Latest News
-
Profit booking on weaker edible oils rivals, palm oil ends lower
Malaysian palm futures continued to fall on Thursday as investors booked profits, and the prices of competing edible oils dropped. The benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in August on the Bursa Derivatives exchange fell 44 ringgit or 1.11% to 3,904 Ringgit ($923.59) per metric ton. Anilkumar bagani, the head of research for Mumbai-based Sunvin Group, said that palm oil futures had been trading lower due to profit taking, low energy prices, and weakness in other vegetable oil markets, such as those in China and the U.S. Dalian's palm oil contract, which is the most active contract, fell by 0.37% while soyoil prices dropped by 0.18%. Chicago Board of Trade soyoil prices were down by 0.58%. As palm oil competes to gain a share in the global vegetable oils industry, it tracks the price changes of competing edible oils. The oil prices stabilized on Thursday, after dropping more than 1% in the previous day due to a rise in U.S. gasoline inventories. Saudi Arabia also reduced its July prices for Asia. Palm oil is less appealing as a biodiesel feedstock due to the weaker crude oil futures. A survey on Wednesday showed that Malaysian palm oil inventories will rise for the third month in a row in May. This is due to a modest increase in production, despite a robust demand for exports. India's imports of palm oil in May rose to their highest level for six months, due to lower inventories as well as the discount offered by the tropical oil compared to soyoil or sunflower oil. AmSpec Agri Malaysia, an independent inspection company in Malaysia, reported that exports of palm oil products from Malaysia for May increased by 13.2%. Intertek Testing Services, a cargo surveyor and cargo inspector firm based in the United States saw a 17.9% increase.
-
The Kremlin has said that Putin is willing to assist Trump in the Iran nuclear negotiations.
The Kremlin reported on Thursday that President Vladimir Putin had told Donald Trump, President of the United States, that he would use Russia's close relationship with Iran to assist in negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program. Trump told Putin in a telephone call on Wednesday that Iran had a limited time to decide on its nuclear program and that he thought Putin agreed with him that the Islamic Republic shouldn't have nuclear weapons. Trump said that Putin suggested that he take part in the talks with Iran, and that he "could, perhaps, help in getting this to a quick conclusion", even though Iran "slowwalked". Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters Thursday that "we have close partner relationships with Tehran" and that President Putin had stated that he was ready to utilize this level of partnership to help facilitate and to contribute to the ongoing negotiations to resolve the Iranian nuclear dossier. Peskov, when asked if Putin would join the talks with Washington and Tehran, said that they were continuing through different channels. Peskov stated that the president would be able intervene when needed. Ayatollah Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said that abandoning the enrichment of uranium was "100% against" the interests of his country. He rejected a key demand from Washington in negotiations to settle a long-running dispute about Tehran's nuclear aspirations. Oman, the Middle East envoy of President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, mediated discussions between Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Araqchi, and Steve Witkoff, who presented the U.S. proposal to Iran for a nuclear deal. Iran has refused to send its entire stockpile highly enriched uranium abroad, which could be used as raw material in nuclear bombs, and Tehran refuses to ship it out. Khamenei has the final word on all state matters. He did not mention a halt to the talks but he said that the U.S. plan "contradicts the belief of our nation in self-reliance, and the principle 'We Can.'". Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Andrew Osborn
-
The German wind energy supply nearly doubles, lowering the spot price
German spot electricity prices fell sharply Thursday, as the wind power supply was forecast to double in Germany and demand to decline. At 09:29 GMT, the German baseload contract for Friday had fallen 39.1% to 48.75 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWH). The French equivalent contract increased by 133.3% to 21 euros/MWh as the renewable production in France is expected to fall and nuclear power is less available. According to LSEG analyst Florine Engl, residual load in Germany is expected to decrease on Friday as a result of a significant increase in wind energy supply. Exports are also expected into the evening. Data compiled by LSEG shows that the German wind output will jump to 31.9 GW this Friday, while France's supply is expected to drop 1.6 GW to 7.5 GW. The data also showed that the German solar power production has increased by 1.1 GW to 14.3 GW. The mix of power generated in Europe is likely to become dirtier this summer, after a prolonged dry spell has depleted the reservoirs and reduced hydro-electricity production. The French nuclear capacity has fallen by two percentage points, to 67%. LSEG data showed that power usage in Germany will drop by 210 Megawatts (MW), to 52.9 GW. In France, demand is expected to fall by 950 MW, to 42.2 GW. The German power contract for the year ahead was up 1.4%, at 88.80 Euros/MWh. In France, 2026 baseload contracts were untraded and had a range of bid-ask between 62.50 Euros/MWh to 63.50Euros/MWh. The benchmark European carbon permits increased 0.7%, to 73.16 Euros per metric ton. The International Energy Agency reported on Thursday that despite geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, clean energy investments will drive global energy investment to a record level of $3.3 trillion by 2025. (Reporting and editing by Forrest Crellin)
