Latest News
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US power company Southern Co increases capital investment plan by 30%
Southern Co executives said that they have increased their base capital investment plan through the end decade by about 30%. The proposed increase in spending is dominated by transmission projects. On a recent earnings call, Southern Co executives stated that the demand for electricity from artificial intelligence data centres and population growth in the U.S. South has driven Southern Co's demand up and increased overall electricity consumption. Southern provides service to nearly 9 million customers across Alabama, Georgia and Illinois as well as Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia Southern's pipeline for data centers and other large energy users is over 50 gigawatts. Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern, has a share of about 40 gigawatts. Around 10 gigawatts are already committed to projects. In 2024, the U.S. will have a record-high demand for electricity due to the expansion of technologies such as generative AI that require giant data centers. Southern Co shares rose about 2% by mid-afternoon. Southern missed Wall Street's expectations on Thursday for its fourth-quarter profits despite a rising demand. It was also hit by higher U.S. rates. Southern Co's quarterly interest costs rose from $634 to $693 millions. Operating and maintenance costs increased 14.6%, to $1.99 billion. Reporting by Laila K. Kearney, New York Vallari Srivastava, Bengaluru. Edited by Leroy Leo & Richard Chang
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Russia extends gasoline export ban for six months, exempting producers
The Russian government announced on Thursday that it has extended the six-month ban on gasoline exports, but with exemptions for producers. The government released a statement saying that the Deputy Prime Minister, "Alexander Novak" supported the decision to prohibit gasoline exports to non-producing companies from March 1, to August 31, this year. This was to help balance the market in the period of high demand. The refineries and the oil companies who own them will now be allowed to export gasoline. A measure that was implemented nearly a year back prohibits traders and resellers from exporting gasoline. The first ban was imposed to combat a steep rise in wholesale prices of fuel and a possible shortage on the domestic markets. This excludes fuel supplies to the Moscow led Eurasian Economic Union (a group of former Soviet states), and to other countries, such as Mongolia, with whom Russia has intergovernmental agreements for fuel supply. Nigeria, Libya and Tunisia are the top importers of Russian gas. (Reporting and Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva, Maxim Rodionov and David Evans; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Evans)
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Ferrexpo's Poltava mine to be nationalised by Ukraine
Ukraine announced on Thursday that it has nationalised the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, the largest mine owned by London-based Iron Ore Pellets producer Ferrexpo. This follows investigations into alleged misappropriation funds related to illegal mining. Ferrexpo has faced a number of investigations in the last few years into its largest shareholder, Kostyantyn Zovago, a sanctioned Ukrainian politician and businessman. This was as Ukrainian authorities continued to crackdown on corruption after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigations announced on Thursday that it was preparing an appeal to be filed with the Justice Ministry of Ukraine at the High Anti-Corruption Court requesting nationalisation of assets as well as corporate rights of the Poltava Plant. According to the investigation, it was found that the management of the plant had misappropriated more than 370 million hryvnias (8.86 million dollars) and that all corporate and property rights were frozen in preparation for trial. Ferrexpo said in a press release that it had not received a formal notification about such a claim. It is currently working with its lawyers to better understand the situation. The bureau announced that it was proposing to nationalize 541 real property objects owned by the factory, as well as the 172 land parcels which are currently under an early lease for 49 years. The court should also consider the transfer to the state of corporate rights in the amount of 49.5% the authorised capital for Poltava Mining and Processing Plant. Ferrexpo stated in January that it was aware of media reports about accusations made by the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office against senior managers at its FPM unit over an alleged illegal sale and mining of waste products. The group claimed that the legal case did not affect its operations, and the FPM considered the accusations to be "without merit". Zhevago repeatedly denied accusations made against him. (Reporting and editing by Aids Lewis, David Evans and Anastasiia Mlenko; Additional reporting by Prerna Bdi)
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If Trump's tariffs are implemented, Cameco will see uranium prices increase for US customers.
Canadian uranium producer and miner Cameco has warned that prices could increase by 10% for U.S. consumers if tariffs imposed by President Trump are implemented. This would be a major blow to a country which relies heavily on imports. The company's executives said on its earnings call that they may also look at diversifying away from the U.S. and into other markets. They have already done this with their new customers in Central & Eastern Europe. Trump is planning to impose 10% tariffs on all energy imports from Canada starting March 4. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Canada will be the U.S.'s largest uranium supplier in 2023. It supplied 27% of the uranium. Australia and Kazakhstan followed with 22% each. Grant Isaac, Chief Financial Officer at Cameco said that a 10% tariff proposed by a major source of supply like Canada would effectively increase the price of uranium by 10%, because U.S. demand for contracted volumes is inelastic. Tariffs are the hammer that our neighbor in the south discovered. Cameco said that this also allowed the company's market to be looked at without fear of trade action. Isaac continued, "I believe the U.S. is putting out these threats at the risk to their security of supply. This then brings me back to my initial point that this doesn't seem to be consistent with an energy-dominant strategy." Reporting by Seher dareen in Bengaluru, and Divya rajagopal in Toronto. Editing by Vijay Kishore.
