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Shanghai copper continues to gain on fears of supply shortages
Shanghai copper continued to rise on Friday as investors bet that supply shortages will continue despite ongoing disruptions in mines. As of 0330 GMT, the most active copper contract at Shanghai Futures Exchange had risen 0.24%, to 86250 yuan (12,106.28 dollars) per metric tonne. The week was expected to end with a 3.57% increase, due to China's National Day holidays from October 1-8. The Shanghai contract moved followed the benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metal Exchange which reached $11,000 per ton on Friday, close to the all-time record of $11,104.5 in May 2024. The London future dropped below the $11,000 mark, falling 0.89%, to $10,770.5 per ton. It hopes to finish the week with a 0.51% increase. Data from Cochilco (the country's copper commissioner) showed that the copper output of Chilean state-run mining company Codelco fell 25% in August. This was after a deadly mine collapse halted production at its most profitable mine. Codelco has been working on accelerating recovery since September. However, the data shows that supply shortages are increasing after Freeport declared force majeure for its Grasberg Mine in Indonesia. Analysts at Chinese broker Maike Futures stated that the market was now dominated by bulls. They noted that a drop in China's domestic refined copper output also contributed to this bullish sentiment. Other base metals in the SHFE index, such as aluminium, rose by 0.07%. Zinc gained 0.45%. Nickel added 0.34%. Lead increased 0.29%. Tin rose by 0.59%. London Futures, on the other hand, mostly reversed a rally that was led by copper. Aluminium fell 1%, Nickel shed 0.92% and Tin dropped 1.46%. Lead also declined 0.12%. Zinc, the only metal to gain ground, rose by 0.22%. Analysts at London-based broker Sucden Financial say that base metals are advancing in a fragile rally driven by momentum, rather than real improvements in fundamentals. They also said the rally depends on traders breaking through resistance levels. Reporting by Dylan Duan, Lewis Jackson and Sumana Nandy; Editing by Sumana Niandy.
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Nayara, a sanctions-hit company, scrambles with New Delhi to maintain operations
Since late August, Nayara Energy refinery in western India has been moving fuel by rail to inland depots with two or three 50-tanker trains per day. This is more than twice the amount of diesel and petrol it used to transport previously. The European Union imposed crippling sanctions on the Russian-owned refinery on July 18 that shut it out of many markets. It forced the refinery to find new customers and divert more fuel into the domestic market. Sources from the Indian government and the company claim that the ongoing crisis at Nayara has forced the Indian government to provide enough support for it to continue operating, while avoiding actions that could provoke an Western backlash. New Delhi has taken several measures to assist a refinery that is owned by a friendly country. These include providing tanker train services and approving coastal vessels for the transport of its products. Nayara is owned by the Russian state oil giant Rosneft, which puts it in the middle of a long-standing relationship between New Delhi and Moscow. This puts India at odds against its Western allies. The refiner's biggest shareholder, the Russian state oil company Rosneft relies solely on Russia to import oil, after Iraqi crude and Saudi Arabian oil supplies were cut-off following the EU measure. This makes it vulnerable if flow disruptions are caused by tighter sanctions or increased U.S. pressurization. "The government is trying cover two possible scenarios: trying to support Nayara, while remaining aware of the fact there will be a persistent global pressure to tighten the sanctions," said Amitendu Palait, a Senior Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore Institute of South Asian Studies. He said that "Long-term Support might not be sustainable until the global dynamics change, such as a resolution between Russia & the U.S.A. Nayara has not responded to an email asking for comment on this story. India's Oil Ministry and Rosneft have not responded to requests for comments. Nayara, a Mumbai-based company, is a major player in India's rapidly growing fuel sector. It accounts for 8% the refined product output and operates more than 6,500 gasoline stations. It has been forced to reduce crude runs at its 400,000-barrel-per-day Vadinar refinery to 70-80% of capacity - it was previously running at 104% - as it struggles to find export buyers for its fuel and banks to facilitate payments, sources with knowledge of the refinery operations say. STOP-GAPS AND WORKAROUNDS Nayara's refinery, which is not connected to the pipeline network, increased its use of railcars for fuel transportation after sanctions made it difficult to charter coastal vessels or export products, forcing it redirect production domestically. Its access to more railcars was facilitated by New Delhi, which has also temporarily allowed Nayara to use four coastal vessels, sources said, including the E.U.