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Australia confirms the first H5N1 bird influenza case in a local seabird and dead seal is tested
Australia confirmed Friday the first case in Australia of the deadly H5N1 bird virus. It also said it was 'testing a seal that had died for possible infection. This has raised concerns about the disease spreading more widely since it arrived in the country last week. The National Science Agency of Australia confirmed that the virus was present on a greater crested bird found in Robe, a coastal town in South Australia. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed this. All other cases were found in seabirds migrating. The total number of positive tests in the country now stands at 12, with two more infections confirmed on Friday in South Australia and another in Western Australia. Collins stated that the situation was "concerning", but not surprising, and added that there were no signs of mass mortality or spread to poultry or other animal populations. She said that "our scientists are doing further research to determine the 'potential pathway' which resulted in a?Australian Seabird infection". What we know is that it is a coastal bird that shares a range with migratory birds that have tested positive for the H5 virus in the past. Hamish McCallum is an infectious disease ecologist from Griffith University. He said that the virus spreading to local seabirds was "very bad." He said that it is likely this case will be just the start of many more. A spokeswoman for the New South Wales environment department confirmed that H5N1 tests were also being conducted on samples taken from a young seal who died in Central Coast, New South Wales. If the test is positive, it would be the first time mainland Australia has confirmed a H5N1 infection in a mammal. New South Wales is the third state in Australia to have detected H5N1, following a positive test from a migratory bird on the Mid-North Coast earlier this month. Since 2021, the virulent strain has infected poultry farms, dairy farms, and some farmworkers. It has killed millions of birds and mammals. In June, Australia became the 'last continent to confirm an H5N1 case on a continental level. The virus was first detected in 2025, in the subantarctic territory Heard Island. Scientists estimate that the virus may have killed 13,000 seal pups at Heard Island.
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Gold prices to drop this week as Gulf attack reinforces rate-hike betting
Gold was?lower? on Friday, and?was?on track for a?fall weekly? on concerns that escalating U.S. -Iran tensions might fuel inflation and force the Federal Reserve to maintain a hawkish monetary policies. Spot gold dropped 0.1% per ounce to $4,115.79 by 0601 GMT. It was on track for a weekly drop of 1.4%. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell 0.4% to $4,124.90. Tim Waterer is the chief analyst at KCM Trade. He said that gold was consolidating today after yesterday's gains. Traders were hesitant to commit further to an increase in price due to the uncertainty surrounding US-Iran relationships. The oil?prices are on course for a weekly increase as the U.S. continues to trade attacks with Iran. On Thursday, Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. infrastructure in Gulf states following an attack by?U.S. Strikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces. The Fed is likely to raise rates this year as inflation fears have been heightened by the latest round of strikes. According to CME's FedWatch, the markets are now pricing in 63% of a rate hike for September, up from 54% just a week ago. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but it can lose its appeal in an environment with high interest rates. I expect gold to continue attracting buyers on dips, as long as oil remains at current levels. Waterer warned that a'sharp spike' in oil could reignite inflation fears and interest rate concerns, which would hurt gold. The minutes of the Fed’s June meeting, published earlier this week showed that policymakers were growing concerned about 'elevated inflation. HSBC reduced its average gold price predictions for 2026-2027 on Thursday. They cited a hawkish change in?U.S. Expectations about monetary policy and the'stronger dollar' were cited as reasons for HSBC to lower its average gold price forecasts for 2026 and 2027. Silver spot rose 0.3% to $60.19 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.4% at $1,632.99, and palladium increased 1.9% to 1,270.54. All three metals are on course for a loss this week. (Reporting from Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru and Swati verma; Editing by Sherry Phillips and Subhranshu sahu.)
