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Stocks, oil gain; investors downplay Venezuela events
On Monday, major?stock indices rose and oil prices rose. Energy shares climbed and investors were largely calm about potential market ramifications following a U.S. strike that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Early in the morning, Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new record high. S&P 500's energy index rose more than 2 percent, with Exxon Mobil shares up over 2 percent and Chevron shares up over 5 percent. Financial shares rose as well, and an S&P defense index was up over 1%. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that after the dramatic events in Venezuela at the weekend he would temporarily take control of the South American country and that he might order another strike should Venezuela not cooperate with U.S. efforts for Venezuela to open its oil industry and end drug smuggling. He also threatened to take military action in Colombia, Mexico and other countries. The price of oil also increased as traders assessed possible impacts on crude flow from Venezuela - the country with the largest global reserve. Oliver Pursche is senior vice president and advisor at Wealthspire Advisors, based in Westport, Connecticut. He said that the markets are responding to the geopolitics of Venezuela by ignoring it largely, except for a few oil companies which have seen their stock prices spike. He said that "Venezuela’s GDP has almost no impact on the global GDP... therefore, the market should ignore this." The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 600.51 points or 1.24% to 48,982.9. The S&P 500 gained 46.32 points or 0.66% to 6,903.79, and the Nasdaq Composite added 203.37 or 0.88% to 23,439.00. The European stock market was up by 0.9%. Brent crude futures rose 87 cents or 1.43% to $61.62 per barrel. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude gained 90 cents or 1.57% to $58.22. US MILITARY MEASURES IMPLEMENT SAFE-HAVEN REQUEST The appeal of gold as a safe haven led to its rise. By 11:20 am, spot gold had risen 2.7% to $4,447.05 per ounce. ET (1620 GMT), having earlier reached its highest level in over a month. Gold reached an all-time high of $4,499.71 on December 26. The dollar index fell slightly on Tuesday after reaching a near four-week high against a variety of currencies on Monday, following a weaker December. Traders were focused on the raft of important economic data this week and ignored events in Venezuela. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six currencies, was last down 0.2%. The dollar index, which measures dollar strength in relation to a basket six currencies, fell last by 0.2%. This week's data release begins on Monday with ISM manufacturing numbers and concludes on Friday with the non-farm payrolls monthly report. The yields on U.S. Treasury bonds have risen.
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Chilean media report that Codelco will produce 1.332 millions of tons of copper by 2025.
Local newspaper La Tercera reported that copper production at Codelco in Chile reached 1.332 metric tons by 2025. This is a slight improvement over the 2024 figure. La Tercera, citing sources, said that Codelco produced 1.332 millions tons in the last year. This is only a 4,000-ton rise from 1.328 million tonnes produced?in 2020. Codelco didn't immediately respond to an?request for a comment on the production number. In recent days, Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said that production would increase in 2025 as compared to the year before. "We are happy to share with the country the fact that Codelco's production in 2025 was slightly higher than it was in 2024," Pacheco said on Friday, according to local radio station Cooperativa. Codelco is struggling to increase production due to operational problems and lower ore grades. It also suffered a setback in July last year when a fatal accident occurred at its flagship El Teniente Mine. The company still managed to increase production in the first nine month of the year but reduced its production forecast for 2025 in November. (Reporting and editing by Gabriel Araujo, Bill Berkrot, and Fabian Cambero)
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Venezuela's oil, mining and mining sector: huge potential but weak infrastructure
