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Asia shares and oil fall as markets revalue Fed expectations
The U.S. lifted sanctions against Iran on Tuesday, and Asian stocks and oil prices dropped. Traders were also concerned about the rising expectation that 'the Federal Reserve could take more aggressive actions?to combat inflation later this year. S&P 500 futures fell 0.9% while MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan dropped 2.9%. Brent crude fell 1.22% to $76.25 per barrel. The Nikkei index in Japan fell 3% while the Kospi index in South Korea plunged 8.1%. Chris Weston, research director at Pepperstone Group Melbourne, said: "These markets are anything but dull." "The former generals in the market seem to have lost momentum and investors are now rotating into other parts of the market which are more defensive, are less AI-focused, and offer'more predictable cash flow. Early European trades showed the Euro Stoxx futures down 0.96%. German DAX Futures dropped 1% and FTSE Futures were?down 0.95%. Wall Street stocks fell overnight. The S&P 500 was down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3%. Megacap technology?stocks such as Alphabet, and SpaceX were the main culprits. Oil prices fell more than 3% after U.S. Vice President JDVance announced that progress had been made with Iran in the talks and that the Strait of Hormuz is open. The Yen is nearing a 40-year low The yen is flat against the US dollar, at 161.665, and has been nearing its lowest levels in over 40 years, after an overnight volatile session in the U.S. Satsuki Katayama, Japan's Finance minister, said that she met with U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent online a day earlier to discuss the global financial markets. Concerns are growing over currency fluctuations. The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3232 after British Prime Minister Keir starmer announced on Monday that he would be resigning. This will pave the way for what is expected to a smooth transfer of power from Andy Burnham, who has been leading in the polls. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket six currencies, rose by 0.07%, to 101.08, near its highest level since May 2025. The traders are struggling with the expectations of an accelerated rate hike schedule by a more aggressive Fed, under the leadership and direction of Kevin Warsh. Fed funds futures price an implied 54% chance of at least two 25 basis-point increases before the end the year. This compares to a 15.2% probability a week earlier, according to CME Group's FedWatch. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond of the United States fell by 0.61 basis points, to 4.501%. Gold dropped 1.75% to $4118.55 per ounce. Bitcoin fell 1.56% to $63,368.73 while ether dropped 1.17% to 1,712.74. (Reporting from Gregor Stuart Hunter, Singapore; Additional reporting from Rocky Swift, Tokyo; Editing done by Jacqueline Wong & Jamie Freed).
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Sources claim that Indian Oil did not receive any bids for the ships needed to transport Gulf cargoes.
Two sources with knowledge of the issue have confirmed that Indian Oil Corp. has received "no bids" in the tenders for 'charter vessels' to lift crude oil and liquefied petrochemical?gas from ports within the Strait of Hormuz. Last week, India's largest refiner and fuel retailer floated three tenders for chartering a very-large gas carrier (VLGC), an extremely large crude carrier, and a Suezmax. Indian state refiners buy most of their oil and LPG from Middle Eastern producers free-onboard. A VLCC carries about 2 million barrels of oil. And a VLGC holds 45,000 metric tonnes of LPG, a mixture of propane and butane that is mainly used as cooking gas in India. A Suezmax can carry about 1 million barrels of crude oil. "Nobody wants to risk going into the Strait yet." "Most ship owners are waiting and watching for clarity regarding the terms of getting into the Strait," said a broker. Indian Oil wanted to transport about 45,000 metric tons of LPG from the ports of Ras Laffan, in Qatar, Mina Al Ahmadi, in Kuwait or Ruwais, in the UAE, between June 30th and July '4. The refiner wanted to charter a VLCC for oil deliveries from Mina Al Ahmadi in Saudi Arabia between June 28 and 29. It also wanted to hire a Suezmax to load cargo from Ras Al Khaffji port on the west coast of India between June 29 and 30. (Reporting and editing by Raju Gopikrishnan; Nidhi verma)
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Gold drops as dollar remains firm amid Fed rate hike expectations
Gold prices fell more than 1% on Tuesday due to a stronger?U.S. ?dollar on the expectation of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year. Investors also assessed U.S. As of 0548 GMT, spot gold was down by 1.7% to $4,119.13 an ounce. U.S. gold contracts for August delivery dropped 1.5% to $4137.10. Tim Waterer is the chief analyst at KCM Trade. He said that while gold had benefited from lower oil prices, it was not getting any help from the U.S. dollar, which continued to rise on expectation of Fed rate increases. Gold is less affordable for those who hold other currencies as the dollar has remained near its one-year high. After the first round of talks in a new peace agreement, the United States lifted sanctions against Iran for 60 days starting Monday. Meanwhile, officials in Lebanon reported that fighting had slowed down under the agreement. JD Vance, the U.S. vice president, said that talks with Iranian officials held in Switzerland laid a solid foundation for a peace deal. Iran however denied having begun to discuss its nuclear program. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee stated that the labor?market is stable and that his focus now is to determine whether the too-high rate of inflation will "remain that way" or "recede", as the effects from high tariffs diminish, and if there's a resolution in the Middle East conflict. CME FedWatch Tool shows that traders now expect an 88% probability of a rate increase in December. This is up from 61% prior to the Fed meeting held last week. Investors are watching U.S. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, Personal Consumption Expenditures, is due to be released later this week. This data will provide further monetary policy clues. Silver fell by 4% at $62.59 an ounce. Platinum dropped 2% to $1.644.75, while palladium declined 2.3% to $1,236.50. (Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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It won't be quick or easy to unravel the "tangled web" of Iran sanctions
