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LyondellBasell targets $1.3 Billion in cost savings following surprise quarterly loss
LyondellBasell, a petrochemicals manufacturer, announced a surprising loss for its fourth quarter on Friday. It said it would save $1.3 billion before the end of 2026 as it continued to 'keep costs under control' despite volatility in energy and feedstock prices. LyondellBasell shares rose by 1.5% during premarket trading, as the company stated that it expected to generate an additional $500 million in cash flow this fiscal year. Chemicals firms have struggled due to a weaker demand in key markets like Europe and the rising costs of raw materials. The strict regulatory environment in Europe has forced businesses to reassess how they do business in that region. Last year, LyondellBasell announced that it would sell four European assets. It also planned to shut down plants in Germany and Texas temporarily for maintenance. In the quarter reported, LyondellBasell’s olefins and polyolefins Americas unit saw its adjusted core profit drop 67% from $164 million to just $64 million. Olefins can be used to make polymers, such as plastic. The?adjusted?core profit of the Intermediates & Derivatives segment (which makes oxyfuels, intermediate chemicals and intermediate chemicals)?fell by 18% from a year ago to $205 millions. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the company reported an adjusted loss per share of 26 cents for the quarter that ended on December 31. This compares with analysts' estimates of a profit per share of 13 cents. Reporting by Pranav mathur in Bengaluru, Editing by Shailesh kuber
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Mozambique President opens graphite-processing plant owned by Chinese
Mozambique President Daniel Chapo inaugurated a 200,000-metric-ton-per-year graphite-processing plant on Friday at a Chinese mine, as the country boosts its output of the battery mineral. The United States Geological Survey estimates that the annual global production of graphite is 1.6 millions metric tons. Mozambique, meanwhile, is one of world's leading producers of this mineral. It is an?excellent conductor of electricity and heat, and is used to make?batteries and mobile phones for electric cars. China is the largest graphite producer and miner in the world. Chapo said Mozambique was making the most of its resources, including a liquefied gas project worth $20 billion. He said: "Today, we enter the industrial map of the world." "We are not only a raw material supplier, but also a producer, a processor, and an exporter of materials." Chinese company DH Mining started working on the graphite mining in Nipepe, Brazil in 2014. It said it had invested $200 millions in mining and processing facilities. DH Mining's director?Sang Shong stated that the project, located in Mozambique’s northern province of Niassa employs a total of?890 people and is expected to grow?to 2,000 workers in its second phase. Syrah Resource, a company from Australia, and AMG, a Dutch metals firm? both have graphite mines in the neighboring Cabo Delgado Province. Triton Minerals, another Australian company is also developing its Ancuabe Project in Cabo Delgado. (Reporting and writing by Custodio Cosse, editing by Alexander Smith).
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Gold briefly drops below $5,000 due to Fed speculation
Gold prices fell by over 8% on Friday to 'break below $5,000 mark as the dollar strengthened due to the upcoming appointment of the new U.S. Federal Reserve chair. However, the safe-haven material remained on track for its largest monthly gain since 1982 following multiple record highs. As profit-taking took hold, other precious metals have also fallen sharply. Gold spot was down 5% to $5,124.37 per ounce at 1132 GMT. It had fallen earlier in the day to $4,957.54. U.S. gold futures for delivery in February fell by 3.9% to $5118.40. Gold reached a record high of $5,594.82 Thursday, and it is still on track for an 18% gain in this month. It will be the sixth consecutive monthly gain. Capital Economics' Hamad Hussain said that the expected appointment of Kevin Warsh as Fed chair, who was perceived to be more hawkish than other candidates, appeared to have put downwards pressure on precious metals prices. Donald Trump will reportedly?disclose his choice for the next Fed chair on Friday. Former Fed Governor Warsh is seen as a leading candidate. Warsh has advocated for a smaller Fed's balance sheet in contrast to Trump's preference for looser monetary policies. The U.S. Dollar rose on Friday. It clawed back some of the slide this week to a 4-year low. This made dollar-priced Gold more expensive for foreign buyers. The physical gold premiums in India reached their highest level in over a decade due to a strong demand for investment ahead of an expected duty hike. In China, premiums jumped following a surge in jewellery and investment demand. Ross Norman, an independent analyst, said: "We see gold falling far below today's price, but we also see a recovery, and averaging $5,375 by 2026. It will reach a peak of $6400 in the fourth quarter." Silver spot was down 11.7% to $102,57 per ounce, after falling as low as $95.99. Metals have surged by 42% in the last month and reached a new record of $121.64 this Thursday. Norman said: "Although the rise in silver was largely based on sound fundamentals, I believe there is a clear speculative overstimulation in the market. After hitting a record-high of $2,918.80 an ounce on Monday, spot platinum fell 10.9% to $2343.40 per ounce. Palladium fell 8.4% to $1838.14. (Reporting from Pablo Sinha, Bengaluru Additional reporting and editing by Swati verma)
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How strong is too Strong?