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Gold prices reach record highs fueled by demand for safe-havens
Gold prices reached a new record on Thursday as fears of an international trade war, sparked by U.S. president Donald Trump's threats to increase tariffs, fueled demand for gold as a safe haven. As of 12:31 am, spot gold increased 0.3%, to $2,941.69 per ounce. ET (1731 GMT). It reached $2,954.69 in an earlier session -- the tenth highest record so far this year. U.S. Gold Futures rose 0.7% to 2,957.50. Bullion is up 12% this year. "Ongoing trade tensions are continuing to fuel inflation and growth fears, and therefore safe haven interest in Gold," said Peter Grant. Trump announced on Wednesday that he will announce tariffs relating to lumber, automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals in "the next month or earlier". Since assuming office on January 20th, Trump has imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese imports as well as 25% on steel and aluminum. We continue to see central banks buying... throughout the entire year. This is one of the major factors that support gold. "We are also seeing ETF flow with three consecutive days of flows in the gold market", said Phillip Streible. Chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures. Trump denounced Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday as a "dictator" and warned him to act quickly to ensure peace, or risk losing his nation. Grant said that a potential peace agreement could temporarily lower geopolitical pressures, and this would have a short-term impact on gold. "The all time high could last for several weeks, but I believe the uptrend will continue as there are enough fundamental factors that are very supportive." The minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting, held on Wednesday, showed that Trump’s initial proposals stoked inflation concerns and reinforced the central bank’s decision to delay further rate reductions. Swiss customs data show that gold exports to the United States increased by at least 13 percent in January, compared to last year. Spot silver increased by 0.8% to $32.97 per ounce. Palladium rose 1.4%, to $981.82. Platinum increased 0.7% at $978.40. (Reporting and editing by Maju Samuel, Shilpa Majumdar, and Anmol Choubey from Bengaluru)
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Base metals gain from a possible US-China deal and a weaker dollar
Base metals were up in London on Friday as fears of a trade war with China, the world's largest metal consumer, were put to rest after U.S. president Donald Trump stated that a new deal could be reached. The price of three-month aluminium at the London Metals Exchange (LME) had risen 1.5% to $2,726 per metric tonne by 1716 GMT, after reaching $2,729, its highest level since November 15. LME copper increased 0.8%, to $9 539 per ton. This week, the metal surpassed its 200-day moving median which supports it now at $9432. Aluminium has extended its gains for a fifth session in a row, supported by upcoming restrictions on Russian primary aluminum imports into the European Union. The impact of this ban will likely be minimal. The EU continues to import Russian aluminum, but volumes have dropped, as European buyers have self-sanctioned since the invasion in Ukraine. This comes at a time when the U.S. is in talks with Russia about a peace agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine. She added that the U.S. had indicated that sanctions could be lifted as part of a deal. Dollar-priced materials became more appealing to buyers who use other currencies due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar. The yuan grew. Trump indicated that the concerns over the possibility of a trade war had only been temporarily alleviated. He said he would announce new tariffs within the next month, or even sooner. In addition to the previously announced plans for imposing duties on imported automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals, he will also add lumber and forest products. Manthey stated that tariffs were bearish for industrial metals such as copper, given the slowdown in global growth. LME zinc jumped 1.3% to $2.912 per ton. Nickel gained 1.6% at $15,640. Tin jumped 2.3% to $33,455, its highest level since October 8. Lead fell 0.3% to $1.992. (Reporting and editing by Shailesh Kumar, Kirsty Donovan, Elaine Hardcastle and Polina Devitt in London)
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Teck Canada sees no impact of Trump's tariffs
Teck Resources, a Canadian mining company, said that the proposed tariffs by Donald Trump on Canadian imports would not materially impact its business. On a call following earnings, CEO Jonathan Price stated that "our copper and zinc concentrat sales would not have been impacted" as the company mainly sells to Asia and Europe. Some products are sold in the US, mainly zinc, lead, and special metals like germanium, sulfur, and indium, which is refined in British Columbia. Price stated that while Teck produces large amounts of this diverse group of metals they only account for less than 15 percent of the company's revenues. He added, "We expect trade flows will adjust if tariffs are imposed." Teck shares traded nearly 2% higher at midday, after the miner surpassed analysts' expectations for its fourth-quarter profits. This was aided by increased copper production volumes from its Chile mine. The total copper production in the quarter reported was 122,100 tons, an increase of 19% from a year ago. 60,700 tonnes came from its Quebrada Blanca mine (QB) in Chile. Red metal prices and sales volumes are also strong. The company is investing in a QB debottlenecking program and anticipates that it will lead to an additional increase of throughput between 10-15%. Teck anticipates that copper production will range between 480,000 and 565,000 tons in 2025. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the company reported a profit adjusted of C$0.45 ($0.3168), per share for quarter ending December 31. This compares with an average analyst estimate of C$0.43, per share. ($1 = 1.4205 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shailesh Kuber)
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Mitsui hires a former DRW Investments executive as the head of precious metals for its subsidiary
The company announced that Mitsui Bussan Commodities Ltd. (MBCL), a trading firm for energy and base metal derivatives, hired Darren Botha, formerly the head of precious materials at DRW Investments to help expand its business into precious metals. MBCL's decision enter the global precious-metals trading market to hedge client risks is expected to add extra liquidity to global precious-metals markets, replacing those that left the sector. MBCL is a subsidiary company of Mitsui & Co., a major Japanese brokerage house. It has also entered the precious metals market in the midst a gold price rise that began in 2024. Gold reached a new record on Thursday. Botha will be based out of London, where he will serve as the head of precious metals for MBCL, responsible for growing its global business. Mark Crawshaw said that MBCL was excited to announce Darren's appointment. Mitsui started trading precious materials in the 1970s. It still maintains a separate department for precious metals. Mitsui & Co. is another subsidiary. Precious Metals Inc. left the business in 2015. Botha stated that it was a good time for MBCL's diversification into precious metals, as this would allow the firm to provide its clients with solutions in terms of risk management and liquidity. Reporting by Polina Devitt. (Editing by Jane Merriman.
