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South Korea's SK Innovation claims that refinery margins will improve following a surprise Q1 loss
SK Innovation Co Ltd, the owner of South Korea’s largest oil refiner SK Energy swung into an unexpected operating loss during the first quarter due to lower oil prices. However, the company forecasts a recovery in the refining margins for the second quarter. The company reported an operating loss for the third quarter ended March 31 of 45 billion won (32 million dollars), a sharp drop from the 625 billion won profits it recorded a year earlier. According to LSEG SmartEstimate, analysts had estimated a profit of 393 billion won. "Operating Income declined despite improving earnings from the Battery Business, due to lower international oil prices and refinery margins," SK Innovation stated in a press release. Operating profit for its refining operations decreased from the previous quarter, due to concerns about a global slowdown in the economy, an easing of OPEC+'s production cuts and increased output from Africa and the Middle East. The company expects that refining margins will improve in the second-quarter, backed by increased cooling demand as summer approaches and the beginning of the driving season. Battery subsidiary SK On has recorded a 299 billion won operating loss, down from a 332 billion won loss a year ago. SK Innovation stated that the battery business will see an increase in sales in North America starting in the second quarter and continue to grow throughout the year. The battery production output in the U.S. is also expected to improve significantly this year. SK On's competitor LG Energy Solution earlier said on Wednesday that it expects lower revenue for the second quarter ending in June, partly due to uncertainty caused by U.S. tariff policies. Analysts said that while SK On is expanding its customer base by announcing deals with Nissan, Slate and other suppliers, its performance may be impacted by the recent decision of Kia to reduce its EV target. SK Innovation's revenue for the first quarter of 2014 increased 12.2% on an annual basis to 21.1 trillion Won. The shares of SK Innovation fell 2.5% before the earnings announcement. This was below the benchmark KOSPI which rose 6.6% and has dropped 15.7% for the year.
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EUROPE GAS: Prices rangebound amid geopolitical concerns and warm weather
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas traded within a narrow range Wednesday morning due to the warm weather, a soft demand and stable supplies while market participants continued to monitor Russia and Ukraine peace talks. According to LSEG, the benchmark Dutch front-month contracts rose 0.10 euros to 31.90 euro per megawatt hour (10.63/mmBtu) at 0835 GMT. The British day-ahead contracts were up 0.23 pence, at 76.23 p/therm. Meanwhile, the front month contract increased 0.25 pence to 76.50 p/therm. LSEG analyst Yuriy Onyshkiv stated that robust LNG sendouts, stable Norwegian flows and a warmwave this week in Northwest Europe will keep the balance loose. Temperatures in north-west Europe will be above average until the next week, before falling from May 5-9. Auxilione, a consultancy, said that there was no change to the fundamentals. "Eyes will be focused on the developments in two of President Trump's main topics in the next few days: the resolution of the peace deal and his global tariffs," the note read. Auxilione stated that "both of these topics could further disrupt the energy markets." The Kremlin stated on Tuesday that Ukraine has not responded to numerous offers from Russia President Vladimir Putin for direct peace negotiations and that it is unclear whether or not it will join the three-day ceasefire that he announced next month. Putin declared Monday a ceasefire for three days in the Ukraine war from 8-10 May, when Russia will celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during World War Two. In response, Ukraine questioned why Moscow wouldn't agree to its request for a 30-day ceasefire that would begin immediately. Gas Infrastructure Europe reports that EU gas storage capacity is now 38.95% filled. The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets increased by 1.20 euros to 66.05 euro per metric ton. (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman; Marwa Rashad)
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London metals fall on weak China factory data
Investors are watching upcoming U.S. data to get clues about the Federal Reserve’s policy direction. China's official purchasing manager's index dropped to 49.0 versus 50.5 in march, according to National Bureau of Statistics, on Wednesday. This is the lowest reading since 2023. It suggests that domestic demand continues to be weak, as factory owners struggled to find other buyers overseas amid the U.S. China trade dispute. As of 0829 GMT on April 1, the benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 2.3%, to $9,227.5 per metric ton, a 4.9% drop from its closing price on March 31, which was $9,710 per ton. Investors await the release of U.S. This week's Personal Consumption Expenditures data is a closely-watched inflation gauge. It could have an impact on Federal Reserve policy or metal prices. U.S. president Donald Trump signed two orders to reduce his auto tariffs. This was in response to Treasury Secretary Bessent who said that key U.S. traders had presented promising proposals for avoiding tariffs. Bessent noted that China’s recent exemptions of certain U.S. goods from retaliatory duties showed a willingness for de-escalation. A trader stated that "the disappointing PMI data clearly shows that trade war tensions have taken a toll in the economy, raising concern about a possible global recession which could reduce metals demand significantly." Other London metals saw aluminium fall 1.2% to $2.435 per ton, while zinc fell 0.9% to 2.62, lead slipped 0.7% to $1.964, tin dropped 0.3% to $31,815, and nickel climbed 0.1% to $15.560. