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Sources say that the Saratov refinery in Russia was shut down on 11 November after drone attacks.
Two industry sources said that the Saratov refinery in Russia, located on the Volga River, halted primary oil refining after Ukrainian drone attacks on 11 November. Sources claim that the plant may remain closed until the end the month. Ukraine has intensified drone attacks in Russia. The aim is to destroy oil refineries and depots, and shut down pipelines, as well as Moscow's main source of funding the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military announced on Tuesday that it had conducted strikes against the Saratov refinery. The attack caused a fire and explosions in the surrounding area. On Friday, the plant was also struck. On Friday, the governor of Saratov said that drones had caused damage to civilian infrastructure. According to sources and an online video purporting that it shows the attack on the refinery plant, a large storage tank caught fire. Rosneft which controls the plant did not respond to a comment request. Sources said that the CDU-6 crude distillation unit could be damaged. This is the only primary processing unit of the plant. The nameplate capacity of the plant is around 20,000 metric tonnes, or 147,000 bbls. Saratov's refinery will process 5.8 million tonnes of oil in 2024. This is around 2.2% the total amount of oil processed by Russia. The refinery produced 1.9 millions tons of diesel and 1.2 million tonnes of gasoline, as well as 1 million tons fuel oil. (Reporting and Editing by Louise Heavens).
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Gold falls over 3% after hawkish Fed remarks spark market sell-off
Gold prices fell more than 3% Friday, as a result of a wider market sell-off sparked off by hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials. This lowered hopes for an interest rate reduction in December. As of 9:02 am, spot gold was down 3.1% at $4,041.01 an ounce. ET (1153 GMT). The bullion price is still up 1.4% this week. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 3.6% to $ 4,043.10 an ounce. David Meger is the director of metals at High Ridge Futures. He said that the idea that there will be a lower likelihood of a Fed cut in December has taken some of the wind from the silver and gold markets. The equity markets fell after the global selloff caused by Fed hawkish signals. The Fed and traders are now in the dark ahead of the next policy meeting due to a data gap created by Thursday's end of the longest U.S. shutdown. Investors were hoping that fresh data would indicate a slowing of the economy, giving the Fed the room to reduce rates in December. This would boost the appeal for non-yielding metals like gold. These expectations were dimmed when more Fed policymakers took a cautious approach to additional monetary ease. The FedWatch tool of CME Group showed that market expectations of a 25 basis point rate cut in January fell from 64% to 53% earlier this week. Gold that does not yield a return tends to do well in periods of economic instability and low interest rates. When margin calls or liquidations occur, traders will close all positions to release margin. In this environment of risk-off, even gold prices are down. This is partly explained by Fawad Rasaqzada's note, a market analyst for City Index and FOREX.com. The demand for physical gold in major Asian markets has been subdued over the past week. Silver spot fell 3.7%, to $50.38 an ounce, but is still on course for a gain of 4.6% per week. Palladium fell 3.3% and platinum dropped 3.6%, to $1,379.18. (Reporting and editing by Noel John in Bengaluru, Pablo Sinha from Mumbai; Leroy Leo).
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China pledges to boost its consumption and better balance supply and demand
China's cabinet promised on Friday to boost the consumption of goods and services by aligning them with consumer demand. They also pledged to use consumption improvements to drive industrial upgrades. This was revealed in a read-out broadcast by CCTV. The cabinet said that it would also create an environment that is conducive to consumption and improve products and services in consumer finance. Chinese leaders have indicated a more radical shift toward Supporting consumption Over the next five-year period, trade tensions and a limited investment space will expose vulnerabilities. China's The structural imbalances continued to persist in October. In October, industrial output increased by 4.9% on a year-on year basis. This was the lowest growth rate in more than a year. Retail sales, a key indicator of consumption, rose only 2.9%. To combat the persistent pressures of deflation, the government has intensified its efforts to reduce overcapacity among companies and to stop price wars. The readout stated that the cabinet at the meeting presided by Premier Li Qiang said, "Improving the alignment between demand and supply is an effective way to unleash further consumption potential." The cabinet stated that "Industrial upgrade should be driven by consumption upgrade, and high quality supply should better satisfy diverse demands. This will achieve a higher level dynamic balance between demand and supply." The cabinet said that firms should increase the supply of high-quality, distinctive consumer goods and upgrade safety and environmental standards. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom, Kevin Yao and Peter Graff. Editing by Peter Graff.
