Latest News
-
Australia invests $33 million in Liontown's Kathleen Lithium operations
The Australian Government announced on Thursday that it would invest A$50 Million ($32.5 Million) in Liontown Resources in order to ramp up operations at the flagship Kathleen Valley Project and to transition from surface mining to underground mining. This is part of a plan to increase domestic mineral supply. The A$15 billion National Reconstruction Fund Corporation will make the investment. This is part of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s effort to support critical mineral projects as well as boost domestic manufacturing. David Gall, CEO of NRFC, said that lithium is a vital mineral and is at the heart of both decarbonisation efforts as well as the Future Made in Australia government strategy. "Australia is well positioned to be a long-term, competitive supplier of lithium for the rest of world. Local lithium production is vital to the nation's resilience and economic security." In January, NRFC spent A$200m in Arafura Rare Earths for the development of a new mine at Nolans in central Australia. According to NRFC, Kathleen Valley will have a mine life of more than ten years and produce 500,000 tons of spodumene per year with the potential to expand. Liontown is an important lithium supplier for Tesla, Ford, and LG Energy Solution. The government investment is part Liontown's A$266million institutional capital raise priced at A$0.73per share. The shares of Liontown were last traded at A$0.845 on Thursday before they were halted pending the announcement. The miner can also use the capital to strengthen its balance sheet. According to LSEG data, Hancock Prospecting, owned by Gina Rinehart, a billionaire Australian, is Liontown's largest shareholder with 18% of the shares. Hancock Prospecting is not expected to participate in the placement as it would dilute their stake. Hancock refused to comment while Liontown didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
-
Imports of China copper concentrate rose in July, as smelters increased production.
Imports of copper concentrates from China rose by 9% in July, as the smelting industry continued to buy up limited concentrates amid record-breaking production. Data from the General Administration of Customs on Thursday showed that copper concentrate imports increased 8.9% from 2,35 million tonnes in June to 2,56 million tons. Copper concentrate, the main ingredient in copper smelting, is being imported by China to support its growing production. Hit another Record This year. Analysts predict output growth of 7.5% to 12.0%. The growing volume of copper concentrates reflects a robust demand for raw copper materials by Chinese smelters. This is especially true as new smelters are ramping up, said Zhao Yongcheng an analyst with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. China increased its unwrought copper imports by 3.4% in July, to 488,000 tonnes, compared to a month before. Zhao explained that the slower rate, which was down from 9% in the previous month, reflected the unfavourable price and the limited supply due to the rush to import copper to the United States in advance of tariffs. Imports of unwrought copper, as well as copper products, into China, which is the world's biggest consumer and producer include anodes and refined metals, alloys, and semi-finished Copper Products. Analysts at China Futures stated in a recent note that imports began to increase around mid-July as domestic prices were higher than the international benchmark. In July, China exported 542,000 tonnes unwrought aluminum and aluminium-related products including primary, alloy, and semifinished products. This is up from the 489,000 tonnes in June. Reporting by Amy Lv in Beijing and Lewis Jackson; editing by Kate Mayberry
-
Australia invests $33 million in Liontown's Kathleen Lithium operations
The Australian Government announced on Thursday that it would invest A$50 Million ($32.5 Million) in Liontown Resources in order to ramp up operations at the flagship Kathleen Valley Project and to transition from surface mining to underground mining. This is part of a plan to increase domestic mineral supply. The A$15 billion National Reconstruction Fund Corporation will make the investment. This is part of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s effort to support critical mineral projects as well as boost domestic manufacturing. David Gall, CEO of NRFC, said that lithium is a vital mineral and is essential to the decarbonisation effort as well as the Future Made in Australia Strategy. "Australia is well positioned to be a long-term, competitive supplier of lithium for the rest of world. Local lithium production is vital to the nation's resilience and economic security." NRFC has invested A$200m in Arafura Rare Earths in January to develop a mine and processing facility for its Nolans Project in central Australia. According to NRFC, Kathleen Valley will have a mine life of more than ten years and produce 500,000 tons of spodumene per year with the potential for expansion. Liontown is an important lithium supplier for Tesla, Ford and LG Energy Solution. The government investment is part Liontown's A$266million institutional capital raise priced at A$0.73per share. The shares of Liontown were last traded at A$0.845 on Thursday before they were halted pending the announcement. The miner can also use the capital to strengthen its balance sheet. According to LSEG data, Hancock Prospecting, owned by Gina Rinehart, a billionaire Australian, is Liontown's largest shareholder with 18% of the shares. Hancock Prospecting is not expected to participate in the placement as it would dilute their stake. Liontown and Hancock didn't immediately reply to an email asking for a comment.
