year in the quarter reported, to 60.15 trillion rupees. Costs grew by over 16%, to 55.61 trillion rupees. Prices also helped UltraTech, a larger rival, to surpass earnings expectations in the quarter reported. Dalmia Bharat, a peer company, saw its consolidated profit jump mainly due to cost-control measures while revenues stagnated. Ambuja Cement, which is also owned by Adani, will report its results next week. Reporting and editing by Mrigank Dahaniwala, Niveditar Bhattacharjee and Hritam Mukerjee from Bengaluru.
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Gold extends losses after trade deal hopes curb safe-haven demand
Gold prices continued to fall on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session. The easing of trade tensions boosted risk sentiment and reduced demand for safe haven assets. As of 0758 GMT spot gold was down by 0.6%, at $3,367.92 an ounce. This follows a 1.3% drop in the previous session. U.S. Gold futures fell 0.7% to $3372.70. Two European diplomats stated on Wednesday that the U.S.-Japan trade agreement reached this week could also lead to a deal between the U.S., the European Union, and the U.S. which would include a U.S. base tariff of 15% on EU goods as well as exemptions. Carsten Menke is an analyst with Julius Baer. He said: "Gold is lower this morning because of the positive news around global trade... This reduces downside risks for the global growth, and supports the current risk-on sentiment in financial markets." Risk sentiment on the financial markets was driven by expectations about trade. "Demand for safe-haven assets has decreased, while central bank purchases remain solid even though they are not as high as in earlier years. Menke stated that "we still expect gold prices to rise in the long term." Gold is a safe haven during economic uncertainty, but it also does well when interest rates are low. The White House announced that U.S. president Donald Trump would visit the Federal Reserve this Thursday. This could increase tensions between his administration and the central banks. It is expected that the Fed will maintain its current interest rate range at their policy meeting scheduled for July 29-30. Investors expect the central bank to resume rate reductions in September. The European Central Bank will also likely keep rates unchanged on Thursday. Silver spot fell 0.6%, to $39.03 an ounce. Platinum lost 0.4%, to $1,406.28, and palladium dropped 0.9%, to $1,266.27. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis in Bengaluru, Anmol Choubey)
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Spot prices drop on weaker demand before the weekend
The falling demand on the main European power markets Thursday lowered prompt prices. This was offset by a weak demand for electricity in advance of the weekend, despite a low wind generation in Germany. The LSEG study also identified the rising solar production as a bearish factor. At 0755 GMT the French baseload price for Friday was 66.3 euros (77.96 dollars) per megawatt-hour (MWH), down 6%. The German equivalent day-ahead price was down 4.7% to 97.3 euros. The power consumption in Germany will be reduced by 500 MW per day to 51.9 gigawatts on Friday. In France, the consumption is expected to drop 200 MW in that same time period to reach 42.2 GW. LSEG data indicated that on the supply side of the equation, German wind energy output is expected to increase by 400 MW, to 6.0 GW. Solar generation will also likely grow by 1.7 GW in order to reach 15.0 GW. The French nuclear capacity remained at 77%. The curve shows that the German baseload contract for the year ahead increased by 0.8%, trading at 85.5 Euros, while its French counterpart was unchanged at 62.0 Euros. The benchmark European carbon contract rose 0.7% to 69.86 euro per metric tonne. A column discussed how global utilities produced a record amount clean electricity during the first half 2025 while reducing output of fossil fuels. This maintained the momentum for international efforts to reduce fossil energy use. The International Energy Agency released its mid-year update on coal Thursday. It said that the global demand for coal is expected to remain unchanged in this year and next after reaching a record high of 8,8 billion tons by 2024. ($1 = 0.8504 euro) (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore, Vera Eckert)
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Dalian iron ore prices drop on strong supply and inventories
Dalian iron-ore futures closed lower on Friday, under pressure from increased supply by top miners Vale & Fortescue as well as higher stocks of steel at Chinese mills. The daytime trading price of the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was 811 yuan (113.40 dollars) per metric ton. As of 0717 GMT, the benchmark August iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was up 0.44% at $104.9 per ton. ANZ analysts wrote in a report that signs of increased supply had weakened the iron ore price on Dalian's exchange. The top Brazilian miner Vale has reported an increase in production of 3.7% on a year-on-year basis for the second quarter. Meanwhile, Australia's Fortescue delivered record iron ore shipments during the fourth quarter, despite lower costs and beating analyst expectations. Data from the China Iron and Steel Association revealed that daily steel output from key companies increased by 2.1% on a month-to-month basis, while inventories rose 3.9%. According to Chinese consultancy Mysteel, China's exports of steel billets reached a record-high from January to may at 4,72 million tons. This is almost equal to the total for 2024. Despite the fact that steel prices have been supported by the news that China is moving forward with construction of the largest hydropower dam in the world, the sentiment this week has remained positive. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, rose by 7.97% each on the DCE on Thursday. Mysteel Global said that China's decision to reduce coal overproduction at key hubs continues to support market optimism. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are mixed. Rebar and hot-rolled coil rose around 0.35%. Stainless steel dropped 0.08% and wire rod fell 1.22%.
