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Gold Reserve group makes bid for Citgo parent
Gold Reserve's subsidiary Dalinar Energy Corporation submitted a better bid on Wednesday for the parent company of Venezuelan-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum, as part of an auction organized by a U.S. federal court. The mining company announced this in a press release. The deadline to improve the bid of Contrarian Funds affiliate Red Tree Investments for Citgo Holding's parent company PDV Holding was set by a federal judge in Delaware on June 18. This bid, worth $3.7 billion, had been selected earlier in the year as the opening bid. The court wants to reach a settlement to compensate companies for expropriations and debt defaults in Venezuela. Compensation of up to $19 Billion is being offered. A court officer who oversees the auction is expected to recommend a winner by 2 July. Sources close to the preparations revealed that other consortia, including affiliates from trading house Vitol as well as hedge fund Elliott Investment Management were also considering bids. Gold Reserve reported that Dalinar Energy’s revised offer, which is based on a combination equity and debt funding, has the support of a consortium, including Rusoro mining and two units from U.S. conglomerate Koch. The revised bid would, if accepted by the Court and completed, satisfy in cash or other non-cash payment, all judgments attached to Gold Reserve's senior waterfall creditors. In a release, the company stated that the revised bid would also satisfy a significant percentage of Gold Reserve’s attached judgment.
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Regime change in Tehran? Putin: Iran consolidates around its leaders
When asked if he agrees with Israeli statements regarding a possible regime change in Tehran, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded on Thursday by saying that Iranian society is consolidating around the Islamic Republic’s leadership. Putin has spoken as Trump Keep the World Guessing As residents of Iran's Capital city began to leave the city after the sixth day of Israel's airstrike, many wondered if the U.S. was going to join Israel in its bombardment of Iranian missile and nuclear sites. Putin said that all sides must find ways to end the hostilities so as to ensure both Iran's rights to nuclear power for peaceful purposes and Israel's unconditional security. When asked about Benjamin Netanyahu's comments, Regime change Putin stated that the military strikes by Israel and the demands of Donald Trump for Iran to surrender unconditionally could have led to the situation in Iran. He also said it was important to consider the goal before initiating any action. Putin, speaking to senior editors of a news agency in St Petersburg in northern Russia, said: "We can see today that in Iran with all of the complex internal political processes going on...there is a consolidating of society around the political leadership of the country." Putin claimed to have personally spoken with Trump and Netanyahu and conveyed Moscow’s ideas for resolving this conflict. He claimed that Iran's underground uranium-enrichment facilities are still intact. "These underground factories exist, and nothing has happened," Putin said. He added that all parties should work towards a solution that protects the interests of Iran as well as Israel. Putin said: "It would seem to me to be appropriate for everyone to seek ways to end hostilities, and to find ways for the parties in this conflict to reach an agreement," In my opinion, a general solution to this conflict can be found. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov On Wednesday Moscow told the United States to refrain from attacking Iran, as it would destabilise Middle East in a radical way. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also warned that Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities could trigger a nuclear disaster. (Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in St Petersburg, Russia; Anastasia Lyrchikova, Dmitry Antonov and Darya Korsunskaya, in London, and Guy Faulconbridge/Andrew Osborn in Moscow)
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Hurricane Erick is expected to intensify rapidly and threaten Mexico's Pacific Coast
Authorities said that Hurricane Erick was rapidly intensifying off the Pacific coast of Mexico and expected to become a major Category 3-hurricane before it makes landfall. The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that Erick would be the first storm to hit Mexico in this season. It will bring "life-threatening floods" to southern Mexico on Thursday and later tonight. The center has warned that Erick could reach hurricane strength as it approaches the southern Mexican coast. Erick, with maximum sustained winds of 140 kph (85 mph), is located about 255 km (about 160 mi) away from Puerto Angel tourist enclave where a hurricane alert is in place. Mexico's civil defense agency has said that the storm could reach Category 3 strength by landfall. Laura Velazquez told a press conference held by the president earlier that day, the hurricane was expected to make landfall on Thursday between the states Oaxaca & Guerrero. Prepare for an Emergency According to the National Hydrological Center, up to 20 inches (about a 50 cm) of rainfall is expected in Oaxaca y Guerrero. Both states have started emergency planning with local authorities. According to the authorities, over 18,000 first responders and 500 temporary shelters were activated. Mexican authorities also coordinate evacuation and care efforts in popular beach destinations including Acapulco. Claudia Sheinbaum, the Mexican president, urged residents in flood-prone regions to move into shelters or stay inside. Mexico's Conagua national water commission warned that rainfall could cause landslides, flooding and waves up to 6 meters high. (Reporting and editing by Stefanie Eschenbacher, Rod Nickel, Alistair Bell).
