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European truck shares drop on U.S. reversal of electric vehicle rules
The shares of European truck manufacturers fell Thursday after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would begin efforts to reverse Biden's administration's vehicle emission rules. Analysts say that trucking fleet companies had expected to "pre-buy", trucks before the new rules came into effect, which would have driven up demand. This is unlikely to happen now. Pal Skirta, an analyst at Metzler, said that the market is likely to assume the tighter regulations are going to be reversed. This means there's no expectation of a surge in pre-purchases for the second half 2025-2026. Skirta stated that this was the primary reason for Thursday's fall in share prices. Daimler Truck was the worst hit, down 7% by 0921 GMT. The EPA also said that it will be reviewing a regulation for 2022, which aims to dramatically reduce smog and soot emissions from heavy duty trucks. They claim the rule increases truck prices. Daimler's most important market is the United States. The company has made significant investments in emission-free drives systems to meet climate protection goals, and regulations. Volvo and Traton in Sweden are also down about 3%.
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Workers sign petition to collective bargaining at Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Mine
Western Mine Workers Alliance in Australia (WMWA), said that on Thursday, more than 400 employees at Rio Tinto’s Paraburdoo Iron Ore Mine in Pilbara Region had signed a petition supporting collective bargaining. The alliance launched a petition to begin bargaining in the mine for a first collective agreement after more than 20 years. The company's website stated that the Paraburdoo Mine is part of Rio Tinto's Western Australian operations. This operation employs approximately 16,000 people and will ship 328,6 million tonnes by 2024. The WMWA is formed by the Australian Workers' Union and Mining and Energy Union. MEU said that the agreement would bring an annual increase in pay, as well as a reduction of living costs, among other things. In a Facebook posting, the alliance stated that it would make a formal request to Australia's industrial tribunal Fair Work Commission to issue an order requiring Rio to engage in collective bargaining with its mine workers. Rio Tinto's spokesperson stated in an email response that their current approach is helping to drive productivity and wage growth. This model has created jobs, wage growth that is strong and sustainable, and royalties for the Australian economy.
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Gold gains, but stocks fall as tariffs wipeout inflation relief
Investors turned their focus back to the escalating situation in Syria, and European stocks and U.S. Futures fell on Thursday. Global trade war After a modest rally Wednesday, mainly due to softer than expected U.S. inflation figures. Gold climbed within $10 of its all-time high, and the safe haven yen also ticked higher. After a rise of 0.81% Wednesday, the pan-European STOXX 600 Index dipped a little in early trading. Germany's DAX fell 0.62%. Futures showed a lower opening for Wall Street, with S&P futures down 0.54% and Nasdaq forwards down 0.78%. In Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell by 0.58% while Japan's Nikkei lost gains as high as 1.4%. The Nikkei closed last trades 0.1% lower. In recent weeks, global stocks, led by U.S. equity, have fallen as President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which are a stop-start policy, have created uncertainty and raised concerns about growth for investors and companies. But beaten-down U.S. technology shares led to a rebound on Wall Street Wednesday, after data showed that U.S. consumer price growth was at its slowest rate since October last month. Inflation figures were closely monitored following recent economic data that showed a softer tone, but they did not reflect the full impact of Trump's tariff campaign. Investors are keeping an eye on the U.S. Producer Price Data due later today. Mohit Kumar is the chief European economist for Jefferies. He said that Trump tariffs, and concerns about U.S. economic growth are still driving markets. He said that tariffs create uncertainty, which can be detrimental to investment and outlooks for companies involved in international trade. "Our view is that tariffs do not represent an inflation story, but rather a story of growth." Trump's increased duties on all U.S. imports of steel and aluminum took effect on Tuesday, intensifying a campaign aimed at reordering global trade to the U.S.'s advantage and prompting swift retaliation by Canada and Europe. Gold rose for the third session in a row to $2,947. This is close to the record set on February 24, which was $2,956.15. S&P 500 in the U.S. is down nearly 5% this year. The European stock market has done better thanks to government plans for large defence spending and a possible Ukraine