By Anna Szymanski 30th January - What Mike Dolan, the ROI team and I are looking forward to reading, watching and listening to this weekend. From the Editor Hello Morning Bid readers! The U.S. maintains that it has a "strong dollar policy" but few are able to agree exactly what this means. The dollar fell to its lowest level since early-2022 on Tuesday. This move was initially sparked by Friday's expectations of a joint U.S. and Japanese?intervention in order to prop up yen. After President Donald Trump said that the dollar would "find its levels" in response to the currency's decline, the decline intensified. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent then helped stabilize the currency by reiterating U.S. Government's "strong dollar" policies. Is this a reversal? Not necessarily. Even if a currency is depreciating, it can still be considered strong - particularly if the currency has appreciated by almost 50% over the past decade. If the administration intends to eventually put downward pressure on the supposedly too-valuated dollar, then they may end up with more than they bargained. Investors are, however, more optimistic about the dollar's future this morning. Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is now the frontrunner in the race to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair. He has been a critic of current central bank but is seen as less supportive of radical monetary ease than other candidates. He said that he will announce his decision later today. Unsurprisingly, this week the yen was one of the most active currencies against the dollar. Japan's currency rose to a value of 152 dollars per yen on Tuesday. However, it has since lost some of its gains. The big move could suggest that no intervention is needed, but the history shows that this is not true. The transatlantic exchange rate, which is crucial to the euro's future, briefly rose above $1.20 for the first four years. Europe will be watching this closely, though, as too much strength may make it difficult for EU exporters and the European Central Bank to meet next Thursday. In the midst of the FX turmoil, global trade agreements, diplomatic agreements, and energy deals continue to be negotiated - but not with the U.S. This week, the EU and India signed a long-awaited deal, and Britain and China celebrated a'reset' in their relations after Keir starmer, Prime Minister, and President Xi Jinping, pledged to increase economic cooperation. The European countries also announced a joint agreement to develop a vast offshore network to reduce their dependence on U.S. LNG imports. As we stay on the subject of energy, U.S. gas prices rose as a powerful Arctic storm swept through the United States. This spike in prices has also been felt on overseas markets, underlining the globalization of U.S. LNG trade. Energy world attention is now focused on the Middle East where an American "armada' has been sailing toward Iran. Prices fell early on Friday as Washington and Tehran continued to negotiate. However, the rising tensions in the Middle East have helped drive up oil prices around 15% since January. Crude is unlikely to leave its "narrow" price range unless there's a significant action taken in Iran which has a lasting impact on global supply and demand. This week, Wall Street saw the earnings of a number of large-cap tech companies, such as Meta, Microsoft and Apple. The results were mixed but one thing that stood out was the fact that investors would be fine with massive AI expenditure, as long as growth is robust. The Fed meeting was expected to be another big event in the financial week, but the outcome was a bit of an apathy fest. As expected, the Fed kept rates steady and there was no big news at the press conference. Powell couldn't speak much on the subject of Fed independence but his silence says a lot about the current situation the central bank is in. Powell did give some advice to his replacement, but now he, along with the rest of financial community, is eager to confirm who it will be. Check out Open Interest for more news on commodities and markets. Open Interest has a wealth of information on commodities and markets. You can find out which high-flying stocks are currently catching the attention of investors, where there is a supply glut in oil, and how the future may be written by nuts and bolts. Check out what the ROI team recommends you read, watch, listen to and listen to as we enter the weekend. Please contact me at to let me know what you think. This weekend we are reading... Mike Dolan, ROI Finance & Markets columnist: NYU Professors Viral Aharya and Toomas laarits write for CEPR VoxEU that the increase in U.S. Treasury Yields since the tariff shock last April is due to a drop in the "convenience" yield tied to the safe asset