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India's ONGC plans a 1.75 million tonne national strategic oil reserve
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp, India's largest explorer, will build a 1,75 million metric ton national strategic petroleum reserve at Mangalore (in southern India), the company announced in a late-night stock exchange filing. India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, has been severely affected by the blockade of Strait of Hormuz following the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran. Around a fifth (25%) of world energy passes through the waterway. To strengthen its emergency supply, the 'South Asian nation' is increasing its energy cooperation with other countries, such as Japan and the United Arab Emirates. In the?filing, ONGC said it would ask the federal government for permission to use the storage in "national interests" for commercial purposes. New Delhi has already allowed commercial use of part of its strategic storage, built in three locations in southern India - Mangalore Padur and Vizag. This allows up to 5,33 MT crude to be stored. The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. manages these storage facilities. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd is a subsidiary of ONGC that operates a refinery capable of processing 300,000 barrels per day in Mangalore. It has already leased the half of the 1.5MT Mangalore - SPR. The remaining capacity is leased by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. ADNOC, during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE in early this year, announced plans to expand crude oil'storage' in India up to 30,000,000?barrels. ADNOC announced that India would also explore the possibility of storing crude oil at Fujairah, as part of India's strategic reserves. India is also planning to build a 4 MT strategic storage facility in Odisha, and a 2.5 MT facility in Padur in southern India. (Reporting and editing by Nidhi verma)
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Gold prices to drop this week as Gulf attack reinforces rate-hike betting
Gold was?on course for a weekly 'fall' on Friday, amid?concerns about the potential impact of escalating U.S. - Iran tensions on inflation and keeping the Federal Reserve in a hawkish monetary policies. By 0426 GMT, spot gold had fallen 0.2% per ounce to $4113.29 and was on track for a weekly drop of 1.5%. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell by 0.4% to $4122.70. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that gold?is consolidating today after yesterday's gains. Traders are hesitant to commit further to a?gain due to the uncertainty surrounding US-Iran relationships. The oil prices were on course for a weekly increase as the U.S. & Iran traded strikes. Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. Military Infrastructure in Gulf States on Thursday after?U.S. Strikes on Iran's eastern and southern provinces. The Fed is likely to raise rates this year as inflation fears have been heightened by the latest round of strikes. According to CME's FedWatch, the markets are now pricing in 63% of a rate hike for September, up from 54% just a week ago. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but it can lose its appeal in a high interest rate environment. I expect gold to continue to attract buyers on dips, as long as oil remains at current levels. Waterer warned that a'sharp spike' in oil could reignite inflation fears and interest rate concerns, which would hurt gold. The minutes of the Fed’s June meeting, published earlier this week showed that policymakers were growing concerned about 'elevated inflation. HSBC reduced its average gold price predictions for 2026-2027 on Thursday. They cited a hawkish change in?U.S. Expectations about monetary policy and the'stronger dollar' were cited as reasons for HSBC to lower its average gold price forecasts for 2026 and 2027. Silver spot rose 0.6%?to $60.34 an ounce. Platinum gained 1.4% at $1,632.16. Palladium rose 1.6% to 1,267.71. All three metals are on course for a loss this week. (Reporting from Swati and Pablo Verma, Bengaluru. Editing by Sherry Phillips and Subhranshu Shu.
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India's TCS rises on revenue beat and AI momentum Fueling Recovery Hopes
Shares of India's largest?software exporter,?Tata Consultancy Services, advanced by more than 4% the day after beating a?quarterly revenue estimate.?Deal wins and increasing AI-related revenues raised hopes for a slow earnings recovery. TCS traded 1.8% higher, at 2,086 Rupees, at 9:59 am IST in Mumbai. This boosted the?Nifty50 index by 1.1%. The IT index rose about 2%. The results of the IT company kicked off India's first-quarter earning season, which saw earnings downgrades due to a slowdown in client spending and concerns that AI could disrupt the business models of software companies. TCS's quarterly sales increased 14% over the previous year to 722.75 billion rupies ($7.58 billion). CEO K Krithivasan was "optimistic", he said, about a turnaround of tech spending by manufacturing and life science clients in the second quarter. The order book of the IT firm was $9.5 billion, while its AI revenue rose to $2.6 billion annually. CLSA said the ?firm's revenue ?growth was better-than-expected, helped by strength in banking, financial services and insurance, high-tech and ?regional markets. HSBC stated that the outlook for manufacturing, pharma and Energy was "incrementally optimistic". Nomura analysts said that despite macro-uncertainty, a near-term growth rebound was'reasonably visible' thanks to a $800 million megadeal.