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Bulgaria is exempted from UK sanctions on refineries and petrol stations
Britain paused sanctions on Friday, allowing Bulgaria's Burgas Refinery and petrol stations owned by Russia's Lukoil to continue doing business with banks and companies. Last month, the UK announced sanctions against Russia's biggest oil companies Rosneft, and Lukoil. A week later, the U.S. did the same in an effort to cut off the funding of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in Britain said that it had issued a license allowing economic resources and payments to flow from and to two Bulgarian entities for existing or new contracts. The law allows banks and companies to transact with Lukoil Neftochim Burgas AD, Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD and Lukoil Bulgaria EOOD as operators of the refinery, petrol stations and their subsidiaries until February 14, 2019. Sources close to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control have confirmed that the U.S. will issue a similar license regarding the Bulgarian entities on Friday. Boyko Borissov is the leader of the largest coalition party in Bulgaria. He told local media on Friday that he hopes the country will be granted a six-month exemption from U.S. sanctions. Requests for comments were not immediately responded to by the White House or Treasury Department. Assen Asenov told Bulgarian news agency BTA that the country's gasoline and diesel reserves were running out in a few weeks. (Reporting and editing by Sarah Young, Jason Neely and Sam Tabahriti from London)
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Brazilian protesters barricade the entrance to the COP30 Climate Summit
On Friday morning in Brazil, dozens of indigenous protesters blocked the entrance of the COP30 Summit venue. They staged a sit-in which forced delegates into a side door to resume their climate change negotiations. During the peaceful protests, security guards increased checks, and long queues formed to get into the compound. The sprawling complex is built on an old airport site in the Amazonian city of Belem. The venue hosts the annual U.N. Climate Conference where delegates of 195 countries are trying to make progress in halting global temperature rises that threaten delicate ecosystems, including the Amazon rainforest. The protesters demand that the Brazilian Government halt all development projects in Amazonia, including oil drilling, mining, logging and building a new railroad for the transport of mining and agricultural goods. "President Lula we are here because we want to hear you. "We refuse to be sacrificed in the name of agribusiness," said the Munduruku indigenous group, which carried out the protest. The Brazilian president Luiz inacio Lula da S Silva highlighted Indigenous communities as being key players at this year's COP30. The Amazon rainforest is home to the Munduruku Territory, which covers an area of nearly 24,000 sq km (9 square miles), roughly the same size as the U.S. State of New Hampshire. The Munduruku statement also added: "We protect the climate and the Amazon, but it cannot be destroyed for the benefit of big corporations." Andre Correa do Lago, the COP30 president, was seen negotiating outside the venue. The U.N. Climate body stated that the protest was not dangerous. On Tuesday, dozens Indigenous protesters forced themselves into the COP30 venue. They clashed at the entrance with security guards. Later, they defended their actions by saying that they wanted to show the desperation in their fight for forest conservation. (Reporting and editing by William James, Andrew Heavens and Valerie Volcovici; reporting by Adriano Makado and Valerie Volcovici)
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Reliance will build a 1 gigawatt AI Data Centre in Andhra Pradesh, India
Reliance Industries will build a 1 gigawatt AI datacenter in Andhra Pradesh in India, announced the chief minister of the state on Friday. This is a major addition to the infrastructure in India, where companies like Microsoft and Google have invested heavily in AI. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, did not reveal financial details about the investment. Reliance didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Companies are investing heavily in building new infrastructure around the world to meet the booming demand for AI-based services. India is an important growth market, where almost a billion people access the internet. Google committed last month to investing $15 billion over five years in an AI datacenter in Andhra Pradesh. This was its largest investment ever in India. Microsoft and Amazon also invested billions in building data centers across India. Reliance’s planned data centre will function as a twin of its gigawatt scale AI data center located in Jamnagar, Gujarat. "Together they form one of Asia’s strongest AI infrastructure network," Naidu stated. AI demands enormous computing power. This is driving the demand for data centers specialised to enable tech companies link thousands of chip clusters together. The Reliance Group, headed by Indian billionaire Mukesh Amani, includes Jio - India's top telecoms provider - Reliance Retail Ltd., Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. and Jamnagar – India's biggest oil complex. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Susan Fenton, and Munsif Vengattil from Bengaluru)
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Sources say that Chevron, Phillips66 and Total won India's first bid to purchase US LPG.
Two trade sources familiar with the matter confirmed that Indian state refiners awarded their first long-term joint tenders in 2026 to Chevron Phillips 66, and TotalEnergies Trading SA for the import of U.S. liquefied gas. India is planning to increase energy imports to the U.S. in order to reduce its trade surplus. This is a major irritation for President Donald Trump who imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports. The three refiners wanted to jointly purchase 48 large gas carriers or 2 million metric tonnes of LPG by 2026. LPG, a mixture of butane and propane, is used to cook. It is imported by Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp., and Hindustan Petroleum Corp., and sold for a subsidised rate. Sources said that the tenders allowed the winners to choose LPG from any origin as part of one cargo for every four awarded. Details on the number and price of cargoes that were awarded to each entity as well as the details of the awarding process are not yet available. Emails seeking comment from the three Indian companies Chevron Phillips 66, and Totsa were not immediately answered. In July, it was reported that India intends to import about 10% of cooking gas from the U.S. starting in 2026. India bought cargoes of U.S. LPG this year to take advantage of an arbitrage opportunity as China, embroiled in a trade war with Washington, reduced purchases. As part of a larger trade agreement, India announced in April that it would eliminate import taxes on certain U.S. goods, including LPG. India will be less dependent on Middle Eastern suppliers if it imports more U.S. LPG. According to data from the government, in 2024, South Asia will import about 65% its 31 million tons of LPG. About 90% of the 20.4 million tonnes imported by refiners were under contracts with UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. Saudi Aramco, a major Middle East producer, has already reduced the official price of propane Butane India's plans to diversify LPG imports have pushed prices down to a minimum of a two-year-low. Reporting by Nidhi verma. Mark Potter edited the article.