-sanctioned Leruo and two shadow fleet ships, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged Garuda and Djibouti-flagged Chongchon. Sources said that Nayara was seeking approval from the government to use two additional coastal ships. Nayara also seeks government assistance to find equipment and materials it struggles to get due to sanctions, for a scheduled maintenance shutdown in February. Sources said that Nayara is also considering pushing back the shutdown until April while it searches for alternative raw materials. A senior official of a company, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue, said that the company was constantly under threat. The official cited the concern that the vessels they are currently using may be subject to future Western sanctions. We never expected to be so directly hit. "Every day is like fighting fires." Nayara, a combination of Hindi and English meaning "New Era", was originally called Essar Oil. It was purchased by Rosneft in 2017, along with a group that included the Russian fund UCP and Trafigura. Trafigura later sold its share. Nayara purchased oil from many countries until 2022. In that year, India began buying discounted Russian oil, after the West sanctioned Moscow for its invasion in Ukraine. It became the largest buyer of Russian crude by sea. Recent purchases by India have led to a diplomatic rift between Washington and New Delhi. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian imports up to 50%. MAINTENANCE AND PAYMENTS ARE THE IMMEDIATELY BIGGEST CHALLENGES Sources at the company have stated that the most immediate challenge for Nayara is to resolve the maintenance issue and be able make international payments. Sources have reported that Nayara’s principal banker, the government-owned State Bank of India (SBI), stopped processing forex and trade transactions for the refiner due to concerns over EU sanctions in August. SBI did respond immediately to a comment request. Nayara officials met with officials from the finance ministry and banks to try to resolve this banking issue. However, they have not yet found a solution. This limits Nayara’s ability to import and export fuel in foreign currencies. The Indian finance ministry has not responded to a comment request. According to shipping and traders data, Nayara exported 30% of its production before the sanctions. This was mainly through trading with Western, Middle Eastern, and Asian firms to ship products to Asia and Northwest Europe. Data shows that since then, Nayara has shipped cargoes to the Middle East, Turkey and Brazil. At least 16 of these cargoes were diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel, and they were all transported on EU-approved tankers. Industry sources claim that some of these recent exports were done through traders, with payment offset against crude supplies. According to Kpler, Nayara exports 2.23 million barrels in September. This compares with an average of 3.3 millions barrels per month from January through June. A trader from north Asia said, "We're interested in buying their products." They told me that their bank account was blocked and they couldn't accept payments.
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Gold gains for the eighth consecutive week on strong demand for safe-havens
Gold was stable below $4,000 per ounce and set to make an eighth consecutive weekly gain on Friday, boosted by geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty and expectations for further U.S. interest rate cuts. Gold spot fell 0.2% at $3,968.69 an ounce as of 0340 GMT but rose 2.2% on the week. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose 0.3% to $ 3,982.6. Silver fell 0.3%, to $49.25 an ounce. This is a slight decline from the record-high of $51.22 per ounce that was reached on Thursday. The options markets showed a rise in gold volatility and downside protection during the last stages of this rally. It seems like a good time for gold bulls book some profits. "I expect that any pullback will be limited," said City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson. Israel's government approved a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, paving the way for the suspension of hostilities within Gaza in 24 hours, and the release of Israeli hostages within 72 hours. Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza enclave continue. ANZ analysts stated in a report that a slowing economy, rising inflation, a changing geopolitical environment, and diversification away from U.S. investments and the dollar would keep the investment demand for gold and central bank purchases strong. Renewed rate cuts will also help the metal. On Wednesday, the price of gold surpassed $4,000 an ounce for a first time, hitting a new record high at $4,059.05. This non-yielding investment, which is traditionally used as a hedge in times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty, has risen by 52% so far this year. The rally was fueled by geopolitical tensions, central bank purchases, increasing exchange-traded fund inflows and expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. The minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for September, released on Tuesday, revealed that Fed officials were in agreement that the risks to the U.S. employment market were sufficiently high to warrant a cut in rates, but they remained cautious due to stubborn inflation. In September, the Fed began a new cycle of rate cuts with a reduction of 25 basis points. The traders expect a 25 basis-point cut in both October and December. Palladium fell 2.3%, to $1379.25, and platinum dropped 1%, to $1601.78, (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)
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After the Gaza agreement, oil prices have fallen slightly as the risk premium has diminished.
