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Euro stocks drop as traders await US jobs data; dollar steady
Early trading Tuesday saw European stocks fall as traders remained cautious ahead of important U.S. employment data. The dollar also remained near its lowest level in the past two months. Investors waited for the U.S. Employment Reports for October and November due later in session. Data collection was delayed during the U.S. Government Shutdown. After the Fed's comments when it reduced rates last week were interpreted as being less hawkish that anticipated, this could affect expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy in the coming year. This would strengthen expectations for further rate cuts by 2026. The stock markets dropped during Asian trading. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell to its lowest level in three weeks. Data showed that growth in China's manufacturing output stagnated to a low of 15 months in November. European indexes opened lower before slightly edging higher. STOXX 600, London's FTSE 100, and Germany's DAX were all down on the day at 0956 GMT. The progress in the Russia-Ukraine talks has contributed to a drop in European defence stocks. The pullback is still in context with stock markets reaching record highs by 2025. STOXX 600 is on track to gain 14.8% in 2025. The MSCI world index fell?by 0.3% for the day, but was up 19.8% over the course of the year. The U.S. jobs report is expected to show that federal cost-cutting has led to a decrease in nonfarm payrolls for October. This will be followed by an increase in job growth for November. "Either the economy accelerates or you get good numbers." You may not have a good number, and therefore expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates further," said Kevin Thozet. CENTRAL BANK METINGS, MORE DATA Investors will also be watching for U.S. Inflation data on Thursday. However, a few key details may not be available. Also, central bank meetings, including the rate decisions of the Bank of England?, the European Central Bank?, and the Bank of Japan. The U.S. Dollar Index was barely changed at 98.204. It fell by less than 0.1% for the day, and is close to multi-week highs against the euro or yen. The euro remained steady at $1.1754 after European PMI data revealed that the growth of business activity in the Euro zone was slower than expected by 2025. Lower energy prices have pushed the euro zone terms of trade (export relative to import prices) closer to the highest levels in the past four years. In a letter to clients, ING's global head of markets Chris Turner wrote: "This is a clean positive for the euro." The German 10-year bond yield was 2.8458, a slight decrease from the previous month. Data showed that the unemployment rate in Britain reached its highest level?since 2021, and the pay growth in Britain's private sector was at its lowest in five years. The UK's five-year and ten-year gilt yields rose after stronger-than-expected ?UK flash PMI data. Bitcoin was trading at $86,341.41, close to its two-week low from the previous session. Gold was near its highest level in seven weeks, boosted by the dollar's weakness and expectations of a rate cut from the United States. Oil prices dropped, falling below $60 per barrel for the very first time since months. Traders believed that a Russia-Ukraine deal was more likely. This raised expectations of sanctions being eased and more oil becoming available, which would lead to lower prices. (Reporting and editing by Sharon Singleton in Paris)
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Copper trades cautiously ahead of US data
Copper prices fell on Tuesday as traders remained cautious ahead of the U.S. employment data and year-end liquidity. The benchmark three-month 'copper price on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.6% to?$11,592 per?metric ton at 0943 GMT. On Friday, it reached a new record high of $11,952 due to concerns about tight supply. Analysts at Sucden Financial say that with thin liquidity and no new fundamental direction, the price swings of base metals have become increasingly exaggerated. This leaves the complex vulnerable to sudden moves towards year-end. Metals used in construction and power are up 33% this year. This is the largest annual growth since 2009. The reason for this is several mine disruptions and a?outflow to U.S. stocks, as well as expectations of future demand from AI data centres and?energy transformation. Nitesh Nitesh, WisdomTree commodities analyst: "It is the supply-side issue that we see this year. We expect the surplus of this year to turn into a deficit in the market next year." He added that "demand may be muted at the moment, but the expectation is that copper will benefit from the electrification of the world." The Yangshan premium This week, the price of copper, which is a good indicator of Chinese demand for copper, has stabilised at $42, its highest level in two months. Aluminium, among other LME metals rose by 0.4%, to $2,876.50 per ton. LME daily data revealed that on-warrant aluminum stocks in LME registered warehouses dropped to 452,600 tonnes after a fresh cancellation of 32,025 metric tons in Malaysia. South32, an Australian company, said that it would take the Mozambique?Mozal aluminum smelter under maintenance and care by the end of March after failing to reach a power agreement with the government. LME lead rose 0.2% to $1944 from $1937.5, its lowest level since May. Zinc dropped 1.5% to $ 3,048.50. Both metals were delivered in large quantities to LME stock, mostly from Singapore. Nickel fell 0.2% to $14,310, after reaching a low of $14.235, which was the lowest in eight months, on Monday. Tin lost 0.6%, falling to $40,720. (Reporting and editing by Tasim Zaid; reporting by Polina Devitt)
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Europe's electric vehicle leaders and laggards
Sales of EVs on the continent have been uneven. They are skewed towards the northern?and _western countries while the nations to the south and east tend to lag. The EU has now eased its emissions targets for the year 2035, despite strong opposition from the industry. It claims that EV demand is?slower than expected? and the transition to EVs will take more time. In Norway, where government subsidies and investments in charging infrastructure have been made to encourage the use of electric vehicles, the data shows that EV sales reached 94% of the 'total car sales' in the first 7 months of 2025. The Nordic countries and other nations in Northern and Western Europe have also invested in infrastructure and provided subsidies to boost sales. In southern and Eastern Europe, EV adoption has been slower. Electric cars are more expensive for most buyers, and the charging infrastructure in certain regions is nonexistent. Inovev data indicates that Croatia has a?1% adoption rate. In the first seven month of this year, the overall take-up rate of EVs in much of the continent was?in low-to-mid-single-digits. The?EU allocated funds to support charging infrastructure, and EV subsidies in the entire bloc. In markets such as Spain, where programmes have been launched to encourage the purchase of electric cars, Chinese automakers have seen a greater benefit than their European competitors.