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Gold drops as Fed cuts fade amid hawkish Fed comments
Gold prices reverted earlier gains on the Friday, as hawkish remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve officials lowered prospects for a rate cut in December. However, they remain set for a week-long gain due to wider economic uncertainty. Gold spot fell 0.6%, to $4145.49 an ounce at 1153 GMT. It had been $4211.06 per ounce earlier in the session. Bullion has risen 3.7% this week. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell by 1.1%, to $4.149 per ounce. The cautious mood on financial markets is helping to support gold prices. However, there are growing doubts that the Federal Reserve will cut rates in December due to the lack of new economic data, said ActivTrades Analyst Ricardo Evangelista. After a 43-day record shutdown, which disrupted the flow of important economic data, the U.S. Government reopened. White House tempered expectations for clarity about the economy by stating that it may not be possible to get October's unemployment statistics. Evangelista stated that "Gold could also face pressure from the closing of positions to meet margin demands triggered by falls in equity markets." The equity markets fell on Friday following a global selloff caused by Fed hawkish signals. Some Federal Reserve officials, in weighing on expectations of rate cuts, have cited inflation fears and relative labor market stabilization following two rate reductions earlier this year. CME Group's FedWatch tool shows that traders see a probability of 49% for a rate cut by a quarter point in December. This is down from 64% this week. Alex Ebkarian is the COO of Allegiance Gold. He noted, however, that as the shutdown costs become clearer and spending increases, "the inflation plus uncertainty growth regime favors precious metals". Gold that does not yield a return tends to do well in periods of economic instability and low interest rates. The physical gold market in major Asian markets has been subdued as high prices have curtailed purchasing activity. In India, discounts reached their highest level for five months. Silver spot edged down by 0.1%, to $52.26 an ounce, and is on course for a 7.8% weekly gain. Palladium fell 1.7%, to $1402.75, while platinum dropped 2%, to $1548.80. (Reporting and editing by Philippa Feletcher, Harikrishnan Nair; Anmol Choubey from Bengaluru)
Ghana abolishes taxes on mineral exploration to boost investment
Ghana's finance minister announced that the country will eliminate value-added taxes on mineral exploration and reconnaissance in order to increase investment. The top producer of bullion in Africa is looking to reverse two decades of slow new development.
The levy was introduced 25 years ago in Ghana as part of broader fiscal reforms.
The 15% tax is applied to exploration costs such as drilling, assaying and other related expenses. This increases the upfront costs of companies that are in the early stages of mining project.
Ghana Chamber of Mines and other industry groups have long claimed that the tax discourages greenfield investment, and reduces Ghana's competitiveness against countries like Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, who exempt exploration of VAT.
Cassiel Ato Forson, during Thursday's presentation of the budget for 2026, told the parliament that eliminating VAT would boost investor confidence, encourage greenfield development, and guarantee the sustainability of the mining sector in the country.
Forson said that the measure is part of a wider VAT review and aims to promote responsible mining, and reduce unregulated prospecting, which has led to degraded forest and waterways.
SMALL-SCALE MINING DRIVES RECORD GOLD OUTPUT
Ghana's small-scale gold exports reached record levels between January and October.
According to data from the finance ministry, shipments soared to 81.7 tons, worth approximately $8.1 billion. This was a first, as they surpassed large-scale exports, which were 74.1 tons, worth $6.6 billion. Ghana had set a target of producing 144.5 tons gold by 2025.
Forson stated that the surge in exports is a result of recent reforms to regulatory laws, which formalised artisanal mines and tightened controls on exports.
The Chamber of Mines has welcomed the removal of VAT.
Michael Akafia said that the VAT on exploration was hurting its competitiveness and causing a blockage in the pipeline.
Gold, bauxite, and manganese are the main minerals in Ghana's mining industry, which contributes to over a third (33%) of its export revenue.
This month, the government began an audit as part of a broader reform to increase earnings in the industry.
Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Perseus, and China's Zijin & Cardinal Namdini are major operators. Christian Akorlie, Emmanuel Bruce and Christian Akorlie (Reporting). Maxwell Akalaare Adombila is the author. Mark Potter (editing)
(source: Reuters)