peace agreement. They are currently up 6.6%, despite recent losses. Michael Brown, Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone, said: "This... still strikes as a market which cannot hold on to any gains for the moment. This should be a huge old red flag for potential dip buyers." The yen gained 0.3%, to 147.83 dollars per yen. This was boosted by bets made on Bank of Japan interest rate hikes as well as investors looking for a safe-haven. The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0879 after hitting a five-month peak of $1.0947 on Tuesday. The German Lower House of Parliament will be dissolved Hold a special session On Thursday, the European Parliament will debate a fund of 500 billion euros ($543,85 billion) for infrastructure as well as sweeping changes in borrowing rules. The 10-year Treasury yield remained flat at 4,318%, after increasing in the previous two sessions. Crude oil rose after a rally on Wednesday. Brent futures increased 0.3% to $71.15 per barrel. ($1 = 0.9194 euros)
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China's demand for iron ore is resilient in the near term
Iron ore futures prices rebounded Thursday as a result of a wave short-covering, with China, the top consumer, remaining resilient in near-term demand. However, concerns about escalating tensions on trade limited the upside. As of 0735 GMT, the benchmark April iron ore contracts on the Singapore Exchange rose 1.23% to $101.90 per metric ton. The daytime trading price of the most traded May iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was 0.45% higher, closing at 780 Yuan ($107.68). "Prices are moving between $95 to $110 per ton, and whenever they drop below $100, we will see a quick rebound due to short-covering," said a Beijing iron ore trader, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The short-term outlook for hot metal production is that it will continue to recover, so prices are unlikely to fall dramatically, but downward pressure on prices will increase in the second half, as more supply comes online. Analysts at Hongyuan Futures stated in a report that hot metal production, which is typically used to gauge demand for iron ore, will increase in March, due to the attractive steel margins. The mounting trade frictions with China over its cheap steel products continue to be a drag on the demand for steel and steelmaking materials. The market's mood was dampened on Wednesday by the renewed talk of China's plans to reduce crude steel production to combat the industry-wide oversupply. The National Development and Reform Commission of China, the state planner in China, did not reply to a request for comment. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also advanced on the DCE. They both increased by 2.44% and respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have gained ground. Hot-rolled coil rose 1.7%, rebar climbed 1.21%, wire rod increased 1.02%, and stainless steel gained 0.59%.
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Data shows that Indian refiners are replacing Russian oil with Latam and Africa in February.
Data from trade sources show that India's crude imports from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East increased marginally in February, as refiners sought alternative sources of oil, fearing a reduction in Russian oil supplies due to tighter U.S. sanction, based on data. After the West imposed sanctions against Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine 2022, South Asia became the largest buyer of Russian oil shipped by sea. The data show that in February, New Delhi's crude oil purchases from Moscow fell by 3% compared to January, to approximately 1.54 million barrels a day (bpd). This is the lowest share of Moscow among New Delhi's total crude purchases since January 2024. The data revealed that India's imports of oil from African countries rose from 143,000 barrels per day in January to 330,000 barrels per day in February. Those from South America also increased 60% to 453,600 barrels per day. Washington imposed sanctions in January on Russian producers and tankers. This resulted in a disruption of the supply coming from the No. The number two producer in the world, Russia, was hit with sweeping sanctions that tightened ship availability. The data revealed that the share of Latin America in India's total oil imports, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, rose to 9% in February, its highest level since December 2021. The data revealed that India took Argentinian Medanito oil for the first and rare time last month. The data shows that Indian refiners increased their purchases of Russian oil in advance of the deadline of February 27 set by the US to settle certain energy deals. Around half a dozen vessels carrying Russian oil arrived in Indian ports at the end of February and were released by March. In February, a slight decrease in the consumption of Russian oil boosted the oil share from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and West African countries.