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Rare protests in Russia over plan to build a church for war dead at a city park
Locals in the southern city Krasnodar, which is home to a riverside park, have made a rare protest against plans to build a memorial church to Russia's war-dead. They publicly appealed for President Vladimir Putin to stop it. A video posted online shows a resident reading out the appeal in front of a large group, which chanted its approval. The message called on Putin to protect the park located in the Yubileiny District, near the Kuban River, as a green area for his children and grandchildren. "We do not oppose religion." "We are for the law", it stated. "The authorities do not listen to us." We have to shout. "Yubileiny is against the development." The date of the public meeting was unclear. In 'Russia, protests are very rare. Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022, virtually all forms dissent have been suppressed. The Kremlin has said that the church is dedicated to the "heroes of the special military operations", which is how they refer to the war. The war connection was not the main focus of the people's opposition. Alexander Safronov is a Communist Member of the Local Parliament. He said that residents are not against the church in principle but do not want to see the embankment developed. Spas, an evangelical religious television channel, said that Krasnodar needed more churches, and called the opponents to the project "raving Communists". Safronov claimed that the channel had "lied?and filth?" on the protesters but that this had only led to their increase in number. In a Krasnodar VK chatroom, the issue was discussed in a lively manner. Some residents complained that there are already too many churches in the city. One person wrote: "Prayers won't solve what is going on in this country." Reporting by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Gareth Jones
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Drafts reveal that the EU will extend the carbon border tax to new products.
Draft documents from the European Commission, seen by, show that the European Union intends to 'extend its upcoming border tax on carbon to include imported products such as car parts, washing machines and refrigerators. This is to close any loophole that foreign firms could use to avoid paying this levy. The EU will publish a set of measures related to the world's first carbon border tariff on Wednesday. This is before the CO2 emissions cost on imported steel, cement, and other goods begins in January. The draft Commission proposal stated that "the proposal will expand the scope of Carbon Border Adjustment to address the risk of carbon leakage in products further down the value chain of the steel and aluminium products which are currently within CBAM scope." Un spokesperson for the Commission declined to comment on this draft which may still be revised before publication. The new tax would be applied to all products Based on an assessment of their exposure to “carbon leakage” - the risk industries will relocate outside Europe to avoid the strict climate policies in the region. The Commission wants to close an existing loophole that allows foreign producers of steel and aluminum to reduce their metal exports to the EU to avoid paying the CO2 fee, and instead ship?assembled products that are heavy in either aluminium or steel, as these products do not currently pay the EU fee. According to the draft, the Commission will "consider" extending the carbon border tax in the future in order to cover additional downstream products from the cement, fertilizer and hydrogen sectors. (Reporting and Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Louise Heavens and Kate Abnett)
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Indonesia auctions 629, 000 metric tons bauxite stocks
An official from the energy ministry said that Indonesia will auction?629,000 tons of bauxite taken over by the government on Tuesday. The auction is expected to earn it about 200 billion Rupiah (12 million dollars). A miners' association warned that the move could harm the industry as the available processing capacity is still limited. Jeffri Huwae said in a?statement that the auction is intended to increase state revenues, and provide legal certainty for assets under government control. Huwae explained that the'stockpile' was the remnants of mining operations conducted by companies with mining permits. These permits are now expired, and the material is still not sold. According to the law, the management of mining operations, and any output produced by the previous operator reverts?to the government upon expiry of the permit. The ministry did not identify the holders of the permits. The auction will begin on Tuesday, and finish on December 22. $1 = 16,690 rupiah (Reporting and editing by David Stanway, Clarence Fernandez).
