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US and Mexico develop coordinated trade policies for critical minerals
On Wednesday, the United States and Mexico unveiled a plan of 60 days to develop coordinated trade policies that would mitigate vulnerabilities in vital mineral supply chains. The plan does not mention China or its chokehold over the processing of many minerals. Instead, it calls on both nations to consult about including price floors into a binding multilateral agreement on trade. Separately, U.S. vice president JD Vance announced plans on Wednesday to rally allies to a preferential trading bloc for critical mineral?as Washington intensifies efforts to shore-up supply chains vital to advanced manufacturing. U.S. Aims to fix vulnerable supply chains U.S. Trade representative?Jamieson greer said that the U.S. Mexico plan highlighted the countries' shared commitment in addressing global market distortions which have left North American supply chain vulnerable to disruptions. The plan stated that "correcting these vulnerabilities was imperative as critical minerals were strategic assets integral to innovative and modern industrial economies and diverse, resilient and market-based supply chain are essential for our national and economic security." This comes just months before the mandatory review of?the U.S., Mexico and Canada?trade agreements. The USTR press release and the joint action plan did not mention Canada. Unnamed sources in the Canadian government said Ottawa is more concerned with reviewing the USMCA than striking individual deals. Source: The initial assessment of the U.S. Mexico deal was that Canada would not necessarily be favored by the terms. When asked why Canada was not included in the agreement, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson responded that Ottawa had worked closely with allies to develop critical minerals and the supply chain. Ottawa also played a leading role as it held the presidency of the Group of Seven Advanced Economies (G7AE) for 2025. The USTR said that the agreement with Mexico is the first of its type, but it also stated that they are working on developing coordinated trade policies for critical minerals as well as binding plurilateral deals with other likeminded trading partners. The U.S., Mexico and other countries agreed to identify specific mining and processing projects in order to meet the critical mineral needs of both countries as well as certain third-country countries. However, no specifics were given. According to the plan, U.S. and Mexican officials will consult about price floors and ways they can be incorporated into an agreement plurilateral on trade of critical minerals. These could include trade actions, standards of regulation for mining and processing; technical and regulatory co-operation; investment promotion, screening and coordination. The plan also suggested that other possible tools include coordinated responses for preventing disruptions in supply chain, research and development of innovative technologies and coordinated stockpiling. Reporting by Andrea Shalal, with additional reporting from Divyarajagopal at Toronto; editing by Alistair Bell and Rod Nickel
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Pandora launches platinum-plated jewelry as silver prices soar
Danish jewellery company Pandora announced on Wednesday that it will begin selling 'platinum-plated' versions of some of its most popular bracelets. The move is part of an effort to reduce the cost impact of the.historical.surge in the price of silver. Berta de Pablos Barbier, Pandora's CEO, said, "With this innovative technology, we can navigate new realities in raw material costs and offer consumers precious metal jewelry that is well-suited to everyday wear." She began her job?in January. Pandora, which sells charm bracelets that start at $70 and lab-grown diamond jewellery at its own factories, in Thailand, faces pressure from U.S. tariffs as well as lower-income consumers who are cutting back on their spending. The company expects its organic revenue to grow?by maximum 2% and at worst, to decline by 1% this year. The group stated in a press release that "the macroeconomic outlook for 2026, and the general consumer climate are associated with elevated levels of uncertainty." It anticipates an operating margin of 21% to 22% in 2026. This is down from 23,9% in 2025. Silver, the company's primary raw material, was expected to?more that double in 2025. Pandora stated that the decrease in operating profit margin will be most noticeable in the first quarter. The rest of the year will see a gradual improvement. Pandora's fourth-quarter organic sales growth was 4%. This is down from the 11% reported a year ago, but still in line with estimates made by analysts in a?poll conducted by the company. Pandora announced that it would use a third party to produce its products with platinum plating at first, before using more of its factories in Thailand or Vietnam. The plating will cover a metal alloy "Evershine", which Pandora uses to make its gold-plated items. A spokesperson refused to reveal what metals Evershine contains, a trademarked product. (Reporting from Anna Peverieri, Louise Rasmussen, and Helen Reid, in London and Copenhagen; editing by Chris Reese and Alan Barona)