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The US physical aluminum premium drops 7% due to tariff cuts
Metal industry sources reported that premiums for customers buying aluminum on the physical market of the United States dropped by more than 7% Wednesday, as traders speculated on possible reductions in U.S. tariffs on Canadian shipments. Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said that he and President Donald Trump agreed that they should work together to conclude a new security and economic deal within 30 day. The price of aluminium sold on the physical market is the same as the London Metal Exchange, plus a premium for the physical market that covers freight and taxes. Trump doubled the aluminium import tariffs from 4 June to 50% in order to encourage investment in domestic production. Metals are used in transport, packaging and the construction industry. The U.S. Midwest duty paid aluminium premium at COMEX dropped to 55 U.S. Cents per lb, or $1,212 for a ton of aluminum, down from 59.34cents on Tuesday. On June 6, it reached a record price of 62.50 US cents, a 190% increase since Trump's second term election in November. Aluminium industry sources claim that the Midwest still has a premium compared to historical norms and that premiums along a maturity curve indicate the market believes that tariffs on aluminum imports will continue at some level. The United States imports about half of its aluminium, the majority of which comes from Canada. In fact, Canada exported 3.2 millions tons of aluminum to the United States in 2013. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States produced over 4 million tonnes of aluminum last year. Most of this was recycled material. LME Aluminium was trading at around $2,550 per ton.
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Gold prices remain stable ahead of Fed's decision; platinum soars to a 4-year high
The gold price was little changed Wednesday, as investors waited to hear the Federal Reserve's decision on policy and Jerome Powell's comments. Platinum surged at a four-year high. By 1013 am EDT (1413 GMT), spot gold had fallen 0.1%, to $3386.10 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 0.1% to $3.403.50. Marex analyst Edward Meir stated that the markets are currently trading sideways as everyone awaits the Fed's decision, and developments in the Middle East. Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Alyatollah Khamenei has rejected the demand of U.S. president Donald Trump for unconditional surrender. Iranians are jamming the highways to flee from the intensified Israeli airstrikes. The Fed will announce its policy announcement at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) and is expected to maintain interest rates as they are. Investors will closely monitor Powell's remarks for clues about the central bank's next course of action. Trump criticized Powell for the decision he had expected to be made not to lower the interest rate and said that the man he placed in the position during his last term did a poor job. Gold is more appealing because of geopolitical tensions, and low interest rates. Prices lost momentum on Monday after reaching a session peak of $3,451.04, which was close to a record high set in April. Goldman Sachs stated in a report that investors are looking for opportunities to catch up. It added: "In our opinion, the recent platinum and silver rallies were primarily speculative in nature and lacked fundamental support." Spot silver fell 0.8% to $36,95 an ounce after hitting its highest level since Feb 2012 earlier. Platinum increased 3.1% to $1.302.17, the highest level since February 2021. The high price of the gold has slowed down Chinese demand for gold jewellery and there is high hope that platinum can be a substitute. If demand in May remains high or increases, then platinum prices will rise; if the April spike was an anomaly, expect a sharp drop, said Tai Wong. Palladium prices were flat in other places at $1,052.25 Reporting by Ashitha and Sarah Shivaprasad from Bengaluru. Jane Merriman edited the article.
