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Botswana, Angola to hold talks over De Beers
Botswana, Angola and their mining ministers will meet in Botswana’s capital for talks on Friday. The two Southern African nations are seeking to control the Anglo American diamond company De Beers. Botswana considers De Beers, which owns 15% and produces 70% of its rough diamonds, as a strategic asset for the country, despite the global price slump that has hurt their economy. Angola originally sought a minor stake in De Beers, but submitted a bid later for a major stake. This could lead to a bidding war between Angola and its neighbour. According to a program shared by the Botswana mines ministry, their meeting is expected to begin around 8am GMT. The program did not specify what the two ministers were going to discuss. Azevedo will fly to Angola at 1230 GMT after their meeting. Anglo has put De Beers up for sale, one of the leading diamond companies in the world, to focus on its other business areas. It values it at $4.9billion.
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Aperam lags earnings estimates as steel prices decline in Europe
Aperam, an European stainless steel manufacturer, reported lower than expected core earnings on Friday. This was due to lower volumes and increasing price pressure in its native continent. The adjusted earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization dropped around 25% from the year prior to 74 millions euros ($86million), whereas analysts surveyed by the company expected 76 million euro on average. The main drivers of the decline were lower seasonal volumes, increased price pressures in Europe and temporary soft Alloys contributions. The group made a statement. Data from the company showed that the average steel price per ton fell by 10% in a quarter to 2,040 Euros. Last month, the group released its outlook for the third quarter. It anticipated a seasonal drop in shipments in Europe due to a reduced summer demand. Aperam also expects that its core profit will decrease in the last quarter of 2025, compared to previous three-month period. The company's strong cash flow has allowed it to raise its deleveraging forecast, and now expects to reduce its net debt of more than 200 millions euros by the end of the year. End of the year compared with the third quarter. This decrease was expected to be about 200 million.
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Gold prices rise as the dollar falls and US rate-cut betting increases
Gold prices rose Friday, as the dollar fell after U.S. job reports showed weakness in the labour market. This boosted expectations for another U.S. rate cut. A prolonged government shutdown also increased demand for safe havens. As of 0537 GMT spot gold was up by 0.5%, at $3,996.67 an ounce. However, it is expected to lose 0.2% on a weekly basis. Bullion is down 9% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.3% to $4,004.0 an ounce. Data showed that the U.S. economy lost jobs in October, mainly due to losses in the retail and government sectors. Cost-cutting and artificial intelligence adoption by companies also led to an increase in the number of announced layoffs. Soni Kumari is a commodity analyst with ANZ. She said: "The private employment data still indicates that a rate reduction in December is probable and that's the reason gold prices are receiving some sort of support." Investors, lacking official data about the U.S. labor market, seized on signs of weakness from private sector surveys. Rate cuts are more likely to occur when the job market is weak. The market participants see a 69% probability of a Fed interest rate cut in December. This is up from 60% the day before. Last week, the Fed cut rates and Chairman Jerome Powell said it could be the last time the borrowing costs are reduced for the year. Kumari said that the focus now is on macro numbers, and when will the U.S. government shutdown end, which also helps safe-haven gold demand. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has been caused by a congressional impasse. Investors and the Fed, who rely heavily on data, are now forced to rely solely on indicators from the private sector. Gold that does not yield tends to perform well in low interest rate environments and times of economic uncertainty. The price of palladium increased 0.5%, to $1381.75, and was headed to a loss of 2.7% for the week. Platinum rose by 0.2%, to $1544.15, though it was down almost 1.3% on the week. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich and Sherry j. Phillips in Bengaluru)
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The AI dip is not done in the morning bid of Europe
Tom Westbrook gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The tech stocks are headed for a shaky finish in what could be the biggest market decline since the turmoil around U.S. Tariffs seven months ago. Softbank Group shares, the Japanese investment conglomerate known for its high-risk and high-reward technology bets, are down by around 20% this week, the largest one-week decline since the pandemic. The Nasdaq has fallen more than 2% in this week, and futures have been under pressure during the Asia session. Japan and South Korea, which are tech-heavy markets, fell. These are not major drops, but they do represent a modest drop in markets that have been booming for several months. Nasdaq has recovered 50% since April's lows. The pullback has been unsettling because there was no clear trigger or reason why AI shares broke their stride. This raises the possibility that investors are beginning to doubt the rally. BofA surveyed more than half of fund managers in October and found that they believe we are in a AI equity bubble. Markets' negative reaction to AI plans at Meta, and the outwardly strong results of Palantir Technologies may have given some indication. Herald van der Linde is HSBC’s chief Asia equity strategy. He has been following the markets for several decades. He said that high values are like the blue sky. "The minute there is one tiny black cloud, the sky will no longer be blue. If you have high valuations, even small news or changes in sentiment can cause the markets to fall a lot. The U.S. shutdown means that there won't be any U.S. employment data in the afternoon, so investors will have to make their own decisions about the changing mood of the market. The Chinese trade figures for October were surprisingly weak, with a drop of 1.1% in exports denominated in dollars. However, the outlook should stabilize following the recent trade truce with the U.S. The focus will be on the equities market until the weekend. Bond markets, however, have taken the private data indicating a surge of U.S. layoffs to increase the likelihood that interest rates could be cut. In the Asia session, safe assets like the Swiss franc, yen and gold were in high demand. The following are key developments that may influence the markets on Friday. - German trade data - Canadian jobs figures U.S. equity session
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Scientists blame rising temperatures for the destruction caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi in Southeast Asia.
