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China's lithium prices reach a 2-month high due to falling inventories and improving demand
Analysts said that the price of lithium carbonate futures in China reached a two-month peak on Friday. This was due to falling inventories and improved demand from electric vehicles and energy storage sectors. The Guangzhou Futures Exchange's most active futures contract for lithium carbonate reached its highest level in 11 months at 80,880 Yuan ($11354.77) per metric ton, before paring the gains to close daytime trading 1.33% higher, at 79.520 Yuan. Shares of major producers such as Ganfeng Lithium, Tianqi Lithium, and others rose by 0.22 % and 1.25 % respectively, thanks to higher prices. The demand for battery materials was driven by the explosive growth of the electric vehicle sector. According to the statistics bureau of China, September's output of new energy vehicles rose 20.3% compared to a year ago. This is a nine-month record. China announced in September its plans to almost double its energy storage capacity. energy storage By 2027, the capacity will be 180 gigawatts. Analysts at GF Futures published a note Thursday predicting that the consumption of lithium carbonate will increase by 5% this October, after a 12% rise in September. According to consultancy Fubao, persistently falling inventories, which fell to their lowest level in July, 127.500 tons, on October 23 lent further support to the prices. Su Jinyi is an analyst at Fubao based in Wuxi. She said that "restocking by downstream consumers has increased since September. This has led to a continual drawdown of lithium stocks." Analysts and traders said that the Guangzhou Exchange's falling warrants, which are documents granting ownership of the shares, also contributed to the price increase. Wu Jiang is a Beijing analyst with broker SDIC Futures. He said, "It indicates that some cargoes are being pulled out of warehouses and this signals an improvement in demand on the spot market." Some analysts questioned the durability of the rally citing a persistent oversupply resulting from rapid capacity expansions and a slowing demand growth. $1 = 7.1230 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Thomas Derpinghaus; Additional reporting by Dylan Duan).
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Iron ore prices fall on declining Chinese demand
The price of iron ore futures fell on Friday after a three-session streak of gains, as the demand for steel in China, the world's largest consumer, slowed. The January contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed daytime trading 0.58% lower, at 771 Yuan ($108.24), a metric tonne. This was a 0.1% drop in a week. At 0711 GMT on Monday, November benchmark iron ore at the Singapore Exchange had fallen 0.57% to $104.05 per ton. This represents a 0.1% increase so far in this week. Ying Cao is an analyst based in Beijing at SDIC Futures. She said that lower hot metal production, a measure of iron ore consumption, dragged prices down for the main steelmaking ingredient. The average daily hot metal production fell for the fourth consecutive week, by 0.4% compared to the previous week. It was the lowest level since September 5, at 2.4 millions tons as of October 23. Cao said that he expects hot metal production to continue to decline in the next few weeks, as higher coal prices have forced some mills into reducing output. Analysts at GF Futures reported that coke and other steelmaking components, such as coking coal, continued to gain, with gains of 1.42% and 1.53 percent, respectively. This was boosted by a falling supply due to the halting of mining operations at some coal production centers, they said. The price decline was limited by the hope that tensions between traders in the two world's largest economies would ease. He Lifeng, the Chinese Vice Premier, will meet with U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent as well as Trade Rep Jamieson Greer on Friday in an effort to calm down tensions ahead of a scheduled meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have been moving sideways. Rebar fell 0.75%; wire rod dropped 0.18%, while hot-rolled coil ticked up by 0.03%. Stainless steel rose 0.71%. ($1 = 7.1230 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Amy Lv, Colleen Howe)
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ASIA GOLD - India demand drops after the festive rush, and price falls encourages buyers to buy elsewhere
This week, physical gold demand in India fell as buyers held off purchases in anticipation of a further price correction. Meanwhile, a drop in interest rates in China and Singapore prompted buyers to purchase. This week, Indian dealers quoted a premium. Up to $25 per ounce above official domestic prices. This includes 6% import duties and 3% sales taxes, which are unchanged from the previous week. On Friday, domestic gold prices traded at around 122.700 rupees for 10 grams after reaching a record high last week of 132.294 rupees. Gold spot prices are on course for their first weekly decline in 10 years. Last week, gold was being bought at any price. This week's price correction has caused them to be cautious. Some have even delayed purchases, hoping for a larger drop. Indians celebrated the Dhanteras (Diwali) and Diwali (Dhanteras) festivals over the past few days. These are occasions where buying gold is deemed auspicious, and they're also among the busiest days for gold purchases in the country. A Mumbai-based bullion seller with a private banking firm said that new import orders were now placed more cautiously, and in smaller quantities. The recent price correction will likely lower the import base price next week. The import duty is calculated using the base price of gold imported every two weeks. Bullion prices in China's top consumer ranged from discounts of up to $20 per ounce, or a premium as high as $8 over the global benchmark price. . Bernard Sin, Regional Director of Greater China for MKS PAMP, said that despite the sharp fluctuations in gold prices between $4,000 and $3,300/oz there was little evidence of traders selling their physical holdings. Investors continue to hold their positions amid macroeconomic uncertainties and falling real interest rates. Gold in Hong Kong In Singapore, the price was $2.20 higher than in Singapore. Gold traded at par prices with a premium of $2.50. "We've continued to see good demand. Especially this week, when prices dropped, we've had quite a few clients come to buy gold and silver, to take advantage of this opportunity to get into the market," said Brian Lan. In Japan, gold The price was $1 higher than the spot price.