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Dollar higher as global stock index drops with tech under pressure
MSCI's global equity gauge fell on Wednesday, with technology stocks leading the losses on Wall Street. The dollar rose broadly after the latest U.S. data on economic growth and silver outperformed the gold price following their recent drop. Oil prices rose for the second day in a row as U.S.-Iran appeared to be at odds on certain elements of their nuclear talks plan, which is expected to take place on Friday. Tuesday, crude prices spiked after the U.S. shot a drone carrying an Iranian flag and armed boats approached U.S.-flagged vessels in a key waterway. Investors reacted to economic data by increasing the yields on U.S. Treasury bonds. ADP's earlier national employment report revealed a slower-than expected growth in January. The Institute for Supply Management reported that the U.S. service sector remained stable in January. However, businesses spent more on inputs. This suggests services inflation may pick up following a slowdown in recent months. CME Group's FedWatch tool shows that traders still believe the Federal Reserve will not cut rates again before June. The data released this morning is neither too hot nor too cold, and it doesn't change the outlook for the Fed or direction of the economy, said Emily Roland. She pointed out that the stock market has seen a healthy increase in participation, often relying on technology stocks to support the market. Wall Street saw value stocks outperform growth stocks. The market was dominated by a selloff of global providers of professional services, data analytics and?software after Anthropic launched plug-ins on Friday for its Claude Cowork Agent, causing concern about AI-driven disruption in these industries. The U.S. Software and Services Index dropped by 0.4% on Wednesday, after dropping more than 12% in the last five days. "A week back, the markets were able to see the future clearly. Robert Phipps is a director of Per Stirling Capital Management, in Austin, Texas. He cited the concerns over AI disruption and the nominations made by the U.S. president last Friday. Donald Trump Kevin Warsh As his less dovish pick than expected to lead the Federal Reserve. "In a way, the stock exchange was like a bug looking for a windshield. From an euphoric standpoint, something was going to knock it off. Warsh was a great nomination, but it was only part of the windshield. Agentic AI played a big role in the shift, said Phipps. He cited a "significant change from growth stocks to value, from large caps to small and medium cap." The S&P 500 growth index fell 1.7%, while the value index rose 1%. At 3:02 pm. At 03:02 p.m. ET (2002 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 315.17 or 0.64% to 49,554.17. The S&P 500 dropped 19.67 or 0.31% to 6,896.65 while the Nasdaq Composite lost 287.49 or 1.25% to 22,965.01. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 2.75 points or 0.26% to 1,041.23. EUROPEAN EQUITIES REACH RECORD HIGHS Earlier the pan-European STOXX 600 closed up 0.03%. This was barely able to achieve its third record high in a single row. The strength of telecom and consumer stocks were countered with weakness in software companies...and a saleoff at healthcare company Novo Nordisk following a disappointing outlook. Gold prices were near flat, while silver gained, both of which are below their session highs. The dollar was firm and the focus remained on geopolitical events. The price of both precious metals rose on Tuesday following a two-day meltdown caused by Warsh’s nomination. It is believed that the former Fed Governor will?look to reduce the Fed’s balance sheet which would place pressure on precious metals with no yield. Spot silver increased 2.12%, to $87.01 per ounce. Spot gold was up 0.02% at $4,939.42. The dollar grew against the yen and pushed the Japanese currency towards its fourth daily decline. The dollar index measures the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies. The euro fell 0.09% to $1.1807, while the dollar rose 0.22%. The dollar gained 0.71% against the Japanese yen to 156.83. Bitcoin fell by 3.33%, to $73,600.92. This is its sixth drop in the last seven sessions. Fixed income traders continued to assess the impact Warsh could have on the monetary policy while waiting for delayed economic releases by the government. The yield of the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 0.3 basis points from late Tuesday to 4.276%. Meanwhile, the yield on 30-year bonds rose by 1?basis point to 4.9149%. The yield on the 2-year note, which is usually in line with Federal Reserve interest rate expectations, dropped 1.3 basis points, to 3.559%. On the energy markets, U.S. Crude Oil Futures settled at around $2 as traders followed the back and forth between the U.S. U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio stated that the United States will need to discuss Tehran's nuclear programme and other issues in order for meaningful talks with Iran. U.S. crude oil settled at $65.14 per barrel, an increase of 3.05% or $1.93, and Brent reached $69.46, an increase of 3.16% or $2.13 for the day. (Reporting from Sinead carew in New York; Amanda Cooper in London; Rae Wee, in Singapore. Editing by Nia Zieminski and Nick Zieminski.
