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Trump's envoy is quoted by state media as saying that the US has lifted sanctions on Belarusian Potash
After two days of discussions in Minsk with?President Alexander Lukashenko, John Coale, the envoy for President Donald Trump was quoted by Belarusian media as saying that the United States will lift sanctions on Belarusian Potash. Belarus did not specify what it would do as a response. Belarus is one of the largest producers of potash - a vital component in fertiliser. Coale was appointed by Trump as his special envoy for Belarus last month. The president has tasked Coale with negotiating the?release of more than 1,000 political prisoner in the former Soviet state, which is close to Russia. Belta, the state news agency, quoted Coale saying that he discussed a range of issues with Lukashenko. He said, "We talked about the war between Ukraine & Russia and about Venezuela." "We had an excellent conversation." We discussed the future. We talked about the future. It's our aim." Coale noted also the close relationship between Lukashenko, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the context the war in Ukraine. "Your president is well acquainted with President Putin, and can advise him." This is a very valuable asset?in the current situation. Coale stated that they are close friends who have the relationship to discuss these issues. "President Putin will accept or reject some of the advice. This is one way to help the process." Reporting by Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan and Peter Graff.
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Odesa, Ukraine suffers major blackouts following Russian attack
Odesa, Ukraine's southernmost port city, and the surrounding area suffered major blackouts on Saturday following a massive overnight?Russian assault?on power grid which left more than one million households without electricity. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that Russia attacked Ukraine using more than 450 drones as well as 30 missiles. Zelenskiy, a Telegram user, wrote that the attack had a major impact on our energy system in the south, and particularly on Odesa. He added that thousands of families across Ukraine were without electricity. Yulia Svyrydenko, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, said that it was a major attack on Odesa where water and electricity supplies were cut off. She added that non-drinking drinking water was being delivered to certain areas in the city. Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine's Interior Minister said that more than one million Ukrainian households were left without electricity and five people were injured as a result. Ukraine's power grid operator said a "significant number" of households ?were without power in the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, and that the ?Ukrainian-controlled part of the frontline Kherson region ?was totally without power. Since its invasion in 2022, Moscow has been regularly bombarding Ukraine's power system. This has caused blackouts across the country for hours each day. The Russian defence ministry announced on Saturday that it had carried out strikes against Ukrainian energy and military industrial facilities. Max Hunder, Peter Graff, Alexander Smith and Max Hunder (Reporting)
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Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson help their teams score 55s at Grant Thornton
Two teams of LPGA stars, Lexi Thompson and Wyndham, and Englishwoman Charley Hull, and Michael Brennan, posted a 17-under par 55 on Friday at the Grant Thornton Invitational in Naples, Fla. The three-day event at Tiburon golf club?begins in a scramble style, and not only the leading duos?took full advantage. Lauren Coughlin is only two strokes behind Andrew Novak after their 15-under 57. Three other pairs shot 14-under-58: Nelly Corda and Denny McCarthy; Jennifer Kupcho & Chris Gotterup, and Rose Zhang & Michael Kim. Hull and Brennan both eagled the par-5 6th and 14th holes. Thompson and Clark eagled the No. They also eagled No. 6 when Clark hit his tee-shot just off the green, and Thompson holed their putt. Clark admitted that she felt like they played similar games. "She hits the ball really far off the TEE, and if we are in play, then we're a lot?past the competition," Clark said. She is a fantastic putter. "Yeah, I thought our games complemented each other perfectly. I also didn't see any flaws with her game." Thompson added, "Grant Thornton is a great asset to this event." "Bringing the PGA Tour together with the?LPGA is what we wanted to end our year, a nicer, more relaxed event." Hull had been working on her swing before she came to the tournament, where she would be playing with Brennan, a newcomer to the PGA Tour. Hull said, "It is funny, because I changed my swing last Tuesday, but when I came on Tuesday, I couldn't even keep the ball in the air." "I was pretty nervous today." "Actually, everything went well." Coughlin & Novak have made nine birdies straight at Nos. It's not bad at all for a pair that has only met this week for the first. Novak said, "I like team golf." Novak and Ben Griffin won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans together in April. "It's a different way of playing golf, I think. This year I was lucky enough to have two great partners, and it has been a good vibe during the tournament. We're having fun and making birdies, but not taking ourselves too seriously. Just doing our jobs. Kupcho, Gotterup and McCarthy birdied their first 10 holes. Korda and McCarthy also posted eagles on the par-5 1st and 17th holes. The format will not be the same the rest of the time. On Saturday, the teams will play alternate shot foursomes and on Sunday a modified fourball. The event is in its third year. The defending champions Jake Knapp of Australia and Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit, both at 13-under-59, are tied for seventh. Jason Day from Australia and Lydia Ko from New Zealand tied for eighth place, one shot behind. Field Level Media