As trade tensions increase, RPT-Chinese Lithium Company halts exports of tech products
The Chinese company stopped exporting an equipment that was used to process lithium metal for electric vehicle batteries. This is the clearest indication yet that manufacturers have already implemented export controls suggested by Beijing.
According to documents and a source who has direct knowledge of this matter, Jiangsu Jiuwu Hi-Tech informed customers last month that it would cease exporting a piece filtration equipment called a sorbent on February 1.
Analysts say that China is the largest producer in the world of sorbents used to extract the lithium metal from brines and other solutions. However, the size of the market can be difficult to determine due to Beijing's unwillingness to share information.
Jiangsu's decision shows Beijing is changing its behaviour despite the fact that the proposal is still only a suggestion. Beijing had threatened to restrict exports of certain battery and lithium technologies, including sorbents. If approved, the companies would require government licenses to sell overseas.
A senior executive from another lithium extraction company, speaking under condition of anonymity as well, stated that Jiangsu New Materials and Sunresin New Materials - another major sorbent manufacturer - are in negotiations with the government about the proposal.
Jiangsu representatives and Sunresin representatives did not answer questions. Sunresin chairman stated a month earlier that the company's plans for overseas expansion included transferring technology.
Beijing has not discussed the proposal in public since its release last month.
Those in the industry believe it already acts as a deterrent for exporting items listed to countries that are not friendly. An international lawyer in China who represents clients working in the clean energy sector said that it had a "chilling" effect.
The lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said that officials from China's Ministry of Commerce visited several companies in order to discuss the proposal. In one case, they warned against a $1 billion deal being negotiated.
The person said that banks also ask for additional approvals before they sign off on export financing for items on the list.
China's Ministry of Commerce has not responded to any questions. Although it's unclear just how strict the curbs will be, this proposal shows Beijing's willingness and ability to leverage its dominant position in the mining and processing industry for lithium and other vital minerals. The Western auto industry has been affected by China's ban on antimony exports, which was announced in December.
A spokesperson from Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (the joint venture between China’s Tianqi, and Australia’s IGO, which controls the largest lithium mine in the world and the major lithium refinery) said that it was considering its options and taking advice about Beijing's proposed export.
BUILDING A SUBTLE SUPPLY CHAIN
Any disruption in Chinese sorbent exports could affect the plans of Western oil producers who want to extract lithium by limiting their technology options. Exxon Mobil, for example, has looked into the possibility of using Chinese processing equipment in its planned lithium operation, located in Arkansas, the U.S., according to two sources who are familiar with these plans. Exxon declined comment. Koch Industries, which is the largest shareholder in Standard Lithium in Arkansas, has agreed to use sorbents made by China's Xi'an Lanshen New Material Technology for its North American operations in 2023.
A spokesperson for Koch declined comment. A number of Western sorbent manufacturers claim they can take on Chinese competitors, despite the fact that none of them have the same market experience as their Chinese counterparts. Their equipment is also yet to be commercialized. Brian Menell is the CEO of TechMet which invests in Western lithium producers and mining companies. He said, "We must completely change technologies and innovate production and processing without being reliant on China. It has a 20 year head start and controls this game." Francis Wedin, Chairman of Vulcan Energy Resources which has developed their own sorbent technologies that they plan to use in Germany said would-be producers of lithium were lining up.
He declined to name them, but said that they were large lithium companies in North and South America. (Reporting from Ernest Scheyder and Lewis Jackson, respectively in Houston and Beijing; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton and Amy Lv, respectively in Melbourne and Beijing; Editing by Veronica Brown & Barbara Lewis).
(source: Reuters)