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India's iron pellet makers want to curb Iranian imports through Oman
Sources and an analyst have said that India's iron pellet makers have asked the government to curtail a surge of imports via Oman. They claim the products are from Iran, despite U.S. sanction, and warned the cheaper supplies may hurt the local industry. Lalit Ladkat of the London-based CRU Group told us that India is the third largest iron ore producer in terms of metric tonnage. However, imports between 2021-2024 were negligible, Lalit Ladkat said. Ladkat stated that the majority of these pellets were of Iranian origin, and they were shipped via Oman in order to avoid sanctions. Ladkat stated that the surge in imports was driven by higher prices for pellets at home and the availability cheaper, high quality Iranian pellets. One of the sources who was involved in this matter declined to identify themselves as the discussions were not made public. The ministry didn't respond to an email asking for comments. The Pellet Manufacturers' Association of India (PMAI), in a letter to the Ministry, said that even though the pellet imports had been shown to come from Oman, "there were doubts about the country of origin/manufacture as it was understood that this country did not produce pellets." PMAI reported that due to the increasing imports, domestic pellet producers are only operating at 69% capacity. Manish Kharbanda told PMAIm that the country of Oman's origin is questionable. In 2019, Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Iran that targeted the Islamic Republic's industrial metals export revenue. Steelmaking uses both iron ore and pellets of iron ore. India's steel demand is driven by a robust steel production that is underpinned by the growth of infrastructure, construction and the automobile sector. India's steel consumption in April and May of 2025/26 was 25.1 million tons, an increase of 7.1% compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, crude steel production increased by 9.5%, reaching 26.9 millions metric tons. (Reporting and editing by Mayank Bhardwaj, Kim Coghill and Mayank Bhardwaj; Additional reporting from Sarah El Safty and Manoj Kumar at New Delhi; and Manvi Pan in Bengaluru.)
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Indian equity benchmarks fall as Reliance and metals losses outpace consumer growth
India's equity benchmarks dipped on Wednesday, as Reliance Industries losses and metals outweighed gains in consumer stocks. Investors remained on hold amid uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade tariffs. The Nifty 50 dropped 0.18% to 25,476.1, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.21% to 83 536.08. The mid-caps fell 0.1%, while the small-caps gained 0.6%. Reliance Industries, a heavyweight in the Nifty 50, fell by 1.2% following reports that its telecom arm Reliance Jio Platforms will not launch a stock offering this year, as planned. This delayed one of India's biggest anticipated stock offerings. On Tuesday, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he will impose a tariff of 50% on imported copper. He also said he will implement the long-promised levies against semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Trump said that the U.S. would "pretty quickly" impose a 10% duty on imports coming from BRICS countries, putting India in the firing line. However, the president's remarks did not affect domestic markets, apart from a 3,3% drop in Hindustan Copper. After Trump's tariff threat, the stock price of copper fell. The surprise factor regarding tariffs is over. Investors do not feel that this situation requires immediate action," stated U.R. Bhat, cofounder of Alphaniti Fintech. Metals fell 1.4% due to losses at Vedanta Steel and Tata Steel. Vedanta dropped 3.4% after Viceroy Research announced that it had taken a short-position against Vedanta Resource, the UK parent company of the Indian miner. Viceroy Research said that the British company is "systematically draining its Indian unit". Tata Steel fell 1.8% after reporting weak volumes in the first quarter. FMCG stocks led sectoral gains with a 0.8% increase. Hindustan Unilever, Varun Beverages and Jefferies' "contrarian picks" in India's consumer goods sector were the main drivers of this rise. It said: "We see a limited downside, but a meaningful up side in the event of (a turnaround)." Varun Beverages and Hindustan Unilever both rose by 1.7%.
