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The weekly iron ore loss is set to rise on the back of renewed US-China tensions and rising supply
Iron ore futures are headed for a loss of 1% per week, as concerns about the demand outlook are exacerbated by the U.S.-China tensions. This coincides with the prospect of a rising ore supply in the rest of the year. The contract for January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the daytime trading 0.19% lower, at 771 Yuan ($108.19), pushing the weekly decline to 3.1%. As of 0755 GMT, the benchmark November iron ore price on Singapore Exchange was $0.65% lower. So far, it has declined by 2%. The price of key steelmaking ingredients was supported by the strong demand from China, the top consumer. This helped to limit further declines on Friday. Mysteel data showed that the average daily hot metal production was 2.41 million tonnes in the week ending October 16. This level indicates a steady ore supply despite a small drop of 0.2% from week to week. Trade frictions between the United States, China and other countries have re-ignited concerns about China's ability to achieve its economic growth goal of 5%. U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened to end some trade relations with China and slap additional 100% tariffs upon imports after Beijing expanded export restrictions last week on rare earths, which are essential for electric vehicles and the defense sector. The expectation of increased supply in the fourth-quarter added pressure to ore prices. Rio Tinto, the world's biggest iron ore supplier, said Tuesday that it must finish strong in order to reach its target for iron ore shipments. Analysts said that other steelmaking ingredients such as coking coal, coke, and others gained 1,46 and 1,64 percent, respectively, due to supply restrictions caused by safety checks. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have been moving sideways. Rebar was little altered, while hot-rolled coils dropped 0.16%. Wire rod climbed 0.72%, and stainless steel rose 0.68%. $1 = 7.1262 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair; Amy Lv, Colleen Howe)
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SIG, a British construction company, reports a slowdown in sales
SIG, a British building materials company, said on Friday that the demand for construction materials in Europe remained tepid in the third-quarter, and showed no signs of improvement. As with Travis Perkins and Ibstock, the company has also been hampered by cautious customers who have backed off on projects because of rising costs. SIG of Sheffield, which operates across six European key markets: UK, France Germany Ireland Poland and Benelux said that demand was below historical levels in all markets. European construction is stuck in a cycle and the recovery has taken longer than expected. SIG reported that overall like-forlike sales, which is a measure of revenue from ongoing operations excluding acquisitions or closures, were 664 million pounds (893.81 million). The full-year profit forecast was also unchanged and remained at 31.6 million pounds. SIG's UK revenue grew by 1% during the period due to a strong performance from its interiors division. Ireland and Germany saw the biggest declines, with 11% apiece.
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Gold gains above $4,300/oz for the best week since 17
Gold reached a new record high of $4,300 per ounce on Friday, and was set to have its best week since over 17 years. Investors were drawn to gold by signs of weakness among regional U.S. banks, global trade frictions and a firming bet for rate cuts. As of 0615 GMT spot gold was up 0.8% at $4,359.31 an ounce after reaching a record high earlier of $4,378.69. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery jumped 1.6% at $4,372.10. Bullion is on track to have its best week ever since September 2008. Each session has seen a record-high price. Silver spot rose by 0.1%, to $54.26 an ounce. This represents a weekly gain of 8%. Prices reached a new record high earlier in the session of $54.35 as they tracked the rally in spot gold and a squeeze on the short market. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst, said that the $4,500 target for gold could be reached sooner than expected. However, it will depend on how long the concerns over U.S. China trade and the shutdown of the federal government continue to linger. China has accused the U.S. again of creating panic with its controls on rare earths, but it rejects calls to reverse the export restrictions. Christopher Waller, the U.S. Federal Reserve governor, has also expressed support for a further rate cut in response to concerns about the labour market. Investors expect a reduction of 25 basis points at the Fed meeting on October 29-30 and another in December. Wall Street also closed lower Thursday. Signs of weakness among regional banks have frightened investors who were already jittery over the U.S.-China tensions. Waterer stated that "the resurgence of regional bank credit concerns in the United States has given traders another reason to purchase gold." The non-yielding gold, which does well in low-interest rate environments, has gained over 65% in the past year, thanks to geopolitical tensions and aggressive bets on rate cuts, central bank purchases, dedollarisation, and strong exchange-traded fund inflows. On Thursday, U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to hold another summit about the war in Ukraine. The West continued to pressurize Russia on its oil sales. Britain even imposed sanctions against major Russian oil companies. Palladium dropped 0.2%, to $1,611.24. Platinum declined 0.7%, to $1699.45. Both metals are headed for weekly gains. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi Soreng, Subhranshu Saghu, and Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru)
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Sources say that Indian refiners rarely purchase Guyanese grades
Sources in the trade said that two Indian refiners bought 4,000,000 barrels of Guyanese oil from Exxon Mobil, a U.S.-based major, to be delivered by the end of 2025, or early 2026. This is a rare import from the South American producer. Indian Oil Corp., the largest refiner in the country by capacity, purchased 2 million barrels (or a grade of crude oil called Golden Arrowhead) for its first purchase. The shipment will arrive late December or early January. Sources said that Hindustan Petroleum Corp., another refiner, had purchased Liza and Unity Gold for the first time. 2 million barrels are due to be delivered during the same period. India diversifies its crude supply by experimenting with new grades of crude oil from South America, where production is increasing. Addition of crude sources will also assist refiners in replacing some Russian oil imports. The U.S. has urged New Delhi to stop purchasing Russian crude in order to end the conflict in Ukraine. Guyana has increased its exports after the fourth floating production facility of a consortium led Exxon reached 770,000 barrels per daily (bpd). Data from Kpler, an analytics firm, showed that the country's crude oil exports hit a record high of 938, 000 bpd last month, since July, when it began exporting GAH, its latest grade. Reporting by Nidhi in New Delhi, and Florence Tan in Singapore. Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jamie Freed and Clarence Fernandez.
