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Gold prices fall on speculation, but there are still hopes for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine
Investors are watching for peace talks, after U.S. president Donald Trump's administration has agreed to hold additional talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. As of 0338 GMT spot gold fell 0.2%, to $2,928.52 per ounce. This is $14 less than its previous high of $2942.70, which was reached last week. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.1% to $2.945.90. Gold's upside is limited as the first round of negotiations between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine over a potential peace agreement in Ukraine ended without a clear path. However, if they present a solid plan then it would be detrimental for gold, said Ajay Kedia at Mumbai-based Kedia Commodities. There should be a slight erosion of war premium. The upside is likely to be limited by $2,970, which could act as resistance, and $2,890, which would act as support. The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to continue talks with Russia about ending the conflict in Ukraine, after the first Russia-Ukraine talks ended without Kyiv and Europe present. Bullion has traditionally been used as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty. Analysts at ANZ stated that the uncertainty created by Trump's presidency would likely prompt investors to diversify their investments into gold. They added that macroeconomic, geopolitical and trade risks, as well as fiscal and fiscal risks, could boost investment demand in gold. Bullion prices rose by over 1% during the last session due to concerns about economic growth. This was caused by uncertainty over Trump's tariff plans, which led to a safe-haven flow into bullion. The Federal Reserve's minutes of its January meeting, due later today, will provide clues as to the interest rate path for the U.S. Central Bank this year. Spot silver fell 0.9%, to $32.57 per ounce. Palladium and platinum both fell by 1.3%, to $974.32. Platinum was down 1.3% at $974.32.
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Aboriginal group claims $1.1 billion in iron ore from Western Australia
Court filings on Wednesday showed that an Aboriginal group was seeking A$1.8billion ($1.1billion) in compensation from Western Australia after the state allowed Fortescue Mining to mine iron ore for its own benefit without a land-use agreement. The Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation says that the Solomon mining hub's activities have damaged their land and people. The claim included A$1 billion in cultural damages and A$678 millions for economic losses, according to documents filed with the Federal Court of Australia. This case will be remembered not only because of the compensation sought, but also for any precedent that could lead to future claims for damages in the past. The YNAC has sued the state for authorizing the mining. The state will then likely try to recoup its losses by suing Fortescue - the fourth largest iron ore miner in the world. Fortescue accepted that the Yindjibarndi people were entitled to compensation. However, the parties disagreed on the amount. Western Australia's Premier and Justice Department did not respond immediately to comments. YNAC has declined to comment further. The court will hear arguments this week, but a final decision is not expected before the end of this year. Western Australia is home to around half the global seaborne supply of this steel-making component. Rio Tinto's destruction of culturally and historically significant Juukan Gorge Rock Shelters in the Pilbara Region, in 2020, sparked a global outcry. Its CEO and Chairman also resigned. According to experts quoted in the filings, the Solomon mine caused irreparable harm to the Yindjibarndi by destroying their culture and land. The report stated that the mine had damaged over 285 archaeological sites, including six Dreaming tracks or Creation Story Tracks, which are part of Australia's understanding about human settlement in arid areas around 40,000-45,000 ago. The report stated that "the significant harm to the country, people, and Dreamings continues." In 2017, the Yindjibarndi Group won exclusive native title over land that covered the Solomon mining hub. This vast, mineral-rich project began in 2012 and can produce up to 80 millions tonnes of iron ore per year. Native title in Australia is a legal doctrine that recognizes Indigenous rights over certain parcels. Andrew Forrest, founder of Fortescue, is among Australia's richest people. The miner made a net profit of $5.7 billion in the last financial year.
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Dalian Iron Ore continues to gain on the expectation of improved China demand
Dalian iron-ore futures prices rose for the second session in a row on Wednesday. This was due to expectations of improved demand and reduced portside arrivals, which would result in large destockings at major ports within China's top consumer. As of 0246 GMT, the most-traded contract for May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 1.3% higher. It was 819 yuan (about $112.46) per metric ton. As of 0236 GMT, the benchmark March iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was unchanged at $106.65 per ton. Analysts at Jinrui Futures predicted in a note, that China's port deliveries of iron ore by the four world's largest producers will drop sharply in the second half February from the previous week on February 14, to the lowest level for this period since 2019. This would result in massive destocking in ports. Analysts at Huatai Futures wrote in a report that "it's traditionally the slack period for iron ore shipment, while domestic ore recovery is limited. This suggests supply will remain at a low level." Tropical cyclones have caused a sharp drop in iron ore shipments by Australia, a major supplier. Huatai analysts said that the ore demand will be boosted by steelmakers restocking, who will likely be motivated by profit to increase production. Prices were also supported by the rising bets that China would provide economic stimulus to boost its struggling property sector. The gains were tempered by the uncertainty surrounding new tariffs proposed by U.S. president Donald Trump. Analysts at ANZ said that "steel production is likely to remain low due to the increasing challenges of trade tariffs." Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, have gained ground on the DCE. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a rise in most steel benchmarks. Rebar rose by 0.67%; hot-rolled coils rose by 0.53%; stainless steel gained 0.5%, while wire rod remained unchanged.
