Latest News
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Treasury: US imposes new sanctions on Iran's oil sales to military.
The U.S. announced on Thursday that it had imposed 'new sanctions' on the?Irani military oil trade. Washington and Tehran have reached an agreement to extend the ceasefire and remove restrictions on shipping in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury Department announced that it sanctioned eight vessels transporting Iranian crude and petroleum products to international markets. The eight vessels were the Flora oil tanker, flagged by the Marshall Islands; the Hauncayo crude oil tanker, flagged by the Comoros; and the Ill Gap tanker, flagged with the Panamanian flag. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a press release that "we will not allow the Iranian government to increase its oil revenues for the purpose re-establishing its military and armed forces." Donald Trump is yet to sign off on the deal for the war that the U.S. & Israel started on February 28. The conflict has caused global markets to be roiled by the closure of a vital strait between Iran and Oman through which 20 percent of world oil and gas flow. The U.S. has also imposed sanctions on over 15 entities, including Worth Seen Limited in Hong Kong, Symphony Shipping and Maritime Management Inc in Dubai and Mehdiyev Trading Co in Hong Kong.
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At least 52 people have been killed in Colombian clashes between armed groups
A faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia involved in the fighting said that at least 52 guerrillas had been 'killed' in clashes between rival armed groups who were vying for a strategic cocaine-producing and trafficking area in southeast Colombia. The most violent clashes in recent months took place in the jungles near the village of Barranco Colorado, in the Guaviare department. Defense Minister?Pedro Sanchez confirmed on social media that there was fighting in the region, but neither he nor the Army provided details about the death toll. Sanchez stated that troops had been deployed in the area to protect civilians. The guerrilla group reported a total of?52 deaths. The fighting was between a 'dissident FARC faction led by Nestor Gregorio Vera (better known as Ivan 'Mordisco) and another one led?by Alexander Diaz -Mendoza also known as Calarca Cordoba. (Reporting and Writing by Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Daina-Beth Solomon).
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US distillate stocks sink to a 23-year low
The Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that U.S. distillate fuel oil stocks sank to a 23-year low last week as the Iran War continues to choke off global fuel supplies, and increase demand for U.S. petroleum products and crude. Stockpiles of distillates, including diesel and heating oil in the?country, dropped by?2.1m barrels during the week ending May 22, to a total of?100.8m barrels. This is the lowest level since May 2003. Analysts expected a drop of 1.02 million barrels. We'll continue to see U.S. "We're going to continue to see?U.S. Since the Strait of Hormuz was closed, which blocked nearly a fifth of global oil flow, demand for U.S.-made products has been?high. The EIA reported that the exports of petroleum products, which include motor gasoline, distillate oil, and jet fuel, reached 8.1 million barrels during the week. This is an increase of 590,000 barrels over the previous week. The U.S. refineries increased production to "meet increasing demand", with the utilization rate up by 2.9 points from last week.
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Gold prices rebound after Iran and US agree to outline ceasefire agreement
Gold prices rose over 1% on Thursday after hitting a two-month low earlier in the session. The U.S. Dollar and oil prices also eased as a result of the news that Iran and the U.S. had agreed to a ceasefire agreement. Gold spot was up 1.1% to $4,504.07 an ounce at 1:31 pm EDT (1731 GMT) after it fell to its lowest price since late March. U.S. Gold Futures closed 1.1% higher, at $4,532.40. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement on a 60 day ceasefire extension. However, President Donald Trump still has to approve it. The U.S. Dollar index fell by 0.2%, which made greenback-priced gold cheaper for overseas purchasers. Brent prices fell after the report. In line with expectations, the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index rose?3.8% over the 12-month period ending in April. PCE prices rose 0.4% in April after rising 0.7% in march. The trading gods appear to be intervening today in gold. Tai Wong, an independent metals trader, said that the PCE's weakness and reports of a deal imminently opening Hormuz have given gold a much needed reprieve. Gold was on the verge of dropping below the 200-day-moving average early this morning, which many traders and investors deem a litmus test to maintain an uptrend. Bart Melek is the global head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. He said that the PCE data indicates that Federal Reserve could hold rates instead of pursuing a?further tightening. The minutes of the Fed's meeting on April 28-29, published last week, showed that a growing number officials were open to the idea that they might need to increase?rates. Since the U.S. and Israeli?conflict began with Iran late in February, the price of gold has been under pressure due to inflation fears. Bullion, despite its appeal as a safe haven, underperforms in times of rising interest rates, when investors gravitate towards yield-bearing investments. Data showed that China's net gold imports via Hong Kong increased 81.2% from the previous month. Spot silver rose 1.3% to $75.60, while platinum remained steady at $1.918.95. Palladium fell 1.4% to $1371.52. Ashitha shivaprasad reported from Bengaluru, with additional reporting by Anjana Anil. Devika Syamnath and Dita Pujara edited the article.