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Kremlin is calm about Trump's criticism of Putin regarding Ukraine talks
When asked about the criticism by U.S. president Donald Trump of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the Kremlin said that Moscow is "calm" and will continue to work to repair a "broken relationship" between Russia and the United States. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, told reporters in a conference call: "We remain calm." He added, "We are looking forward to continuing our dialogue with Washington as well as our approach in repairing the broken bilateral relationships." Trump, who has been frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin for some time, said Tuesday that he approved the sending of defensive arms from the United States to Ukraine and is considering additional sanctions against Moscow. Trump promised as a candidate for president to end the conflict within a single day. However, he has been unable to keep that promise. His administration's efforts to broker a peace have also failed. Peskov stated that Trump has come to the understanding that it will be difficult to resolve the conflict between Russia & Ukraine. He added: "We heard Trump make a very significant statement that the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict has proven to be more difficult than what he had anticipated from the beginning." Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Felix Light, Editing by Guy Faulconbridge & Gleb Bryanski
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Russian rouble barely changed despite U.S. sanction threat
The Russian rouble fluctuated little in relation to the dollar on Tuesday, despite President Donald Trump's harsh criticism of Russian president Vladimir Putin and threats of new U.S. According to LSEG, based on quotes over the counter, by 0925 GMT the rouble had risen 0.4%, or 78.15 dollars per rouble. Since the beginning of the year, the Russian currency has gained 45% versus the dollar. Trump, who has been frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin for some time, said Tuesday that he approved the sending of defensive arms from the United States to Ukraine and is considering additional sanctions against Moscow. A bill introduced in the Senate would penalize countries that do business with Moscow by imposing tariffs of 500% on nations that purchase Russian oil, gas and uranium, among other exports. U.S. sanctions were imposed in November last year, which had a major impact on the Russian currency. Bogdan Zvarich, a banker at PSB, said that despite the worsening geopolitical climate, the rouble would continue to be supported by the demand for assets denominated in roubles, which, if nothing else, will restrain the weakening of the rouble. Demand for rouble assets is fueled by high interest rates in Russia's economy. Increased forex sales this month by the central banks as well as oil prices are also supporting the currency. The rouble, which is the most commonly traded currency in Russia, was unchanged at 10,85 per yuan at the Moscow Stock Exchange. The central bank's forex interventions are made in yuan. Reporting by Gleb Brynski, Editing by Peter Graff
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Volkswagen Q2 sales rise despite a slight drop in US demand
Volkswagen reported a 1.2% increase in global sales volume in the second quarter, despite a decline in U.S. Demand and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs. This was due to the strong demand for its all-electric offerings in Europe. According to the company, sales of the German auto giant increased by 1.2% year-on-year in the second quarter with 2,27 million vehicles sold. Sales grew in all markets, except North America and Western Europe where deliveries dropped by 16.2% and 0,7% respectively. German automakers are pressing President Donald Trump for an agreement to replace the 25% tax on imports of cars and parts to the United States, which is hurting demand on their main market. Volkswagen's sales of all-electric vehicles grew by 38% globally in the second quarter, and up to 73% in Europe. Marco Schubert, Volkswagen Sales Executive, said: "We must continue our successful model offensive to strengthen this positive development." He added, "Overall we were able slightly to increase our global delivery by the end June despite challenging circumstances."
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European stocks ignore tariff news as US copper soars
The European stock market opened Wednesday slightly higher, with little reaction to the announcement by U.S. president Donald Trump that he will impose a tariff of 50% on imported copper as well as levies up to 200% on pharmaceuticals. Trump's remarks on Tuesday caused the price of Copper to reach record highs, and Wall Street to close down. The equity markets quickly shrugged the news off. Asian stocks were mixed over night and the MSCI World Equity Index rose 0.1% at 0835 GMT. The London FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 increased by 0.4%. The U.S. Dollar Index was unchanged at 97.574, and the euro dropped 0.1% to $1.1715. The dollar reached its highest level against the yen in over two weeks, with Japan, which depends on exports, being the most far away from a deal between Washington and Washington among the major U.S. trade partners. U.S. Copper Futures have risen by over 10%, reaching a new record, after Trump threatened to increase duties on this metal, which is essential for electric vehicles, military equipment, the power grid, and many consumer products. The traders are waiting to see what Trump does in his trade war. He told 14 countries on Monday that their tariffs will be significantly higher from August 1, a new deadline. Trump said that he will "probably" inform the European Union in two days of the rate they can expect on their exports to the United States. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that EU negotiators were close to a deal that would set higher tariffs for exports than the UK. Investors are worried that tariffs could increase inflation and slow down economic growth. They will be watching the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting, which will be released on Wednesday. Amelie Derambure is a senior multi-assets portfolio manager at Amundi. She said: "We are in the dark about tariffs because it is very difficult to determine the impact of the tariffs on the end-inflation or the margins on U.S. corporations, or on corporates in general." She added, "The uncertainty is enormous." Derambure stated that although equity markets expect tariffs to manageable, and are supported by the underlying expectation of growth. The impact of tariffs can be seen through the rising yields of fixed income. The yields on U.S. Treasury bonds rose Tuesday and the auction for three-year Treasury notes saw a weak demand. Treasury will be selling $39 billion of 10-year notes and $22 billion of 30-year bonds this Thursday. The benchmark German 10-year yield was 2.635%. Gold is in its third consecutive day of declines. It was down 0.4% for the day, at $3,286.17 an ounce. Brent crude futures rose by 0.7% to $70.61.