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US nuclear regulator plans to make changes in accordance with Trump's nuclear goals
The U.S. Nuclear Power Regulator said on Wednesday that it was undergoing a restructuring in order to meet President Donald Trump's goals of speeding up the licensing of nuclear reactors. In a press release, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it would appoint leaders to oversee the reactor safety program. The staff will also develop a new management plan and organizational chart within 60 days. The NRC stated that it will try to implement the plan by the end of September. Trump is looking to quadruple the U.S. nuclear capacity?to 400 gigawatts?by 2050, as electricity demand increases for the first decade due to data centers for AI and cryptocurrency. In May last year, Trump ordered the NRC?to cut back on regulations and to fast-track new reactor licenses. He wanted to reduce a multi-year licensing process to just 18 months. In a press release, NRC Chairman Ho Nieh stated that "we are in one of the most significant periods in NRC's recent history and this reorganization allows us to respond more efficiently and quickly with our decisions." The chairman stated that the reorganization is aimed at accelerating safe nuclear technology deployment and improving consistency of safety programs implemented by regional offices. NRC announced that the agency would reorganize itself around three business lines: new reactors, reactors in operation, and nuclear waste and materials. Seth Cohen, the chief counsel for nuclear policies at the Department of Energy told the American Nuclear Society in November that the NRC's staff would "almost certain" increase to meet the licensing requirements. A spokesperson responded that the NRC was still in the process of reorganizing itself. Trump's efforts to accelerate reactor approvals come despite criticism from Ernest Moniz. Ernest Moniz is a nuclear scientist and former Department of Energy secretary who said that reorganizing the NRC and reducing its independence could lead to a hasty deployment of advanced, high-tech reactors with security and safety flaws. (Reporting and editing by Nia William and Bill Berkrot; Reporting by Timothy Gardner)
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Oil prices rise 3% in anticipation of US-Iran talks
The oil prices rose by about 3% Wednesday after a report in the media suggested that planned talks between?Iran and the United States?on Friday might collapse. Brent futures closed $2.13 higher, or 3.16% more, at $69.46 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), however, gained $1.93 or 3.05% to $65.14. Axios, citing Axios on Wednesday, reported that the U.S. had rejected Iran's demand to move the location of Friday's planned talks. The price of both crude benchmarks has been a roller coaster ride this week, as news of the talks between the U.S. If a hot conflict breaks out in Iran, it could put Iran's 3.4m b/d supply at risk. Iran's control of Strait of Hormuz is even more important, as it allows?around 20 percent of global oil liquids to pass through, said AjayParmar, Director of Energy and Refining at ICIS. He said that this risk premium still exists in the market, and is the primary reason for the current price of oil. U.S. Military said that on Tuesday, they shot down an Iranian drone which "aggressively approached" a U.S. Aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. Separately a group?of Iranian gunboats?approached a U.S. flagged tanker north of Oman according to maritime sources and security consultants. A regional official said that the U.S. was due to meet with Iran in Oman this Friday. Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates export the majority of their crude oil via the Strait of Hormuz to Asia. India's Russian imports fell in January as refiners looked for alternative sources because of Western sanctions and ongoing U.S. India trade talks. CRUDE OIL Inventories Fall The U.S. Energy Information Administration announced on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week due to a severe winter storm which affected large parts of the United States. The EIA reported that U.S. crude inventories dropped by 3.5 million barrels, to 420.3?million last week. Oil output fell to its lowest level since November 2024. This was in contrast to analysts' expectations, which were based on a poll, for a 489,000 barrel increase. Phil Flynn is a senior analyst at Price Futures Group. He believes that the gains from the drawdown of oil inventories are likely to be limited, as it was not as big as the decline of more than 11,000,000 barrels estimated by the American Petroleum Institute Tuesday. Reporting by Nicole Jao, New York. Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino, Shariq Khan, Shadia Nasralla, London, Yuka Obaashi, Tokyo, and Jeslynn Lerh, Singapore. Editing by David Holmes, Matthew Lewis.