The oil prices fell slightly on Friday, after falling 1.6% in the previous session. This was due to the fact that the risk premium in the market had decreased after Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to implement the first phase of the plan to end Gaza's war. Brent crude futures fell 7 cents to $65.15 per barrel at 0338 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 2 cents, to $61.49. Israel and Hamas, a militant Palestinian group, signed a ceasefire on Thursday as part of the first phase in President Donald Trump's initiative for ending the Gaza war. The deal was ratified by Israel's government on Friday. It will see the end of the fighting, Israel withdrawing from Gaza in part, and Hamas releasing all hostages that it has captured since the initial attack which sparked the war in exchange for hundreds Israeli prisoners. Both benchmarks rose around 1% on a weekly scale after a steep drop last week. The stalled progress in a Ukraine deal is a sign of possible sanctions against Russia. Russia is the second largest oil exporter in the world. Daniel Hynes said that the Gaza ceasefire agreement was a significant step in ending the war of two years, which has increased the risk of oil disruptions. Hynes stated that "this (deal) saw the emphasis move back to an impending oil surplus as OPEC continues with the unwinding production cuts." A smaller-than-expected November hike in output agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) on Sunday eased some of those oversupply concerns. BMI analysts wrote in a Friday note that "markets' expectations of a sharp increase in crude supply did not manifest themselves in significantly lower prices." The latest rise in production was lower than initially feared, contributing to a small rise in the prices for the entire week," they stated. Investors worry that a prolonged U.S. shutdown will dampen the American economic climate and affect oil demand. The United States is the largest crude consumer in the world. (Reporting and editing by Tom Hogue, Christian Schmollinger and Sudarshan Varadhan)
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Palfinger’s Specialized Nacelle Cranes Lift Vestas’ 15MW Turbine Ops
Austrian manufacturer of hydraulic lifting and handling systems for marine applications Palfinger Marine has started delivering nacelle cranes for 15 MW offshore wind turbines being built by Danish firm Vestas.As a key supplier of nacelle cranes for Vestas, Palfinger Marine has been delivering service cranes for the Danish turbine maker’s V236-15MW model since the end of 2024, following a collaborative development process and an intensive phase of prototyping and testing.Resulting from the joint development, the specialized nacelle cranes were designed to address all customer-specific use cases with serial production already in place.The collaboration with the experienced wind turbine manufacturer also reinforces Palfinger’s position as a specialist in the offshore and maritime industry – especially in the growing offshore wind sector.As the demand for 15 MW Vestas turbines grows rapidly in the coming years, Palfinger will also be able to utilize important growth opportunities as a result of the serial production, according to the company.The Palfinger cranes are delivered to production plants in Lindø (Denmark) and Stettin (Poland), where they are fully integrated into the turbines’ hydraulic and electrical systems. The final products are destined for offshore wind farms around the world.As an integral part of the wind turbine, the cranes ensure safe and efficient lifting as well as handling of loads from 200 meters below the turbine for any maintenance and servicing operations.“We are particularly proud about our collaboration with one of the largest and highly innovative offshore wind turbine manufacturers. This cooperation allows us to further develop our products and to customize them to the specific demands for turbine maintenance. Our customers can benefit from our service in the long-term,” said Iavor Markov, Global Key Account & Segment Manager at Palfinger Marine.
