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LME copper falls on stronger US dollar and thin Asia trade
Prices of copper weakened in the thin Asia trade on Monday as a stronger dollar and increased inventories, combined with weaker?demand, pushed down prices. Benchmark copper prices on the LME fell 0.5% to $12,782.50 per metric tonne at 0328 GMT. The London Metal Exchange's Wednesday settlement or rollover for maturing contracts will likely result in low volumes, and potentially volatile movements due to the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. The dollar held gains for the day, as markets awaited the release on Wednesday of the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting in January to get clues about the timing of possible rate cuts. Holders of other currencies will find greenback-priced metals more expensive. This could reduce demand and lower prices. On Monday, copper stocks in warehouses approved by the?LME increased from 211.850 to 7.975 tonnes. The highest level since April 2025. The metal stockpiles on the three largest metal exchanges in the world have also surpassed 1 million metric tonnes for the first time since more than 20 years, due to a buildup of inventory in response to a softening demand in China. Meanwhile, the world's top copper producer BHP Group reported a stronger-than-expected half-year underlying profit driven by copper, which, for the ?first time, surpassed iron ore in the top global miner's earnings, ?as prices ?for the metal surged on AI-fuelled demand. Other metals saw a 0.6% drop in zinc prices to $3,269.0 per ton, the lowest price for more than a month. Aluminium fell 0.3% to $3,041.0. This is the fourth consecutive session that aluminium has fallen. Lead fell 0.1% to $1.956, while tin rose by 1.5% to $45,225, and nickel remained at $17.100 per?ton. Tuesday, February 17, DATA/EVENTS 0430 Japan Tertiary?Act NSA Dec UK HMRC Payrolls Jan 0700 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Current Conditions Feb (Reporting and Editing by Ishaan Nandy in Bengaluru)
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Exxon's local brand of petrol fined $11.3 Million by Australian court for misleading claims
The Federal Court of Australia fined 'Mobil Oil Australia' A$16m ($11.3m) for misleading claims about fuel sold in petrol stations located in certain parts of Queensland, said the country’s competition regulator on Tuesday. Exxon Mobil owns Mobil Oil Australia, which supplies petroleum, diesel and fuel products to retailers throughout Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took the local unit in 2024 to court. They alleged that the company misled customers about the fuel sold at six branded petrol stations located in Queensland. ACCC released a statement on?Tuesday stating that Mobil had falsely claimed in August 2020 to July 2024 that their "Mobil synergy fuel" contained certain additives. The incident occurred at nine Mobil petrol stations located in north and central Queensland, including the towns and suburbs of Aitkenvale and Barcaldine. The regulator said that the fuel sold at the Mobil petrol stations was substantially the same, or similar to unadditised gasoline available at other non Mobil retail sites. ACCC stated that the claims were made by a variety of signage and branding in?the nine fuel stations that promoted Mobil Synergy Fuel. Mick Keogh, ACCC's Deputy Chair, said that it was very likely some people filled up at these stations thinking they were getting a better quality of fuel for their vehicle engine. In a statement, the ACCC said that the firm's "conduct" was a violation of Australian consumer law. Mobil responded to an email from stating that it had taken steps to either not install'specific benefit claims' on bowsers in the relevant sites, or to cover up or remove these claims at sites where Synergy is not used. The company acknowledged that errors had been made. Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee, Editing by Sumana Naandy.