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Copper prices rise amid US trade optimism, but details of copper tariffs are still pending
Copper prices rose on Thursday, despite uncertainty over copper import tariffs. The three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.14%, to $9.944 per ton at 0700 GMT. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract was up by 0.1% to 79,890 Yuan ($11171.08) per ton. Two European diplomats confirmed on Wednesday that the European Union and U.S. were moving towards a trade agreement. The deal could include a U.S. base tariff of 15% on EU products and possible exemptions. This deal would follow the agreement that President Donald Trump recently announced with Japan. In the case of copper, Chilean mining minister and Codelco chairman, the world’s largest copper producer, both said that they had not received any details about the 50% tariffs on copper which the U.S. will impose on August 1. The deadline for August 1 is fast approaching, but nobody knows which copper products are affected, said a Shanghai-based futures company metals analyst. This makes it difficult to predict the future direction of copper prices. SHFE aluminium dropped 0.41% on Thursday to 20,760 Yuan per ton. Lead fell by 0.09% to 16,890 Yuan. Zinc gained 0.48% at 23,015 Yuan. Nickel gained 0.66% at 124,360 Yuan. SHFE Tin jumped by 1.88%, to 273,950 Yuan after reaching 275,750 Yuan earlier in session. This is the highest level since April 7 mainly because of persistently low inventories, especially outside China. LME aluminium fell 0.21% to $1,645.5 per ton. Zinc rose 0.47% to $34,995, tin climbed 0.41% to $34,995, Nickel grew 0.21% to $15,605 and Lead traded up by 0.17% to $2.035.5. Click or to see the latest news in metals, and other related stories.
Kazakhstan cancels plans for Karachaganak Gas Processing Plant with Foreign Shareholders
The Kazakhstani energy ministry announced on Wednesday that it had canceled plans to build a processing plant for gas at the Karachaganak Field with the project's major foreign investors.
It stated, without going into detail, that they were looking to work with domestic companies.
Central Asia has been in a dispute with oil companies for many years over cost. In 2023, the country will bring multi-billion dollar claims against these companies.
Companies claim that the government simply wants to increase its share in major oil and gas projects, which amounts to "resource nationalism".
Kazakhstan's authorities rejected this criticism and said that their goal was to reduce costs, which were inflated by Western companies.
The Karachaganak Petroleum Operating consortium (KPO), which includes Eni (29.5%), Shell (29.5%), Chevron (18%) Lukoil (13.5%) and KazMunayGaz (10) operates the field.
Last year, the shareholders and local government agreed to build a processing plant for gas with a capacity of up 4 billion cubic meters per annum and start operating in 2028.
At present, the raw gas from Karachaganak crosses the border and is processed at Orenburg in Russia.
The ministry has not stated the reason why the Karachaganak project was halted.
Sources in the industry have linked the problem to legal disputes that exist between the government, and foreign companies.
In an email response to questions, the energy ministry said that the arbitration case between Karachaganak shareholders and the Energy Ministry was "confidential". (Reporting and writing by Tamara Vaal, Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin, Editing by Emelia S. Sithole-Matarise & Mark Potter).
(source: Reuters)