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Chevron and Quantum Energy will bid for Lukoil's global assets valued at $22 billion.
The Financial Times reported that the U.S. oil giant Chevron, along with private equity group Quantum Energy Partners, are teaming up to bid on the international assets of Russian oil company Lukoil, valued at $22 Billion. Chevron's exploration and production portfolio is diverse, globally. The company continues to evaluate potential opportunities. "In all of its activities, Chevron adheres to a code of ethics for business and follows?laws that are applicable to our business." Quantum, Lukoil, and the White House didn't immediately respond to comments. Reports in November said that Chevron was examining options to purchase Lukoil’s global assets. This would be one of the largest energy acquisitions since sanctions against Russia were imposed for its invasion into Ukraine. Also, in December, it was reported that Saudi Arabian Midad Energy is one of the leading contenders for buying Lukoil's foreign assets. The FT reported that if a deal was reached, Chevron would split Lukoil assets with Quantum. (Reporting from Gnaneshwarrajan in Bengaluru, with additional reporting by Shadia Naralla. Editing by Mrigank Dahniwala. Sonia Cheema. and Elaine Hardcastle.)
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Sources say that Thyssenkrupp is considering a phased sale to Jindal Steel of TKSE.
Four people who are familiar with the talks say that Germany's Thyssenkrupp may sell its steel division to India Jindal Steel International over a period of time, as they try to reach a deal on the complex business. Jindal Steel began conducting due diligence in October, after making a bid indicative for Europe's largest steelmaker. Thyssenkrupp needs to focus on becoming leaner. The deal will help them achieve this. The people who spoke to us said that Jindal would take a majority share in?TKSE in a first move, most likely 60%. The remaining 40% could be acquired in two 20% tranches, or all at once, depending on the progress of restructuring. One person said that a phased transaction could give Thyssenkrupp greater flexibility in addressing the 2.5 billion euro ($2.9 billion) pension liabilities? tied to TKSE, which were a major obstacle in previous sales attempts. No details of the possible structure and impact of a gradual takeover on debt obligations were previously reported. The people stated that due diligence is still ongoing and the terms may change. Following the report, shares of Thyssenkrupp increased by as much as 4.9% and rose to the top spot of Frankfurt's midcaps index. One trader said that a sale was "becoming more concrete after years without finding a buyer". JINDAL STEEL DELEGATION SET FOR JANUARY VISIT TO GERMANY The sale of TKSE will end years of trying to find a buyer. This asset, which is central to Germany's industry heritage, was volatile and expensive to operate in the face of tougher Asian competition. After purchasing the smaller Czech competitor Vitkovice Steel, Jindal Steel International, the international steel division of the Naveen Jindal Group in 2024, this would be a major expansion to Europe. Thyssenkrupp stated in a press release that "all aspects of the deal, including valuations, obligations and future investment will be discussed during any contract negotiations and due diligence." It said: "We can't comment on individual statements at this time, as they are only interim in nature." Jindal Steel International had no immediate comment. According to a second source, a Jindal 'delegation' was due to visit Germany for a technical inspection of TKSE Duisburg in January after a December trip had been postponed. Third source says that a phased takeover will also keep Thyssenkrupp in the TKSE restructuring. Thyssenkrupp's CEO Miguel Lopez stated?last months that Jindal Steel would be a good fit for TKSE. He added that a sweeping reorganization plan to reduce jobs and capacity was what prompted the Indian group’s interest. Lopez, without providing details, said Thyssenkrupp had a backup plan in case talks with Jindal Steel International failed. Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff, Neha Arora and Christoph Steitz. Aditya KALA contributed additional reporting. Adam Jourdan (editor), Mark Potter, and Alexander Smith (editors)
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China's central banks purchases gold for the 14th consecutive month
The People's Bank?of?China (PBOC),?released data on Wednesday, showed that China's central banks extended their gold buying spree for a?14th month. China's gold reserves increased to 74.15 millions fine troy-ounces by the end of December from 74.12 at the previous month. According to the PBOC, China's gold reserve value increased from $310.65 to $319.45 at the end of last month. The gold price, which has long been regarded as a?safe haven asset during political or economic turmoil, soared by?more? than 46% in the past year. This was its biggest annual increase since 1979. This was due to the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and robust purchases by global central banks. The spot gold price was around $4,465 an ounce after hitting a record high of $4,549.71 on Monday. Traders were assessing the potential 'rate-cut path' of the Fed for 2026, and the implications of the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro. In May 2024 the PBOC halted a 18-month gold buying spree, but six months later resumed its purchases.