Tehran will gain billions from the 60-day reprieve of U.S. Sanctions announced on Monday. However, unwinding four decades of restrictions could take many years. The question is whether a U.S. interim deal with Iran will translate into lasting economic benefits, given the complexity of dismantling sanctions that encompass U.S. law, international measures, and private sector risk concerns. Since the late 1970s, the United Nations, U.S., and European Union have imposed "sanctions, trade embargoes, and frozen assets" over Iran's nuke program, human right violations, and support of militant groups in the region. According to a memorandum signed last week by the U.S., Iran, and other countries, Washington will begin to abolish all sanctions in accordance with a schedule that is to be finalized within 60 days. This period can be extended. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a temporary license on Monday allowing production, delivery, and sale of crude and petrochemical products and petroleum products with Iranian origin until August 21. If the remaining sanctions are lifted, it would be a dramatic change in U.S. Middle East policy. The U.S. has been focusing on "reducing Iran's influence" and using financial pressure to weaken the theocratic regime. This would be difficult as well, since it would require executive action in some cases, congressional approval in others, and close coordination with other countries and the U.N. that have implemented their own "sanctions". After decades of restrictions, companies could also be wary. Juan Zarate said, "You've got this complicated nest of sanctions. It's not only executive orders; it's also congressional sanctions." Zarate was the deputy national security advisor for combating terror under George W. Bush. CONGRESS IS SKEPTICAL Washington sanctioned Iran for the first time in 1979 after students from the revolutionary movement seized and held hostage diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Since then, Congress passed half a dozen laws on sanctions and the presidents issued executive orders regarding Iran's nuclear programme and its support of groups that the U.S. considers terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as?Yemen’s Houthis. According to Treasury data, since early 2025 the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury has sanctioned more than 1,000 individuals, vessels, and aircraft. Jeremy Paner said that OFAC would need at least a year to delist thousands of entities. He is a former U.S. sanction official and a partner in the law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed. The President Donald Trump has the power to revoke executive orders on Iran. However, some measures, such as sanctions against Hamas and Hezbollah, are required by law. They will need to be amended or removed by Congress. His Republican colleagues have already been very critical of his interim agreement. Matt Zweig is the managing director of FDD Action's lobbying arm, and he says that it would be hard to undo 40 years of sanctions. Zweig, an ex-aide to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that removing layers of sanctions would be like peeling off an onion. It would expose the administration to not only legal complications but also political risks. Some estimates suggest that the license granted on Monday may be worth as much as $3 billion to Iran in two months. Edward Fishman, senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, says that this could grow to "at lease tens or hundreds of billions" of dollars if it were made permanent. This would erase a discount on Iranian crude oil, allow Tehran to sell its oil to other buyers than China, and increase exports. China buys 90% of Iranian crude oil despite sanctions. The new license, which is more expansive than the one issued last March, covers not only oil and petroleum products but also banking, transportation, and insurance related to oil trade. This will give Tehran easier access?to their revenues. There are a lot of thorny questions involved," said Stephanie Connor. She is now a partner at Holland & Knight and a former OFAC employee. She added that lifting the sanctions could result in money flowing to groups which the U.S. views as a threat. "Are you really going to allow money to start flowing into Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps?" She asked, referring to the powerful paramilitary group that the U.S. designated as a terrorist organization. WARY COMPANIES Banks, oil companies and insurers are going to face new regulations, stricter due diligence, and sanctions-evasion risk? tied to Iran's links with China, North Korea, and Russia. The EU, Britain, U.N. and other sanctions remain in place. Zarate explained that "we've beaten up the markets with the risk of dealing with Iran or Iran through the market, so now you can't just flip a switch to say, 'Oh it's OK to do business? with Iran'." The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act of 2016 allows victims of terrorist attacks to sue companies and investors for assisting designated groups. This act is not likely to be repealed. According to Brett Erickson of Obsidian Risk Advisors, a principal, such risks may cause companies to avoid working with Iran in order to avoid legal and reputational risks as long as Iran's government is still in power. He said that he would not be able to make multi-billion dollar pledges until the situation was more stable and firmly cemented. "There's a long road ahead." (Reporting and editing by Don Durfee, Howard Goller and Andrea Shalal)