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US, Mexico launch formal trade talks, haggle over automotive content rules
U.S. negotiators and Mexican negotiators started formal talks on Thursday to revamp the North American Trade Deal. Washington demanded stricter regional origin rules, including a U.S. specific minimum content level for cars?and?trucks?built in Mexico. Two people familiar with U.S. negotiating positions said that the new standard was contained in the proposed text to modify the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement. Although the exact percentage of U.S. auto content demanded by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office is not yet known, the change from the USMCA’s existing content requirements for preferential North American access to the market is notable. Negotiations over the next few months will determine whether or not this six-year old trade agreement and its predecessor have a future. They have helped to create a North American economy that is highly integrated, generating nearly $1.6 trillion annually in trilateral trade. USMCA requires that 75% of the value of a vehicle be sourced in North America. A separate regional value requirement states that 40% of passenger car content built in North America must come from facilities with higher wages, i.e., either the U.S.A. or Canada. This threshold is 45% in the case of pickup trucks and is based on "core parts", such as engines, transmissions body panels, and chassis components. The U.S. specific automotive content requirement would either replace or stack onto the previous regional value requirement which includes Canada. USTR announced on Wednesday that the U.S., Mexico, and Canada will exclude Canada from the current talks, with three bilateral negotiations planned through late July. The current round of negotiations in Mexico City, which ends Friday, is included. USTR's spokesperson failed to respond to a question about the rules of origin. Mexico's Economy Ministry declined to comment. U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer stated on Tuesday that he wants to strengthen North American origin rules to boost manufacturing within the United States. Greer stated, "I believe that during the course of these discussions we will be discussing rules of origin that will enhance U.S. contents in these goods." The duty-free zone ends The Trump administration's tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper and 25% on autos, auto parts, and autos and autoparts, have complicated the discussions over the review. Greer stated that Washington would maintain at least some tariffs against Mexican and Canadian industrial products, but at preferential rates. Dan Ujczo is a lawyer at Canadian oil and natural gas producer Cenovus who specializes in North American Trade. He believes that the U.S., Mexico and Canada can overcome their differences and modify and extend the current trade pact by introducing stronger regional content rules, as well as more trade protections for non-market economies like China. Ujczo stated that the end goal is for Canada and Mexico to have the best access to the United States in the long-term. Steel Protection: More than Ever Barry Zekelman of Zekelman Industries, a steel tube manufacturer, told reporters that USTR negotiators informed steelmakers on Wednesday that they will insist that Mexican and Canadian steel that receives preferential tariff treatment in the U.S. be melted and poured within North America. Zekelman said that there is no requirement for this in the USMCA. Zekelman, USTR's Director of International Trade, said that the USTR wants Mexico to impose tariffs equal to those imposed by the U.S. on steel imports as well as derivative products made out of steel imported from outside North America. He added, "They're going now to start closing all of the existing loopholes." (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith, Rod Nickel; Additional reporting in Detroit by Kalea hall; Writing by David Lawder)
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HIGHLIGHTS-Tennis-French Open day five