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Stocks fall as AI fears linger; US yields rise
The major stock indexes dropped on Friday as investors remained cautious about artificial intelligence bets. Meanwhile, the dollar edged up and U.S. Treasury Yields increased. Investors weighed comments from Federal Reserve officials, who had voted against a rate cut by the U.S. central bank this week. They said that they were concerned about inflation and feared lower borrowing costs. Stocks were also weighed down by rising yields. As tech-related concerns lingered, technology fell the most among the major S&P sectors. Oracle, a cloud computing company, warned earlier this week of massive spending and poor forecasts. Broadcom's warning on margins late Thursday added to concerns. Broadcom's shares closed 11.4% lower. Oracle shares fell by 4.5%, adding to the almost 11% drop on Thursday. Nvidia, which is a leader in AI technology was down by 3.3%. Bruce Zaro, managing Director at Granite Wealth Management, Plymouth, Massachusetts, stated that "continued frustration and uncertainty regarding the AI trade and technological trade" pushed the market. He said: "I thought that this choppiness had ended by now." He added, "We are in a really great?seasonal time. Santa Claus rally is usually held from mid-December to the end of the trading year. Investors are optimistic about future U.S. rate cuts after the Fed reduced interest rates on Wednesday by 25 basis points, in a decision that was 9-3. Policymakers have indicated they will pause further reductions for now. The Fed has expressed concern about the cooling of the labor market and a high inflation rate. U.S. unemployment claims data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits increased to the highest level in almost 4-1/2 years. Next Thursday, the Bank of England will likely cut interest rates. The European Central Bank will likely keep rates?steady', but traders now speculate that it may hike rates in the year 2026. After Governor Kazuo ueda's strong signals, the Bank of Japan will likely raise rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 245.96 points or 0.51% to 48,458.05, while the S&P 500 slid 73.59 or 1.07% to 6,827.41, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 398.69 or 1.69% to 23,195.17. The MSCI index of global stocks fell 6.39 points or 0.63% to 1,008.88. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.53% down. The yields on the 10-year Treasury note in the United States rose after two consecutive sessions of declines. The yield of the benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note increased 5.1 basis point to 4.192%, and was up over 5 basis points for the week. This is the second consecutive weekly increase. Investors have already begun to price in rate increases for the euro zone. The divergence is due to traders' expectations that U.S. interest rates will fall over the long-term, despite the recent jump in yields. Germany's 30-year bond yield, which is more sensitive to fiscal concerns over the long term, has risen to a new 14-year-high of 3.498%. This represents a 3.5-basis-point increase. DOLLAR GAINS; POUND FALLS SLIIGHTLY ON UK-DATA The U.S. Dollar drifted higher in relation to major currencies after also falling recently, but it was still on track for its third consecutive weekly drop amid the prospects of interest rate reductions by the Fed next. The pound eased following data showing that the UK economy shrank unexpectedly in the three-month period ending October. The pound fell 0.2% against the dollar, to $1.3375. This is not far off from its seven-week high reached on Thursday. The dollar gained 0.2% against the yen to reach 155.93yen in advance of the BoJ meeting next week, when a rate increase is expected. The BoJ is expected to maintain its pledge to raise interest rates next week, but the rate of increase will depend on the economy's reaction to each hike. The euro was unchanged at $1.1735, after reaching a two-month high Thursday. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which compares the U.S. dollar to six other currencies, increased 0.1% to reach 98.44. COAL DROPS FROM RECORD HIGH Copper fell more than 3% after reaching a record high earlier in session. Fears of the AI bubble burst prompted a sell-off of riskier assets. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange dropped as much as 3.5 % to $11,451.50, and was trading at $11,537.50 down by 2.8% as of 1700 GMT. The oil prices fell and recorded a weekly drop of 4% as fears over the U.S. seizure and subsequent impact on the Venezuelan oil tanker outweighed the supply glut. U.S. crude dropped 16 cents and settled at $57.44 per barrel, while Brent also fell 16 cents.