status. RON BOUSSO is the ROI Energy columnist. Nat Bullard’s 200-slide presentation, which he presents every year, contains all of the most recent data and charts about energy and decarbonization. JAMIE MCGEEVER (ROI MARKETS COLUMNIST): "Bubbles As a Feature Not a bug", a new Carlyle Group analysis, contextualizes today's AI boom in the context of the history and development of transformative technologies. They argue that the bubble will eventually deflate or pop, but this is part of the process. "The bottom-line is that bubbles have always been a part of the technological revolution." CLYDE RUSSELL is a columnist for ROI Asia Commodities & Energy. This report by Australia's electricity operator shows that renewables have reached a record. They supplied over half of the nation's energy during a quarter. This report, which coincides with lower wholesale prices shows that a high penetration of renewables can be reliable and cost-effective. ANDY HOME is the ROI Metals columnist. A new TradingPedia study shows that hybrid and electric cars account for over 25% of European car sales. The data is broken up by country and manufacturer and illustrated using some neat graphics. GAVIN MAGUIRE is a columnist for ROI Global Energy Transformation. A new article by Infrastructure Investor?argues that a global shortage in gas turbines will limit the growth of U.S. electricity system. Listening to... ANNA SZYMANSKI: Editor-in charge of ROI, ANNA SZYMANSKI said that on the Morning Bid podcast Mike Dolan and Amanda Cooper talked about the Fed's latest meeting, the tensions in Iran, and what the biggest takeaways were from this week’s mega-cap earnings. Subscribe to Morning Bid and you'll get Mike's weekly preview this Sunday. We're always watching... RON BOUSSO is a columnist for the ROI Energy website. Clyde Russell, a fellow ROI Energy writer, joined Gulf Intelligence's daily podcast to talk about how China boosted its strategic oil reserves by increasing crude purchases in 2013. Sign up for the newsletter to receive Morning Bid every morning in your email. Subscribe to the Morning Bid newsletter Website You can find us on LinkedIn. X. Opinions are the sole responsibility of their authors. These opinions do not represent the views of News. News is bound by the Trust Principles to maintain integrity, independence and freedom from bias. (By Anna Szymanski)
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Exxon surpasses Wall Street's Q4 profit targets with the help of lower-cost oil production
Exxon Mobil's fourth-quarter earnings were reported on Friday. Lower-cost oil production from the Permian basin?and Guyana?helped to boost the number one U.S. oil producer. Results of the No. 1 U.S. Oil Producer. Exxon reported adjusted earnings of $1.71 per common share for the quarter October-December, exceeding LSEG's consensus estimate, which was $1.68. Brent oil futures fell 19% in the last year due to an oversupplied crude market. Exxon's 2025 full-year adjusted profit fell by 10% but a smaller margin as the company concentrated on cost cutting. Exxon CEO Darren Woods stated in a press release that "we're capturing a greater value from each?barrel or molecule produced and building growth platforms on a large scale - creating a runway of profitable growth up to 2030 and beyond". The company reported that annual upstream production had reached its highest level in over 40 years. Woods is likely to be asked about the company's re-entry plans into Venezuela during an earnings call on Friday. This follows the U.S. capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his removal earlier this month. U.S. president Donald Trump has encouraged American companies to invest billions of dollars in Venezuela?to revitalize the oil industry. Woods called the nation "uninvestable" in a meeting at the White House with Trump and other oil executives. He said the company required investment protections as its assets had already been expropriated two times. According to a source who is familiar with Exxon, the company is still open to sending a technical team into the country to explore their options. Exxon paid out $17.2 billion as dividends last year and purchased $20 billion worth shares. The company stated that it plans to buy back the exact same amount of shares through 2026. In a snapshot of earnings released earlier this month, the company indicated that higher margins in the refining industry could boost fourth-quarter profits by $300-$700 millions. The company also announced asset write-downs of $1.7 billion. Exxon capital expenditures amounted to $29 billion in the last year. According to the oil company, capex for this year will range between $27 billion to $29 billion. Sheila Dang, reporting from Houston; Nathan Crooks, Tom Hogue and Tom Hogue are editing.