Scientists warn that extreme weather events will only increase in frequency as temperatures continue to rise. At least 188 people were killed by Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines. It also caused extensive damage to farmland and infrastructure across the archipelago. After landing in central Vietnam on Thursday night, the storm destroyed homes and uprooted many trees. The path of destruction of Kalmaegi coincides with the meeting of more than 190 delegates in Brazil's rainforest city of Belem for the latest round in climate talks. Researchers claim that the failure of leaders around the world to control greenhouse gas emission has resulted in increasingly violent storms. Ben Clarke is an extreme weather researcher from London's Grantham Institute on Climate Change and Environment. He said that the sea surface temperatures over the South China Sea and the Western North Pacific are both unusually warm. The trend in sea surface temperature is clearly linked to global warming. WARMER WATERS PACK 'FUEL' INTO CYCLONES Scientists say that while it's not easy to link a specific weather event with climate change, in general, higher sea surface temperatures accelerate the evaporation and add more "fuel" to tropical cyclones. Gianmarco Megaldo, researcher at National University of Singapore, said that climate change increases typhoon intensities primarily through warming ocean surface temperature and increasing atmospheric moisture. He added that "although this doesn't mean every typhoon is going to get stronger, it does increase the probability of storms with greater intensity and heavier rains, as well as stronger winds." Mengaldo said that while the data doesn't indicate that tropical storms have become more frequent, the intensity has increased. He co-authored a report on the role climate change played in the September Typhoon Ragasa. In the Philippines, six deadly typhoons hit in one month. Four tropical cyclones formed in November in a rare event, suggesting storms are now occurring over shorter periods. Drubajyoti Samantha, a climate researcher at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said that even if the total number of cyclones doesn't increase dramatically each year, their proximity to seasons and impact potential may increase. He added that "Kalmaegi serves as a reminder of this emerging risk pattern." BACK-TOBACK SEVERE STORMS CAUSING MORE DESTRUCTION Feng Xiangbo is a tropical storm scientist at the University of Reading in Britain. He said that "back-to-back" storms could cause more damage. This is because the soils are already saturated and rivers are full. Infrastructure is also weakened. Even a weak storm can cause catastrophic damage at this time. Feng and Mengaldo both warned that other regions may also be at risk, as storms could form in new locations and follow different paths and intensify. Feng said that recent studies show the coastal areas affected by tropical cyclones are growing significantly due to storm surges and ocean wave growth. This, along with the mean sea level increase, poses a serious threat to low lying areas, especially in the Philippines and on Vietnam's shallow coast shelves. (Reporting and editing by Saad Saeed; David Stanway)
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China's rare earth exports in October rose 9% compared to September
Customs data released on Friday showed that China's exports of rare earths increased by 9% from September. This was the first increase month-over-month after three consecutive months of declines. Data from the General Administration of Customs revealed that China, the largest exporter of rare earths, sold 4,343.5 tons of rare Earths in October. Data was aggregated so it wasn't clear which countries and products had higher imports for October. On November 20, a complete breakdown of the data will be released. China announced on October 9 a major expansion of its export controls for rare earths, which were first implemented in April. The new restrictions cover five new elements as well as dozens of pieces refining technologies. After U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent Xi Jinping's meeting in Busan, South Korea on October 30, Trump claimed that they had reached an agreement. Agreement Keep rare earth exports flowing from China. Beijing announced shortly afterward that it would suspend the export controls of October 9 for one year. However, the April restrictions - which caused shortages in the global auto supply chain - were still in place. Exports for the first half of this year were 52,699.2 tonnes, an increase of 10.5% over the same period last year. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger, Thomas Derpinghaus).
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Gold prices rise as the dollar falls and US rate-cut betting increases
Gold prices rose Friday, as the dollar fell after U.S. job reports showed weakness in the labour market. This boosted expectations for another U.S. rate cut. A prolonged government shutdown also increased demand for safe havens. As of 0341 GMT spot gold was up by 0.4%, at $3,994.03 an ounce. However, it is set to lose 0.3% per week. Bullion is down nearly 8% from its record high of $4381.21 set on October 20. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.3% to $4,004.40 an ounce. Data showed that the U.S. economy lost jobs in October, mainly due to losses in the retail and government sectors. Cost-cutting and artificial intelligence adoption by companies also led to an increase in announced layoffs. Soni Kumari is a commodity analyst with ANZ. She said: "The private employment data still indicates that a rate reduction in December is probable and that's the reason gold prices are receiving some sort of support." Investors, lacking official data about the U.S. labor market, seized on signs of weakness from private sector surveys. Rate cuts are more likely to occur when the job market is weak. The market participants see a 69% probability of a Fed interest rate cut in December. This is up from 60% the day before. Last week, the Fed cut rates and Chairman Jerome Powell said it could be the final reduction in borrowing costs this year. Kumari said that the focus now is on macro numbers, and when will the U.S. government shutdown end. This is also helping to boost demand for safe-haven gold. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has been caused by a congressional impasse. Investors and the Fed, who rely heavily on data, have had to rely instead on indicators from the private sector. Gold that does not yield tends to perform well in low interest rate environments and times of economic uncertainty. Other than that, silver spot rose 0.7% per ounce to $48.31, but it was headed for a loss of 0.7% for the week. Platinum fell 0.4% to 1,534.21, down almost 2%, while palladium rose by 0.3% to 1,379.33 and is heading for a gain of 0.5% for the weekly.