-
Hot South Korean summer drives surge in aircon sales, power demand
South Korea's hot summers are driving a surge in demand for air conditioners, and the electronics giants of the country are promoting home upgrades with power-saving technologies. Samsung Electronics domestic home AC sales increased by 50% during the first quarter 2025, ending in March, compared to last year's same period. LG Electronics also saw a 60% increase in domestic sales over the same time frame ahead of an expected hotter summer. The sales boom is despite the fact that the government estimates 98% of the 51 million households already have air conditioners. Companies are wooing consumers with improved cooling, energy efficiency and AI-powered models. Samsung said in a press release that it expects the positive trend in air conditioner sales worldwide to continue. This is due to an increase in demand for high-efficiency and eco-friendly products as a result of climate change. LG expects to see its air conditioner sales continue to grow this year, as consumers replace their old units with newer models that are more energy efficient. The temperatures in Seoul reached record highs during the summer of this year, with a temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius (100,4 Fahrenheit) at the beginning July, just before August, which is traditionally the hottest month. AC sales are being driven by longer, stronger heatwaves and cooling will account for much of the growth in global power demand in the next decade. According to the International Energy Agency, cooling systems will require more power globally by 2035. This is a rise of around 1,200 terawatt-hours, which is greater than an increase of 800 TWh in data centre demand. Renub Research projects that the global air conditioner market will grow by an average 6.3% per year through 2032, to reach $257.2 billion. According to the IEA, 50% of homes will have air conditioners in 2035 compared to 36% in 2022. According to their respective websites, LG's air conditioner production line was operating above capacity this year while Samsung began working at full capacity 10 day earlier than usual. The South Korean energy ministry warned that record electricity use was straining the grid. Peak demand could reach a record of 97.8 gigawatts (GW) between 5 pm and 6 pm on weekdays during the second week in August, mostly due to AC usage. South Korea has been forced to increase its power reserves and import coal because of the sticky nature of the air conditioning power demand. It also put on standby power plants that were not being used. Last year, residential air conditioning accounted for 16% of South Korea's annual electricity demand. This is up from 14% prior to the pandemic. The government is also providing energy vouchers to low-income families and lowering tariffs. (Reporting from Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore and Heekyong Ya in Seoul).
-
China's steel exports rose in July despite protectionist backlash
China's steel imports increased in July. This continued a record-breaking trend despite countries erecting trade barriers to prevent a flood of Chinese products. Data from the General Administration of Customs on Thursday showed that steel exports rose by 1.7% in July from June, to 9.84 metric tons. This brings total exports for this year to 67.98 metric tons. The total for the year is at its highest level since 1990. Steel exports by the largest steel producer in the world have led to a global protectionist backlash. Since January of last year, almost 40 countries have launched anti-dumping investigations. Vietnam and South Korea, two of the world's largest trading partners, have both imposed tariffs on steel imports from China. They claim that cheap Chinese steel is hurting their domestic producers. As a result, Chinese steelmakers are now exporting semi-finished goods, which have lower tariffs. IRON ORE The data showed that imports of iron ore, the main ingredient in steelmaking, fell 1.3% to 104.62 millions tonnes in July as prices rose. Iron ore price Prices rose by nearly 7% on July bets that they would be tolerated. Beijing's promise to clamp down on price wars had sparked hopes of a new wave of supply side reforms in the steel industry, which is plagued with overproduction. Analysts said that higher prices have dampened the appetite of some steelmakers who are cost-sensitive and suffered losses in 2023 and 2024 due to a faltering market. Imports also decreased as miners sent less shipments in the wake of a rush to meet quarterly targets. Cao Ying is an analyst with broker SDIC Futures. She says that some cargoes have also been delayed due to Typhoon Wipha. Even so, China's monthly imports of iron ore from China have remained above 100 million tonnes for the third consecutive month in July. Imports in July were down on the six-month peak of 105.95 millions tons in June but higher than 102.81 in 2024. Chu Xinli is an analyst with China Futures. "Despite a decline in imports, the iron ore production was relatively high, driven by increased steel profitability, and thus, the imports remained high," he said. China's imports of iron ore in the first seven months 2025 totaled 696.57 millions tons, a 2.3% decrease from the same period a year ago.