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Exxon's local brand of petrol fined $11.3 Million by Australian court for misleading claims
The Federal Court of Australia fined Mobil Oil Australia A$16 Million ($11.3 Million) for misleading claims made about fuel sold in petrol stations?in Queensland, said the country's competition regulator on Tuesday. Exxon Mobil owns Mobil Oil Australia, which supplies fuels such as petrol, diesel and other products to retailers in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took the local unit in 2024 to court. They claimed that the company misled its customers regarding fuel sold at six of their branded petrol stations located in Queensland. ACCC stated that Mobil acknowledged on Tuesday it had falsely claimed to consumers between August 2020 and the end of July 2024 that "Mobil synergy fuel" contained certain additives. Nine Mobil petrol station in north and central Queensland were involved. These include the towns and suburbs of Aitkenvale and Barcaldine as well as Biloela and Guthalungra. The regulator said that the fuel sold at the Mobil petrol stations is the same, or substantially the the same, as the fuel available at non-Mobil retail outlets. ACCC stated that the claims were made by a variety of signage and branding in the nine petrol stations which promoted the benefits Mobil Synergy Fuel. Mick Keogh, ACCC's Deputy Chair said: "Petrol is an essential item for many households. There is no other way to know what you are putting into your tank than by relying solely on the signs provided by the retailer." We thought it was very likely that people filled up at these stations because they believed they were getting a better quality of fuel with benefits to their car engines. ACCC added in its statement that the firm's behavior was in violation of Australian consumer law. The regulator stated that Mobil and the ACCC have 'agreed' to jointly submit to the court the proposed orders including penalties. The company did not immediately respond to our request for comment. ($1 = A$1.4152). Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee, Editing by Sumana Niandy
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Japan's Nikkei slips as SoftBank drags; post-election momentum fades
Japan's Nikkei stock average fell on Tuesday as the post-election euphoria waned and U.S. Presidents' Day'market holiday' left 'investors' with 'few' trading 'cues. As of 1300 GMT, the Nikkei Index was down by 0.6% to 56,451.43, extending its slide for a 4th consecutive session. The Topix index fell 0.4% to 3,771.16. Ryotaro?Sawada is a senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory. The price movement seems to be primarily driven by technicals and demand-supply. The post-general-election rally from last week, following fiscal dove Prime Minister ?Sanae Takaichi's landslide victory, also appeared to fade, ?he added. SoftBank shares fell 4.6%. They were the largest percentage losers, and the Nikkei index was weighed down by 170 points. Stocks of the technology and investment conglomerate have been fluctuating, with gains and losses in each of the last four sessions. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a manufacturer of general engineering, lost nearly 4%, while Recruit Holdings - a provider of human resources?services - also suffered. Sumitomo 'Pharma', despite the overall sombre 'trend', turned out to be the biggest percentage gainer, with a 6% increase, just as Japan's Health Ministry is set to review its iPS cell therapy for advanced Parkinson disease. Sojitz shares jumped?5.7% following the announcement that it will increase imports of Australian rare earth elements from Lynas Rare Earths. Sumco, the high-purity maker of silicon, rose nearly 5%.
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Oil prices steady as traders assess supply risks ahead of key US-Iran discussions
Investors assessed the risks of a supply disruption after Iran conducted naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, just before nuclear talks with the U.S. that day. Donald Trump, the U.S. President, said on Monday that he will be "indirectly involved" in the Geneva talks. He also stated that he believes Tehran is interested in a deal. Trump stated at the weekend that a regime change in Iran would be "the best thing to happen." Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to $68.59 per barrel at 0106 GMT after a 1.3% rise on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was $63.73 a barrel, up 84c or 1.34%. However, the price increase included the entire Monday's movement as the contract had not settled that day because of the U.S. Presidents Day holiday. There are many markets closed for Lunar New Year on Tuesday, including those in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore. In a recent research report, Daniel Hynes, a?ANZ analyst, stated that "the market remains unsettling amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty." The risk premium built into the oil price could quickly unwind if the tensions in the Middle East were to ease or if meaningful progress was made in the Ukraine crisis. Oil prices could be boosted by a negative outcome, or if the situation escalates. Iran started a military exercise on Monday at the Strait of Hormuz. This is a crucial international waterway and oil export path from Gulf Arab countries, who have appealed for diplomacy in order to resolve the dispute. Iran, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates Kuwait and Iraq, export the majority of their crude oil via the strait to Asia. Citi also said that if disruptions in Russian supply continue to keep Brent at $65-$70 per barrel in the coming months, OPEC+ will likely respond by increasing production from spare capacity. Three OPEC+ sources have said that OPEC+ is leaning toward a resumption of oil production increases in April as the group prepares to meet 'peak summer demand, and prices are bolstered due to tensions between U.S. and Iran relations. Citi stated that "it is our base case" that both Iran's and Russia's-Ukraine's deals will happen before or during this summer, contributing to the decline of prices to $60 to $62 per barrel Brent. (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Buckland)
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BHP profits beat forecasts, as copper outperforms iron ore on AI-driven demand