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Orion CMC is in advanced talks for three Asian partnerships
Executives have revealed that Orion Critical 'Mineral Consortium is in advanced talks to establish three new public-private partnership in Asia as it looks to fund a?global? pipeline of $20 billion opportunities. The consortium will form a third leg of investment in Asia to complement the $1.8 billion raised last year by the group to improve access to critical minerals such as copper, lithium and rare earths. The project is being led by Orion Resource Partners a mining-focused private equity firm, and backed up by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ. Orion Resource Partners CEO Oskar?Lewnowski? said that there are three "fairly advanced" sets of discussions to add Asian counterparts to the list. He said that the U.S., the Middle East, and Asian investors were all progressing well. However, he added, "We would love to have a third leg of investors based in Asia." Other potential partners include sovereign wealth funds and government agencies as well as original equipment manufacturers. Prior to this, it was not reported that Asia would be the next "major" investment destination of the consortium. The impending partnerships as well as the size of the investment expected beyond the previous target of $5 billion had also not been disclosed. He said that the 'push' comes from an increasing demand for critical minerals, which is driven by data centres, hyperscalers and continued urbanisation. Lewnowski stated that the expansion of infrastructure will require approximately $2.4 trillion by mid-century. This includes at least $800 Billion over the next 15 Years to bring projects on line. Copper production alone must double by 2050. Banks have withdrawn from pre-revenue financing of projects, resulting in a funding gap. The amount of money needed is enormous. Lewnowski stated that to activate this kind of pipeline we will need to mobilize all our forces. The world's untapped mineral supply is largely concentrated in emerging economies while the demand for minerals is concentrated in developed economies. This creates what executives have described as a "political push and pull" over where and how new mines should be developed. ASIAN OPPORTUNITIES Orion, based in New York, is positioning itself to be an alternative financing partner for Chinese investors and trading companies. It targets?mid-sized mining groups rather than major mining firms. John Dorian is a portfolio manager for Orion Resource Partners in Asia. He said that the growth was not with major mining groups because they have under-spent so long. He said that the firm saw significant opportunities in Southeast Asia where a number of multi-billion dollar?critical mineral projects were under development. There are?probably 5 in Indonesia... He said there were probably some in Vietnam, a few in the Philippines and a lot in Australia. Orion also assesses opportunities in Central Asia in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, in Africa’s copper belt in Morocco, Namibia, Mali and South America in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.
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Sources say that India's LPG imports to the US will surpass 1 million tonnes in June.
Industry sources say that India's imports from the U.S. of liquefied petrol gas (LPG), a record-breaking amount, will top 1 million metric tons in June. This is because New Delhi has turned to more expensive suppliers to compensate for disruptions from the Middle East. India relied on Middle Eastern LPG producers to provide 90% of its imports of LPG, which totaled about 2 million tonnes per month. Government data revealed that imports of LPG - widely used in Indian homes as a cooking fuel - fell to 696,000 tonnes in April due to 'the strait blocking'. Data showed that imports rose to 1.15 millions tons in May. As part of its efforts to rebalance the trade with Washington, New Delhi planned to increase U.S.LPG imports to around 10% of total imported products before the disruption. A trade source familiar with the purchases said that the closure of 'the waterway' accelerated spot-buying from the U.S. Indian refiners purchased unprecedented volumes of cooking gas at high spot-market premiums, as the government was prioritizing uninterrupted supplies. Sources declined to name themselves publicly because they are not authorized to speak with the media. India has also asked refiners for maximum LPG production, prioritized LPG sales to homes and accelerated the installation of gas pipes. One source said that efforts had already begun to reduce India's consumption of LPG by 15 to 20 percent. Two sources at Indian refiners say that India will receive between 1.1 and 1.2 million tonnes of U.S. LPG this June. Meanwhile, supplies from the United Arab Emirates are beginning to recover, reaching 300,000-400,000 tons in July. Sources said that the UAE offered LPG cargoes from Oman's Sohar Port on a free-onboard basis, at a premium price of $100 per ton over Saudi CP, and added?that Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. deployed four or five vessels to get LPG to Sohar. Sources claim that Indian refiners will also receive 45,000 tonnes of LPG in June from Kuwait. Sources say that the partial opening of the Strait will increase LPG supply from the Middle East, and help lower prices in the coming months. According to Kpler data, India imported 648.300 tons of LPG from the U.S. in May and 134.700 tons from UAE. Kpler's figures show that the number of imports from Iran was 145,000 tons. Other traditional suppliers, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, also contributed a limited amount. According to Kpler’s preliminary data for June, India will import approximately 1.07 million tonnes of LPG. This includes around 223,800 tons from the UAE, and around 116,200 from Iran. Kuwait is also expected to supply 108,600 tons, and some quantities are expected from Oman.