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Muthoot Finance, India closes bond sale worth $600 Million
Muthoot Finance, India's largest gold finance company, announced in a Friday notice to stock exchanges that it had accepted bids totaling $600 million for bonds with maturities of four years and six months. Two merchant bankers have said that the company will offer investors a yield below its initial price guidance, which was 6.1250%. Muthoot Finance stated in a?notice that "the?net proceeds of each issue of notes shall be used by?the?issuer to the extent permitted by the ECB Guidelines" for onward lending. CreditSights, a financial research firm, rates the "market perform" rating at?5.75%. It cites the strong fundamentals of the company as the reason for this. Muthoot Finance will raise $600 million in August 2025 through a bond issue similar to this one, and $150 million more via a second reissue of the same bond in October. CreditSights stated in a report that we can expect a similar pattern for the current bond. $750 million is likely to be too much money for the issuer in one quarter. A benchmark new issue will therefore be expected the next quarter. Bankers say that the bonds will be rated 'Ba1' (by Moody's Investors Service) and 'BB+' (by S&P), in accordance with the issuer's rating. This is the third sale of dollar bonds from India in this year, after EXIM Bank raised $1.6 billion and an Indian subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global (a U.S. listed company) raised $1.6 billion. (Reporting and editing by Sonia Cheema, Dharamraj Dhutia).
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Palestinian officials: Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed more than 30 Palestinians
Palestinian health officials reported that Israel had pounded Gaza with its most intense airstrikes on Saturday, including the deaths of more than 30 people, including three girls, from a single family. The attacks were on tents, houses and a police station. The Israeli military responded to a breach in the ceasefire that occurred the day before, when its troops identified eight gunmen emerging out of a tunnel at Rafah in southern Gaza, an area controlled by Israeli forces as part of the truce. The military claimed that it had targeted Hamas militants, their weapons caches, and manufacturing facilities. Hamas, who controls just under half Gaza, where more than 2,000,000 people live in tents or damaged buildings and are largely displaced, claimed that Israel violated the ceasefire. It didn't say if any of its members or sites had been hit in the Saturday attacks. Under the plan of U.S. President Donald Trump to end the conflict, Israel will reopen Rafah's border crossing between Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday. The war started after Hamas-led gunmen invaded southern Israel on 7 October 2023. Israeli officials said that the war may resume if Hamas doesn't lay down its weapons. FIGHTERS STILL IN THE TUNNELS Police in Gaza reported that Israeli warplanes had bombed Sheikh Radwan, a police station located west of Gaza City. The attack killed 13 people, five of whom were?officers. Hamas police said that rescue teams were searching for additional casualties on the site. Local officials reported that other airstrikes targeted at least two homes in Gaza City in the northern-central Gaza and a tent camp sheltering Palestinian refugees in Khan Younis, further south. In Gaza City, video footage showed blackened, charred and destroyed walls in an apartment of a multi-storey structure, with debris inside and on the streets. Samer al-Atbash reported that the bodies of three nieces, aged between 3 and 5, had been discovered in the street. They say "ceasefire" and all. What did the children do? What did we do? He said. Gaza's civil defence rescue service has put the death toll on Saturday at 32. Israel claimed that its soldiers had killed three fighters and arrested another, who was described as a Hamas leader. Hamas did not make any comment about the incident. Since the ceasefire, dozens of fighters from Hamas are trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah. Some have died since then in clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas. Since the ceasefire of fire, hundreds of people have been killed. The ceasefire has been repeatedly shook by violence. Gaza's health officials report that Israeli fire has killed more than 500 people, mostly civilians, while Palestinian militants are alleged to have killed four Israeli soldiers. Both sides have blamed each other for violating the truce, even as Washington presses both to move on to the next phases in the ceasefire agreement, which is meant to end this conflict. Trump's Gaza Plan calls for the next phase to resolve complex issues such as Hamas de-armament which the group has rejected long ago, a further Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the deployment an international peacekeeping force. Reports on Monday indicated that Hamas was seeking to integrate its 10,000 police officers in the new U.S. backed Palestinian administration for Gaza. This demand is likely to be rejected by Israel.