Here are some key facts about Venezuela's oil and mining sector, after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. troops on Saturday. RESERVES Official data show that Venezuela may have the largest oil reserves in the world, but its crude production is only a fraction of what it could be due to years of mismanagement, a lack of investment, and sanctions. According to the Energy Institute in London, Venezuela has about 17% of the global?reserves (303 billion barrels), ahead of Saudi Arabia as the leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Venezuela's heavy oil reserves, located in central Venezuela, are expensive to produce but relatively simple to process. Maduro, then acting president Delcy Rodrguez, the former vice president of Venezuela, announced in 2019 a five-year plan to boost mineral extraction and replace oil production. Venezuelan government data released the year before used terms from the mining industry interchangeably including resource and reserve, making it hard to determine if Caracas was aware of its full mining potential. A reserve is a volume estimate for a mineral which can be economically produced. The volume of a particular mineral in a region is called a resource, regardless of whether it can be economically extracted. The 2018 report was published by Venezuela's Mining Ministry website as a "minerals catalogue" for investors. It estimated that coal reserves were approximately 3 billion metric tonnes and nickel reserves were 407,885 tons. The same report also estimated gold resources of 644 metric tonnes, iron ore resources of 14.68 billion tons (while acknowledging that much of this was a speculation estimate) and bauxite reserves of 321.5 millions metric ton. Venezuela published in 2021 a map showing mineral reserves, based on 2009 data. The map did not include the volume of reserves for antimony, copper and nickel, coltan (molybdenum), magnesium, zinc, titanium and tungsten. It does not seem that the country has a large amount of rare earths. Rare earths are a group of 17 minor metals which is used to produce magnets to turn energy into motion. Rare earths is a subset critical minerals. PRODUCTION Venezuela, along with Iran, Iraq Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, was a founder member of OPEC. The country's struggle with electricity has repeatedly hindered mining and oil operations. In the 1970s the?country produced as much as 3.5 millions barrels of crude oil per day, which represented at that time over 7% global oil production. In the 2010s, production fell below 2,000,000 bpd and reached an average of 1.1,000,000 bpd in 2012 or just 1% global output. This was about the same as the U.S. State of North Dakota. If the developments lead to a real regime change in the end, it could result in even more oil being available on market over time. It will take some time before production recovers fully," said Arne L. Rasmussen, Global Risk Management. Saul Kavonic, analyst at MST Marquee, says that if regime change is successful, Venezuelan exports will grow, as sanctions are lifted, and foreign investments return. Jorge Leon, Rystad's head of geopolitical analyses, said that Libya and Iraq are clear examples. Trump said to Fox News Saturday that the United States will be heavily involved in Venezuela's petroleum sector. It is unclear what the operational status of mines linked to Maduro’s five-year plans are. Maduro's National Council for Productive Economy said last month that the national production of iron ore, gold and coal increased in the first quarter of 2025. However, it did not provide any figures. Venezuela nationalized the gold sector in 2011. The government controls CVG, a maker of iron and steel. Last October, it was reported that Venezuela had restarted its coal production. The country aims to export over 10 million metric tonnes of this mineral by 2025. The government has not yet met this target. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that Venezuela produced 100,000 tons of coal in 2019 from its 731 million tons of reserves. In the last decade, oil has accounted for a large part of the country's mineral production, which includes nickel, bauxite and iron ore. USGS data for 2021 shows that Venezuelan bauxite production will be 250,000 metric tonnes, down from 550,000 tons last year. Iron ore production, on a basis of iron content, was 1,41 million tons and gold production, 480 kg. The USGS estimated that alumina production, which is refined from bauxite and used to produce?aluminium, would be down to 80,000 tons by 2021. This was down from 240,000 tons just four years ago. Aluminum production has been estimated at 20,000 tons, a drop from 144,000 tons four years earlier. Joint Ventures Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) was formed in 1970 when Venezuela nationalized its oil industry. (PDVSA). Venezuela opened up the oil sector for foreign investment in the 1990s. Venezuela required that all oil projects be owned by PDVSA in majority following the 1999 election of Hugo Chavez. Exxon-Conoco left Venezuela in the 2000s, and their assets were confiscated. PDVSA has set up joint ventures with Chevron and other companies to boost production. These include ENI, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Total, and Rosneft, a Russian company. Maduro has threatened to issue mining licenses in 2023 in a region that is the subject of a dispute over ownership with Guyana, whose neighbor is located in this area. Maduro’s government has supported the artisanal mining of gold in Venezuelan Amazon since at least 2016. EXPORTS, ?REFINING Since the introduction of the sanctions, China is now the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude oil. Venezuela owes China about $10 billion after China