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LG Energy Solution cancels battery order worth 3.9 trillion won with Freudenberg
In a Friday regulatory filing, LG Energy Solution, a South Korean battery manufacturer (LGES), announced that it had canceled a contract worth 3.9 trillion won ($2.7 billion). LG Energy Solution announced that it had mutually agreed to terminate its contract with Freudenberg Battery Power Systems after Freudenberg scrapped its plans for its battery business. This announcement comes just a week after Ford Motor terminated a battery supply deal worth 9.6 trillion won. Ford announced that it would "take a $19.5-billion write-down" and scrap several electric vehicle models. This is a dramatic example how the auto industry has retreated from battery-powered vehicles in response to Trump's administration policies and the weakening demand for EVs. Ford alone will cause LGES to lose more than half its revenue of 25.62 trillion won last year, or 13.5 trillion won, in just 10 days. LGES announced on Wednesday that it is selling a factory and assets in Ohio, U.S. to Honda Development and Manufacturing of America. The sale will improve the joint venture's operational efficiency.
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Shanghai copper reaches record highs on signs of tight supply
Shanghai copper reached a record-high on Friday on signs that the 'feedstock supply' will be tighter next year and China's plans to curb irrational expansion of copper projects. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most active copper contract closed the daytime session up 3.6%, at 98720 yuan (US$14,083.34) per metric ton. It had earlier reached an all-time record of 99,730 dollars a ton. The contract stipulated a gain of 6% per week. The London benchmark reached a high of $12,282 Wednesday. China's top economist said that the country will tighten up its oversight of new copper projects and alumina to stop irrational investments and unplanned expansion between 2026 and 2030. Sources said that top Chinese copper smelters did not set guidance on copper concentrate processing charges for the first quarter 2026. The group has refused to set guidance for the first quarter of 2026 for the fourth consecutive time due to feedstock shortages. Investors expect two more U.S. rate cuts in 2012, leading to continued weakness of the U.S. Dollar, which is hovering near its two-month lows. Dollar-priced materials become more appealing to holders of currencies other than the dollar when the dollar is weaker. Aluminium and lead were the two most significant gains among?SHFE's base metals. Two sources said that the top aluminium producers have raised their premiums to Japanese buyers from $190 to $203 per metric ton to $210 to 225. Japan is Asia's largest importer of light metals, and the premiums it agrees to each quarter above the London Metal Exchange cash price sets the benchmark for the area. Zinc increased by 0.7% while nickel grew by 1.3%. Tin increased by 1.4%.
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ASIA GOLD-Record gold price rally in India cools Indian purchasing; China discounts are narrowed
This week, gold discounts in India reached their highest level in over six months as a relentless price rise curbed retail purchases. Meanwhile,?discounts? in China shrank sharply after reaching five-year highs last week. A jeweller in Kolkata, eastern India said: "People are in festive moods and are travelling so they're not interested in buying at these record high prices." On Friday, domestic gold prices reached a new record of 139.286 rupees (1,550.34 dollars) per 10 grams, after a rise in spot gold rates internationally. Spot gold reached a new high of $4.530.60 an ounce due to speculative buying and momentum-driven purchases, as well expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts and increasing geopolitical tensions. This week, Indian dealers offered a discount Discounts of up to $60 per ounce, including 6% import duties and 3% sales taxes, are available compared to last week's discount of up to $37. The slowdown in the demand is intensifying as prices continue to increase. The demand is likely to be muted in the next few weeks, unless prices are significantly corrected. This was stated by a Mumbai bullion dealer at a private bank. Bullion traded in China at a discount of $15 to $30 per ounce compared to the global benchmark price The discount is down sharply from the last week, when it was up to $64, which was the biggest in over five years. Chinese discounts reached a record-high?of $87.50 by August 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on retail demand. Bernard Sin, Regional Director- Greater China at MKS PAMP, stated that despite a muted retail market, discounts narrowed as speculative purchases increased at record high prices amid expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. He said that a firmer yuan was also supportive. In Singapore Gold was sold at a premium ranging between $0.50 and $3.50 per ounce. The major purchases are made on silver and not gold. "As usual, when we see gold's rise, then buy orders will come in because of 'FOMO,'" said Vergel Villesoto at Silver Bullion. In Hong Kong, gold In Japan, gold bullion is traded at a premium of $2 to par. Was sold at a discount between $6.0 and a premium of $0.5 over spot prices.