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The US Supreme Court sides up with the federal agency in nuclear waste facility licensing
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against Texas and the oil industry in their challenge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to license certain facilities for nuclear waste storage. The conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the 6-3 ruling that reversed an earlier court decision declaring illegal a license granted by the NRC for a company named Interim Storage Partners, to operate a storage facility of nuclear waste in western Texas. The NRC regulates nuclear power in the United States. The NRC granted a license to Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture between France's Orano and Dallas' Waste Control Specialists in 2021 for the construction of a nuclear waste facility in Andrews County near New Mexico. The U.S. Government and the Company had appealed against the decision of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NRC lacked the authority to grant the license based upon a 1954 law known as the Atomic Energy Act. The appeal was filed under former Democratic President Joe Biden, and continued by Republican President Donald Trump. The government claimed that Congress granted the NRC authority to issue temporary off-site nuclear storage facilities. Fasken Land and Minerals and the nonprofit Permian basin Coalition of Land and royalty owners and operators challenged Interim Storage Partners' license. Texas and New Mexico joined the lawsuit later, claiming that the facility was a threat to the environment of the two states. New Mexico's case was later dismissed. Kavanaugh's ruling stated that "to qualify as a part of a licensing procedure, the Atomic Energy Act mandates either being a license applicant or having successfully intervened in a licensing proceedings." In this case however, Texas, Fasken, and the other parties were not license applicants and did not intervene successfully in the licensing proceedings. He wrote that neither Texas nor Fasken was eligible to seek judicial review at the 5th Circuit. During the March 5 oral arguments, some conservative Supreme Court justices appeared to be wary of NRC's assertion that the licensing arrangements in question would only be temporary. The license granted to Interim Storage Partners would last 40 years with the option of renewal. After decades of opposition, a proposal to store spent nuclear fuel permanently at a federal facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada has been put on hold. In recent years, the Supreme Court has, with a conservative majority of 6-3, limited the power of federal agencies, including the Environment Protection Agency and Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, the court overturned its 1984 precedent which had accorded deference to agencies when interpreting laws. Trump, who returned to the presidency as of January 2017, has dismantled various agencies in his campaign to reduce the federal workforce and reform the government.
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The US Supreme Court sides up with the federal agency in nuclear waste facility licensing
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against Texas and the oil industry in their challenge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to license certain facilities for nuclear waste storage. The ruling, which was 6-3 in favor of the NRC, reversed an earlier court decision that declared a license granted by the NRC for a company named Interim Storage Partners operating a nuclear waste facility in western Texas illegal. The NRC regulates nuclear power in the United States. The NRC granted a license to Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture between France's Orano and Dallas' Waste Control Specialists in 2021 for the construction of a nuclear waste facility in Andrews County near New Mexico. The U.S. Government and the Company had appealed against the decision of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NRC lacked the authority to grant the license based upon a 1954 law known as the Atomic Energy Act. The appeal was filed under former Democratic President Joe Biden, and continued by Republican President Donald Trump. The government claimed that Congress granted the NRC authority to issue temporary off-site nuclear storage facilities. Fasken Land and Minerals and the nonprofit Permian basin Coalition of Land and royalty owners and operators challenged Interim Storage Partners' license. Texas and New Mexico joined the lawsuit later, claiming that the facility was a threat to the environment of the two states. New Mexico's case was later dismissed. During the March 5 oral arguments, some conservative Supreme Court justices appeared to be wary of NRC's assertion that the licensing arrangements in question would only be temporary. The license granted to Interim Storage Partners would last 40 years with the option of renewal. After decades of opposition, a proposal to store spent nuclear fuel permanently at a federal facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, has been put on hold. In recent years, the Supreme Court has, with a conservative majority of 6-3, limited the authority and power of federal agencies, including the Environment Protection Agency and Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, the court overturned its 1984 precedent which had accorded deference to agencies when interpreting laws. Trump, who returned to the presidency as of January 2017, has dismantled various agencies in his campaign to reduce the federal workforce and reform the government.
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Trump's role in the Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel is significant
The companies confirmed that Nippon Steel completed its $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel on Wednesday. This confirms the unusual power of the Trump administration, after 18 months of struggle by the Japanese company to complete the acquisition. Nippon purchased 100% of U.S. Steel's shares for $55 each, just as it had stated in its initial offer to buy the well-known, struggling steelmaker back in December 2023. The filing reveals details of an agreement signed with the Trump Administration, giving President Donald Trump authority to name board members and a non-economic share. Eiji Hashimoto thanked Trump and said that Nippon Steel was excited to "open a new chapter in U. S. Steel’s storied past." According to a post on social media by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the golden share grants the U.S. Government veto power over a range of corporate decisions. This includes idling factories, cutting production capacity, and moving jobs abroad. After a long and arduous road to approval, fueled by political opposition at the highest levels, the measures are an unusually high level of control that the companies have given to the government. Nippon Steel announced that its annual crude production capacity will reach 86,000,000 tons. This brings it closer to Nippon Steel’s global strategic target of 100,000,000 tons of crude steel production capability. National security lawyers warned on Monday that the inclusion of the golden stake to gain approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in America, which examines foreign investments for national security risk, could drive away overseas investors from U.S. firms. Both then-President Joe Biden (a Democrat) and Trump (a Republican) expressed their opposition to the deal after the United Steelworkers Union came out against it last year. They were trying to woo Pennsylvania voters, a crucial swing state in the presidential campaign. Biden, shortly before leaving office, blocked the deal in January on grounds of national security. This led to lawsuits from the companies who claimed that the national security review was biased. The Biden White House denied the claim. The steel companies saw an opportunity with the Trump administration. In April, the Trump administration opened a 45-day review of the proposed merger.