-
Standard Chartered signs deal with Brazilian forest credit authority
Standard Chartered will sell millions of credits to protect the Amazon rainforest for the Brazilian state Acre, as part of its efforts to expand the carbon credit business and build trust in a nascent industry. Standard Chartered said that its agreement with Acre to sell exclusively forest carbon credits over a five-year period is the first time a major international financial institution has worked in such a way to support the conservation of forests. The involvement of the bank could give legitimacy to a market that has been struggling in recent months, after Brazilian prosecutors sought to cancel a similar $180m carbon offset scheme due to concerns over forward contracts and rights of local communities. Chris Leeds, the head of development of carbon markets at the bank said: "We do everything we can to make sure that these credits are of high quality and reduce a tonne carbon." It is a complicated process. The project will generate up to five million credits by 2026 and bring in up to 150 million dollars. Carbon credit projects which claim to prevent deforestation were scrutinized in the past due to the difficulty in proving the number of trees that the projects prevented from being cut down. Forest carbon credits generated at the national or state level are aimed at reducing deforestation-related emissions. These credits are specifically designed to reduce the possibility that projects will overstate their carbon-reduction benefits. Local and indigenous community are to receive 72% net funds generated by state. They have participated in a consultation process whose main phase began in May 2025. Leeds said that unlike Para's agreement, Acre's does not involve a sale in advance. Leeds added that "there is no obligation on our part to buy the credits today." This is the difference. In July, several Brazilian states signed agreements with the State of Piaui to protect large swathes of forests in exchange for investment. (Reporting and editing by Virginia Furness)
-
China's crude oil imports in July are up 11.5% on a year-on-year basis
China's crude oil imports in July rose by 11.5% compared to the same period a year earlier, as state-owned refining facilities maintained high operational rates. However, inbound shipments have slowed down month-on month after reaching their highest level in almost two years in June. Data from the General Administration of Customs on Thursday showed that the world's biggest crude oil importer imported 47.2 million tons of oil in June, which is equivalent to 11,12 million barrels a day. Data showed that the volume of oil imported in July was 5.4% less than 49.89 millions tons in June. Muyu Zhu, a senior crude oil analyst with Kpler, said that independent refiners purchased heavily in June and built up inventory, which explains why their demand for crude in July was lower. Customs data showed that total crude oil imports between January and July were 326.57 millions tons or 11,25 million bpd. This was an increase of 2.8% compared to the same period in the previous year. According to Oilchem, the country's refinery utilization rate increased to 71.84%, an increase of 1.02 percentage points over June and 3.56 points over a year ago. Oilchem reported that state-owned refiners have increased their production rates while independent refiners have decreased them. It said that maintenance had reduced the overall refining output by 79 millions tons in July. However, three refineries, with a total capacity of 28,7 million tonnes, completed their maintenance and returned to service. The data released on Thursday also showed that China's refined oil exports increased by 7.25% to 5.34 millions tons in July from the same period a year ago. The data shows that natural gas imports, including piped gas as well as liquefied gas, fell by 2.1% on an annual basis to 10.63 millions tons. The data showed that natural gas imports, including piped gas and liquefied natural gases, fell 2.1% year-on-year to 10.63 million tons.
-
China's July coal imports drop 23% due to abundant domestic supply
Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that China's coal imports in July fell by 23% compared to a year ago, due to a limited demand for imports. The imports of coal in July were 35.61 millions metric tons. Although down on the previous year, this was a rebound from June's two-year-low as the hotter weather prompted higher air conditioning demands, which supported electricity consumption. The market will be watching to see if China takes concrete steps in the future to reduce production and curb oversupply at home. The National Energy Administration issued a document on July 20 calling for inspections of coal mines located in eight provinces. This led to the coking coal price rising by the limit each session, as traders hoped that these inspections would cause supply disruptions. LSEG coal analyst said that if the NEA were to take such a step, it would present a substantial risk for domestic coal prices, given the possibility of a decrease in local production. This in turn presents upside risk for seaborne coal prices due to the import price arbitrage dynamics, which is the primary determiner of China's desire for imports. In a recent report, analysts at the data analytics firm Kpler stated that the NEA Directive had only temporarily boosted imports and prices while the broader fundamentals were pointing in the opposite direction. The outlook is still negative due to the continued growth of domestic production, increasing renewables and the weakening demand for steel. Customs data revealed that coal imports for the first seven month of this year were down by 13%, at 257.3 millions tons. (Reporting and editing by Colleen Schmollinger; Christian Schmollinger is the editor)
Australian shares rise on the back of gold stocks
Australian shares rose Tuesday as gold miners reached a record high following the bullion’s record rally. Other sectors also gained from broad-based purchasing and investors were focused on earnings reports of several heavyweight corporations.
S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2%, to 8,502.9 at 0008 GMT. The benchmark index fell 0.3% Monday.
Gold miners on the broad market gained up to 2.6%, reaching a new record high.
The safe-haven market drove gold prices to a record high and they broke the $2,900 barrier for the first.
Northern Star Resources increased by 3.1% while Evolution Mining grew by 2.5%.
Financials increased by 0.1%, with Westpac up 0.5%.
Macquarie, the country's biggest asset manager, rose by 1.7% following a profit that was largely flat for nine months. Investors are now awaiting the earnings of Commonwealth Bank of Australia due on Wednesday.
Oil prices soared nearly 2% Monday, after a third consecutive week of declines.
Brent crude futures settled $1.21 or 1.6% at $75.87 per barrel while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude rose $1.32 or 1.9% to $72.32 per barrel.
The healthcare sector rose 0.4%. This was mainly due to biotech giant CSL which grew 1.7% following a growth in its half-year profits.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the United States rose 167.01 or 0.38% overnight, to 44,470.41 on Monday. The S&P500 gained 40.45, or 0.67, and Nasdaq gained 190.98, or 0.98%.
Diversified investor SGH, among individual stocks rose as high as 9.4% after its first-half earnings easily exceeded analysts' expectations.
The benchmark S&P/NZX50 index in New Zealand rose by 0.2% to 12,898.8.
(source: Reuters)