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Nornickel CEO believes that 2026 will be a profitable year for Russia
Vladimir Potanin, the CEO of Nornickel in Russia, said that he believes the conditions will be right 'in 2026' to resume dividend payments. Nornickel didn't pay dividends in 2022, 2023 or 2024 due to Western sanctions and the falling price of its main metals. It paid its last interim dividend in 2023. In recent years, Russia's metals producers have been among the worst performing stocks on the Russian stock exchange. Potanin said that the company is moving towards a positive cashflow, and will begin paying dividends in the near future, although not at the same level as before. Potanin said, "We are already planning for a positive flow of financial resources in 2026 with the goal to pay dividends." Potanin is Russia's 5th richest?businessman according to Forbes. He did not say when Nornickel might resume dividend payments. Nornickel uses free cash flow to guide dividend payments after a shareholder agreement that protected payouts expired in?2022. Nornickel, while not directly subject to sanctions, was impacted by Western measures that prompted foreign producers to refrain from buying Russian metal. They also complicated payments and limited access to Western equipment. This led the company to redirect its sales to Asia. (Written by Anastasia Teterevleva, Gleb Bryanski and edited by Christian Schmollinger & Thomas Derpinghaus).
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Due to lower demand and stockpiles, iron ore prices end the week lower.
Iron ore futures rose on Friday after China announced it would continue its export licensing plan, but they 'ended the week lower due to a rise in inventories and a decrease in demand. The most-traded contract for May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange(DCE) rose 0.71% to 783 yuan ($111.74) per metric ton. The contract was 0.06% less than the previous week. As of 0711 GMT, the benchmark January iron ore price on the Singapore Exchange dropped 0.62% to $1004.7 per ton. China announced on Friday that from 2026 until 2030, it will continue to regulate the production of?crude iron and steel and prevent any illegal additions to capacity. The move comes after Japan Iron and Steel Federation chairman Tadashi imai stated on Thursday that the licensing scheme would not be a very effective measure to address these issues. Japan, which is the world's second-largest steel exporter, has criticised Chinese firms that receive government subsidies, which encourage overproduction and low priced exports. This worsens global market conditions. Since mid-2021, China's property markets, which were once the world's largest steel consumers, have been in a constant decline, with falling home prices and shrinking sales. On December 12, the country announced?a licensing system aimed at regulating exports of iron and steel to stabilize prices. SteelHome data shows that total iron ore stocks?across Chinese port cities increased 2.26% in a week to 148.8 millions tons as of December 26. Mysteel, a consultancy, reported that inventories of five major carbon steel products held in Chinese steel?mills had declined to 14.5 millions tonnes by December 25. This is the lowest level since late January. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also fell in price, by 1.02% and 1.22% respectively. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a decline in most steel benchmarks. The rebar fell by 0.42%. Hot-rolled coils dropped 0.06%. Stainless steel remained the same. Wire rod dropped 1.29%. $1 = 7.0072 Chinese yuan (Reporting and editing by Sonia Cheema, Ronojoy Mazumdar).
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China will limit copper and alumina production under the next five-year plan
China's top economist said that from 2026 until 2030, it will tighten up its oversight of copper and alumina project to prevent irrational investments and disorderly growth. In an article?on a website?, the National Development and Reform Commission said that local governments should strengthen feasibility studies and align their approvals to national industrial policy. The commission's guidance focuses on copper and alumina industries, which it said were key to both economic and military development, but whose growth must also take into consideration "differences between regional industrial bases, resources endowments, and environmental capacity." The NDRC stated that China would also encourage mergers, restructurings, and consolidations led by large companies to increase the?concentration of industry and its competitiveness. Beijing will also continue to encourage overseas mining investments in its "next five-year" plan. China is the largest consumer and producer of?copper? and alumina in the world. It has warned repeatedly of the dangers of unchecked investment and overcapacity. The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association announced last month that China has suspended plans to smelt copper in amounts of around 2,000,000 metric tons. China is on course to produce a record amount of refined copper in 2025. From January through November 2025, the country produced 13.3 millions metric tons?of refined?copper, an increase of 9.8% over a year ago. Alumina production in 'China' reached 84.7 millions tons during the same period. It is also expected to set a new record in 2025. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most-traded copper contract closed the day trading up, after reaching a record high earlier in the session of 99.730 yuan. Shanghai aluminium ended the session with a higher price after reaching a high of nearly four years, 22,640 yuan. Major copper firm Jiangxi Copper rose 10%. Yunnan Copper grew by up to 8.68%, and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group grew by as much as 8.13%. Aluminium Corporation of China saw a rise of up to 8.94%. Reporting by China C&E Team, Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus
