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Gold to gain weekly on Dollar weakness and Safe-haven Demand
Gold prices rose on Friday, heading towards a weekly increase. This was helped by the retreat of the U.S. Dollar and inflows into safe-haven assets as President Donald Trump's trade deadline loomed. As of 0617 GMT, spot gold increased 0.5%, to $3,343.07 an ounce. Bullion has risen by about 2.1% in the last week. U.S. Gold Futures rose 0.3% to $3.352.50. Gold became less expensive for holders of other currencies as the dollar index fell by 0.2%. The apprehension over the fiscal situation in America (after Trump's sweeping bill to cut taxes passed Congress) as well as the lingering uncertainties about the July 9 deadline on the tariff issue have boosted the demand for safe-haven assets, said Ricardo Evangelista senior analyst at brokerage company ActivTrades. Trump announced on Friday that Washington would begin sending letters to other countries, a departure from the earlier plans of individual trade agreements. He announced reciprocal tariffs between 10% and 50% on April 2. However, he reduced the majority to 10% by July 9, to allow time for negotiations. Trump's tax cut legislation passed its final hurdle before Congress on Thursday. It makes his 2017 tax cuts permanent and funds his immigration crackdown. The data showed that U.S. jobs grew unexpectedly well in June. However, nearly half of this increase came from the non-farm sector. Private industry's gains were the lowest in eight months, as businesses struggled with rising economic headwinds. The latest U.S. employment data confirms a slowdown in the economy but not a standstill. This will reduce the pressure on Fed to lower interest rates any time soon, said UBS commodity analysts Giovanni Staunovo. Palladium fell 0.1% and spot silver rose 0.1%, to $36.66 per ounce. Platinum gained 0.7% per ounce to $1,376.33 and is on track for a fifth consecutive week of gains. (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
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China cracks down on price wars as iron ore gains for the second consecutive week
Iron ore futures prices continued to rise on Friday. This was due to a better market sentiment following a call by officials in China, the world's largest consumer, for a reduction in aggressive price competition. The September contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the daytime trading 0.62% higher, at 732.5 Yuan ($102.25). The contract rose 3.08% in value this week. As of 805 GMT, the benchmark August iron ore traded on the Singapore Exchange had fallen 0.3% to $96.15 per ton. However, it was up by 1.93% in the past week. The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission has called for more stringent measures to combat aggressive price cutting amongst companies. Analysts said that this has led to hopes for a second round in supply reforms, which could increase steel margins and mills' tolerance of price for ingredients. SteelHome data shows that total iron ore stockpiles in China ports fell by 0.15% on a weekly basis to 133.4 millions tons at the end of July, which also helped to support prices. The upside potential was limited by signs of a softening in demand, in part because of environmental protection-related production controls in Tangshan (China's largest steel-producing hub). The average daily hot metal production, which is a measure of iron ore consumption, fell by 0.6% from the previous week to 2.41 million tonnes as of July 3. This was the lowest level since April 19. After the 'One, Big, Beautiful Bill,' proposed by U.S. president Donald Trump, was passed, the dollar's gains were reduced. Dollar-denominated investments become more expensive to holders of other currencies when the greenback is stronger. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also lost ground. They fell by 1.06% and 0.4%, respectively. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a rise in most steel benchmarks. Rebar rose by 0.23%. Hot-rolled coil increased by 0.25%. Stainless steel grew by 0.39%. Wire rod dropped 0.09%. ($1 = 7.1641 Chinese yuan). (Reporting and editing by Eileen Soreng; Lucas Liew)
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Prices of copper are at multi-month highs. US tariffs could be imposed on metal.