became its largest lender during the late president Hugo Chavez. Venezuela repays its loans by transporting crude in three very large carriers that were previously owned jointly by Venezuela and China. In December, two of these supertankers approached Venezuela when Trump announced the blockade on all tankers entering and leaving the country. According to industry sources and documents, including the monitoring service TankerTrackers.com, about a dozen oil tanks loaded with Venezuelan crude or fuel have left Venezuela's waters in apparent defiance of U.S. Government's export ban. Trump said to Fox News Saturday that China will get the oil, without providing any further details. Russia has also lent Venezuela billions of dollar, but the exact amount remains unclear. PDVSA owns significant refinery capacity outside of the country. This includes CITGO, which is located in the United States. However, creditors have been fighting to control it for years in U.S. courtrooms. Reporting by Marianna Paraga, Arathy Sommesekhar Dmitry Zhdannikov Ernest Scheyder Daina Beth Sool; Additional reporting by Tom Daly. Editing by Jason Neely Stephen Coates Nia Williams
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Mali mine attacked by suspected jihadists
An official of the mining ministry said that suspected jihadists attacked Morila's gold mine at the weekend. They burned?equipment, and took seven employees as hostages before releasing them. ?on Monday. The attack underscores the growing security threats in Mali. Africa's third largest gold producer is battling al Qaeda linked jihadists who have targeted foreign investment and economic assets. A spokesperson for the Mali mines ministry, and another source familiar with the situation, said that armed men attacked the mine on Saturday. The men 'burned down equipment and held seven workers hostage but then released them the next evening, according to the sources. Both have asked to remain anonymous. Flagship Gold?did not immediately respond?to a comment request. The ministry spokesperson said that no mine workers were killed. He added that the army had taken over the situation, and was sweeping the area. Flagship Gold of New York, which was incorporated in June 2024, signed an agreement in October with Mali’s state-owned miner to restart production in the?Morila Gold Mine. According to the Mines Ministry, this mine is located in Mali’s southern Sikasso Region and has estimated reserves of 2.5 million ounces. The state took over the operation after Australia's Firefinch ceased operations due to declining output and rising costs. Morila had been operated by Barrick, AngloGold Ashanti and Barrick. Western countries including the United States, France, and Britain have asked their citizens to leave this landlocked West African nation as security concerns have grown. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis; Additional reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila)
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Gold reaches a new high following US strikes on Venezuela
Gold reached a "one-week-high" on Monday after U.S. attacks in Venezuela increased the appeal of bullion as a safe haven. By 11:20 am, spot gold had risen 2.7% to $4.447.05 per ounce. ET (1620 GMT), having earlier reached its highest level in over a month. Gold reached an all-time high of $4,499.71 on December 26, U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery gained 3%, to $4.457.4 per ounce. "The situation in Venezuela has clearly reactivated the safe-haven market, but it comes on top existing concerns about geopolitics and energy supply, as well as monetary policy," Alexander Zumpfe, precious metals trader with Heraeus Metals Germany. Gold gained 64% last year due to geopolitical tensions and the rate-easing cycle of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The expectation of lower?rates along with central bank buying and ETF flow gave additional support. On Saturday, the U.S. invaded Venezuela and ousted President Nicolas Maduro in Washington's direct intervention in Latin America for the first time since 1989. Donald Trump has warned that if Caracas continues to resist U.S. efforts for it to open its oil industry and stop drug trafficking he will launch another strike. He also suggested possible actions against Colombia and Mexico due illicit drug flows. Due to its non-yielding properties, gold is a good traditional store of value. Zumpfe said that "another move towards?new records highs" would be likely if geopolitical conflicts intensify or if U.S. economic data confirms the expectation?that Fed will need to ease more aggressively, than is currently priced. The markets are awaiting the non-farm payrolls for December on Friday and expect at least two rate reductions this year. Silver rose 6% to $79.99/oz, after rising 147% by 2025. This was due to its designation as an important mineral in the United States, and a structural deficit on the market amid increasing demand. Spot platinum rose 6.7% to $2.286.09/oz. Palladium increased 4.8% to $1.717.33.
