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China's net gold imports through Hong Kong in September fell by 18% compared to August
Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department figures released on Monday showed that China's net imports of gold via Hong Kong dropped 17.6% from August. Why it's important China is the largest gold buyer in the world. Its buying activities can have a significant impact on global gold markets. Hong Kong's data might not be a complete view of Chinese gold purchases as it is also imported through Shanghai and Beijing. By the Numbers The net imports from Hong Kong into China in September were 22.047 tons, down from 26.746 tons for August. China's total imports of gold via Hong Kong fell by 11.29% to 36.275 tonnes in September from 40.892 tonnes in August. CONTEXT Bullion was in China last week The price of gold fluctuated between $20 discounts and a premium of 8 cents per ounce above the benchmark global spot price. Official data from the People's Bank of China showed that China's central banks added gold to their reserves for the 11th consecutive month in September. Gold spot prices reached a record-high of $4,381.21/oz in October, boosted by bets on U.S. interest rate cuts and geopolitical, economic and political uncertainties. However, they have fallen more than 5% since then. KEY QUOTE Fawad Rasaqzada is a market analyst for City Index and FOREX.com. He said that there was a noticeable slowdown in gold purchases by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) at the end of the third quarter. Razaqzada said that although the pace of purchases slowed down, China still bought a significant amount of gold in Hong Kong. This suggests it is continuing to build up its reserves, even though "high prices are probably what has caused them to reduce their purchases." (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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Angola bids to buy majority stake in De Beers according to source
Angola bid for the majority of Anglo American's De Beers unit, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. This could lead to a standoff between Angola and Botswana, which are both seeking control over the diamond producer. De Beers is one of the leading diamond companies in the world. It operates in Botswana Namibia South Africa and Canada. Bloomberg News reported that the source confirmed that Angola’s state-owned Diamond Company Endiama made the offer. De Beers and Endiama are jointly exploring diamonds in Angola. In August, the company announced that it had discovered Angola's first kimberlite fields in 30 years. Kimberlite, an igneous stone that contains precious stones, is a type of kimberlite. DE BEERS UP for SALE AS DIAMOND PRICES DROP According to a June report, Anglo, which put De Beers up for sale amid falling diamond prices attracted at least six consortiums. Anglo Values De Beers at $4.9 Billion after recording $3.5 Billion in impairments for the last two years. Anglo American, as well as the Angola Mines Ministry, declined to comment. Endiama was not available for immediate comment. Botswana, which owns 15% of De Beers, and which contributes 70% to its annual rough production, considers it a strategic asset, despite a slump in diamond prices that has severely hurt the country's economy. In July, its mining minister stated that the Southern African nation wanted to fully control De Beers. The mines ministry of Botswana could not be reached immediately for comment. Angola stated in September that they were seeking a stake in De Beers, and believed it should be run by a private sector firm. Clara Denina is the reporter; additional reporting by Miguel Gomes, Brian Benza and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Writing by Silvia Aloisi and Nelson Banya. Editing by Olivia Kumwenda Mtambo and Kirby Donovan.
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Mali suspends school over fuel crisis and strikes a deal with Russia for petroleum product
Mali will suspend school and university classes for two weeks starting Monday, due to a shortage of fuel, the government announced late Sunday. This follows a blockade by insurgents linked to al-Qaeda. The militants of Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin announced a ban on fuel imports into the landlocked West African nation in early September. Since then, they have attacked convoys attempting to reach the capital or enter the country. Analysts describe the fuel blockade by militant groups as part of an effort to pressure the military-led Mali government and cut off its economic oxygen. Some fuel stations have closed in Bamako, the capital. Residents who are unable to fill up their tanks have taken to walking or trying to find motorcycle taxis. The news of the closures of schools followed an announcement made on Friday by Russia, who has been working to strengthen its ties with Mali over the past few years. Russia would be delivering between 160,000-200,000 metric tonnes of agricultural and petroleum products. Alexey Keulika - the head of a Russian delegation that visited Mali a week ago - did not specify what type of petroleum products will be delivered, or when. Keulika said that a board of directors meeting will be held in the next month to discuss a new gold refinery being built by Russia. Mali will delay the start of its academic year in 2024 due to flooding after the rainy season. Reporting by Portia Crowe in Dakar, TiemokoDiallo in Bamako, and FadimataKontaoin Bamako. Editing by Conor Humphries.