-
Investors continue to buy gold as they focus on US payrolls
The gold price remained stable on Thursday, as investors awaited the non-farm payrolls report due Friday in order to determine how the Federal Reserve will set its interest rates. Meanwhile, global trade tensions continued. As of 0843 GMT, spot gold remained unchanged at $3,373.69 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.1% to $3397.20. I would say the path of least resistence is still upwards, despite the flat trading of gold today. This is due more to traders waiting and watching for non-farm payrolls, said Ricardo Evangelista senior analyst at brokerage ActivTrades. The ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday revealed that private payrolls in the United States increased much less than anticipated in May. According to an economist survey, the more comprehensive nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday will show that nonfarm payrolls grew by 130,000 jobs last month after increasing by 177,000 in March. On Wednesday, Donald Trump called on Jerome Powell, the Fed chairperson, to lower interest rates. "I believe that a weakening of the US labor markets will increase bets for a dovish Fed and, therefore, on the Fed lowering interest rates (which) would have a positive effect on gold," Evangelista continued. In a low interest rate environment, gold, which is a safe haven during periods of economic and political uncertainty, tends thrive. In a post on social media, Trump referred to China's Xi Jinping in a negative light. He said that he was "tough" to deal with and "extremely difficult to do business with". This dampened hopes of a quick resolution to the trade tensions. In the meantime, Trump's doubling of tariffs for steel and aluminum imports went into effect on Wednesday. Carsten Menke is an analyst at Julius Baer. He said: "We are sticking to our price target of USD 3,350 in three months and USD 3,500 within a year, reflecting both continued central bank purchases and sound demand from safety-haven investors." Silver spot fell by 0.6%, to $34.74 per ounce. However, it reached its highest level since November 2012. Platinum rose by 3.6% to reach $1,123.15 - its highest level since the beginning of April 2023. Palladium increased by 1.7%, reaching $1,017.37. (Reporting and editing by Anushree mukherjee, Bengaluru)
-
Europe awaits ECB cuts after U.S. driven bond rally
The European markets started the day steady, ahead of a possible ECB rate cut. Weak U.S. data had sparked a rally in government bonds and pushed Wall Street into bull market territory. Investors are eager to know what Christine Lagarde, and other policymakers, think will happen next. This is because of the uncertainty surrounding a possible U.S.-Canada trade agreement. German data released earlier this week showed that industrial orders in April rose unexpectedly due to a strong domestic demand. This helped lift Europe's STOXX 600 Index for the third consecutive day as Germany's approval a tax relief package lifted sentiment. As traders waited for the ECB to act, both regional and euro government bonds remained unchanged. The euro zone's inflation is now in line with its central bank's target of 2%. Policymakers have already telegraphed that they will make their eighth rate cut later. Oliver Rakau of Oxford Economics said that "a cut today is pretty close to a done deal." He expected Lagarde's post-rate-decision press-conference to be even less committed than usual. Rakau expects to make two more cuts before the end the year, but the combination of trade talks between the U.S. He said that a sudden trade agreement could change the course of events. "They do not want to be caught off guard and German fiscal stimuli are also coming." The currency markets were mostly in a holding pattern. Dollar dropped during the previous session due to weak U.S. services and jobs data. This puts the spotlight on the non-farm payrolls that are due Friday. The yield of the 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond fell by more than 7 basis point to 4.911%. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year bond yield has dropped to 4.385% after reaching a three-month high of 4,629% only a few weeks ago. TRADE TALKS Trump's doubled tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, which hit Canada and Mexico particularly, became effective Wednesday. On the same day, Trump's administration asked trading partners for "best offers" to prevent other import levies from taking effect in July. Ryosei Acazawa, Japan's top trade negotiator, will be in the U.S. for a second round of negotiations on Thursday. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor was in Washington as well to meet Trump. The MSCI broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan has risen 0.7% overnight. South Korea's KOSPI reached an 11-month-high amid optimism about the new President Lee Jae-myung, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 1%. Chris Nicol is the Australia equity strategist for Morgan Stanley. He said that the markets are complacent in the sense that they expect to continue with the resolution of issues and the closing of deals. The impact of growth and inflation on the policy remains relatively undetermined. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket currencies) rose by 0.1% to 98.0, reversing its 0.5% decline on Wednesday. The dollar rose 0.3% against yen, at 143.34. It was also 0.25% stronger against Swiss Franc, at 0.82025 Swiss francs. And it was virtually unchanged in relation to the Euro and Sterling at $1.14. Gold lost its gains of the previous day. Oil, however, remained steady after falling on an increase in U.S. stocks and Saudi Arabia lowering its July crude prices for Asian buyers. Spot gold fell 0.1% to $3,374 an ounce. Brent crude rose 0.4%, to just above $65 per barrel. (Editing by Alex Richardson; Additional reporting by Rocky Swift, Tokyo)
-
London copper prices rise on weaker dollar
London copper prices rose slightly on Thursday, despite a weakening U.S. Dollar. The market's focus was on the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. As of 0702 GMT the three-month copper contract traded on the London Metal Exchange rose nearly 0.4%, to $9,656.5 a metric ton. The most actively traded copper contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange remained at 781,170 yuan per ton ($10,884.46). The dollar index (which measures the U.S. dollar against six other currencies) was at 98.87, and has fallen about 9% in this year. It is on track to have its worst yearly performance since 2017 Dollar-denominated investments are more affordable for holders of currencies other than the U.S. On Wednesday, U.S. president Donald Trump said that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was "extremely difficult to make a trade with". This exposed frictions, after the White House had raised expectations for a long-anticipated phone call between these two leaders. Canada was preparing possible retaliations, while the European Union announced progress in trade negotiations on Wednesday as the new U.S. Metals Tariffs caused more disruption to the global economy, and increased urgency in negotiations with Washington. ANZ reported that "Trump's tariffs of 50% on aluminum and steel have raised expectation that he would soon follow through on his pledge to impose tougher duties on copper, as well", Tin prices on the LME fell around 0.2%, to $31,950 per ton. This was after they had hit a record high of $31,950 on Wednesday. The reason for this is that there are concerns about the slow resumption in supply from Myanmar's rich tin state Wa. Lead eased 0.4% at $1,983, and nickel edged up by 0.3% to $15440. Lead added 0.4% at 16,695 Yuan while nickel fell 0.4% at 121,570 Yuan. Click or to see the latest news in metals, and other related stories. DATA/EVENTS : (GMT) 0830 US S&P GLOBALPMI: MSC Composite - OUTPUT MAY 1215 EU ECB refinancing, deposit rate Jun 1230 US International trade $ Apr 1230 US Jobless Clm, 31 May w/e. 1430 US EIA - Nat Gas Chg Bcf, Nat Gas - EIA Implied Flow, 30 May w/e.
-
Iron ore prices fall as the focus shifts from China's steel demand to a softening of iron ore.
Iron ore futures fell on Thursday as the focus returned to a softening of steel consumption during China's off peak demand season. The daytime trading price of the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was 701 yuan (US$97.60). As of 0701 GMT, the benchmark July iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell 0.8% to $94.7 per ton. Analysts at Galaxy Futures stated that prices of the main steelmaking ingredient will fluctuate due to the seasonal weakness in demand. The iron ore market is not changing fundamentally. "The upward momentum caused by the coal price rally faded and ore prices also weakened," said Zhuo Guqiu, a broker at Jinrui Futures. Zhuo said that the downside potential of hot metal production is limited by its relatively high output, despite reductions in production and falling portside inventories. Iron ore demand is usually gauged by the hot metal production. Galaxy's analysts noted that despite a recent trade truce, the steel exports are showing signs of a slump, which is dragging down demand. A weak steel demand is a risk to feedstocks. Following Wednesday's rally of more than 6%, other steelmaking ingredients coking coal, and coke, have also seen gains, albeit slower. They are up 1.68%, and 0.56% respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are range bound. Rebar grew 0.14%; hot-rolled coil fell 0.19%; wire rod grew 0.06%; and stainless steel climbed 0.2%. $1 = 7.1822 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson and Eileen Soreng).