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Letter shows that Lyondell Houston refinery will begin layoffs in mid-April.
In a letter to the United Steelworkers union on Monday, Lyondell Basll Industries announced that layoffs would begin at the refinery in Houston which was closed. Estalee Russi wrote in a letter to USW International president David McCall that "Employment Separations - including (USW) local 13-227 represented employees - will begin at or around April 17, 2025." Tuesday, the letter was examined. A spokesperson for Lyondell did not respond to a comment request. There are around 400 Lyondell employees working at the 263,776 barrel-per-day-capacity Houston refinery, with about 70% of them being hourly workers represented by the Steelworkers. On Tuesday, Marcos Velez said that Lyondell's decision of removing 250,000 bpd from the market was not only disappointing, but would negatively impact American consumers. Russi's email stated that the "bumping right" which allows workers with more seniority to be given priority when it comes to securing jobs at the refinery would be maintained in accordance with contract between the unions and the company. Velez stated that the pledge was not enough to honor the contract. He said that "their handling of the layoffs is not in line with the collective bargaining agreements that are in place." "We will take every step to hold them accountable." Lyondell shut down the Houston refinery on February 7th, according to people familiar with the plant's operations. Lyondell announced its plans to close this plant in 2023 as it did not align with the company’s new strategy to become a global producer of plastic pellets that are used to make plastic products. The company intends to convert the refinery along the Houston Ship Channel to use equipment that will produce recycled plastic pellets after 2027.
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Sources say that Taiwan's CPC Corp. offers March jet fuel as a rare offer.
Three trade sources on Tuesday said that Taiwan's CPC Corp. is looking to export jet fuel in March. This would be the first time in almost three years that it has made such an offer. They added that the state-owned oil company issued a tender for a combined cargo of 150,000 to 150,000 bbls. of jetfuel or 150,000 bbls. of jetfuel and 150,000 bers. of gasoil with 10ppm of sulphur. A document that was reviewed by on Wednesday showed the cargo would be loaded between March 6-22. Sources said Tuesday that the tender will close on February 19, but it is valid until February 20. A second source told me on Tuesday that the rare move was due to the refinery having more aviation and heating fuel than they expected. However, further details were not confirmed. CPC Corp is a frequent spot buyer of jet-fuel, according to tender records. Last year, the company purchased up to four 300 000 barrel cargoes. Last month, the refiner sold a 300,000 barrel shipment of 10ppm gasoil with a discount between 20-30 cents per barrel for loading on March 16-22.
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Sources say that Taiwan's CPC Corp. offers March jet fuel as a rare offer.
Three trade sources on Tuesday said that Taiwan's CPC Corp. is looking to export jet fuel in March. This would be the first time in almost three years that it has made such an offer. They added that the state-owned oil company issued a tender for a combined cargo of 150,000 jet fuel barrels and 150,000 jet fuel barrels with 10ppm of sulphur. It was not possible to confirm exact loading details. One source stated that the tender will close on February 19, but it is valid until February 20. A second source said that the rare move was due to the refinery having more than expected stocks of aviation and heating oil, but further details were not confirmed. CPC Corp is a frequent spot buyer of jet-fuel, acquiring up to four 300 000 barrel cargoes in the past year, according to tender records. Last month, the refiner sold a 300,000 barrel shipment of 10ppm gasoil with a discount between 20 and 30 cents per barrel for loading on March 16-22.