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Copper prices fall on US rate concerns
Copper prices fell on Tuesday amid fears of growth headwinds resulting from a Federal Reserve rate hike after yesterday's closely watched U.S. Iran talks. By 0300 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price on?the London Metal Exchange?fell by 0.51%. It was now $13,580 per?metric?ton. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract was down by 0.61% to 104,060 Yuan ($15.353.97) per ton. Many banks have predicted that the Fed will raise interest rates in this year because of persistent inflation, and due to a hawkish attitude from new chair Kevin Warsh. Increased interest rates can dampen industrial metals' growth prospects by increasing borrowing costs and slowing economic activity. National Bureau of Statistics data showed that refined copper production in China increased 2.2% on an annual basis to 1.26 million tonnes. In a note, ING analysts wrote: "Higher sulphuric 'acid by-products prices supported output and encouraged higher operating rates." Aluminum fell 1.38% at the LME, and 0.94% at the SHFE as traders weighed Gulf disruptions of supply against the stronger output in China and the rising Chinese exports. The U.S. War against Iran has caused disruptions in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, and reduced?Gulf Production to levels well below those pre-war. IAI data show that global primary aluminum output increased 3.5% on an annual basis to 6.2 millions tons in May, largely due to stronger Chinese production. China's exports of stranded aluminium wire, which are increasingly being used to ship aluminum abroad due to its tax advantages over unwrought metal, have more than tripled since April, reaching 50,224 tonnes in May. Analysts at ING wrote: "However the aluminium market will still be in deficit for this year." Zinc?lost 0.97 %, lead?lost 0.53 %, nickel lost 0.98%, and tin?fell 2.73%. On the SHFE, other metals like zinc, lead, and nickel all fell. Tin also plunged by 3.26%.
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Gold drops as dollar remains firm amid Fed rate hike expectations
The?U.S. dollar was stronger on Tuesday and this pushed gold prices down?more that 1%. ?dollar fell?more than 1% on Tuesday,?pressured by a firmer 'U.S. As of 0414 GMT, spot gold was down by 1.1%, at $4,142.61 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell 1% to $4160.20. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst at KCM Trade. He said that while gold had received some relief this week from lower oil prices, it was not getting any help from the U.S. Dollar, which "continues" to rise on expectations of Fed interest rate hikes. Gold is less affordable for buyers who hold other currencies because the dollar has remained near its one-year high. After the first talks in a new peace agreement, the United States lifted sanctions against Iran for 60 days starting Monday. Meanwhile, officials in Lebanon reported that fighting has slowed down under the agreement. JD Vance, the U.S. vice president, said that talks with Iranian officials held in Switzerland laid a solid foundation for a peace agreement. Iran has denied having begun to discuss its nuclear program. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee stated that the labor market is stable and that he's focused on determining whether the too-high rate of inflation will remain that way or if it will decline as the effects of high tariffs wear off, and if there's a resolution to the Middle East conflict. CME FedWatch Tool shows that traders now expect an 88% probability of a rate increase in December. This is up from 61% prior to the Fed meeting held last week. Investors are watching U.S. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, Personal Consumption Expenditures, is due this week. This data will provide further monetary policy clues. Silver spot fell by 3.3%, to $63.05 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1.9%, to $1,646.30 and palladium declined 1.8%, to $1,242.75. (Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories from France and Benelux that could impact the markets in the'region or individual stocks. RENAULT/STELLANTIS :?Demand 'for electrified cars' continued to support growth in Europe's automotive market in May. This offset a sharp drop in petrol and diesel sale and allowed Chinese?brands?to expand their footprint. VALEO - French automotive supplier Valeo has signed a contract with Nissan to provide smart electric vehicle charging using'vehicle to grid technology. VIOHALCO: Belgian Industrial Group Viohalco has launched a 100% secondary bookbuilding offer to institutional investors for about 6,000,000 existing ordinary shares of Cenergy Holdings in which they currently hold 69.7%. Cenergy will not receive any proceeds from this transaction.
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(source: Reuters)