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Revolute Robotics Rolls Out Driving-Flying Drone
From oil pipelines and storage tanks to security zones and disaster sites, current methods for remote inspection often rely on a mix of drones, rovers, crawlers, and other specialized systems. That complexity increases costs, slows deployment, and puts human workers at risk, says Collin Taylor, CEO of tech startup Revolute Robotics.The Boston-based company is building autonomous robots with the ability to switch between driving and flying, and it has raised $1.9 million in new funding to accelerate its mission to deploy them across inspection, security, and defense teams. The financing round was led by ANIMO Ventures and Ascend, with participation from several high-profile angel investors.“Drone and rover advancements have made remote inspection a reality, but the complexity of each inspection requires teams to deploy multiple robotic solutions for each unique application,” said Taylor. “Our hybrid aerial-terrestrial capability allows for a single solution to cover multiple uses, like the Swiss army knife of robotic inspections.”When an obstacle is reached that a ground rover can’t overcome, the robot switches to flying mode to continue the mission. This hybrid design allows it to safely navigate confined and complex spaces.And by doing this, Revolute’s robots extend battery life more than 10 times compared to flying, enabling much longer inspections in larger areas than traditional indoor drones. “We can drive for about 12 times longer than we can fly (seven-minute flight time, 90-minute drive time),” says Taylor. “This is about 10 times longer than existing indoor drones. It is about the same as most ground rovers/crawlers - the difference is we can fly around obstacles that prevent their access. We expect the final product to have 10-12 minutes flight time, 120 minutes drive time.”The system supports visual, thermal, gas and radiation detection, LiDAR mapping, and ultrasonic testing for oil and gas, power, chemicals, construction, mining, and other industrial facilities. In maritime and offshore environments, the robot could conduct post-hurricane safety flights, undertake routine valve reading, or conduct inspections in confined space or hard to reach areas that would require under-deck rope access.Security teams can use the system to patrol areas of interest, monitor perimeters, and respond to threats. Defense teams can deploy it for base patrol, ISR, vehicle inspection, and search and rescue. The platform also supports swarm coordination, customizable payloads, and autonomous navigation.Development is on-going. Previously the outer frame was made of aluminum, now its carbon fiber. “It is lighter and stronger,” says Taylor. “The spherical cage is connected to two rotating gimbal rings with the drone mounted inside, allowing for the cage to move freely around the airframe, similar to a gyroscope. This lets us transition between driving and flying freely with only the drone to actuate it. The system can withstand impacts at speeds of up to 3m/s, far exceeding the competition.”Today, the system is manually operated. “We use visual and laser to maintain position for obstacle avoidance and GPS denied navigation. We will release our waypoint navigation package in the coming months and expect to offer autonomous mapping missions in the near future. Our ultimate goal is to be the single robot required for all facility inspection and surveillance. Multiple robots live on site, autonomously deploy for routine site walks and asset inspection during the day and autonomous security patrol at night.”Revolute also has an ATEX-rated robot underway.Taylor previously worked at Extreme Aerial Productions, one of the first drone service companies in the US with operations in construction, industrial inspection, and cinematography. His co-founder, Sahand Sabet, built hybrid aerial/terrestrial robots for NASA JPL before dedicating his PhD to the subject. Revolute’s COO, Leandro Valdez, is a former Amazon Area Manager with experience in large-scale logistics and operational management.Antonio Osio, General Partner at ANIMO Ventures, said: “Revolute is building the future of field robotics. We believe Collin and his team created a system that will become the go-to tool for inspecting the world’s most critical and least accessible assets.”On top of the venture funding it has received, Revolute was recently selected for the MassRobotics Accelerator, receiving $100,000 in nondilutive funding and access to top robotics advisors. The team is preparing for pilot deployments with several large enterprise customers, including one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers. Several inspection service providers have also joined the growing waitlist.“We are actively deploying with customers. We have pilots lined up with large enterprise oil, power, and chemicals companies, and we are looking for additional facilities wanting to explore robotic inspection tools.”
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Hong Kongers rush in to sell their family jewels when gold sparkles
Hong Kong residents scrambled this week to sell gold bars, rings and family jewels. They weighed their precious items and counted money stacks as they rushed to cash in on the record rally which pushed gold to $4,000 for first time. Around 50 people waited outside the Chong Kee Gold store near Hong Kong’s central business district with gold jewellery such as bracelets, necklaces, and bullion. They were hoping to benefit from the prices which have increased by 50% in the past year. Theres Lam, an attorney, was in line outside of the shop and said that she would be selling her gold, which she has been hoarding since 20 years. She kept a mixture of bracelets and bullion in a bag. She intended to sell a number of small 5-tael gold bars worth approximately HK$222,000 (USD28,500). It's the perfect time to sell. Lam said, "I've had this gold for almost 20 years." She said she would be able to make many times the initial investment and only sell a small portion of her gold holdings. Betting on gold prices increasing even further, she planned on selling a smaller percentage. In these uncertain times, gold is an excellent investment. You can keep it for a lifetime. "It maintains its value." Gold surpassed the $4,000 per ounce mark for the first time ever on Wednesday. This was a result of a record-breaking rally, as investors flocked to gold due to economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Gold, which is traditionally viewed as a safe haven of value in times of uncertainty, will be one of the most profitable assets by 2025. More buyers than sellers Store managers and shop assistants at a gold market held in Shanghai said that more people were buying than selling gold, with many predicting a continued rise in the price. Shopkeepers and staff reported that most transactions are trade-ins as customers look to upgrade older jewellery designs for more modern ones. Chong Kee in Hong Kong, which is known for its attractive gold-buyback rates, halted a ticketing system Thursday afternoon after the 300-person limit was met. A man in the back of the store used a blowtorch to test the purity of gold objects. Terence Hung is a father of 34 who works in the construction industry. He cashed out 400 grams of gold that he had accumulated through the years. This included some ornaments he gave to his son at one month. He said that he and his family were moving to Scotland. He said he received HK$430,000 in gold and made more money with Chong Kee. The owner of the gold shop, who gave his name only as Chong to avoid wasting time, weighed gold on a scale before handing out cash. Customers were asked to present their identity documents and issued cheques for amounts exceeding HK$100,000. It's very busy. "Demand has been extremely high," he stated. "People want to sell." The note at the entrance stated that no customers will be served today. Come back tomorrow early to get your ticket and then wait for the number to be called.