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Commodities ignore Trump's noise and focus on fundamentals of trade: Russell
The best way to navigate the challenges that the U.S. president Donald Trump's inconsistent and erratic trade policies are posing for the global commodity markets is to ignore the noise and concentrate on the fundamentals. While the media focuses on every headline-grabbing announcement or social media post regarding new and retaliatory duties from the U.S. president and his administration the commodity markets continue to do what they have done in the past: adapt to rapidly changing conditions. It's important to distinguish between commodities that are already affected by Trump's policies and those likely to be impacted in the future. There may also be those who will not suffer direct effects, but could feel indirect effects due to a slower world economy. Steel and aluminum are included in the first group, with Trump's 25% tariffs now on all metal imports. Steel and aluminum prices are likely to rise in the United States as domestic producers cannot increase production significantly. The tariffs will be imposed on the consumers, who are likely to see the price of metals sourced from the United States increase as the local producers match the prices of imports. It is possible, in the long term, that U.S. producers of aluminium and steel will either increase their capacity and output or that foreign producers may build plants in the United States. If this is the case, it will depend on how companies view the tariffs and whether the U.S. economic situation is strong enough to justify the investment. Tariffs may cause some trade flow reordering for countries that do not sell metals to the United States. However, the greater risk is a global economic slowdown due to the reduction of trade, inflation, and competitive advantage. Trump is targeting crude oil and the copper industry, but from different perspectives. Trump has said he plans to impose a tariff on imports of copper, which is causing inventories to move from Asia and Europe into the United States. This in turn increases the price for U.S. Copper relative to other benchmarks around the world. This is a simple arbitrage game that will likely end as soon as the tariffs go into effect or not depending on what Trump decides. The global copper market will likely be relatively stable this year, as the Chinese economy is expected to have a greater impact, being the largest importer and producer of the metal in the world. MILITARY METALS One example of ignoring the noise and looking at the fundamentals is Trump's reported plans to build metals refinery facilities on U.S. Military bases in order to secure a supply of vital minerals. Trump is right to be concerned about China's control of much of the sourcing, processing, and distribution of minerals that are critical, including metals like copper, lithium, and cobalt as well as other minor metals, such as tungsten, and rare earths. It is not clear if building refineries on military bases is the best solution. Trump's actions do not seem to increase U.S. resources. Trump's bullying tactics and tariffs against friends and enemies alike have ruined the reputation and image of the United States. Anthony Albanese, Australia's Prime Minister, urged Australians to purchase local goods rather than U.S. products in response to Trump's tariffs. Albanese, in a radio broadcast on Thursday, said: "Buy Bundy instead of some American products... You can make an impact." Albanese was referring to the famous domestic rum. Australia has large reserves of many critical minerals. However, with Trump's treatment of the country as an enemy in trade it is becoming increasingly difficult to find cooperation for investment into developing mines and processing. Crude oil may also be affected by Trump’s policies but from a geopolitical perspective rather than tariffs. Prices will rise if Trump uses sanctions to reduce Iran's crude oil exports to zero. If he is able to achieve a deal for peace in Ukraine, this will likely be at Russia's terms, and may result in a easing of sanctions that could boost supply. If the trade war escalates, there is also a risk that U.S. oil exports will be included in retaliatory duties. This would force a reordering of global flow. The United States, the largest LNG shipper in the world, is at risk of getting caught up in trade wars. This has already begun with China's tariffs which will likely end Beijing's purchase of U.S. goods. Gold has quietly benefited from Trump's actions. Its price has risen to new highs, as investors look for a safe-haven. The fact that Trump hasn't mentioned gold in his list of tariff targets is important. Much of the current rise of precious metals, which is about 15%, since November's election win to Wednesday's closing price of $2,932.06 per ounce is due to U.S. investor buying. Metals Focus reports that from December to February, 600 metric tonnes of gold were transferred into CME-approved vaults. This has led to a tightening of the physical supply of gold in Asia, which is the region with highest demand. Gold is in some ways the poster child of how commodities should respond to Trump. Don't over-analyze the situation. Assess it, and act accordingly. These are the views of a columnist who writes for.