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UN chief Guterres expresses concern about the instability in Venezuela and legality of US operations
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern on Monday over a possible increase in instability?in Venezuela following the capture by the U.S. of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. The 15-member Security Council met at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, just hours before Maduro had to appear before a Manhattan federal judge on drug charges - including narcoterrorism conspiracy. Maduro denies any criminal involvement. Guterres made the statement in a letter to the U.N. Political Affairs chief, Rosemary DiCarlo. Guterres called for all Venezuelan actors, including the government and opposition parties, to engage in a democratic and inclusive dialogue. He added: "I welcome?all efforts that aim to assist Venezuelans to find a peaceful path forward." He also expressed his concern that the U.S. Operation to capture Maduro at Caracas, on Saturday, did not respect international law. 'ACTS OF AGGRESSION The Colombian government, which had requested the meeting on Monday, has condemned "the U.S. Operation" as a violation of Venezuela's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. Colombian U.N. The ambassador, Leonor Zalabata-Torres, addressed the council. "Such acts constitute a grave violation of international law as well as the United Nations Charter." Legal experts said that the U.S. military operation was illegal, because it did not have U.N. Security Council approval and did not have Venezuelan consent. The United States is not responsible for any violations committed by the U.N. Security Council. Its mandate is to maintain international peace and safety. Along with Russia, China and Britain, the United States has a veto, so it can 'block any action. In the founding Charter of the U.N., it states that "members shall refrain from using force or threatening to use force in international relations against the territorial integrity or political independence or any state." The United Nations currently has 193 members. U.S. Mike Waltz, the U.N. Ambassador on Sunday, cited Article 50 of the U.N. Charter which states that "nothing shall impair the inherent rights?of collective or individual self-defense in the event of an armed attack against a United Nations member." Trump has threatened to launch another strike against Venezuela if it does not open its oil industry or stop the drug flow. Trump has also threatened Colombia, Mexico and Cuba. He said that the communist government of Cuba "looks as if it is ready to fall."
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Phillips 66, a US refiner, will acquire the Lindsey refinery in Britain.
Phillips 66, a U.S. refiner, announced on Monday that it has agreed to purchase the assets and infrastructure from the?Lindsey Oil Refinery located in northern England after the site was liquidated. Phillips 66 will also integrate?the main facilities into its Humber Refinery. The Lindsey Refinery closed down in July of last year, after the previous owner Prax went bankrupt. This put the 420 jobs on the site in danger. Phillips 66 did not reveal the value of the deal, but said that it decided to not restart standalone operations in the refinery after a thorough review during the bid process. The site, as currently configured, is not viable. Phillips 66 announced that Lindsey's storage and infrastructure assets will be integrated with the Humber Refinery Complex, improving supply flexibility and supporting traditional and renewable fuels production. Phillips 66's spokesperson said: "In the months to come, we will develop strategic plans that will integrate the new?assets into the Phillips 66 Limited Portfolio following the completion of the deal." FTI Consulting was selected as the special?manager? of the Lindsey Oil Refinery assets after the liquidator was named in June. The official receiver stated that none of the bids submitted were credible and did not propose a return of refining operations in Lindsey within the next few year. After redundancies started last September, the official receiver announced in November that the remaining 250 employees at the site were guaranteed employment until the month of March. "We are purchasing assets from the Prax liquidation companies and not the actual companies." Phillips 66 spokesperson: "While we are aware of the impact that the Prax employees will feel, we can't guarantee a number of new jobs at this time." UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks stated in a statement: "This will increase the company's capacity to supply fuel to UK consumers, boosting energy security at home and creating jobs. This includes hundreds of new construction jobs over the next five-year period." The UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero did not respond immediately to a follow-up request for comment on the possible impact the deal could have on UK fuel supply and the'status' of the remaining positions after March. "Lindsey Oil Refinery is an important piece of UK Energy Infrastructure." Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said that Phillips 66 shouldn't be allowed to mothball the refinery and turn it into a glorified tank. (Reporting from Pranav Mathur, Shadia Nasralla, Robert Harvey and Shreya biswas in Bengaluru; Editing done by Shreya biswas and Jan Harvey.