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MORNING BID EUROPE - Japan calling capital home
Ankur Banerjee gives us a look at what the European and global markets will be like today. This is a much-anticipated'move' to encourage repatriation. Satsuki Katayama, Japan's Finance Minister, said the country wanted to encourage pension funds to invest "substantially more" in domestic financial assets. GPIF is the largest pension fund in the world, with assets of 293.4 trillion yen. Financial markets closely follow its movements, since any changes in strategy are often mirrored by other funds. The Takaichi Administration's fiscal expansion and the possibility of political interference with monetary policy sparked concerns, which led to a sell-off in Japanese government bond (JGB) yields reaching multi-decade highs this week. The 'latest broadside' lifted the yen and eased yield pressure, keeping the Nikkei on track. After Katayama's remarks, the yen firmed up more than 0.5% and reached 161,45 against the U.S. Dollar. The AI theme has returned ahead of the U.S. debut of chip bellwether SK Hynix, which is the AI poster child. SK Hynix raised $26.5 billion as part its offering. After a strong run, chip stocks have lost a bit of'momentum' in recent weeks as investors worry about AI spending, high valuations, and the pace at which profits are growing. Investors are awaiting the debut re-rating of SK Hynix against its U.S. competitor Micron. Retail investors will also be a focus. Micron is trading at a price-to earnings ratio of 6.66 in the 12-month future, compared to SK Hynix’s 5.5. The following are the key developments that may influence Friday's markets: Economic events: June data on inflation in Germany and France. (Edited by Jamie Freed; Ankur Banerjee, Singapore)
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The dollar is weakening, and the Middle East has not escalated.
The weakened?dollar helped copper to rise on Friday. This eased fears about a spate of?tit-fortat strikes between Iran and the U.S. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.29% to $13,528 per metric tonne by 0300 GMT. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose by 1.61%, to 103950 yuan (about $15,334.80). This week, the LME saw a 1.2% rise. It was a volatile week in which fears of inflation and macroeconomic risks were raised by a new round of fighting between the U.S. The dollar is on course to drop for a third day in a row, which will support copper prices by making them cheaper for buyers who use other currencies. John Williams, the New York Federal Reserve president, downplayed on Thursday the inflationary impact caused by the latest Middle East conflict. Copper, a metal that is dependent on growth and heavily influenced by inflation and interest rates, has a high price. Interest rates that are higher dampen the demand for industrial metals like copper by reducing economic activity. Aluminium gained 0.55% at the LME, and 0.67% at the SHFE. Prices for light metals are expected to reach their highest level since April with a rise of more than 4% on the LME. Stockpiles of aluminium have been dwindling due to disruptions in Middle East supply. The Middle East, which is home to 9% of the world's smelting capacity, has lost production. This has helped push the market into deficit. Total LME aluminium stocks The lowest levels since 2022. LME zinc rose 0.06% after rallying over 3% on Friday?on reports of a fire at a South Korean Smelter. The SHFE price also gained 1.32%. Lead added 0.18% to the?LME, nickel added 0.29 and tin ticked up by 0.1%. Nickel gained 1.13% while tin grew 2.38%.
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Twelve people have died in wildfires that raged through southern Spain, according to the emergency agency
The Emergency Agency of Andalucia announced early Friday that 12 people had died in a blaze in Almeria, southern Spain. Antonio Sanz, Minister of Presidency, health, and Emergencies, called the fire the "most devastating fire in our region to date"? and described the situation as "unprecedented". Six deaths were reported earlier due to the wildfire. In a recent post on X, Juanma Moreno wrote: "Our deepest sympathies to the families of the six people that lost their lives at Los Gallardos. And?the affection of all of us for?the municipalities that were affected by the fire." Los Gallardos, a municipality in the Almeria Province of southern Spain's Andalusia region, is known for its wildfires. This blaze comes after a wildfire that was burning out of hand in southern France earlier this week, which forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from a dozen small?towns? and villages near Spain's border. The early summer heatwaves in western Europe between?May? and?June? have parched large areas of land, making it particularly vulnerable to fires this year. The World 'Meteorological Organisation has stated that Europe is warming at a rate more than double the global average. This makes prolonged heat events increasingly likely. (Reporting and editing by Kim Coghill in Bengaluru, and Lincoln Feast.
Taganrog evacuates following drone attack on Taganrog's Ilsky Oil Refinery
Local officials said that a drone strike caused the fire at the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Krasnodar, and authorities in Taganrog evacuated residents after another strike.
The authorities reported that preliminary information indicated no injuries.
In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on 'Russia's energy infrastructure and other infrastructure to undermine Moscow’s war effort. The Ilsky refinery with its capacity of?around 138,000 barrels per day has been attacked before.
Fuel shortages and price increases across Russia are a result of the attacks on oil refineries.
Yury Slyusar, the Governor of Rostov, said on Telegram that fires are being put out at two fuel depots in the region and at?Taganrog's seaport.
Svetlana kambulova, Taganrog's mayor, said via the Max app that authorities had evacuated people from their homes in the affected areas. She stated that a private home was damaged and the roof of a?administrative structure caught fire.
The Russian Defence Ministry reported that air defence units shot down 376 Ukrainian drones over night. (Reporting and editing by Jacqueline Wong).
(source: Reuters)