The London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange saw copper prices fall from their multi-month highs, although SHFE copper posted a gain for the week, as traders waited to see if U.S. import tariffs would be imposed. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell by 1.06%, to $9,848.5 a metric ton, as of 0736 GMT. This was a decline of 0.31% for the entire week. The SHFE's most traded copper contract fell 1.28%, to 79.730 yuan (11,128.17), but posted a second consecutive weekly gain of 0.54%. The fundamentals of the market haven't changed much. China's copper production in June was up 11.4% year-on-year, which eased the concerns about supply shortages, according to a Shanghai based metals analyst at a futures firm. The dollar has strengthened as the United States is unlikely to cut interest rates anytime soon, despite better than expected payroll and unemployment figures. Also, the "big beautiful bill" has passed and the attention of the copper markets has shifted back to possible U.S. import tariffs. Two analysts in China have dismissed the significance of recent increases in copper stocks In warehouses registered with the LME. After a gradual decline from mid-April, the volume increased by 3,700 tons (4.1%) in three days. The Shanghai analyst stated that "Copper will continue to be shipped from other countries into the U.S. as long as there is no agreement on the U.S. Tariff." LME nickel fell by 0.56%, to $15,365 per ton. Zinc dropped 0.53%, to $2 736, tin declined 0.44%, to $33,700. Lead eased 0.15%, to $2 061, and Aluminium slipped 0.19%, to $2 600. SHFE nickel rose by 0.64%, to 122.270 yuan per ton. Zinc increased by 0.34%, to 22.410 yuan. Lead gained 0.2%, to 17.295 yuan. Tin fell 0.65%, to 267.250 yuan. Aluminium shed 0.24%, to 20,635 Yuan. Click or to see the latest news in metals, and other related stories.
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Angola increases diesel prices again to boost public finances
Angola has increased the price of diesel by a third as part its drive to reduce costly subsidies and strengthen public finances. Since 2023, the International Monetary Fund has encouraged the African oil producing country to gradually remove fuel subsidies. The economy of the country is facing pressure due to a drop in global crude oil prices earlier this year. It also faces repayments on external debt of $9 billion by 2025. This includes a Eurobond that matures in November. Diesel prices have risen from 300 kwanzas to 400 kwanzas per litre, which is the second increase this year. The Petroleum Products Regulator left the prices of petrol and liquefied Petroleum Gas unchanged. In October, Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa said that fuel subsidies were around 4% on the gross domestic product in 2017. She also stated that the government would continue to remove them in stages. In May, the IMF announced that it had reduced Angola's initial growth forecast for 2025 from 3% to 2.4%. It cited lower oil prices and tighter external financing conditions. Angola's social unrest on Friday was not triggered by the petrol price increase in 2023, which sparked deadly protests.
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GLOBAL-MARKETS-Stocks dip, dollar in doldrums as Trump's deal deadline approaches
The stock market fell on Friday, despite Wall Street's overnight record highs. Next week is the deadline set by U.S. president Donald Trump for a trade deal. As traders weighed the implications of Trump's expected signing of a sweeping spending bill later that day, the dollar lost some of its gains from Thursday. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index fell 0.6%. This was mainly due to losses in spirits producers such as Pernod Ricard, Remy Cointreau and others after China announced it would begin imposing duties up to 34.9% for brandy imported from the European Union on July 5. U.S. S&P futures dipped 0.5% after a 0.8% overnight gain for the cash index, which reached a new all-time high closing. Wall Street will be closed for Independence Day on Friday. Trump announced that Washington will begin sending letters on Friday to countries specifying the tariff rates they will be facing on exports into the United States. This is a significant shift from his earlier promises to reach scores of individual agreements before a deadline on July 9, when tariffs may rise dramatically. Tony Sycamore is an analyst with IG. He said that investors are "just waiting for July 9" and the lack of optimism in the market for trade agreements has contributed to some of the weakness of equity markets, especially those export-dependent Asia, such as Japan and South Korea. Sycamore stated that the jobs data on Thursday showed "the U.S. Economy is holding up better than most people anticipated, which suggests that markets could easily continue to perform better from here." Investors reacted positively to the surprising robustness of the jobs report, which sent all three major U.S. equity indices higher in a short session. The House approved Trump's 869-page signature bill after the vote ended. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, this would add $3.4 trillion dollars to the $36.2 trillion national debt. TRADE IS THE KEY OBJECTIVE IN ASIA Trump announced that he expects "a couple" of more trade deals after signing a deal on Wednesday with Vietnam to add to the framework agreements with China, and Britain which are so far his only achievements. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, said this week that an agreement with India was close. The White House had once said that agreements with Japan and South Korea would be announced as soon as possible. However, it appears they have fallen through. The U.S. Dollar rose overnight by as much as 0.7% against a basket major counterparts after traders backed off any expectation of a Federal Reserve rate cut in this month. The dollar ended the day Thursday up 0.4%. The U.S. dollar gave up some of its gains on Friday. It fell 0.4% to 144.31 Japanese yen, and 0.2% to 0.7936 Swiss Franc. The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1773, and the sterling remained at $1.3662. The U.S. Treasury Bond market is closed for the weekend, but the 10-year yields increased 4.7 basis points to 4.34% and the 2-year yields jumped 9.3 basis points to 3.882%. Gold rose 0.4% to $3339 an ounce. This is on track to be a weekly increase as investors once again sought safe haven assets because of concerns about the U.S. fiscal situation and tariffs. Brent crude futures dropped 7 cents to $68,73 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil was last seen at $67.02. (Reporting from London by Lawrence White and Kevin Buckland; Editing by Stephen Coates Kim Coghill Alexandra Hudson