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell 0.5% to $10,627 per ton. Shanghai copper prices were supported a massive fall in inventories In warehouses monitored the SHFE, that dropped by 32% on a weekly basis to 116.753 tons at April 25. SHFE aluminium fell by 0.1%, to 19,910 Chinese yuan per ton. Zinc dropped 0.4%, to 22,400 Yuan. Lead slid 0.6%, to 16,840 Yuan. Nickel lost 0.6%, to 123720 Yuan. Tin fell 0.4%, to 260300 yuan. $1 = 7.2660 Chinese yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Violet Li, Lewis Jackson and Rashmi aich).
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Gold prices record helps keep China's copper-smelters running despite losses
The soaring prices of gold and other byproducts keep China's copper-smelters afloat. They could prevent significant production cuts in this year, despite the fact that a key indicator of profitability is forecast to fall even further. China's copper industry is suffering from a severe slump as a growing number of furnaces compete for limited concentrate supplies. The smelting capacity has increased by a quarter from 2021, and it is expected to increase around 10% this coming year. Six traders and analysts believe that the fees smelters pay for refining ore (called concentrate treatment and refinement charges, TC/RCs) are already negative, and will continue to decline. Negative TC/RCs means that smelters have to pay traders or miners in order to convert concentrate into metal. They said that despite the dire TC/RCs, smelters will not cut production significantly because the high prices of smelting products like gold and sulfur partially offset losses. According to one trader who told him he heard about a TC/RC contract at minus $80.00 per metric ton, or minus 8.02 cents per pound, the record prices for gold offset some of losses in processing concentrate rich with gold. Three sources say that older, smaller smelters, without advanced technology for extracting gold and other byproducts, will struggle because they account for only a small portion of production. These facilities will not be affected by the closures or cuts. According to Shanghai Metals Market, the copper concentrates TC/RC Index hit a new record low on April 18 of -$34.71 a metric ton. This is a minus $3.47 cents if you weigh it. Analysts at Mysteel expect the refined copper output this year to increase by 10%. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates that China has increased its copper smelting capacities by 12.78 million tonnes this year. This is up 8% over last year and by 25% since 2021. Official data shows that China's refined output of copper decreased only 0.5% on an annual basis to 3.35 millions metric tons during the first quarter. Reporting by Violet Li, Lewis Jackson and Saad Sayeed
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Gulf markets ease due to soft oil and weak earnings
On Wednesday, the majority of major Gulf stock markets tracked lower oil prices while weak corporate earnings failed not to boost investor sentiment. The global trade war and mounting supply fears weighed on the oil prices, which are a major catalyst for Gulf financial markets. On Wednesday, the price of crude oil, an important factor in the Gulf, continued to fall and was set to experience its steepest monthly decline in over three years. Saudi Aramco, the oil giant, lost 0.6%. The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia slipped 0.1%. Americana Restaurants International, based in the UAE, retreated by 2.2% following a decline in profit for the first quarter. Abu Dhabi's Index fell 0.3% due to a 3.7% drop in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank following a decline in operating income in the first quarter. The lender did report an increase in profits. Multiply Group, a laggard among other companies, fell 2.4%. The investment firm was also poised to continue its losses after Tuesday's announcement of a decline in quarterly profits. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates, saw its losses capped with a 1.8% increase. LSEG data shows that the bank's share price jumped by more than 3% on Tuesday after it reported a net profit exceeding analysts' expectations of 4,24 billion dirhams. Dubai's main stock index dropped 0.4% due to a 1.5% drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties. The Qatari Index gained 0.4%. This was led by an increase of 0.8% in the petrochemical company Industries Qatar. $1 = 3.6729 UAE Dirham (Reporting and editing by Ateeq Sharif in Bengaluru)
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Indian firms are preparing to raise debts of $1.5 billion after RBI liquidity boost.