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UK's Hunting buys back $40 million, increases dividend target
Hunting, a British energy services company, plans to buyback shares worth $40m and increase the annual dividend as it predicts a 16% rise in core profit for the first half. Shares of Hunting reached a five-month-high on Wednesday. Hunting, a company that manufactures high-tech systems, precision parts, and critical components for oil and gas, plans to increase its annual dividend from over 10%, by 13%. The company stated that the core profit for the first half 2025 will be between $68 and $70 millions. It also reaffirmed the forecast of $135 to $145 million in 2025. The British company expects its operations to be unaffected by the tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on the world. This is because its supply chain has been diversified globally. "We are well positioned to bypass tariff barriers..." "In some product lines we have simply rerouted the supply to avoid markets that are tariff-affected," said CFO Bruce Ferguson in an interview. There is no tariff risk with Hunting Titan or our U.S. operation. Hunting Titan, a major division of Hunting Titan, manufactures and distributes logging and perforating systems. By 0821 GMT, shares were up last 12% to 338 pence. Berenberg analysts wrote in a report that Hunting is well-positioned to benefit from any U.S. recovery and has a diversified revenue base that includes international and subsea market segments, which makes it more resistant to lower commodity prices. (Reporting by Ankita Bora in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
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Minister: Polish energy companies have no economic reason to sell coal assets
Jakub Jaworowski, the Polish Minister of State Assets, said that an analysis by the government had revealed no economic basis for a spinoff of coal assets. He also stated that there was a need for a support system for coal plants at European Union levels beyond 2028. Poland is working on reducing its dependence on coal, as renewable energy sources take a greater share of the market. However, it still requires a mechanism that supports conventional power plants to provide electricity during times when renewable generation is intermittent. In a press statement, the ministry stated that the assumptions used for the previous coal assets plan were based upon power prices in 2022. These were higher due to the conflict in Ukraine. Since then, power prices have more than halved and the share renewable energy continues to grow. State-controlled utilities, under pressure from falling coal profits, have stopped paying dividends. Now they are calling for a program to help cover the costs of operating coal plants. Last month, the country's largest utility PGE said that it would be able to resume dividend payments more quickly if the profitability issue for coal assets was resolved. The ministry noted that, under the current rules, payments for capacity of high-emission sources will be prohibited from 2028. However, Poland needs additional support mechanisms in order to avoid a gap in power supply from 2029. (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; writing by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; editing by Jan Harvey)
Kongsberg orders increase by 5% as the company expands its defence capacity to meet demand
The Norwegian defence manufacturer Kongsberg Gruppen announced on Wednesday that it had received more orders for the second quarter 2025, which reflects an increase in military spending by European nations.
Kongsberg has customers from the defence, aerospace and maritime industries. It also serves energy, fishing, and the energy industry.
Geir Haiy, CEO of the company, said in a press release that "there is a need to enhance defence capabilities and we are expanding capacity to meet growing demand." In response to Russia's invasion in Ukraine, and the threat by President Donald Trump to reduce military support to the region, many European nations have committed to increase their defence budgets significantly.
Haoy stated that the company was experiencing record market activity. In the third quarter, 54% of orders were received by its Defence & Aerospace division.
Kongsberg stated that there was a high level of activity in relation to the delivery of subsea technologies and solutions.
The company's earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which is the quarterly profit before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, rose by 28% to 2,33 billion Norwegian crowns. LSEG polled five analysts who expected an average of 2.25 billion Norwegian crowns. Orders and profits for the group also soared in the first quarter, boosted by Europe’s defence spending. $1 = 10.0974 Norwegian crowns (Reporting and editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak, Gdansk)
(source: Reuters)