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Senators ask for reauthorization of the US Export-Import Bank to support efforts to secure critical minerals
U.S. U.S. Washington has taken steps to counter what policymakers see as Chinese price manipulation for minerals such as lithium, nickel and rare earths, which are essential to the production of electric vehicles, high tech weapons and many other manufactured products. Cramer is a Republican Senator from North Dakota. He co-sponsors the reauthorization bill with Warner, a Democrat senator from Virginia. Both are members of the Senate Banking Committee. Financial Times was the first to report the news. Cramer will?also seek to raise the bank's loan cap by $70 billion, to $205 billion, as part of a?reauthorization plan. "A 10-year authorization provides greater certainty and we all know how important certainty is for investors. Cramer explained that it gives American companies a long-term plan without the looming threat associated with a lapsed authorization. The bank, which is the official U.S. Export Credit Agency, offers direct loans and loan guarantees. The bank plans to invest up to $100 billion in order to secure U.S. and allied supply chains of critical minerals, nuclear power, and liquefied gas. Trump launched a strategic stockpile for critical minerals in the United States on Monday, called Project Vault. The project is backed by $10 Billion in?seed financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and $2 Billion in private funding. U.S. Vice-President JD Vance?announced plans on Wednesday to marshal allies in a preferential trading bloc for critical minerals, and proposed coordinated pricing floors. Warner said in an emailed message that "renewing the Export-Import Bank" is crucial for Virginia businesses in order to'stay viable' in a globalized economy where China and other foreign rivals are present.
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Document shows that the EU rethinks its climate diplomacy following the bruising COP30 Summit.
EU uses trade and finance as leverage in climate talks Bloc made little progress on fossil fuels during COP30 Some countries are considering rejecting weak climate agreements at the COP in the future By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS - A document from the EU, seen by?me?, revealed that after a bruising U.N. climate summit in which it'struggled for support to take faster and more ambitious actions to reduce planet-heating emission, the European Union is mulling a 'new strategy. The COP30 climate change talks in Brazil, in November, were dealt a geopolitical setback earlier this year when U.S. president Donald Trump withdrew the largest economy in the world from the discussions. The summit concluded with an agreement to triple the amount of money available to poorer countries to help them adapt to climate changes, but there were no new global commitments made to reduce fossil fuel consumption or to cut emissions that heat the planet faster. These terms had led some EU?countries to seriously consider leaving the meeting in the last hours. Documents show that the 27-country EU now assesses how to strengthen their strategy for future climate negotiations by using "their trade, finance, and development leverage" in climate talks. The EU climate ministers are expected to discuss these ideas during a meeting on Friday in Cyprus. The document stated that "the EU?found it increasingly difficult to obtain international support to translate its high-level ambition into concrete negotiations outcomes." It was referring to EU efforts to achieve a stronger agreement?on cutting emission. The report said that changing geopolitical dynamics contributed to the "feeling (that) (the EU was) largely isolated during the final phase of negotiations at?COP30. The EU along with climate-vulnerable islands states and a few Latin American countries had pushed for fossil fuels to be addressed in the COP30 agreement - a proposition that was blocked by Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter. The EU was also criticised by poorer nations because it resisted an increase in climate financing until the end of the negotiations. Andre Correa do Lago said that the different assessments by countries of the success of COP30 reflected their priorities when it comes to tackling climate change. "The word ambition' is not a part of a vocabulary which exists only in the EU. In the EU, 'ambition is mitigation. In India, if you mention 'ambition,' it is finance. "When you say ambition, in other countries it is technology," he said. NEW STRATEGY The EU paper argued that a failure to use its tools for trade and development had "limited its?ability to strengthen its positions and shape incentives in negotiating rooms and elsewhere". The document was drafted by Cyprus, the rotating EU presidency, and confirmed that the EU is playing a role in international climate talks. The spokesperson stated that "our aim is to maintain the momentum and to continue to reflect on this important issue, in order to?strengthen the effectiveness of the COP31 negotiation," In many of the EU's deals, incentives are included for?climate change and low-carbon energies. Last month, an EU-India deal included support of 500 million euros (590.10 million dollars) to help India reduce its emissions. One EU diplomat said, "We are in a more transactional era." He added that some countries wanted a clearer EU position on when it would reject future COP agreements that they deemed too weak. The EU struggles to maintain support among its member countries for ambitious climate action. Last year, a new target was agreed just days before the COP30 started, due to disagreements within governments about how ambitious this should be.