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Gold gains, but stocks fall as tariffs slash inflation relief
Stocks fell in Asia on Friday, reversing gains made earlier, as concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade policies surpassed early optimism based on a tepid U.S. inflation reading. The safe-haven Japanese yen rose, and U.S. Treasury yields fell. Crude oil prices fell as well. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4% at 0545 GMT and mainland Chinese blue-chips dropped 0.7%. The Nikkei index of Japan gave up gains as high as 1.4% in order to trade flat last week, while Taiwanese stocks dropped by 1.1% and South Korea’s KOSPI fell by 0.4%. The Australian stock benchmark fell 0.5%, and now stands 10% below its February 14 record high. This confirms a technical adjustment. Futures indicate that Wall Street will open lower at reopening, with S&P futures down 0.5% and Nasdaq forwards down 0.8%. The price of the STOXX50 futures for Europe fell by 0.5%. The Wall Street rebound was led by the resurgent U.S. technology shares on Wednesday, after new data revealed that U.S. consumer price growth had slowed to its lowest rate since October of last month. Inflation figures were closely monitored following recent economic data that showed a softer tone, but they did not reflect the full impact of Trump's tariff campaign. Michael Brown, Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone, said: "This market is still one that I feel cannot hold gains for the time being. This should be a huge old red flag to any potential dip-buyers out there." "Alongside my bearish equity tilt, I still favor a bullish view on bonds, especially as risks are increasingly tilting to the downside for U.S. economy." Trump's increased duties on all U.S. imports of steel and aluminum took effect on Tuesday, intensifying a campaign to reorder the global trade in favor of the U.S. In a note to clients, TD Securities analysts stated that "uncertainty continues in the air" as the outlook for inflationary consumer prices is still clouded by the trade policy developments. The impact of the recent tariffs on Chinese, Canadian, and Mexican products and the expectation of future announcements suggests that the worst is still to come. Gold prices rose by 0.5%, reaching $2,947.06, close to the previous record set on February 24, at $2,956.15. Treasury yields in the United States declined. The two-year yield fell by 2 basis points, to 3.974%. It had risen as high as 4,005% on Wednesday. The yen increased by 0.4%, to 147.70 dollars per yen. The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0879. Crude oil eased off after Wednesday's rally. Brent futures fell 0.3% to $70.77 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 0.4% to $67.34 a barrel. Kevin Buckland reported; Jacqueline Wong, Sam Holmes and Sam Holmes edited.
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Oil slips amid macroeconomic concerns despite firm demand expectations
The oil prices fell on Thursday, after an earlier surge on the back of a bigger-than-expected drop in gasoline stocks in the United States. Markets weighed macroeconomic worries against a firm demand in near-term. Brent futures dropped 5 cents, to $70.9 a bar by 0426 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures lost 10 cents, to $67.58 a bar. Both benchmarks rallied about 2% on Wednesday as U.S. government data showed tighter-than-expected oil and fuel inventories. Analysts had predicted a 1.9 million barrel drop in gasoline stocks, but the actual decline was 5.7 million. Distillate stocks were also lower than expected - despite gains for crude oil stocks. Hiroyuki Kikakawa, Nissan Securities Investment's chief strategist, said that declining U.S. gas inventories increased expectations of a seasonal increase in demand for spring. However, concerns over the global impact of tariff wars on the economy weighed heavily on the market. He added that "with strong and weak factors moving simultaneously, it is difficult for the markets to lean in one direction." Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that he would escalate a global war of trade by imposing further tariffs on European Union products, while major U.S. trade partners announced they would retaliate against trade barriers already put in place by the U.S. President. Trump's focus on tariffs has shaken investors, consumers, and business confidence in the U.S. and raised recession fears. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that Kazakhstan was the leader in the OPEC+ group for a significant increase in crude production in February. This highlights the difficulty the producer group faces in enforcing adherence of agreed output targets. JP Morgan analysts noted that concerns about the sluggish demand for jet fuel weighed on markets. They also pointed out that U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data revealed passenger numbers in March had decreased by 5% compared to last year, after a stagnant February. The overall market was not as weak as expected due to the strong demand outlook. Analysts at JP Morgan said that the strong demand from the U.S. and Ukraine's 377 drones that targeted Russian energy infrastructures and military installations helped to support prices. They added that "as of March 11th, global oil demand averaged 102 million barrels a day. This is an increase of 1.7 million barrels compared to last year and exceeds our projection for the month."
South African coal miner Exxaro names a new CEO amid a profit slump
Exxaro Resources, a South African miner of coal, announced that veteran mining executive Ben Magara has been appointed as its new CEO, following the departure Nombasa Tsengwa.
Magara is a former CEO at platinum miner Lonmin, and former executive of Anglo American. He will take over the CEO role on April 1, 2025. He will replace acting CEO Riaan Kopseschaar who will continue to serve as finance director.
In a press release, Chairman Geoffrey Qhena stated that the new CEO will be expected to guide the coal miner in the face of declining profits as a result of lower prices for fossil fuels and to drive Exxaro’s diversification into transition minerals to green energy.
South African miner, Exxaro, reported that its profit dropped to around 7 billion rand (381.44 millions) in 2024 from almost 11 billion a few years earlier. Exxaro reduced its dividend from 10.10 to 8.7 rands per share.
Magara was the CEO of Lonmin, a platinum miner acquired by Sibanye Stillwater rival in 2019. He succeeds Tsengwa who resigned following a board investigation that was launched into her governance practices.
(source: Reuters)