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Heatwave in Australia's south causes bushfires
Australia's southern region was sweltering in a brutal heatwave Wednesday. Temperatures reached above 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, in some cities. This triggered health warnings and caused power grids to strain. Meteorologists stated that conditions were the worst they had seen in six years when bushfires devastated large areas of southeast Australia and killed 33 people. This was known as the Black Summer. The National Weather Bureau issued extreme or severe heat warnings to the states of New South Wales and Victoria. The weather bureau also warned about extreme fire danger in Victoria and South Australia. Sarah Scully, Senior Meteorologist said: "These elevated fire dangers are driven by an extremely hot air mass that extends from Western Australia and has temperatures exceeding 45 degrees." Authorities in Victoria, where temperatures can reach up to 44 C and 41 C at the state capital Melbourne, have advised residents to remain indoors and stay hydrated. Tim Wiebusch, Victoria's Emergency management Commissioner, said that firefighters are battling multiple fires throughout the state. The conditions will worsen on Friday. He said that the conditions are now spreading across the entire state. "We have already sent out a statewide warning for heatwaves of severe to extreme intensity," he explained. "We want Victorians in particular to be aware of their conditions, and to stay cool." The temperatures also reached 31 C in Sydney, 32 in Perth, and 43 in Adelaide. Some public places, like libraries, extended their opening hours to keep residents cool. Others?like Monarto Safari Park had to close for the day. In Adelaide, more than 2,000 households lost power. I think you need to be calm and not panic in the heat. It's just two or three days. Valdine, a resident of Adelaide, told ABC that it would go down again.
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Nickel prices remain high despite copper nearing record levels
Nickel remained near multi-month highs as expectations of tighter supplies from Indonesia, the top nickel producer, kept it steady at record levels. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded?copper contracts closed the daytime trade?0.11%?higher, at 103410 yuan (14,800.13 dollars) per metric ton. This is still below a previous record of 105500 yuan. As of 0700 GMT the benchmark three-month price of copper at the London Metal Exchange was down 0.87%, to $13,122.50 per ton. This is after it reached an all-time record high of $13,387.50 a ton on Tuesday. Citi raised its copper price forecast for the near term to $14,000 per ton on Tuesday, citing a strong market that exceeded both its baseline and bullish outlook in its December projection. The bank's average 2026 forecast remained at $13,000. Citi stated that January could be the 'peak for copper prices in this year. Without fresh market catalysts supporting its $15,000 bull case scenario, prices will likely 'decline towards a sustainable level of around $13,000. Nickel prices rose to a 19-month high after the Indonesian government cut the mining quotas for 2026. Shanghai nickel closed the daytime trading at 147,720 Yuan per ton. This is the highest level since June 2024. London nickel climbed 0.11% to $18,545 per ton after reaching its highest level since June 2024 at $18,785. Analysts at Sucden?perceive the metal's increase as "more susceptible to near-term profits-taking", citing a weaker fundamental basis. Shanghai tin rose 5.33%, while the London benchmark added 1.22%. Investors will also be evaluating the Federal Reserve interest rate path in this month to get a better idea of how commodities are moving. Fed Governor Stephen Miran stated on Tuesday that the interest rates were too restrictive and that a cut of "more than 100 basis point" is needed to support growth this year. The U.S. attack against Venezuela and the capture President Nicolas Maduro are still in the spotlight. Other base metals in the SHFE rose by 1.18% for aluminium, 0.81% for zinc, and 1.83% for lead. The LME's other base metals saw a drop of 0.37% in aluminium, a dip of 0.28% in zinc, and 0.19% increase in lead. $1 = 6.9871 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Lewis Jackson, additional reporting by Dylan Duan.
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BlueScope Steel shareholders seek price increase for $9 billion purchase offer
BlueScope Steel's investors are hoping for a A$13.2billion ($8.92billion) buyout bid from SGH or U.S. based Steel Dynamics to win their support in selling Australia's biggest steelmaker. BlueScope shares closed?1.12% higher at A$29.87 on Wednesday, a fractional amount below the A$30 offer per share made public on Monday. The BlueScope board has yet to deliver an official recommendation on the all-cash bid, which was the fourth approach from Steel Dynamics put to the Melbourne-headquartered firm since late 2024. According to the agreement, SGH, owned by Australian billionaire Kerry Stokes would purchase BlueScope, and then sell the North American assets of the steelmaker to Steel Dynamics. BlueScope's shares trading near the offer price suggest that the market is expecting the deal to proceed. However, some investors believe the price should be raised to gain their support. Jamie Hannah, VanEck's deputy head of investments, said: "It is good to see some interest in BlueScope. However, looking at the valuations, we think it is not enough." "I think that the way things are going, they will have to increase their offer if they hope to convince any of the shareholders to sign." AustralianSuper, BlueScope’s largest shareholder with a 12,5% stake, refused to comment. The bid could not proceed without its backing, since Australian pension funds are often active in corporate transactions. AustralianSuper rejected Brookfield's bid of $10.6 billion for Origin Energy 2023, saying that the offer was too low. SGH's spokesperson stated that its bid for BlueScope will give shareholders an "immediate, certain?opportunity?to realise a material increase in value and a high attractive premium." BlueScope Steel Dynamics and Steel Dynamics have not responded to our requests for comment. Joseph Koh is the portfolio manager of Blackwattle Investment Partners which owns BlueScope stock and SGH. Macquarie analysts stated in a research report that they felt investors perceived the price to be low, but the deal prospects were real. They said that "a shift in economics and terms is likely to occur as time goes on."