BHP Group reported a stronger-than-expected ?half-year underlying profit driven by copper, which for ?the first time surpassed iron ore in the top global miner's earnings, ?as ?prices for the red metal surged on AI-fuelled demand. BHP's shares jumped 7% to an all-time high, with investors applauding a much stronger-than-expected dividend and the prospect of sizeable payouts ahead, despite falling iron ore prices. The result is impressive as the demand for copper continues to grow, driven by the rapid increase in power consumption for artificial intelligence data centers and the move towards cleaner energy. This is driving competition between mining giants for high quality copper assets. BHP, world's largest copper producer, played down the importance of acquisitions and highlighted its own growth options. Last year, BHP walked away from an offer to purchase Anglo American. Visible Alpha's consensus was $6.03 billion. The underlying profit attributable for the first half rose by 22%, to $6.20 Billion. BHP declared a dividend of 73c per share. This was higher than the market estimate of 63c, and represents a payout of 60%. Andy Forster said, "It was an excellent result," a BHP investor and portfolio manager for Argo Investments. "They exceeded everyone's dividend expectations." BHP's operating profits for the six-month period ending December 31 were $7.95 billion, which is higher than the $7.50 billion earned by iron ore. This represents 51% of BHP's total operating earnings, which were $15.46 billion. This was due to a 32% increase in the realised price of copper and a surge in precious metals prices. Iron ore production in the first half of 2008 was at a record high, and prices rose as well. Inflation is driving up production costs, and the 'push' to concentrate on copper coincides with an?expected ease in iron ore prices as supply increases over the next few years. This week, iron ore prices fell to a low not seen in seven months. Iron ore unit costs increased by 7%, to $19.41 a metric ton during the first half of 2018. Takeovers - No Burning Required BHP's Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry stated on a conference call with media that given the company's organic growth options it did not feel any pressure to pursue acquisitions or mergers in order to grow copper. He said that he had the means to pursue the few discrete opportunities that would fit our very strict criteria, but he didn't feel a burning need to do so. Rio Tinto was negotiating to purchase Glencore. The deal would have been a major one for the global copper industry, but Rio Tinto backed out of the talks earlier this month, citing disagreements over valuation. BHP is pushing to increase its copper production towards the end decade. It raised the lower end of its copper output forecast for this coming year to between 1.9 and 2 million tons in January. This was due to strong operational performance at its copper assets. It announced on Tuesday an 18 billion dollar multi-year plan for developing copper, gold and silver mines in northern Argentina at its Vicuna Corp. joint venture with Canada’s Lundin Mining. The unit is capable of producing more than 500,000 tonnes of copper per year in peak production by the end next decade. Henry stated that "tough negotiation" continued with?China regarding iron ore supplies as CMRG (the state buyer) tries to get better terms for Chinese Steelmakers. He said that he is confident the issues will be solved, but it will take some time. BHP reported that it had experienced a 'price impact' from CMRG’s ban on Jimblebar Fines in its quarterly report for January, but didn't provide any further details in its earnings report. The miner has announced an agreement to stream silver with Wheaton Precious Metals. Wheaton will pay $4.3 billion upfront at the completion of the project, and deliver silver from Antamina's share of production. Henry explained that this payment was part of the $10 billion BHP is aiming to raise through existing assets. This could boost BHP's dividend payout for the entire year.
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Oil prices rise on US-Iran talks, causing a cautious start for Asian markets
The Asian financial markets treaded carefully in Tuesday's holiday-thinned trade, but oil prices rose as U.S.?and Iran nuclear negotiations in Geneva were due to start later that day. The markets in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Taiwan were closed Tuesday to celebrate Lunar New Year. Monday,?U.S. markets were closed for Presidents' Day. The Nikkei fell 0.5% and the Topix, which is a broader index, dropped 0.2%. The S&P/ASX200 index in Australia was almost 0.5% higher. The 10-year Treasury yields fell 1 basis point on Tuesday to 4,044%, the lowest since December. Japan's 5-year yield dropped 2 basis points to 1,65%, its lowest level since February 2. Early Asian trading hours saw Nasdaq Futures down by 0.1%, and S&P500 Futures up by 0.2%. The dollar index (a measure of U.S. currency compared to major rivals) was flat last night at 97.07 after a slight gain of 0.2% overnight. The weakening of Japan's economy was the main topic on Tuesday after GDP figures that were much lower than expected. On Monday, the country reported that its economy had grown by an annualised 0.2% during the fourth quarter. This was far below the forecasted 1.6% increase. Government spending was a drag on the activity. The Japanese yen rose 0.15% to 153.28 dollars per yen on Tuesday. Economists say that the weak figures should encourage Prime Minister Takaichi to push for more aggressive fiscal stimuli. BOJ will meet again to discuss rates in March. Traders predict a slim chance of a rate hike. Last month, economists polled predicted that the central bank would wait until July to tighten policy again In a research note, NAB analysts stated that the market had likely assumed the softer GDP figures in the fourth-quarter would encourage PM Takaichi to offer more fiscal support and lower the sales tax for food. The pricing for BoJ rate increases has been a little lower since the GDP data. Only 4 basis points have been priced for the March meeting, and 16 basis for April. The central bank of Australia said that it was unable to predict the future direction of inflation if they had not increased interest rates this month. They were not sure yet if any further tightening is required. Prices of oil