Highlights from the French Open's fifth day on Thursday (times GMT). 1730 GAUFF BREAZES PAST SHERIF Coco Gauff, the defending champion, cruised to victory over Egypt's Mayar?Sherif with a score of 6-3 6-2. The American now moves on to the third round where she will play the winner between Britain's Katie Boulter &?Austria’s Anastasia Potapova. 1540 TIAFOE BEATS HURKACZ Frances Tiafoe, last year's quarter-finalist, defeated Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-1 6-4 6-7(1) in a four hour and 43 minute battle. The 19th seed from the United States will play Portugal's Jaime Faria for the third round. 1347 CERUNDOLO KNOCKS TOP SEED SINNER The quest of world number one Jannik Sinner to win his first French Open title was ended by Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round. Juan Manuel Cerundolo defeated the Italian with a score of 3-6 2-6 6-1 6-1 whilst the four-time Grand slam?winner suffered from cramps. 1315 TIEN SETS COBOLLI CLASH Learner Tien, the Australian Open quarterfinalist, won a four-hour match against Facundo?Acosta. He won 7-5 4-6-3-6-7-6(4)-6-3 and will face Flavio?Cobolli in the third round. 1223 SINNER TAKING MEDICAL BREAKS WHILE SERVING FOR MATCH Jannik Sinner, the world number one, has taken a break for medical reasons while preparing to play Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The Italian is leading the second round clash 6-3, 6-2, 5-4. Cerundolo has a 40-0 lead in the match. 1130 COBOLLI THRU TO THIRD RUND The Italian Flavio Cobilli, the 10th seed at the French Open, beat China's Wu Yibing by a score of 6-4 6-4 6-1 6-4. This is the second consecutive year that he has reached the third round. 1115 OSAKA BEATS VEKIC Naomi Osaka, the 16th seed and four-time Grand Slam champion, beat Donna Vekic by a score of 7-6(1) to 6-4. She will now face 17th seed Iva Josic in the third round. Play Under Way 0909 The temperatures in Paris were around 27 degrees Celsius and are expected to peak at 32 degrees. Jannik Sinner, the world's top seed and number one player, will face Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Court Philippe Chatrier in the second round. Aryna Sabalanka is scheduled to play France's Elsa Jacquemot later in the day. FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON THURSDAY (prefix number denotes seeding): COURT?PHILIPPE CHARTRIER (play starts at 1000 GMT). 1-Jannik Sinner (Italy) v Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Argentina) Diane Parry (France), v. 30-Ann Li (U.S.A. 1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Elsa Jacquemot (France) 22-Arthur Rinderknech v Matteo Berrettini COURT -SUZANNE LENGLEN (play starts at 9am GMT) Adolfo Daniel ?Vallejo (Paraguay) v Moise Kouame (France) Julia Grabher (Austria), vs 6-Amanda Anisimova (U.S.A. 4-Coco Gauff (U.S.) v Mayar Sherif (Egypt) Raphael Collignon, Belgium v Ben Shelton, United States COURT SIMONNE MATHIE (play starts at 0900 GMT). Donna Vekic, Croatia vs 16-Naomi Osaka, Japan 25-Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina) v Hugo Gaston (France) 4-Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada) v Roman Andres Burruchaga (Argentina) 9-Victoria Mboko v Katerina Sniakova, (Canada) (Reporting and Editing by Christian Radnedge in Bengaluru)
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China News: Copper prices rise after US-Iran Deal Report
The price of copper rebounded Thursday, following a'report that the U.S.A. and Iran had'reached an agreement to extend their ceasefire. It also followed news about a 'fresh effort by China, a top metals consumer to boost its economy. The report by Axios that President Donald Trump must still approve the deal was not immediately confirmed. The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper gained 1.2% at 1600 GMT to reach $13,696 per metric ton after falling to its lowest price since May 21 (at $13,464). Prices had risen earlier from their intra-day lows after sources reported that the 'China Central Bank' has ordered banks to increase lending in this month. This underscores Beijing's ongoing efforts to support an economy squeezed by high energy costs and persistently weak domestic demand. After the Axios article reported that the U.S. reached a deal with Iran for a 60 day?ceasefire and to begin talks about Iran's nuclear program, oil prices retreated and traded lower. Investors are trying to balance the possibility of lower metals demand as the conflict reduces economic growth with the prospect of copper scarcity due to a lack of sulphuric acids. U.S. Comex Copper Futures increased by 0.9% to $6.43 a lb. This brings the?premium for Comex over LME to 3.5%, or $479 a tonne. Copper has been shipped to the U.S. steadily by traders ahead of the decision expected at the end June on whether or not to impose tariffs. Ewa Manthey is a commodities?strategist with ING. She said, "Copper 'prices' are supported by tariff-driven trade, as material flows into the U.S. in anticipation of possible policy?changes. This has led to a tightening of availability in other areas." LME lead climbed 0.5% to $2.016.50 per ton. This reversed earlier losses, after LME inventories data showed that nearly 30,000 tonnes of metal were deposited into Taiwanese warehouses on Thursday. LME aluminium?gained 0.6%, to $3.658 per ton. Nickel added 0.6%, to $19.065, Zinc rose 1.2%, to $3.553, and Tin advanced 1.6%, to $55,250.