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Rare earth miners fall after US-China truce to pause export restrictions and tariffs
Shares of U.S. listed rare earth miners dropped as much as 8% on Monday before the bell, after Washington and Beijing agreed on a framework of a trade agreement that could pause U.S. planned tariffs and Chinese controls on exports of critical minerals. This would ease fears of supply disruptions which had boosted this sector in the past year. The rare earths ceasefire marks a pause on one of the most important fronts in U.S.-China tensions over trade. China processes over 90% of rare earths in the world. It has recently increased export restrictions, adding new elements to their control list as well as tightening oversight of foreign producers who rely on Chinese material. The U.S. has only one rare earth mine, whereas the U.K. is rushing to acquire minerals essential for electric vehicles, defence systems, and advanced manufacturing. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, proposed a 100% tariff on Chinese imports that would take effect November 1, after the latest restrictions. Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping are expected to review the preliminary agreement later this week, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC), in Gyeongju. Investors have unwound bets on the U.S. mining industry benefiting from a prolonged trade dispute. Ramaco Resources dropped 5.7% and NioCorp Developments fell 5.4%. MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, and Trilogy Metals all fell by more than 6.5%. The Trump administration also benefited several U.S. miners of rare earths such as MP Materials and Critical Metals. Lithium Americas, USA Rare Earth, and Lithium Americas all gained from the Trump administration's acquisitions and supply-chain agreements to reduce dependence on China. (Reporting and editing by Sriraj Kalluvila in Bengaluru)
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Gold prices fall as a potential US-China trade agreement dents demand for safe-haven assets
As investors looked for clues on rate cuts, gold prices dropped nearly 2% in the first week of April. As of 0837 GMT, spot gold was down by 1.3% to $4,059.22 an ounce. Prices reached a record-high of $4,381.21 in October, boosted by bets on U.S. interest rate cuts and geopolitical, economic and financial uncertainties. Since then, prices have fallen over 5%. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 1.6% to $4 072.40. Asian stocks surged on signs of a detente between China and the United States in trade tensions. This was a positive start to a busy week, which will include central bank meetings as well as megacap earnings. The UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo stated that a possible trade agreement between the U.S. U.S. president Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will "come away" with a deal between China and the U.S., a day following a meeting of top officials from both countries to discuss a framework on which Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping would decide during their upcoming summit in South Korea. The Fed is expected Wednesday to reduce rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as a result of a lower-than-expected inflation rate for September. Markets are waiting for any remarks that Jerome Powell, Fed chair, may make at the meeting. Lower real interest rates should still be able to support the demand for gold. Staunovo said that the market consensus was for the Fed's rate to be cut by 25 basis points. "I don't anticipate much movement at the FOMC meeting." In a low interest rate environment, gold that does not yield tends to be more profitable. Silver fell by 1.3% per ounce to $47.36, platinum was down 0.3% at $1,601,75, and palladium rose 0.1% to $1429.61. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Subhranshu Sahu)
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Stocks rise, safe-havens fall on optimism about trade deals
Investors were encouraged by signs that trade tensions have cooled between the U.S. and China. This marked a positive start to a busy week of central bank meetings, megacap earnings, and other events. On Sunday, top Chinese and U.S. economists hammered out the framework for a trade agreement that U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent Xi Jinping will decide on this week during a meeting in South Korea. Investors are less concerned about the possibility of a break in a trade truce that has been established between the two world's largest economies if a deal is reached to halt higher U.S. import tariffs and Chinese export controls on rare earths. This sent Asian stocks soaring, with South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan indexes reaching record highs. In Europe, the positive mood was also felt, with shares rising modestly on a global basis, and the STOXX600 index up around 0.1%. US STOCK FUTURES - JUMP Investors will be looking for confirmation that the current trade truce is still in place and that China’s reform and stimulus signals are translating into a tangible growth momentum, said Charu Chanana. Chief investment strategist at Saxo. Futures for U.S. stocks jumped. Nasdaq futures rose 1%, while those for S&P 500 futures increased by 0.7%. George Boubouras said that the U.S. and China momentum was satisfactory in recent days. Over the past few weeks, the market has watched global tariff negotiations with the understanding that some of the commentary could be theatre and noise. The Chinese yuan rose to its highest level in over a month against the dollar of 7,1091. The People's Bank of China announced the official midpoint dollar rate before the market opened at 7.0881, its highest since October 15, 2024. This was above the estimate of 7.1146. Derek Halpenny, MUFG's head of research, said that the yuan could see further gains if a deal was made based on the details reported today. He said that investors would be more inclined to look at non-dollar currencies as they have better prospects. Gold, a safe-haven, fell by 1.3%, to $4,058 per ounce. U.S. Treasurys also slipped, resulting in a rise of 3.1 basis points for the benchmark 10-year yield, which is now at 4,027%. Commodities such as soybeans, corn, and wheat rose due to trade deals. CENTRAL BANK RESULTS ARE AWAIT This week, investors will be focused on the central bank meetings taking place in Japan, Canada and Europe. Federal Reserve rates are expected to be cut by 25 basis points, after September data showed that U.S. consumer price increases were slightly lower than expected. However, the impact of the government shutdown on data is still a concern. The dollar was slightly up at 152.87yen. It hovered near its two-week high. The euro remained flat at $1.1627. The dollar index was unchanged at 98.92. Both the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) are expected to keep rates unchanged this week. As concerns about a recession caused by tariffs ease, the BOJ will likely debate whether it is time to resume rate increases. However, political complications could keep this on hold. Focus on Megacap Earnings This week, the U.S. earnings reporting season will be at its busiest. Megacaps like Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet, as well as Amazon and Meta Platforms, are all expected to release results. The profit margin of the "Magnificent 7" companies is shrinking. Their huge market capitalisation means that their shares dominate equity indices. Stock market performance has been driven by the enthusiasm of a number of megacap companies in the artificial-intelligence industry.