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Gold reaches a new high following US strikes on Venezuela
Gold rose to an all-time high on Monday, and was nearer to its record peak. The U.S. strike in Venezuela fueled the demand for safe havens. By 10:10 am, spot gold had risen 2.9% to $4.453.22 per ounce. ET (1510 GMT) after hitting its highest level in December 29. Gold reached an all-time high of $4,499.71 on December 26, U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery gained 3.1% to $4463.5 an ounce. Alexander Zumpfe is a precious metals dealer at Heraeus Metals Germany. He said that the situation in Venezuela has reactivated the safe-haven market, but this comes on top of existing concerns about geopolitics and energy supply, as well as monetary policy. Gold gained 64% last year due to geopolitical tensions and the rate-easing cycle of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Gold's rise was boosted by expectations of even lower interest rates, central bank purchases and ETF flows. On Saturday, the U.S. invaded Venezuela and ousted President Nicolas Maduro in Washington's direct intervention in Latin America for the first time since 1989. Donald Trump has warned that if Caracas continues to resist U.S. efforts to?open up its oil industry and end drug trafficking', he will launch another strike. He also suggested possible actions against Colombia and Mexico in relation illicit drug flows. Due to its non-yielding properties, gold is a good store of value in low interest rate environments. Zumpfe said that "another move towards new record highs" would be likely if geopolitical conflicts intensify or if the incoming U.S. economic data confirms expectations of a Fed that will have to 'ease more aggressively than is currently priced. The markets are awaiting the non-farm payrolls for December on Friday and expect at least two rate cuts this year. Silver rose 5.5% to $76.63/oz, after rising 147% by 2025. This was due to its designation as an important mineral in the United States, and a structural deficit on the market amid increasing demand. Spot platinum rose 6.3% to $2277.53/oz. Palladium increased 5% to $1720.93. (Reporting and editing by Anjana Anil, Bengaluru)
India's finished steel imports from China hit 7-year high in April-Dec
India's ended up steel imports from China touched their highest levels in a minimum of 7 years during the first nine months of the financial year that started in April, according to provisionary federal government information evaluated on Monday.
China, the world's top steel producer, shipped 2.1 million metric lots of ended up steel to India throughout April-December, up 13.3% year-on-year, the data showed.
Beijing was the leading exporter of completed steel to India throughout the duration.
Shipments from China, South Korea and Japan accounted for 79% of India's overall finished steel imports during the period.
South Korea's completed steel exports to India throughout April-December touched a five-year high at 2.1 million metric lots, up 7.2% year-on-year, the data revealed.
Japan's finished steel exports to India touched a minimum of seven-year high, nearly doubling year-on-year to 1.6 million metric loads, according to the information.
India's overall ended up steel imports reached a six-year high throughout April-December, as formerly reported .
India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, had turned a net importer of finished steel in the previous fiscal year. The trend has actually given that continued, with deliveries from China rising steadily.
India is performing a probe to determine the requirement for imposition of a secure responsibility or a short-term tax to reduce unchecked steel imports.
During April-December, hot-rolled coils or strips were the most imported item during the period, the data revealed.
Imports of non-flat products also rose 13.8% from last year, led by bars and rods.
Completed steel exports plunged 24.6% to 3.6 million metric lots, their lowest point in at least 6 years, the data revealed.
Italy was the biggest exports market for India's finished steel items, although shipments fell 38.8% from levels seen last year.
Exports to Belgium, Spain and Nepal also fell.
Nevertheless, exports to the UK were up nearly 20%. year-on-year, the information showed.
(source: Reuters)