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Patagonia wildfires spark criticism of Milei austerity measures
The Patagonia forest fires destroyed an area twice as large as Buenos Aires. This has sparked criticism about the austerity measures taken by President Javier Milei, which have reduced aid resources significantly. On Thursday, the government announced that it would declare an 'emergency' in the southern provinces? of Chubut, Rio Negro and La Pampa. Wildfires are common in Patagonia during the summer months, but the current fires have breached Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site famed for its alerce trees, which can live more than 3,600 years, ?making them the world's second-longest-living tree species. Forest fires are currently centered in the province Chubut. Firefighters are fighting against strong winds and high temperatures. Chubut's government has stated that over?than 110.000 acres (44,515 ha) of land have been destroyed. In December, the first forest fires began. Environmental groups have criticised the budget cuts that have reduced funding for 'wildfire prevention and response. According to FARN, an Argentine non-profit, the budget for 2026 slashed the funding for the National Fire Management Service in real terms by 71% compared to the previous year. Ariel Slipak is an economist with FARN. He said that Milei’s government prioritized a budget balance over emergency funds "at any cost." The Ministry of Security in Argentina announced on Thursday that it will allocate approximately $69 million for firefighting efforts. Milei previously called climate change a "socialist Lie", provoking criticism from environmentalists. His government said that it was also "considering" withdrawing from Paris Agreement, which is the main climate agreement in the world, after the example of U.S. president Donald Trump who, as a close ally?of Milei's, left the accord earlier this year. Hernan G. Giardini, Greenpeace Argentina, said in a press release that "continuing to deny or undervalue the effects of climate changes, which science has long warned of, is a form of political irresponsibility, for which forests and homes will pay." According to Greenpeace, the burned area is already larger than the approximately 80,000 acres (32 374 hectares), of Patagonian forests scorched last summer during fire season. (Reporting and editing by Cassandra Garrison, Michael Perry and Leila Miller)
Gold falls below $5,000, pulling other metals down
Gold prices fell by over 7% on Friday, breaking?below $5,000. The dollar was strengthening on the news of the imminent appointment of a new U.S. Federal Reserve chair. However, the safe-haven material remained on track for its largest monthly gain since 1999.
As profit-taking took hold, other precious metals have also fallen sharply.
By 0947 GMT, spot gold had fallen 7.5% to $4.992.05 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery fell 6.4% to $ 4,985.
Gold reached a record high of $5,594.82 in the US on Thursday. It is on course to gain more than 15% this month. This will be its sixth consecutive monthly gain, and biggest since 1999.
"I believe that several gold-supportive factors remain in place but after the strong rally of recent weeks, a consolidation is good," said UBS Analyst Giovanni Staunovo. He added that the probable nomination of a?new Fed chair is putting immediate pressure on prices. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said Thursday that he would reveal his choice for a new Fed chair on Friday. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is seen as the frontrunner. Warsh is a proponent of a smaller Fed's balance sheet. This contrasts with Trump's preference for looser monetary policies.
The U.S. Dollar rose on Friday. It reversed some of the slide this week to a 4-year low. The dollar price of gold is more expensive to overseas buyers due to a stronger U.S. dollar. The physical?gold premiums have risen to the highest level in over a decade in India due to strong investment demand in anticipation of an upcoming duty increase. China's premiums jumped after a surge in jewellery and investment demand.
Ross Norman, an independent analyst, said: "We expect gold to dip much lower than it is today, but we also see a recovery and an average price of $5375 by 2026. It will reach a high of $6400 in the fourth quarter."
Silver spot was down 14.1% to $99.77 per ounce, after reaching a record high of $121.64 an ounce on Thursday. The metal has risen by 42% in the last month and is on course to have its best performance ever.
Norman said: "Although the rise in silver was largely based on sound fundamentals, I believe there is a clear speculative overstretch in the market.
After hitting a record-high of $2,918.80 an ounce on Monday, spot platinum fell 15.7% to $2216.55 per ounce. Palladium fell 13.4% to $1737.50. (Reporting from Pablo Sinha, Bengaluru Additional reporting and editing by Swati verma)
(source: Reuters)