Does the battle over LME aluminum stocks signal or cause noise? Andy Home
Where has all the aluminum gone? In the warehouses of London Metal Exchange (LME), there were 1.3 million tons of aluminium two years ago. Since then, the inventory has almost halved to levels last seen in 2020.
London's market is becoming more turbulent as traders compete for what's left. This may not be apparent at first glance, but the calm exterior masks a lot of turmoil.
Short-dated spreads are tightening and becoming volatile. While the LME outright three-month price has been tethered around $2,500 per ton, the LME three month price is still a sedate level.
LME's aluminium market has seen titanic battles for metal between traders with deep pockets. The game has taken on an entirely new dimension ever since the exchange in April of last year banned the delivery of new Russian aluminum.
This latest LME stock battle echoes past LME battles, but this time the LME noise could be masking an essential market signal.
A LARGE MARK, LARGE POSTIONS
The biggest base metals market in the world is aluminium, with an annual consumption of about 100 million tons. Aluminium traders are known to have taken outlandishly big positions on the London market.
This mega-long position has been roiling nearby spreads over the past month.
The benchmark period is three months of cash
Last week, the "tom-next spread", which is the cost of rolling over a position and a reliable indication of market stress was traded at a backwardation of $12.30 per ton.
There is no doubt that someone is looking to buy a large amount of aluminium, but the LME has only 321,800 tonnes of metal available in its warehouses. Two-thirds are Russian.
In April of last year, Russian metal was banned from the United States and United Kingdom. It is now subject to quotas and a complete ban in Europe will be implemented at the end 2026. This makes it less desirable.
There's no way to tell how many of the 323,000 tonnes of metal in LME storage that are also Russian, but there is no indication of the metal being moved to warrant to ease the spread tightness.
If the goal of the squeeze is to get metal out of deep non-LME shadow storage, then it does not seem to work. So far, this month's arrivals have been a mere 150 tons.
The LME ban on Russian metal after April 13, 2020 may hinder the normal functioning of the LME stock grab trade. This is to tighten the spreads in order to force holders of metal to release it.
This assumes that there are a large number of aluminum products, Russian or otherwise, available for LME deliveries.
CHINA'S IMPORT AFFECTION GROWS
This assumption is beginning to seem a bit questionable given the absence of significant arrivals in the LME system of any type of aluminium since March.
China's imports of Russian metal so far in this year indicate that even Russian metal is in high demand.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine war in 2022, the country has absorbed Russian aluminium that was shunned in the West.
Imports of Russian aluminum primary by China grew from 291,000 tonnes in 2021, to 1,13 million tons in 2020. In 2025, the pace of growth has increased again. Imports increased by 48% on an annual basis to 741,000 tonnes in January-April.
The structural changes in aluminium supply are the main reason for China's appetite to import metal.
The smelters of the country are close to reaching the 45 million tons annual cap set by government. Since the beginning of the year, the national annualised run rate has remained at around 44 million tons.
The domestic market for primary metals is tightening up against a backdrop that includes a robust demand from solar energy.
The Shanghai Futures Exchange has seen stocks fall to their lowest level in 16 months, 110,000 tons. Also, the curve for forward trading is now backwardated.
SCRAP WARS
China's stated strategy is to increase secondary production of recyclable metals to compensate for the cap in primary metal production.
This may become more difficult as recyclable materials flow to the United States, because they are exempted from the tariffs of 50% imposed by Donald Trump's administration.
The second major structural shift could lead to a tightening of the global scrap supply, which would force processors outside the United States to use more primary material.
The scrap flows to China, which is the largest buyer in the world, could be further disrupted by the European Union imposing export tariffs. This would stop what they call "scrap leakage". The United States is now the threat. Originally, it was China.
Testing Availability
This latest mega-trade to grab a piece of the available stock is just the latest in an extensive history of mega-trades.
It doesn't seem to be drawing any metal into the system.
This story may have a Russian twist, but it is also a test to see if the market can be supplied. So far, supply has not been satisfactory.
The LME stock churn will appear more like a signal of a downtrend in the LME's inventory the longer it continues.
The author is a columnist at
(source: Reuters)