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Sources say global producers are offering Japan aluminium buyers a premium for Q1 according to sources
Two sources who were involved in the quarterly price talks stated that top aluminium producers raised their premium offer to Japanese buyers from $190 to $203 to $210 to 225 per metric tonne. Japan is one of Asia's largest?importers?of light metals, and its quarterly premiums over the London Metal Exchange cash price (LME) set the benchmark in the region. Early December, the latest quarterly price negotiations between Japanese buyers and miner's including Rio Tinto and South32 began. Sources said that usually, negotiations end before the start of the new quarter, but this time, they are expected to continue into next month. Due to the sensitive nature of the issue, they declined to be identified. Producers offered Japanese buyers a premium of $190 to $203 per ton in the previous quarter, an increase of?121%-136%. Sources said that the revised offers ranged from $210 to 225 dollars after 'South32' announced last week plans to mothball Mozal Aluminium Smelter in Mozambique by March because the company failed to secure a deal for power with the government. One source, who is employed by a producer, said that the suspension of Mozal would further tighten the global supply. The source said, "We had hoped to reach a deal this month but the gap remains large between buyers and sellers. Negotiations are likely to continue into the New Year." The second source at a rolling-mill said that despite weak demand in Japan spot?premiums had risen to $160 to $170 per ton. She added that a?increase for the current quarter was unavoidable. The source said, "As buyers, we see around $165 for a reasonable premium in the next quarter. However, the gap between producers and us is significant, so it will take some time to reach an agreement." Three major Japanese ports have large stocks of aluminium According to Marubeni, the number of tons fell by 5.2% to 312,100 at the end November. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Yuka Obayashi)
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Oil prices rise slightly as the market weighs up supply risks
The price of oil rose a little on Friday, after the U.S. increased economic pressure on 'Venezuelan crude oil exports and conducted airstrikes on Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria on the request of 'Abuja. Brent crude futures increased by 6 cents or 0.1% to $62.30 a barrel at 0456 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), also at $58.41, was up 6 cents. Venezuela and Nigeria both produce a lot of oil. Nigeria's oilfields, which are located mainly in the south of the nation, were also affected by the airstrikes. The White House has ordered its military to concentrate on a "quarantine", of Venezuelan oil, for at least the next two months. This shows that Washington is more interested in using an economic pressure than a military one to put pressure on Caracas. Tong Chuan is an analyst at Galaxy Futures. Oil prices are now primarily driven by disruptions in the supply chain. Investors are assessing the risks of disruptions in supply, including Venezuela, and weighing U.S. economic development. Brent and WTI oil prices are expected to fall by 16% and 18% respectively this year. This is their steepest drop since the COVID outbreak hit?oil consumption. Two market sources reported on Wednesday that oil shipments via the Caspian pipeline from Kazakhstan are expected to fall by a third this December, to their lowest level?since 2024. This is after an attack by a Ukrainian drone damaged the?facilities of the main CPC terminal. U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to release official data for inventory on Monday. This will be a little later than usual because of the Christmas holidays. The data will give an indication of the demand for oil in the world's largest oil consumer. (Reporting and editing by Muralikumar Aantharaman, Thomas Derpinghaus and Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore)
Sources say that Russia has almost doubled its LPG exports this year to Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Industry sources have told? Industry sources told?Einen on Friday that Russia had almost doubled its exports of liquefied petroleum gas to ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia and Afghanistan from January to November. The total was 1.016 million metric tons. Moscow had to divert LPG supplies from Europe. Europe imposed restrictions on LPG imports from Russia after the war in Ukraine.
LPG is used primarily as a fuel for cars and heating, but also to produce other petrochemicals.
According to traders, the total LPG exports of Russia to Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia, including Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, will increase to 36% by 2024, from 19%. Afghanistan is Russia's biggest buyer of LPG in that region. In July, Russia recognized the Afghan Taliban government for the first time by accepting the credentials of the new ambassador.
Sources claim that the supply of Russian LPG into the country has risen 1.5 times in the first eleven months of this year, to 418 tons. This includes the joint venture between Kazrosgaz and Kazakhstan.
The traders said that the increase in Russia's LPG supply to Afghanistan was partly due to the decline of Iranian LPG, which is sanctioned by the United States. (Reporting and Editing by Saad sayeed)
(source: Reuters)