Indian companies have increased their plans to borrow money from the market, led by the state-run companies. The central bank's new bond purchasing scheme has surprised the markets and driven borrowing costs down. Four Indian state-run companies - Power Finance Corp., NHPC. IREDA. and HUDCO – are set to raise a total of 125 billion Rupees ($1.5billion) and have invited offers on Wednesday and Friday. They didn't immediately respond to an email asking for comment. In the first week of this month, state-run companies raised 393 billion rupees through bonds. Suresh Darak is the founder of Bondbazaar.com, an online trading platform for bonds. He said: "The recent rush of state-run companies issuances looks like a timely move to take advantage of softening yields following Reserve Bank of India’s announcement of bond buying." The RBI announced on Monday night that it will buy bonds worth 1,25 trillion rupees via open market purchases. In April, they bought bonds worth 1,20 trillion rupees. Since then, AAA-rated corporate bonds yields across curves have eased around 5-10 basis point and spreads between government bond yields has shrunk. Darak stated that "by front-loading their borrowings, companies lock in lower funding costs. (It) reflects intelligent liability management." State-run companies have raised 518 billion rupees including these issuances. This is more than five-times the 100 billion rupees they raised in April 2024. In the first five weeks, the companies raised more than half of their total funding. "Issuers are eager to take advantage the falling yields and this is why they are so rushed to issue debt," Umesh Kahandelwal, chief executive officer of Tipsons Group, said. To put things in perspective, the total amount raised by debt fundraises during the first five weeks fiscal 2025 was 450 billion rupees. Non-banking finance firms such as Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, and others have been major issuers. PFC, one of the many borrowers to hit the market in the past week, is raising 35 billion rupees via zero-coupon deep discount bonds with a maturity of 10 years and 1 month. The traders are expecting a strong demand for this issue. $1 = 85,141 Indian Rupees
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Technip Energies shares drop after the first-quarter's net profit missed expectations
Technip Energies, a French energy infrastructure company, posted a first-quarter profit that was below market expectations on Wednesday. This helped to drive its shares down. The company's shares were down 7.6% at 0720 and ranked among the worst performers in France's SBF 120 mid-cap index SBF120. The group, which specializes in energy technology, reported a first-quarter profit of 101 million euros (114.9 million dollars), lower than the 109 million euro consensus estimate from analysts. Bernstein wrote in a client note that the performance of TPS, the company's Technology, Products and Services segment (TPS), was "disappointing". The TPS revenue fell by 5% on an annual basis to 450 millions euros. This was below analysts' expectations (522 million euros). The group reduced its revenue forecast for the division's bottom end, citing macroeconomic uncertainty. It expects TPS revenues of between 1.8 and 2.2 Billion Euros in 2025, as opposed to the previous expectation of between 2.0 and 2.2 Billion Euros. In a press release, CEO Arnaud Piette said that the uncertain macroeconomic and policy environment has led to a wider range of revenue for the shorter cycle segment – Technology, Products & Services. On a conference call with media, Chief Financial officer Bruno Vibert stated that the unit was more vulnerable to short-term fluctuations. He said that if there is uncertainty or volatility, this will always have a greater impact on TPS than the project business. The adjusted recurring profit before interest and taxes at the group increased 19% to 131.7 millions euros, exceeding analysts' expectations, which averaged 126 million euro, according to an internal consensus. When asked about the impact on the company of U.S. Tariffs, Vibert stated that the ongoing projects had not been affected. He added that the portfolio in the U.S. consisted mainly of service contracts.