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Nigeria's NNPC CEO: NNPC is in talks with Chinese company about refinery
Nigeria's NNPC, according to its chief executive on Wednesday, is in negotiations with a 'Chinese' company about one of the refineries owned by state-owned oil 'firm. Bayo Ojulari, NNPC's chief executive officer, said that the company is seeking experienced operators to become equity partners in order to revitalize its four refineries following years of underperformance and losses. A review of the refineries carried out soon after he assumed his role in April last year revealed that they were operating at a loss, with high operating costs and large expenditures on contractors. Meanwhile, processing volumes remained low. Ojulari stated that the NNPC board has approved a plan to hire refinery operators who have proven expertise, rather than relying on contractors. He also said that the company is in 'advanced discussions' with a number of interested parties. Ojulari, without naming the investor, said: "I just came from a meeting. They are visiting the refinery to inspect it tomorrow. The company is a Chinese one that owns the largest petrochemical plant in China. Nigeria has been struggling for years to renovate its aging refineries that have operated at far below their capacity. This forced Africa's biggest crude oil producer, Nigeria, to heavily rely on imported fuel. The government hopes that new partnerships can help reverse this trend. Ojulari stated that the plants were halted in order to evaluate options for restoring them. This coincided with the opening of the Dangote Refinery, which provided "breathing room" for the domestic fuel supply. He stated that NNPC would not sell the refineries, but instead relinquish a part of the equity to allow the plants to finance themselves. Reporting by Camillus EBOH; Writing by Chijioke OHuocha, Editing by Kirby Donovan
NORDIC POWER-Forward rates reduce on lower continental energy prices, warm weather condition view
Nordic forward power prices fell on Monday, tracking lower rates in the larger continental power market and on a forecast of warmerthannormal weather in some parts of the region.
* The Nordic front-quarter agreement was down 1.05 euros to 36.75 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) since 11:39 GMT.
* The Nordic front-year contracts lost 0.30 euro to 45.50 euros/MWh.
* In neighbouring markets, European spot power costs fell as greater renewables supply was expected to surpass increasing need, while Dutch and British wholesale gas rates were blended.
* Germany's Cal '25 baseload, Europe's standard contract, fell 0.90 euro to 92.60 euros/MWh.
* Carbon front-year allowances eased 1.56 euros to 70.35 euros a tonne.
* Meanwhile, restricting the decrease in Nordic power prices, water reserves readily available 15 days ahead were seen at 19.13 terawatt hours (TWh) listed below normal, below 17.51 TWh below normal on Friday.
* The southern and central parts of Scandinavia will be dry, sunny and warmer than regular until the middle to end of next week, Georg Muller, a meteorologist at LSEG, stated in a forecast note.
* Towards completion of the next and especially later, a slow trend to more near regular weather promises, but major wetter or cooler than regular episodes are not anticipated before early June. * As the weather report continue to reveal dry weather condition, related markets will keep a grip on the Nordic power costs, experts at Energi Danmark said in an everyday note. * The Nordic power cost for next-day physical delivery , or system cost, fell 14.87 euros to 11.71 euros/MWh at an auction on the Nord Pool exchange.
(source: Reuters)