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Iron ore prices to rise on the back of a stronger steel outlook
Iron ore futures prices rose on Friday as they were expected to gain weekly, boosted by the expectation of higher steel prices and improved fundamentals. As of 0301 GMT, the most-traded contract for January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 1.02% to 795 yuan (US$111.57) per metric tonne. If the current momentum continues, the contract will post weekly gains up to 1.4%. The benchmark iron ore for October on the Singapore Exchange was up 0.51% to $105.45 per ton and is poised to gain 1.36% in a week. According to the chief analyst of consultancy Mysteel, after declining steadily for the past two month, Chinese steel prices will rise in October due to improved market fundamentals, and the anticipated implementation by the central government of stronger economic stimuli policies. Hexun Futures, a Chinese broker, says that despite stockpiling ore before the Golden Week holiday period, transportation restrictions prevent steel mills from keeping adequate inventories of raw materials, and could force them reduce production. One of Russia's top steelmakers estimates that the demand for metals has dropped by as much as 15%. Russia will be the fifth largest steel producer in the world by 2024, with a production of 71 million tonnes. The average amount spent by Chinese tourists during the Golden Week holiday has fallen to its lowest level in three years, as the weak economy continues to affect the second largest economy of the world. The U.S. Trade Policy, extreme weather conditions, intense competition on domestic markets and persistent weakness in property are all factors that contribute to the downturn. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, have both gained in price, rising by 1.26% and 1.50%, respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have mostly risen. The price of wire rod remained flat while the price of rebar, hot-rolled steel coil, and stainless gained 0.12%.
IAEA: Process started to restore external electricity to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant
The U.N. nuclear watchdog announced on Thursday that the process of restoring external power had begun at the Russian-owned Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeast Ukraine. This plant has been cut off from electricity for over two weeks.
Rafael Grossi said that the process began after consulting with the authorities of Ukraine and Russia who are blaming each other for the destruction of external lines.
In the first few weeks of the Kremlin invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces captured the largest nuclear plant in Europe with six reactors. Although the plant does not produce electricity, both sides accuse each other of military action that compromises nuclear safety.
Grossi stated in a website statement that "the process leading to the establishment of off-site electricity...has begun" following intensive consultations.
While it will take time for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to be connected back to the grid, both sides have worked with us constructively in order to achieve this crucial objective. This is important because of nuclear safety and security.
Since the last external connection went down on 23 September, the plant relies on emergency diesel generators in order to cool the fuel inside the reactors and prevent a meltdown.
Grossi stated that IAEA observers stationed in the plant heard five explosions in succession Thursday "occurring near the site and shaking the windows in their building".
Grossi said that the decommissioned Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station, the site of the worst nuclear accident ever in 1986, still lacked an external powerline. Ukraine claimed that the plant is now powered by alternative sources of energy, but lost its power line due to a Russian attack against an electrical substation near a town.
Interfax reported that the Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov had said earlier there was no reason to restart the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in the absence external energy sources.
Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation, was quoted as saying that it was planning to restart this plant. (Reporting and editing by Toby Chopra in Bengaluru, Ron Popeski, Alistair Bell).
(source: Reuters)