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Huayou will begin production of lithium sulphate in Zimbabwe by early 2026
The company announced on Thursday that Zhejiang Cobalt, a Chinese company, will begin producing lithium sulphate in the first quarter 2026 at its $400 million plant located in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is pushing for more local processing. A senior executive told a group of journalists that the newly-completed plant at Huayou’s Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe’s Arcadia Mine has a capacity of more than 50,000 metric tonnes of lithium sulphate per year. Lithium Sulphate is a product intermediate that can be refined to a battery grade material, such as lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. Henry Zhu, general manager of Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, told reporters that the company would begin production at the start of next year. Zhu continued, "The amount of lithium sulphate will be greater than 60,000 tons. However, it depends on the configuration of this plant because it's brand-new." Zimbabwe, Africa's largest lithium producer, has encouraged miners to process this mineral in Zimbabwe to help boost its economy. Huayou acquired Arcadia Lithium Mine for $422 Million in 2022. In 2023, Huayou commissioned a 300 million dollar lithium concentrator. Sinomine, Chengxin Lithium Group and Yahua Group are among the Chinese companies that dominate Zimbabwe's mining of lithium. They produce concentrates, which they then ship back to China. Huayou export 400,000 tons lithium concentrate to Zimbabwe by 2024 In order to encourage more local processing, the country in southern Africa will ban exports of lithium concentrates by 2027. Sinomine announced plans to build an $500 million lithium-sulphate facility at its Bikita Mine in Zimbabwe. (Reporting and editing by Nelson Banya, Lincoln Feast, and Chris Takudzwa Muronzi.
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Gold rallies above $4,300/oz for the best week since 17
The price of gold reached a new record high on Friday, surpassing $4,300 per ounce. Investors were pushed to the metal as signs that regional U.S. banks are struggling, trade tensions around the world, and hopes for further rate cuts pushed them. As of 0439 GMT spot gold was up 0.9% at $4,362.39 an ounce after reaching a record high earlier of $4,378.69. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery jumped 1.7% at $4,375.50. Bullion is on track to have its best week ever since September 2008. Each session has seen a record-high price. Silver spot rose by 0.3%, to $54.41 an ounce. This represents an 8.2% increase in the weekly price. Prices reached a new record high earlier in the session of $54.35, following the rally in spot gold and a squeeze on the short market. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst, said that the $4,500 target for gold could be reached sooner than expected. However, it will depend on how long the concerns over U.S. China trade and the shutdown of the federal government continue to linger. China has accused the U.S. again of creating panic with its controls on rare earths, but it rejects calls to reverse the export restrictions. Christopher Waller, the U.S. Federal Reserve governor, has also expressed support for a further rate cut in response to concerns about the labour market. Investors expect a reduction of 25 basis points at the Fed meeting on October 29-30 and another in December. Wall Street also closed lower Thursday. Signs of weakness among regional banks have frightened investors who were already nervous about the U.S.-China tensions. Waterer stated that "the resurgence of regional bank credit concerns in the United States has given traders another reason to purchase gold." The non-yielding gold, which does well in low-interest rate environments, has gained over 66% in the past year, mainly due to geopolitical tensions and aggressive bets on rate cuts, central bank purchases, dedollarisation, and strong exchange-traded fund inflows. On Thursday, U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to hold another summit about the war in Ukraine. The West continued to pressurize Russia on its oil sales. Britain even imposed sanctions against major Russian oil companies. Palladium increased 0.3%, to $1 618.95, while platinum fell by 0.4%, to $1 706.45. Both metals are headed for weekly gains. (Reporting and editing by Rashmia Aich, Subhranshu Saghu and Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru).