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Ghana bans mining on forest reserves in order to reduce environmental damage
Ghana has banned mining within forest reserves as part of environmental protections to protect water bodies and stop deforestation. Africa's leading gold producer, which is also the world's largest, is fighting a rise in small-scale mining, which is degrading forests, rivers and cocoa farms. It is also increasing sustainability risks to its mining industry, resulting in protests. Industrial miners have reported frequent incursions of illegal operators on concessions. This has forced key operators such as Gold Fields AngloGold Ashanti Newmont Asante Gold and Newmont to increase their investments in surveillance drones and community engagement programs. According to data from the government, illegal mining has spread across 13 of Ghana's 16 regions. This includes key cocoa belts located in Ashanti, Western, and Eastern. The authorities have been reorganizing the industry by granting licenses to artisanal miner, establishing community schemes and providing'security' in order to stop illegal gold mining and?mining. The Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves Regulations), introduced in 2022 allows controlled mining in forests reserves. The repeal came into effect after a constitutional period of 21 days and will give the second largest cocoa producer in the world stronger legal tools to help protect forests, farmland and water sources,? the ministry stated late Wednesday. Healthy forests protect our farms and give life to communities. "Clean rivers secure our drinking?water and our future," said Acting Environment Minister Emmanuel ArmahKofi Buah. Daryl Bosu, of environmental advocacy group 'A Rocha Ghana', says that the?move marks an important shift in Ghanaian environmental policy. It restores protections for forest after opening up nearly 90% of reserves to mining. "The repeal will not solve all problems. We have the opportunity to address the teething problems of encroachment by logging and agriculture and to implement a national development program to restore and grow forests for present and future generations." Christian Akorlie is the reporter. Maxwell Akalaare Adombila is the author. Mark Potter (editing)
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Copper prices fall on the back of weak Chinese economic data
Prices of copper fell on Tuesday as a result of weak economic data coming from the world's largest consumer, China, and renewed fears about an artificial-intelligence bubble. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper?contract closed daytime trade down 0.79% to?91.840 yuan (about $13,041.01) per metric ton. As of 0700 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper at the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.42% to $10,607 per ton. According to Monday's data, China's factory production slowed down to its lowest level in 15 months, and new home prices also continued to fall. Red metal, used in construction, manufacturing, and power plants, declined because of disappointing data. This is despite the weaker dollar, which supports commodities that are traded in greenbacks by making them more affordable for investors using other currencies. Copper also suffered from renewed fears of the AI bubble burst, which triggered a sell-off after the metal reached an all-time peak on Friday. Nickel, another base metal in the SHFE, fell to a low of 111.770 yuan per ton, a drop of 40 months. The daytime trading closed down by 2.36% at 112,290 yuan per ton. The Shanghai nickel followed the 'London benchmark which fell as low as $14,235 per ton on a Monday. This was the lowest price since April. On Tuesday, the three-month nickel price on the LME fell 0.36%, to $14,295 per ton. Nornickel, a Russian mining giant, raised its nickel surplus expectations on Monday. The 2025 surplus, which is a substantial increase from the 120,000 tons they projected in July, is estimated at 240,000 tons. In 2026, the surplus is also expected to rise significantly from the 130,000 tons predicted in July. Since?2023, nickel, a metal that is used in stainless steel, batteries and other products, has seen a large supply surplus due to a surge in production from Indonesia. The traders stated that the recent weakness is due to the weak demand for?metal before year-end. Nickel pig iron (NPI), Nickel sulfate Since mid-October, the number of shipments has been declining. NPI is used as a "key feedstock" for stainless steel and nickel sulfate, a raw material?for batteries. Shanghai nickel is down more than 11 percent this year and London copper is down by almost 7%. The tin market in?Shanghai posted the largest decline. Daytime trading closed down 3.15 % to 320.620 yuan per ton. Aluminium fell 0.21%, while zinc and lead both lost 1.44%. Tin fell 0.92% on the LME, while zinc dropped by 0.94%. Aluminium gained 0.40%, and lead grew 0.15%.
South32 will mothball Mozambique's smelter by March, as power talks fail
South32, an Australian company, announced on Tuesday that it would place the Mozal aluminium plant in Mozambique, under care and maintenance by March. The cost will be $60 million.
The Perth-based company has been in negotiations with the Mozambique government and power providers for years to come up with an agreement that would allow it to continue its energy-intensive operations.
The parties remained in deadlock over an appropriate electricity rate, which was exacerbated due to the ongoing drought conditions affecting HCB's electricity supply, said South32 CEO Graham Kerr. Kerr was referring to the hydroelectric producer Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa.
Eskom, the South African utility, will take over if HCB, Mozal's primary power supplier, is unable to provide all of Mozal’s electricity needs.
South32 said that the contract expires in March and it has not purchased raw materials to continue operations after this date.
Aluminium production is energy-intensive. This makes a reliable and affordable electricity supply an important concern for producers of aluminium, such as South32.
Mozal, in which South32 has a stake of 63.7%, is a major contributor to the aluminium production by South32, with just under 29% of total aluminum production for fiscal 2025.
South32 reported a $372 million impairment to the Mozal Smelter's results for fiscal year 2025, reflecting "the financial impact" of the shutdown.
The company's shares closed the day at 2% less than they started, just minutes before the news was released. (Reporting and editing by John Biju, Bengaluru. Harikrishnan Nair and Janane Venkatraman)
(source: Reuters)