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SandboxAQ, Bahrain's sovereign funds, signs deal with AI to speed up drug development
SandboxAQ - a U.S. artificial intelligence and quantum tech firm - signed an agreement on Monday with Bahrain's sovereign fund to speed up the development and creation of biotech assets valued at $1 billion. Mumtalakat, Bahrain, will license SandboxAQ’s large, quantitative models that are trained in physics, chemistry, and biology, to speed up drug discovery and scientific investigation. The deal was announced at the Future Investment Initiative, Saudi Arabia's premier investment conference. The statement said that the collaboration would help to position Bahrain as a regional hub for biotech, with a joint committee leading a program of three years aimed at creating valuable new drugs. SandboxAQ CEO Jack Hidary said the partnership will empower Bahrain to create, own and use intellectual property (IP) in biotech. This includes therapies that target diseases common in the region like diabetes and genetic disorders. "Traditionally, most biotech IP belongs to a few countries. Hidary explained that Bahrain can now develop its own assets focusing on both regional and global priorities in health. Bahrain's hospital infrastructure and digital health datasets will be used to develop treatments under the agreement. Hidary said that clinical trials will begin in Bahrain with the potential of multi-site studies. SandboxAQ is also receiving interest for similar partnerships from other countries including the Gulf. Aramco, the Saudi oil giant, signed an agreement in January with SandboxAQ that would allow it to use their models to boost the value of its downstream products. Mark Potter edited the report by Yousef Sabah.
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Exosens expands its capacity to meet the strong demand for night vision equipment
Exosens announced on Monday that it will nearly double its planned investment in capacity after the French defence tech firm's revenue for nine months jumped by 23%, due to an increase in demand for night-vision equipment from NATO member countries. The manufacturer of night vision equipment and components for scientific instrumentation expects to increase their global capacity by 40% by the year 2027. This is an increase from the 25% it announced in March. An additional investment of £17 million ($20 million) will be made in Europe. In a recent press release, Exosens CEO Jerome Cerisier stated that the company had decided to expand its capacity in an additional way. In the first nine-month period of this year, the company's sales grew to 327.8 millions euros. This was due to a 21% increase in the Amplification division and a 26% rise in the Detection & Imaging division. The company also confirmed its outlook for the full year. The number of military equipment orders has risen following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Washington's call for European allies' to increase defence spending. NATO countries committed in June to spending 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on core defence, and 1.5% for broader measures of defence. This is a huge jump from the current target of 2% GDP. Exosens anticipates that night vision equipment will remain in short-supply through 2027. This is due to the fact that militaries are unable to reach their equipment targets. Cerisier stated that "Defense momentum is strong and continues gaining traction in Amplification, Detection & Imaging and Exosens, which is seizing growth opportunities driven by emerging applications like drone warfare and advanced technologies for night vision," Cerisier. The group said that it would also divest the loss-making Microwave Amplification division under an asset acquisition deal. Closing is due in early 2026.
Stocks rise on hopes of trade; Argentina is in focus following Milei's win
Investors also looked at Argentina, where President Javier Milei’s party won the midterm elections with a decisive win.
These moves will help emerging markets start the week strong, in anticipation of a possible trade agreement between two of the largest economies on the planet that could remove a major cloud on global growth prospects.
The MSCI index that tracks emerging market stocks rose by 1.3%. The currencies index, on the other hand, remained flat and rangebound.
Later on, the focus will shift to Latin America where the party of Argentina's President Milei won the midterm legislative elections that were held over the weekend.
This victory will give Milei political capital that will allow him to push ahead with reforms which have reduced triple-digit inflation and may also attract foreign capital.
"Foreign investments are very low in Argentina. The current administration wants to continue reform. The opportunity in Argentina has never been better," Thea Jamison said, founder of investment firm CHANGE Global.
TURKEY JITTERS RESURFACING
The main BIST 100 index in Turkey fell 0.1%, after reaching a new three-week high the previous session.
The Turkish court has issued a new arrest order on suspicion of "political spying" for Istanbul's imprisoned Mayor Ekrem Imanoglu, marking a further stage in the unprecedented crackdown against President Tayyip Erdogan’s opponents.
Investors have been uneasy in recent months due to concerns about a democratic backsliding.
The data released Monday shows that the unemployment rate in Canada remained at 8.6% for September.
Separately the rand of South Africa strengthened by 0.1% against the US dollar, while the stock market also rose 0.1% following the removal of the country from the Financial Action Task Force "grey list".
After its removal from this list, the Nigerian naira is poised to strengthen for the second consecutive day against the US dollar.
Oil prices increased after fears were eased that trade tariffs and export restrictions between the U.S., and China, two of the world's largest oil consumers, would dent the global economy.
In a recent note, economists from ING stated that they believed the meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping could lead to a formal agreement as well as a delay in the severe tariffs threatened by both countries in April.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark oil price index was up 0.4%. Saudi Aramco shares rose 0.2%. (Reporting and editing by Conor Humphrey in Bengaluru, with Niket Nishant from Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)