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Rhino Resources to test flow and drill new appraisal wells in Namibia
Rhino Resources, a South African oil and gas firm, plans to drill a well for appraisal on a Namibian prospect in 2019 and conduct a flow-test on another to beat TotalEnergies as the first oil producer in this southern African nation. The appraisal well is scheduled for Capricornus, where a flow rate up to 11,000 barrels per day was tested. Meanwhile, the drill stem is scheduled for Volans, which is its latest find of high-yield liquid gas condensate. The new data can help the company to accelerate its discoveries off Namibia where TotalEnergies is expected to make a final investment decisions (FIDs) for its Venus field in Namibia next year. Travis Smithard, CEO, said that there was a lot of uncertainty in the current stage. This is not due to the quality of the discoveries but because we are so flexible and want to be sure we take the right decision. He spoke at Rhino Resource's headquarters in Cape Town. He said that the company is also looking at purchasing new seismic data north of the block, which could unlock the Sagittarius Trend. He said that Rhino Resources is in a joint-venture partnership with BP Eni-backed Azule Energy and aims to have its own FID for its fast-tracked development by the end 2026 or first quarter 2027. We're told that there is a strong chance of getting an FPSO up and running for the first oil by 2030. Smithard stated that future developments of Rhino’s discoveries may be simpler. The Capricornus find was made in shallower water, requiring possibly less subsea equipment, and has a lower ratio of gas to oil than Total’s Venus. Rhino, in addition to Namibia, also owns onshore acreage across five blocks of South Africa. It is always looking for new opportunities throughout the continent. The geology is important, but we also consider the above-ground risks when making investment decisions. Reporting by Wendell Roelf, Editing by Sfundo parakozov and Clarence Fernandez
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Greece selects Chevron and Helleniq Energy as preferred bidders for offshore gas exploration
The Greek energy ministry announced on Friday that a consortium consisting of U.S. major oil company Chevron, and Helleniq Energy - the largest oil refiner in the country - was the preferred bidder to explore gas offshore in the southern blocks. The move follows a joint bid Chevron/Helleniq made in an Greek tender last year for the exploration of gas in four deep sea blocks near the Peloponnese Peninsula and Crete. Greece, which has very little oil production and relies heavily on gas imports to power its domestic consumption and generate electricity, is keen to explore and enhance its role as a transit route for gas, as the European Union seeks to phase out Russian gas after Moscow invaded Ukraine. The energy ministry stated that Greece would now invite the two companies together to work on finalising the contract drafts. The country said that contracts would need to be approved by a Greek court auditors and the parliament before the consortium could start seismic research in the year 2026. The consortium has five years to find potential recoverable deposits, and test drilling will not take place before 2030-2032. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, Angeliki Koutantou)
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Holcim profits rise despite currency drag
Holcim reported on Friday a slight increase in its third-quarter profits, thanks to the company's shift towards more profitable products. This helped offset currency headwinds. Holcim is trying to increase its profitability by selling low-carbon concrete and cement, focusing on more complex products such as roofing and flooring and recycling demolition waste into new raw materials. Holcim increased its profit margin from 19.7% to 20.7% over the three-month period ending September 30, reducing the impact of an appreciation in the Swiss Franc, Holcim’s reporting currency. MARGIN EXPANSION DRIVEN DIRECTLY BY A FOCUS OF HIGHER-VALUE MARKETABLE PRODUCTS The CEO of the company, Milan Gutovic, said that "margin expansion" was driven by a high-value strategy. This included scaling up our sustainable offerings to meet customer demands, as well as accelerating decarbonization for profitable growth. In the premarket in Zurich, shares of the company were up by 2%. Holcim reported an 8.1% increase in its recurring operating profits in local currency during the third quarter. However, this figure was only 0.1% when expressed in Swiss Francs. Analysts had predicted 816 million Swiss Francs. The actual figure was 836 million Swiss Francs. REPORTED FIGURES HIT by APPRECIATION of the SWISS FRANC The local currency sales increased by 4.9%, to 4,04 billion francs in the third quarter. However, this was translated into a 2.5% decrease when converted into Francs. Holcim has confirmed its full-year forecast, saying that it expects to grow its local currency sales between 3-5% and increase its recurring operating profits by 6-10%.