were higher before U.S. Iran?talks aimed to de-escalate tensions?against a background of expected OPEC+ production increases. West Texas Intermediate crude in the U.S. was up by 1.29%. Brent crude futures rose 1.33% overnight. The semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy held a drill on Monday in the 'Hormuz strait, just a day before the renewed Iran-U.S. Nuclear?negotiations. About 20% of the world's oil is shipped through this passage. Analysts at ANZ said that geopolitical uncertainty is still causing investors to be cautious, as they await the outcome of US-Iran and Ukraine talks this week. In recent weeks, speculation has increased. The risk premium built into oil could quickly unwind if tensions in the Middle East ease or a meaningful breakthrough is made regarding the Ukraine conflict. Gold fell 0.85% to $4949.5 an ounce, as the dollar rose on Monday and made gold priced in greenbacks more expensive for holders other currencies. Silver spot was down 2%. (Reporting and editing by Scott Murdoch)
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Trump declares that the US government will step in to protect Potomac River following sewage leak
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that the federal government would step in on Monday to protect the Potomac River after a major sewer pipe collapsed in Washington, D.C., last month. In a post on social media, Trump said: "I'm directing Federal Authorities immediately to provide all necessary management, direction, and coordination to protect the Potomac River, the Water Supply of the Capital Region, as well as our precious National Resources in our Nation’s Capital City." Maryland's Democratic governor Wes Moore has accused the Republican administration of failing to act on this issue. He also said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had not attended a legislative hearing held Friday?on cleanup. The spokesperson for the Governor said that the Trump administration had not gotten the memo about their actual responsibility here. She added that the federal government was responsible for the Potomac Interceptor sewage line, the source of the sewage spill. On January 19, a sewer line collapsed in Montgomery County, Maryland. This caused an 'overflow of over 240 million gallons of wastewater (909 million liters). The University of Maryland has called it the largest sewage spill in U.S. History. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have found high levels of bacteria that cause disease and fecal pathogens. This raises urgent concerns for public health and highlights the dangers posed by an aging sewer system. The EPA stated that it did not invite Maryland state legislators to brief them on the spill, as DC Water and Maryland had led the response to the leak. The EPA will continue to perform its oversight function, coordinate with DC Water, and inform Congress. FEMA TO STEP IN, SAYS PRESIDENT Trump stated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has experienced significant staff reductions since Trump took office in early 2025 will coordinate the response. Climate activists have criticised Trump's reductions in domestic climate regulations as well as the U.S. withdrawing from global environmental agreements. Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C., said that she had no comment about Trump's announcement, but pointed out a page from the website of the local government which stated that?drinking waters in the area were safe and weren't affected by the sewage leak. According to the website,?DC Water has been working on measures that will contain the spill and fix the pipeline. Trump, since returning to the White House in 2017, has tried to exert control over Democratic-led areas, including the nation’s capital. He has done this by using armed immigration agents, National Guard troops and threats of?cutting federal funding. Since Trump's first deployment in August, more than 2,000 National Guard soldiers have been stationed in Washington. Trump claims that his actions are meant to improve domestic security. Democrats and rights activists say that these actions are aimed at political opponents, and they amount to federal overreach. (Reporting and editing by Scott Malone; Paul Simao, Lisa Shumaker, and Scott Malone)
Mines minister: Botswana will expand exploration beyond diamonds
Mines Minister Bogolo Kenewendo said on Tuesday that Botswana will increase its mining exploration to include critical minerals. The country is looking to diversify away from diamonds and survey the 70% of its territory which remains unexplored.
Long regarded as an African success, the country in Southern Africa has been hard hit by the prolonged decline of the global diamond industry, driven by the economic uncertainty and growing popularity for lab-grown gemstones.
About one-third of Botswana’s revenue is generated by diamonds, and about three-quarters comes from its foreign exchange earnings.
U.S.
Kenewendo stated that while diamonds would be the "backbone" of the mining industry, the government is pushing forward with plans to "widen the mineral basis, including critical minerals."
She said that a newly formed state-owned exploration firm would be focused on increasing?exploration standards.
"We did more exploration to find diamonds than other high-value mineral. Kenewendo said on the sidelines a mining conference for Africa in Cape Town that "we're now going to change this." If you have only explored 30% your country, this shows that we are very focused on diamonds.
Investors are hesitant to invest in exploration. She added that you can lose a lot of cash by exploring but not finding anything. We want to make sure that we are armed with the correct data and that we know where to look so that we decide whether we want to invest in that area.
Botswana has the highest value of diamonds in the world and is a hotspot for copper mining.
As the two largest economies in the world, China and the U.S., compete to get their hands on resources such as copper and cobalt, interest in critical minerals has grown.
Kenewendo said the U.S. expressed interest in exploring and mining with Botswana, but that discussions were still at an early phase.
She said, "We'll see what happens." "We are just investing in general in the mineral sector." (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo. Mark Potter (Editing)
(source: Reuters)