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As global tensions increase, crude oil prices fall and shares decline
Crude futures fell?and stocks in Asia declined as markets struggled to deal with the ramifications and fate of Venezuela's petroleum reserves. The oil prices continued to fall after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that Venezuela would "turn over" up to 50 million barrels to be sold at market price, following the capture and toppling of the nation's leaders. Japanese shares fell sharply while gold and industrials metals were near record highs. Geopolitical tensions in South America and China dominated the yen rally, while investors looked for clues on the timing of possible interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Michael McCarthy, CEO Moomoo Australia & New Zealand's investment platform, stated that the most likely outcome of the turmoil in Venezuela is an increase in the global economy. "Clearly, it's negative for oil prices themselves. But energy costs are crucial to your global economy outlook." He added: "On the flip side, the increased uncertainty in the geopolitical landscape could overwhelm any positive economic benefit." U.S. crude oil fell by 1.66%, to $56.18 per barrel. Brent dropped to $59.94 a barrel. This is a 1.25% drop on the day. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei stock index slid 1.1%. The S&P/ASX 200, a heavily-weighted index in Australia, which is dominated by commodity producers, rose 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.3% after giving up some gains following a three-day rise. The Euro Stoxx '50 futures for?European equity market rose 0.05%. German DAX Futures rose by 0.2%. FTSE Futures fell 0.24%. The S&P 500 eminis futures in the U.S. were down 0.04%. Trump announced on Tuesday that Caracas has reached an agreement with Washington to export Venezuelan crude oil worth up to $2 billion to the United States. The agreement follows a weekend attack on Venezuela and comments from the White House that they were looking at ways to acquire Greenland, with the U.S. using its military as a means of achieving that goal "always being an option". Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is still awaiting drug charges in a New York prison, whereas opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said that she wanted to return to the country to lead it. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket currencies) fell 0.06%, reducing its?0.2% increase on Tuesday. The euro remained at $1.1691, and the yen gained 0.2%, to 156.42 dollars per yen. China announced a ban on dual-use products that could be used to make weapons for export to Japan. This was Beijing's response to the remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takayichi regarding Taiwan. Nickel jumped over 10% in the last session as concerns about supply fueled gains?in industrial resources. The key U.S. employment report due on Friday is likely to influence the market's expectations for monetary policy. The current price of two additional Fed rate cuts in this year has been priced into the market. The JOLTS survey, and ADP private pay on Wednesday are two important events that will likely influence the market's monetary policy expectations. Data from the Asian trading day showed that core inflation in Australia slowed a little and consumer prices increased less than expected. In Japan, a private sector survey showed that the service sector grew at its lowest pace since May. Spot gold dropped 1.1% to $4.448.29 per ounce. Copper fell 1.34%, to $13,060.50 per ton. Bitcoin fell by 0.8%, to $92,496.86. Ether also declined by 0.8%, to $3,247.70. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing, Shri Navaratnam and Rocky Swift from Tokyo)
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Indian jewellers' stock shines on the back of strong festive-quarter sale and higher gold prices
The shares of Indian jewellery retailers rose between 2% to 13% after companies reported strong sales growth for the quarter ending December, driven by robust demand during the festive season despite a rise in gold prices. Titan Company shares rose 4.8%, reaching a record high of 4,307.80 Rupees. The company had reported a 40% increase in sales. Kalyan Jewellers & Senco Gold also?also rose 3.7% & 12.2% respectively after their quarterly update. Spot gold prices rose by nearly 12% in the last quarter of the year, closing out a calendar where precious metals saw their steepest increase since 1979. This was due to geopolitical uncertainty, rate reductions and central bank purchases. Dharmesh kant, the head of equity research for?Cholamandalam Securities, said that higher?prices had an impact on volume, but not (on) overall spending. Kant said that jewellery companies also benefited from the increased cash in people's hands as a result fiscal policies such as GST reductions?and income taxes relief as well as low prices.
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
(source: Reuters)