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Droughts threaten buffalo and farmer's livelihoods in Iraq
Iraq's buffalo populations has been reduced by more than half in the last decade, as both the Tigris River and the Euphrates suffer from severe droughts, which threaten the livelihoods of many farmers. Sabah Ismail (38), a farmer who raises buffaloes in Dhi Qar, a province located south of the country, said: "People have gone. We only have a few houses left." "The situation is very difficult" I used to have 120-130 buffalo, but now I'm down to 50-60. Ismail said, "Some died and we sold others because of the drought." In ancient Sumerian texts, the area has been raising buffalo for their milk for centuries. According to Iraqi marshland specialists, climate change, upstream damming of Turkey and Iran, outdated irrigation techniques at home, and a lack long-term plans are the main causes of water shortages that drive farmers from the countryside. From the conflict with Iran during the 1980s to two Gulf Wars and the rise and fall of Islamic State, the country has endured decades worth of war. Iraqi farmers have suffered due to upstream damming and reduced rainfall. This has led to a decline in the quality of life for many, including Ismail. Jassim Al-Assadi, an Iraqi marshland specialist, said that since 2015 the number of Buffalo in Iraq has fallen from 150.000 to less than 65,000. Al-Assadi stated that the decline was "mostly due natural reasons, such as lack of green pastures needed, pollution, illness, and farmers not farming buffalos because of scarcity of income". Farmers are also struggling to feed animals due to a drastic drop in crop production, and an increase in the price of fodder. Abdul Hussain Sbaih (39), an Iraqi buffalo farmer, said: "God only knows, this summer the mortality rate could reach half." Maher Nazeh reported the story. Elwely Elwelly is the writer. Editing by Freya Whiworth
WGC expects India's jewellery sales to decline, but investment demand will increase.
The World Gold Council (WGC), a global organization that promotes gold, said the share of investment demand will rise in India by 2025 as the price rally reduces jewellery demand, but attracts investors who are looking to diversify portfolios in the face of geopolitical tensions.
Sachin Jain said on Wednesday that the correction in stock markets amid fears of a global trade conflict has driven investment demand. This is especially true for gold exchange-traded fund (ETFs), whereas jewellery demand has taken a hit.
In the quarter of January-March, jewellery demand fell by 25% over the previous year to 71.4 tons. This is the lowest level for this period since 2009. The WGC reported that the investment demand grew by 7% to reach 46.7 tons.
The WGC data revealed that the share of investment demand within total gold demand soared to 39.5% during the first quarter 2025. This was the highest level in over a decade.
Jain stated that many potential jewellery buyers have been putting off purchases due to the volatile price of the products. Once prices stabilize, they will likely enter the market.
In the first week of this month, domestic gold prices reached a new record of 99.358 rupees for 10 grams. The price of gold has risen by 25% in 2025, after rising 21% in 2024.
The WGC, despite the recent price rise, maintained its forecast of gold demand for India between 700 and 800 tons by 2025. This is down from the 802.8 tons last year, which was highest since 2015.
The data revealed that scrap supplies in the quarter of March fell by 32% compared to a year earlier, reaching 26 tons.
WGC reported that the Reserve Bank of India increased its gold reserves by 3 tons during the quarter ending March, but the buying activity has been less constant in recent months than it was in 2024. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich; Rajendra Jadhav)
(source: Reuters)