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Spain asks EU to not weaken the 2035 combustion engines ban, as shown in a letter
A letter obtained by revealed that Spain's Pedro Sanchez had urged the European Commission to not weaken the bloc’s ban on 2035 for?new CO2-emitting vehicles, while?Brussels is preparing proposals to possibly rollback the policy. According to a leading?German? EU lawmaker, the Commission is planning to take action next week to reduce the policy. This would ban all combustion engine cars after 2035 and require that cars sold thereafter have zero CO2 emission. Germany and Italy have urged the EU to weaken its 2035 ban. They argue that this will protect automakers who are struggling with the tough competition coming from China. In a letter dated Thursday to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen Sanchez stated that weakening this policy would put jobs at risk and lead to factory closures, by undermining Europe’s efforts to transform its car industry into a manufacturing powerhouse for electric vehicles. The letter stated that "any additional relaxation" (of the policy) could lead to a significant delay in modernization investment, due to a temporary drop in demand for electric vehicles. It said: "We reject the idea that combustion vehicles and other technologies, which have not been proven to work, could be sold beyond 2035." Sanchez called for an "eco-steel label" that would reward automakers for using low carbon?materials and for a minimum percentage of EU-made content in automobiles. The Commission will announce its policy Tuesday. Manfred Weber, President of the EPP (the largest group of legislators in the European Parliament), suggested that the Commission might propose lowering the CO2 emission targets for the automakers fleets to 90% by 2035. The EU has a strategy that includes a ban on electric cars. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other automakers have asked the EU to relax the policy due to slower than expected sales of electric cars. Volvo Cars, among others, say that they have invested heavily in the electric transition and that any reversal of the ban will be a betrayal. (Reporting and editing by Rod Nickel.)
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Stocks fall as AI fears linger; US yields rise
The major stock indexes fell sharply on Friday as investors remained cautious about artificial intelligence bets. Meanwhile, the dollar and U.S. Treasury Yields increased after recent losses. Oracle, a cloud computing company, warned earlier this week of massive spending and poor forecasts. Broadcom, a?chipmaker?, warned late Thursday about margins. The technology sector was down the most of all major S&P sectors, at 2.6%. Broadcom shares fell 12% while Oracle dropped 4.6%, and AI leader Nvidia dropped 2.4%. Investors are optimistic about future U.S. rate cuts after the U.S. Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by 25 basis point on Wednesday. The decision was made 9-3, but policymakers have indicated that they will put any further reductions of interest rates on hold for now. The Federal Reserve has expressed concern about the cooling of the labor market and a high level of inflation. Tony Welch is the chief investment officer of SignatureFD, a financial firm in Atlanta. The U.S. data on jobless claims showed that the number of Americans who filed new applications for unemployment benefit increased last week by the highest amount in almost 4-1/2 years. On Thursday next week, the Bank of England will likely cut interest rates. The European Central Bank will likely keep rates steady. However, traders now speculate that it may hike rates in the year 2026. After strong signals by Governor Kazuo ueda, the Bank of Japan will likely increase rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 211.75, or 0.4%, to 48.492.26, while the S&P500?fell 72.72, or 1.5%, to 6.828.25, and?the Nasdaq Composite?fell 378.01, or 1.50%, to 23215.84. MSCI's global index of stocks fell 6.18 points or 0.61% to 1,009.09. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell by 0.53%. Investors weighed the comments of a number of Fed speakers, and an optimistic outlook for the economy. Fed officials who voted to oppose the U.S. Central Bank's rate cut last week expressed concern on Friday that inflation is still too high for lower borrowing costs. The yield of the benchmark 10-year Treasury bill The rate rose by 4.5 basis point to 4.186%, and nearly 5 basis points in a week. It is now on track for its second consecutive weekly increase. German government bond rates rose this week after reaching their highest level since early March. This highlights how investors are pricing in rate hikes in the euro zone, a stark contrast to United States where rates seem set to decline. Germany's 30-year bond yield, which is more sensitive to fiscal concerns over the long term, has risen to a new?14-year-high of 3.498%. This represents a 3.5-basis-point increase. DOLLAR GAINS AND POUND FALLS Slightly On UK Data After falling against major currencies in recent sessions, the U.S. Dollar has risen again, but is still on track for its third consecutive weekly drop amid the prospect that the Fed will cut interest rates next year. Sterling fell after data revealed that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted in the three-month period ending October. The sterling fell 0.28%, to $1.3348. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket of currencies, including the yen, the euro and others) rose by 0.15% at 98.48. COAL LOWERS FROM RECORD HIGH Copper fell more than 3% after reaching a new record earlier in the day, as fears about the AI bubble burst prompted a sell-off of riskier assets. As of 1700 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price on London Metal Exchange was down as much as 3.5% at $11,451.50. It was also trading lower by 2.8% to $11,537.50. U.S. crude oil fell 16 cents, settling at $57.44 per barrel. Brent crude dropped 16 cents and settled at $61.12. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens, Matthew Lewis and Caroline Valetkevitch. Additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft and Chuck Mikolajczak from New York and Paris.
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Oil reports weekly loss due to oversupply
The oil prices fell 4% on Friday as the'supply glut' and a possible Russia-Ukraine deal overshadowed any concerns about an impact of the U.S. seizing a tanker near Venezuela. Brent crude futures closed 16 cents lower at $61.12 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil was also down 16 cents, at $57.44. Both benchmarks have fallen by more than 4% in the last week. The market is still weighed down by the supply of crude oil... On the other hand, oil markets ignore the tensions between the U.S. On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker sanctioned by the U.S. government off Venezuela's coast. Six sources said that the U.S. was preparing to intercept more ships carrying Venezuelan oil after a tanker was seized this week. Analysts and traders have largely dismissed concerns about the impact of the seizure. They point to the ample supply on the market. International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts released on Thursday showed that the global oil supply would exceed demand next year by 3.84 million barrels a day - an amount equal to nearly 4% of worldwide demand. OPEC data, released on Thursday, showed that 'world oil supply' will closely match demand in 2026. This is contrary to the IEA view. Janiv Shar, an analyst with?Rystad, says that some price-supporting?factors still exist, such as the escalation of tensions between Venezuela and the U.S., and Ukrainian drone attacks on a Russian oil rig in Caspian sea. The Russian seaborne oil exports fell just 0.8% in November compared to October. Data from industry sources, and calculations, showed that the completion of refinery maintenance helped offset the slump in fuel exports via southern routes, such as the Black Sea or Azov Sea. Reporting by Seher DAREEN in London, Yuka OBAYASHI in Tokyo, and Siyi Liu from Singapore. Alex Lawler and Nia Williams edited by Daniel Wallis.
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Colombia launches copper exploration and production round with eight qualified companies
Carlos Ortega, Vice President of?Promotion and Development at the National Mining Agency ANM, said on Friday that eight companies have qualified to participate in Colombia's copper-gold and polymetallic exploration round, which will begin next week. Lina Franco, ANM president, said on Friday that Colombia offers 14 areas for copper exploration and production. Franco said during a Bogota event that the blocks in this round are located in Antioquia and La Guajira. Ortega stated that the Canadian company?Aris Mining has already been qualified. Rio Tinto, on the other hand, is currently securing their qualification. "Several important companies already qualified." Ortega told an audience at an agency event that some companies had provided feedback and we made changes to make the round run smoothly. He said that more than one company can bid in an auction when they express interest in the same parcel. Aris Mining confirmed that it had already qualified. Rio Tinto didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. "This is the selection mechanism where we spent over a year evaluating areas with high potential. He said that companies?are virtually guaranteed to take part, and we've made progress on community issues for them to enter more easily. According to the ANM, only 2.5% of Colombian territory has mining rights, which is equivalent to 2.9 millions hectares. Of this, 98% are small- and medium-scale mines. According to data from the agency, Colombia has 354 copper-potential titles, which cover 0.43% of its national territory. However, only six are currently in operation.