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British Business - February 19,
These are the most popular stories in the British business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. The Times Southern Water is in a financial crisis, joining Thames Water. It has asked its investors to provide a further 900,000,000 pounds ($1.13 billion), in order to save the company. The British regulator of water, Ofwat, announced on Tuesday that six water utilities had appealed the pricing regime. This highlights the tensions in a sector trying to strike the right balance between the consumer's bills and the environment. The Guardian In the event of peace, Britain believes that the European Union could provide a security guarantee for Ukraine with fewer soldiers than the 100,000-150,000 requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has told EU diplomats Brexit was a bad decision and urged the UK government to take a bold approach to strengthening ties with the EU. He argued that this would be a counterweight against the tariffs threatened to by U.S. president Donald Trump. The Telegraph U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright called the pledge to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050 "a sinister goal" and criticised British attempts to meet clean energy targets. Ed Miliband’s officials admitted that the UK's drive towards net zero would temporarily increase energy bills, in apparent contradiction to his own claims. Sky News The court approved a lifeline of 3 billion pounds ($3.78 billion), preventing the collapse of Britain's largest water provider and a state rescue. The local planning authority has approved Tata Steel's plans to build a new electric-arc furnace in Port Talbot. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
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LME Copper eases Trump's tariffs on semiconductors and automobiles
London copper prices eased on Tuesday, after U.S. president Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% duties on automobiles and semi-conductors, which could impact the metal's supply. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.3%, to $9.446 per metric ton as of 0156 GMT. Trump announced on Tuesday that he plans to impose auto import tariffs of "around 25%" as well as similar duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. This is the latest of a series measures that threaten to disrupt international trade. Trump also said that tariffs for pharmaceuticals and semiconductors would start at "25% and higher" and will increase substantially over the next year. "Trump has been considering further tariffs for autos. He suggested a 25% increase. This could result in a slowdown of global growth, and disruptions in the global supply chain. According to Kelvin Wong of OANDA, senior analyst for Asia Pacific, such disruptions may cause copper prices to fall in the future. Citi stated that "we think President Trump will be more motivated to impose copper tariffs in his second term due to the metal's increasing importance for key emerging global competitive sectors like the energy transformation and AI." Freeport Indonesia, meanwhile, has asked the government to relax its ban on copper exports and allow it to export 1.3 millions tons of copper concentrate until December, valued at about $5 billion. The LME aluminium price fell by 0.4%, to $2.659 per ton. Zinc rose by 0.1%, to $2.888, and nickel increased 0.1%, to $15.370. Tin dropped 0.1%, to $32,745, while lead was down 0.3%, to $1.990.5. The price of aluminium on the SHFE rose by 0.4%, to 20,715 Chinese yuan ($2,844.22) per ton. Nickel was unchanged at 123970 yuan. Zinc gained 0.5%, to 24,005 Yuan. Lead fell 0.5%, to 17,085 Yuan. Tin dropped 0.4%, to 261,300 Yuan. $1 = 7.2832 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich in Bengaluru)
Gold prices rise for the seventh consecutive week as trade war fears boost demand
Gold prices were stable on Friday, and on track for a weekly gain of seven consecutive weeks as President Donald Trump's plan to impose reciprocal duties on all countries that tax U.S. imports fueled fears of a global economic war.
As of 0303 GMT, spot gold remained at $2,929.05 an ounce. Bullion reached a record high of $2,942.70 per ounce on Tuesday.
U.S. Gold Futures increased 0.4% to $2.957.40.
Trump's economics team was tasked on Thursday with developing plans for reciprocal duties against every country that taxes U.S. imports. The targets included China, Japan and South Korea. Ajay Kedia of Mumbai-based Kedia Commodities said that Trump's announcement about reciprocal tariffs was a major catalyst for gold prices in this week. This is because it creates tariff war concerns, and could have an impact on global economies.
Kedia stated that the market was slightly overbought and this could create some technical profits bookings after it nears $3,000 level.
Data on Thursday revealed that the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks the price of goods and services, saw a significant increase in January. This follows the inflation report released Wednesday, in which it was revealed that consumer prices rose at the fastest rate in almost a year-and-a-half.
The PPI data provided more evidence of a new acceleration in inflation and reinforced the view that the Federal Reserve will not reduce interest rates until the second half of the year.
Bullion has traditionally been regarded as a safe asset against inflation and economic unrest, but its appeal is diminishing with the rise in interest rates.
Gold prices have reached record levels globally, and this has dampened sales of jewellery during India's festive season. In China, dealers have offered discounts to lure buyers.
Spot silver increased by 0.4%, to $32.50 an ounce. Palladium was up 0.6% at $999.77 and platinum rose 0.3% to $997.65. All three metals saw a gain for the week (Reporting and editing by Sherry Phillips, Sonia Cheema, and Anushree Mukerjee from Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)