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Exxon Signs Deal for Natural Gas Exploration Offshore Greece
Exxon Mobil has signed a deal to explore for natural gas offshore Greece, increasing the U.S. presence in the eastern Mediterranean just as the Trump administration seeks to replace Russian energy flows into Europe.The United States, which holds vast reserves of domestic natural gas, wants to provide a larger share of Europe's energy mix via liquefied natural gas as the European Union seeks to phase out Russian gas imports in the coming years."We have a tremendous opportunity right now to displace all of the Russian gas - every last molecule - out of western Europe," U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a conference in Athens on Thursday."Every molecule that Russia does not sell into Europe…stays in the ground, it does not go into the pocket of Russia’s war machine."Under Thursday's deal, Exxon will partner with Energean, whose flagship gas fields are located offshore Israel, and Helleniq to explore for natural gas in Block 2 offshore Western Greece, the companies said on Thursday."This significant exploration agreement paves the way for potential future exploratory drilling investments in the 2027 timeframe," said John Ardill, Exxon's vice president of global exploration.GAS COULD FEED INTO TAP PIPELINEThe first exploratory drilling is expected in late 2026 or early 2027. Exxon Mobil expects the first gas from the project in the early 2030s if all goes well, Ardill told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Athens.The project will require an investment of between $50 million and $100 million, he said.Greece, which produces small volumes of oil and relies on hefty gas imports for power generation and domestic consumption, has been keen to explore for gas and bolster its role as a transit route for Europe.Last month it named a consortium of Chevron and Helleniq as the preferred bidder for exploration in other offshore blocks.Gas could be fed into the Greek domestic market but, given the project's proximity to southern Italy, it could also join the TAP pipeline system that carries gas from central Asia to Italy, Energean Chief Executive Mathios Rigas told Reuters in call.U.S. OFFICIALS LAUD NEW DEALExxon will take a 60% stake in the concession, while Energean will have 30% and Helleniq Energy 10%. Energean will run the project during exploration and Exxon will take over if exploration drilling proves successful, the companies said.In July, Europe pledged to buy $250 billion a year in U.S. energy, from oil and liquefied natural gas to nuclear technology, for the next three years.U.S. officials who attended the signing ceremony at the Athens conference lauded Thursday's deal."America is back and drilling in the Ionian Sea," said the United States' new ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle.(Reuters)
Gold prices rise as the dollar falls and US rate-cut betting increases
Gold prices rose Friday, as the dollar fell after U.S. job reports showed weakness in the labour market. This fueled expectations for another U.S. rate cut. A prolonged government shutdown also increased demand for safe havens.
As of 0702 GMT spot gold was trading at $4,005.53 an ounce. This represents a 0.1% weekly gain. Bullion is down 8% from its record high of $4.381.21 reached on October 20.
U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.3% to $4,004.0 an ounce.
Data showed that the U.S. economy lost jobs in October, mainly due to losses in the retail and government sectors. Cost-cutting and artificial intelligence adoption by companies also led to an increase in announced layoffs.
Soni Kumari is a commodity analyst with ANZ. She said: "The private employment data still indicates that a rate reduction in December is probable and that's the reason gold prices are receiving some sort of support."
Investors, lacking official data about the U.S. labor market, seized on signs of weakness from private sector surveys.
Rate cuts are more likely to occur when the job market is weak.
The market participants see a 67% probability of a Fed interest rate cut in December. This is up from 60% the day before. Last week, the Fed cut rates and Chairman Jerome Powell said it could be the last time the borrowing costs are reduced for the year.
Kumari said that the focus now is on macro numbers, and when will the U.S. government shutdown end, which also helps safe-haven gold demand.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has been caused by a congressional impasse. Investors and the Fed, who rely heavily on data, have had to rely upon private sector indicators.
Gold that does not yield tends to perform well in low interest rate environments and times of economic uncertainty.
Other than that, spot silver rose by 1.5% per ounce to $48.69, pointing to a 0.1% weekly gain. Platinum rose by 0.6% to 1,550.70 and is expected to end the week with a 1.1% weekly decline. Palladium rose by 1.6% to 1,397.20, but was headed to a 2.4% weekly loss. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich and Sherry j. Phillips in Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)