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Talen CEO lands $300 million-plus stock payout
Talen Energy awarded CEO Mark "Mac McFarland" a stock-based compensation of more than $300 million after the Houston company emerged out of bankruptcy and generated an overall return for investors that was 620%. Shares of Talen have soared after its gas-fired plants capitalized on the booming demand for 'electricity by AI-driven data centres in the PJM interconnection, the U.S. largest regional?electric grid. Talen generated $461m in cash flow in the first quarter of 2018, compared with $119m in the same period last year. Talen announced this week that McFarland had received?887.163 shares in restricted and performance stock. According to Talen's stock price on Thursday morning, $382.78 per shares, the?award? is worth approximately $334 million. McFarland’s stock award is linked to Talen’s exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2023. Talen's return on investment has risen by 600% since then. This has triggered a payment of extra performance shares to McFarland. Comparatively, the stock of?Talen has outperformed the total return of?S&P 500 Energy Sector Index by 62% over the last three years. According to a company presentation this month, the tight conditions on the PJM power markets are expected to lead to 'higher gross margins for Talen power plants. Talen stated that'more frequent scarcity situations' tied to peak load conditions, and limited system capacity would further improve the economics for running gas-fired generators.
Viridis, a Brazilian rare earths miner, will sell to US and European buyers instead of China, says CEO
Viridis Mining and Minerals, an Australian rare earths mining company, is in advanced discussions with potential buyers in Europe and the U.S. regarding its Colossus Mine in Brazil's Minas Gerais state, according to CEO Rafael Moreno. He added that the company was not pursuing Chinese interests.
Moreno, Viridis's president, said that the company opened its research and processing center for rare earths in Pocos De Caldas on Thursday. The project is geared towards reaching steady-state production at the end of the year 2028. Moreno said that the facility would produce the first rare earth mixed carbonate from the mine, which will include minerals like terbium and neodymium. It would also help to ease negotiations with buyers.
The opening of the center comes amid a global scramble to find rare earths and essential minerals. Governments in Europe and?the U.S. are trying to reduce their dependency on China for these materials, which is vital for electric vehicles and defense systems.
The CEO said that despite the strong interest in China, the company will only work with Western buyers.
We decided to take the Western route from the beginning. We believe that as supply chains are diversified, we will get a better price for our products, compared to the price suppression China can do when all of the product is sent there. Moreno stated on Wednesday. Discussions with investors and banks have been focused on keeping the project outside of Chinese supply chains.
China is responsible for 60% of the global mine production, and 90% or more of the refined?production?of rare earths. Beijing implemented export restrictions in April 2020 in response to U.S. Tariffs. It has repeatedly defended these?measures by saying that it approves all eligible requests.
Viridis has also operated in Australia and Canada. The center will be able to process 100?kilograms ore an hour.
Moreno stated that the?project? is estimated to cost between $360 and $370 million. He added that this investment could reach $400 million if Viridis was asked to hold more working capital by lenders. The project financing should be completed by the end of the third quarter.
(source: Reuters)