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Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian aluminium producer, has reported a Q3 core loss that is below expectations
Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian aluminium manufacturer, reported a 18.6% drop in its third-quarter core profits on Friday. The fall was attributed to lower alumina and Norwegian crown prices, partially offset by increased production volume. The adjusted earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization fell from 7.4 billion crowns to 6.0 billion crowns between July-September of last year. According to a consensus compiled by the company, analysts had on average expected it to report an operating profit of 6,36 billion crowns. Return of U.S. Tariffs Aluminium prices have risen to record levels, causing American consumers to pay more and changing global supply chains. Canada, which is the largest supplier of goods to the U.S. diverted The higher U.S. Midwest Premium has increased costs for American Buyers but supported prices elsewhere. Barriers in the West, which have lifted regional premiums to curb low-cost competition and helped companies like Hydro to temporarily benefit from Chinese smelters producing near-record quantities of aluminium while also looking to export surpluses abroad, have provided a short-term respite to these companies. Hydro stated that "European demand for extrusion is estimated to be flat in the third-quarter of 2025, compared with the same quarter the previous year. However, it decreased by 20 percent when compared with the second-quarter due to seasonality." (Reporting and editing by Matt Scuffham; Reporting by Jesus Calero)
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German Economy Minister arrives in Kyiv to provide energy support
Katherina Reiche, the German Economy Minister, arrived in Kyiv Friday to highlight Berlin's efforts for Ukraine to repair its energy grid after recent Russian attacks caused severe damage. "Ukraine faces its fourth winter of war and Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine’s energy supply. This puts electricity and heating provision in the winter in grave danger," Reiche told a delegation of businessmen in Kyiv. Reiche's trip comes at a time when Ukraine is facing increasing energy challenges including extended outages of key facilities like the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant. Reiche stated that urgent assistance was needed to rebuild and safeguard the energy supply. She also pledged to investigate on her trip ways in which Germany could provide a more concrete and improved support. GERMANY SEEKS EXPANDING DEFENCE COOPERATION With UKRAINE The trip's focus will be expanding German-Ukrainian defense cooperation, in addition to preserving and rebuilding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Reiche stated that "security policy is also economic policy" and added that her goal was to bring German defence companies and Ukrainian defense companies closer together. Reiche's visit coincides with the London summit, where Ukraine's "Coalition of the Willing", or allies of Ukraine will discuss the future of military assistance. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed his attendance at the meeting. He also urged European allies, after failing to obtain a firm commitment by U.S. president Donald Trump, to provide long-range arms. The EU leaders met in Brussels on Thursday and agreed to fund Ukraine in principle for the next two-year period. They also discussed using frozen Russian assets as a source of financing a loan worth 163 billion euros (140 billion euro). Zelenskiy called for a quick decision and said that the funds could help Ukraine strengthen its defence, saving lives. (Reporting and editing by Kirsti Knolle, Maria Martinez)
Task force: Indonesians move residents away from site contaminated by Caesium-137
A spokesman said that the Indonesian government had begun relocating residents in areas around the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate. The site was found to be contaminated with radioactive Caesium 137.
Indonesia launched the effort after it detected high levels Caesium 137, an artificial radionuclide in the sprawling industrial area near Jakarta.
At this stage, we will allocate 19 families totaling 63 people. Why now? Why now?
He added that the task force will move eight more families, totaling 28 people, in the next phase.
The task force said that it has also completed the decontamination of 20 of the 22 industrial estate facilities which contained traces Caesium 137.
A local company shipped a batch to the United States by an Indonesian company in August. The United States has introduced new certification requirements on imports of spices and shrimp from Indonesia.
Caesium 137 is released into the environment by past nuclear accidents and tests, such as Chernobyl. It's also used for industrial purposes like oil well logging.
Indonesia does not have nuclear weapons or power plants. (Reporting and editing by David Stanway; Dewi Kurniawati)
(source: Reuters)