-
Nickel supply will continue to expand despite slower demand growth, according to industry experts
Speakers at an industry conference this week predicted that oversupply on the global nickel market would persist in the coming years due to the expansion of production capacity and the slower growth in demand, particularly for the metal used as a component in stainless steel and batteries. The benchmark price has been halved over the last three years due to a surge in nickel production in Indonesia. This country is the largest producer of nickel in the world with a 63% market share. Macquarie analyst Jim Lennon said at a Shanghai Metals Market industry conference in Jakarta that the market was oversupplied. In addition, he added, "Indonesia will soon complete several projects, which will increase production capacity." Lennon believes the surplus will continue to grow until 2027-2028. The London Metal Exchange's most traded nickel contract was trading at $15,380 a metric ton on Thursday morning, after hitting a low of $13,865 five years ago on April 7. Nickel reached a record-high above $48,000 per ton early in 2022. Lennon stated that the $15,000 threshold is critical for costs in the industry. He said that after production cuts started in 2022-2023 half of the existing producers would be at risk if price falls below this level. The use of lithium iron phosphate (LIP) batteries, which are cheaper, has slowed the growth in nickel demand. The analyst's estimate of the battery industry's nickel consumption in 2030 has been reduced to 967,000 tonnes, down from 1.5 million tons as predicted by the industry two years ago. Nickel consumption by the battery industry was 518 tons in 2013. Denis Sharypin is the strategic marketing director of Nornickel in Russia. He said that prices are being pushed lower by an oversupply, which means about one-fourth nickel producers worldwide are losing money on a cost-plus basis. Steven Chen, the global sales director at Eternal Tsingshan Group Ltd (part of China's Tsingshan holding group), said that Indonesian nickel pig iron smelters, which is an alloy used to make stainless steel, also face margin compression. Chen stated that "Smelters have been struggling and this may lead to a reduction in production. There may also be widespread cuts or closures of some smaller smelting facilities in the near future." Indonesia's mining ministry has stated that the government will manage nickel supply and demand in order to support prices. Hongmei Li, Singapore (Writing & Additional Reporting) Mrigank Dhaniwala (Editing).
Greek power producer Mytilineos asks Canada's Alberta to approve solar jobs on farmland
Athensbased Mytilineos Energy & & Metals asked the Alberta government to permit two solar projects partially on prime farmland and promised to continue crop production, business authorities going to the Canadian province stated on Tuesday.
Alberta, led by Premier Danielle Smith, stated last month it will prohibit eco-friendly power projects on prime agricultural land and impose buffer zones to guarantee wind turbines do not ruin beautiful views in the Rocky Mountain province. Alberta stated it could make exceptions for power projects that prove agriculture can co-exist with power generation, and Mytilineos' demand is an early test of the brand-new guidelines.
Chairman Evangelos Mytilineos stated he told Alberta's. utilities and energy ministers previously on Tuesday that he. supported their limitations, even though they make development. harder, costly and time-consuming.
They are going to offer us some more headaches but I told. them this is the right way to do it since you need to use. stringent rules to the grid shift before the scenario gets. totally out of hand and there is a genuine catastrophe of the natural. charm of the province, he told .
It is very important Alberta clarifies the final rules quickly,. he said, adding that the ministers informed him that must occur. by summer.
Mytilineos last year stated it would invest C$ 1.7 billion. ($ 1.25 billion) to purchase, develop and develop 5 solar projects,. including Eastervale and Dolcy, the two partially on prime. farmland, from Westbridge Renewable Resource. The. jobs, which Mytilineos wants to build between 2025 and 2028,. would have capacity for 1.4 gigawatts, making Mytilineos among. Alberta's greatest solar producers.
Up until Alberta clarifies its rules, Mytilineos can not advance. its projects by securing buyers for its power, the chairman. said.
A spokesperson for Alberta's government could not. instantly comment.
Alberta's constraints may impact 57 projects worth C$ 14. billion, according to the Pembina Institute clean energy. think-tank. Huge companies will continue investing under the brand-new. guidelines, however, Mytilineos said.
(source: Reuters)