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Reliance's IT counter-pressure helps India's Nifty reach a one-year high
India's equity benchmarks reversed their early losses on Friday. The Nifty 50 reached a new high of one year, with gains from Reliance Industries before its results, outweighing losses by Infosys, and Wipro. Both companies fell due to margin concerns, despite strong earnings. As of 10:36 am IST, the Nifty 50 index rose by 0.42%, to 25,693.3. This is its highest level since October 1, 2024. The BSE Sensex also increased by 0.50%, to 83887.58. Both indexes dropped about 0.2% when they opened. The benchmarks reached a three-month high on Thursday and are now less than 3% off their record peak in September 2024. Two analysts said that the markets are experiencing a bullish consolidate following a recent rally and before the results from ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank this Saturday, as well as Reliance Post Market on Friday. Reliance Bank and ICICI Bank both rose by 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively. HDFC Bank gained by 0.4%. VK Vijayakumar is the chief investment strategist of Geojit Investments. He said that "good results from HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Reliance can support the markets and if Reliance joins in the rally after its results, then the market can continue to sustain the momentum." Ten of the sixteen major sectors posted gains. Small-caps gained 0.2% while mid-caps lost 0.1%. Analysts raised concerns over margin pressures resulting from recent acquisitions and deal ramp-ups, causing the IT sub-index to drop by 1.3%. Wipro fell 4.5%, despite exceeding second-quarter revenue expectations. Infosys, which reported strong results for the September quarter, also fell 1.8%. CLSA said that the company's revenue forecast for fiscal 2026 of 2% to 3% was too conservative. Asian Paints, a major paintmaker's input, rose by 5% among individual stocks. This was aided by the drop in oil costs, which is a significant factor. Nestle India rose 1.2% after rising 4.5% Thursday, following the release of a report on sales and volume growth for the third quarter. Zee Entertainment dropped 3% following a dramatic drop in its second-quarter profits. (Bharath Rajeswaran, Bengaluru. Sumana Niandy, editing)
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ASIA GOLD - India's festive rush drives gold premiums over 10-year high
The physical gold market in Asia was very strong during this week. Prices broke multiple records and premiums in India reached their highest levels in more than a decade, ahead of the major festivals in this month. Gold prices in the spot market surpassed $4300 an ounce on Thursday for the first. They have gained 7.6% over this past week, amid renewed U.S. China trade tensions, and anticipation of a U.S. interest rate cut. This week, the domestic gold price in India reached a new record of 131 699 rupees for 10 grams. Indian dealers quoted premiums Up to $25 per ounce above official domestic prices including import and sales taxes, compared to $15 last week. Ashok Jain is the owner of Mumbai's gold wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji. A Mumbai-based bullion seller with a private banking firm said jewellers are stocking up on coins and bars of small denominations in preparation for the festival. Indians celebrate Dhanteras (Diwali) and Diwali later this month. These are occasions when purchasing gold is considered auspicious, and they're among the busiest days for gold purchases in the country. Officials from the government and industry have said that gold smuggling has increased in India due to high prices and shortages. Independent analyst Ross Norman stated that a retail rush on investment gold would normally signal a mature rally. However, almost all expectations regarding gold's price behaviour seem to have been proved wrong. Bullion prices in China were discounted anywhere from $20 to $66 per ounce compared with the global benchmark price . Hugo Pascal is a precious-metals trader with InProved. He said that the global demand for precious metals has returned, as has Chinese demand. Peter Fung of Wing Fung Precious Metals, the head of trading, said that "some people sell jewelry because they want to make a profit". Gold in Hong Kong Singapore sold the same product at a $1.30 premium, whereas Singapore Prices ranged from a $0.50 discount to a $1.30 premium. Pascal stated that "the dealers' inventories continue to deplete in Singapore as the demand for metals is strong." In Japan, gold The price was $1 higher than the spot prices. Tokyo-based trader: "Investors aren't deterred by the high prices; they just buy." (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair in Bengaluru, Anmol Choubey)
Trump said it would be up to Ukraine decide on territorial swaps
U.S. president Donald Trump said that he would not be negotiating on behalf of Ukraine during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday and would allow Kyiv to decide whether it would engage in territorial exchanges with Russia.
Trump stated that his goal was for the two sides of the conflict to begin a dialogue, and any territorial swaps would be discussed at this time.
"They will be discussed but I have to let Ukraine decide, and I believe they will make the right decision." "I'm not here for Ukraine to negotiate, I'm there to get them to a table," Trump said to reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump's remarks will likely offer some assurances to Ukraine. Ukraine is concerned that the U.S. and Russia talks could cause the conflict to be frozen at the expense of Ukraine.
Trump said that the Russian offensive against Ukraine likely served to help strengthen Putin's position in negotiations to end the conflict.
"I believe they are trying to negotiate." He is trying to set the stage. It helps him to make a deal. In his mind, it hurts him.
Given the stakes and the weakness of the Russian economy, the U.S. President said that he expected the meeting with Putin to yield results.
He said, "He is a smart man, he has been doing this for a very long time, but I have also done it... We get along well, we respect each other, and I believe that something will come out of it."
Trump said that it was good to see Putin bringing Russian businessmen with him, but that no deals would be possible until the war is over.
He said: "I like it because they want to do a business but they won't until the war is settled." Reporting by Steve Holland and Susan Heavey, writing by Andrea Shalal, editing by Ross Colvin & David Goodman
(source: Reuters)