Andy Home: Copper joins the list of critical minerals but there is plenty in the US already
The U.S. Government has added copper to its list of critical mineral - metals that are vital to the economy and national security of the United States.
The United States, however, has amassed the second-largest copper stockpile in the world, after China's reserves.
The federal government has not spent a single dollar on this project. The copper market did all the work by creating a huge arbitrage gap between U.S. prices traded at the CME and international prices traded on the London Metal Exchange.
Price differentials have already brought massive quantities of copper to the United States. The market is still betting that the designation of critical minerals, which was first announced in August, will increase the likelihood of U.S. tariffs on imports.
TRADING THE GAP
The market quickly priced in the possibility of U.S. tariffs similar in size to those already applied to steel and aluminum imports.
At one point in July, the CME spot premium was almost $3,000 per ton over the London metal market. This created an opportunity for the largest traders of the world to ship as much actual metal to the United States as possible.
The premium collapsed in July after the Trump Administration blindsided the market with tariffs on imported semi-manufactured copper products, but delayed a decision until July 2026 on refined metal.
Tariff Trade Over?
The arbitrage gap was widening, it appeared. The spot CME premium, which was under $100 per tonne in August, has now risen to over $300 per tonne. Meanwhile the 10-month-forward premium is priced at nearly $800 per tonne.
The current arbitrage gap may not be as large as in July but it is still enough to cover all the costs associated with shipping the units to the United States.
MARKET OF FIRST RESORT
The CME's copper stock is increasing, despite the fact that it only has domestic U.S. deliveries.
CME stock levels have risen from a low of 83.900 tons in February to more than 335,000 tons. CME warehouses hold more copper now than the LME, Shanghai Futures Exchange and LME combined.
The CME network continues to receive metal every day. Most of it is delivered from New Orleans, but also from Baltimore, Salt Lake City, and Tucson.
CME is just the tip.
Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, a consultancy, estimates that there are between 731,000 to 831,000 tonnes of "economically trapped" copper in the United States. The metal is trapped in the sense that a massive inversion of arbitrage between United States and rest of world would be required to release it for re-export.
Given the widening of the U.S. premium in recent years, it is more likely that metal will join the copper mountain than the opposite.
The government shutdown has affected U.S. Trade Statistics, but the refined copper imports in the first 7 months of this year were already above one million tons. This is an increase of almost 400,000 tonnes compared to the same period last year.
Recent export data from major copper-suppliers such as Chile and Peru, and Australia suggests that the physical tariff trade is not slowing down.
The United States is still the first market to look to for spare copper. This is why Europe's biggest producer Aurubis was able to increase its premium for deliveries in 2026 by a staggering 38%, to a record price of $315 per ton above the LME base price.
US STRATEGIC STORAGE
The market dynamics have led to a tectonic shift of copper from the world's mines into the United States.
The country has built a stockpile of strategic weapons, but it is not a state-owned one. It's a commercial stockpile.
The stockpile continues to grow and will do so for as long as arbitrage is allowing traders to profit easily by grabbing up metal anywhere else and shipping it to an American port.
The Strategic Reserves Administration of China does not reveal how much copper it has. The target of two million tons has been floating around the market since many years.
The United States hasn't reached that level yet, but is well on the way to building up a reserve of similar size.
Ironically, there may be another twist to the trade in copper tariffs.
The Trump administration said that it would review the U.S. dependence on imports in July of next year. It may also consider phasing-in a tariff for refined copper starting in 2027.
Even without the tariff boost intended for domestic production, every ton of copper that clears U.S. Customs reduces this dependency.
Andy Home is an author and columnist. Enjoying this article? Open Interest (ROI), a data-driven, thought-provoking commentary on the markets and finance. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X and X.
(source: Reuters)