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Polish central bank expects the inflation rate to reach target by 2026
The central bank of Poland has predicted that the inflation rate in Poland will reach the target range in the first quarter 2026. This is earlier than expected. The following is a list of projected dates The bank announced on Friday. According to central bank forecasts from July, inflation is expected to reach 2.9% by the third quarter in 2025. It will then increase to 3.6% by the fourth quarter, and then drop to 3.5% at the beginning of 2026, the target inflation rate. The pace of growth in prices will slow to just 2.1% by the end of the projection period, which is the fourth quarter of 2027. "... Inflation in the CPI will be impacted by a weakening wage increase, and this will affect prices a little later due to market mechanisms. The National Bank of Poland has set an inflation target of 2.5%, plus or minus a percentage point. This week, the statistics office reported that annual inflation for June was 4.1%. This is slightly higher than a poll's forecast of 4.0% and up from the revised 4.0% for May. The Monetary Policy Council's (MPC) decision to lower interest rates in July was a surprise for the markets. The National Bank of Poland governor did not exclude another rate cut in September. According to the central bank's forecasts for July, Poland's GDP will grow faster in 2025 from 3.0% in 2020 to 3,6%. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the 2021-2027 Financial Framework will provide a significant boost to the investment trajectory. In 2026 the Polish economy will grow at a slower pace, namely 3.1%. This will then slow down to 2.5% in 2027. The report stated that "the slowdown in the GDP growth in the year 2027 is largely due the assumption of the termination of the spending funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan." The central bank stated that the projection was based on data available up to June 9, 2025. (Reporting and editing by Pawel Florkiewicz, Susan Fenton).
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A petrol station explosion in Rome has injured at least nine people
Italian authorities reported that at least nine people were injured, including eight officers of police and one firefighter. The explosion occurred in a petrol station east of Rome on Friday. Italian capital heard the loud explosion at the petrol, diesel and LPG distributor in Prenestino. The fire department issued a statement saying that they were still working on the tank explosion. One of their officers was hospitalised. Italian news agencies reported that emergency services had arrived on the scene prior to the explosion, after they were called when a truck struck a pipeline in the service station. The fire spread to nearby depots, and the shockwave of the explosion caused damage to nearby buildings. News agencies reported that eight police officers, ambulance workers, and passers-by were all injured. Five people were taken to hospital by emergency services. The local news website Roma Today posted a photo of a large ball of smoke and flames rising into the air above the service station. The fire department released separate images showing the petrol station nearly completely destroyed. A witness reported: "I heard the bang as I left the house. The whole house was shaking and I was worried that the windows would shatter due to the strength of the impact." In a press release, the office of Prime Minister Giorgia meloni said that she was closely monitoring the situation.
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Rhine River shipping is hampered by low water levels despite rain in Germany
Commodity traders reported on Friday that low water levels following a heatwave and drought have prevented cargo vessels from being fully loaded up the Rhine in Germany, despite this week's rain. Traders said that low water levels are hampering shipping along the entire river, south of Duisburg, Cologne and the chokepoint at Kaub. In general, ships are only able sail half-full. Traders said that cargo is still delivered by multiple vessels, rather than one. The rain this week only stabilized the water level and did not result in a significant improvement. Shallow water is when vessel operators increase freight rates in order to compensate for not fully loading the vessels. This increases costs for cargo owners. The next week is likely to bring more rain and cooler temperatures, but traders expect a stabilisation rather than an improvement in Rhine water levels. The Rhine is a major shipping route for grains, minerals, ore and coal, as well as oil products including heating oil. German companies will face production and supply problems in 2022 due to the unusually low levels of water on the Rhine caused by a heatwave and drought. Michael Hogan, reporting; David Goodman, editing
Sources say that the hydrotreater at Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery will remain closed until September.
Sources familiar with the plant's operations on Thursday said that a fire-damaged hydrotreater will be closed at Marathon Petroleum Galveston Bay Refinery, Texas until September.
All other units at the 631,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Texas City, Texas, are operating at or near full capacity following the June 14 fire at the 400 train hydrotreater, which is part of the 64,000-bpd Residual Hydrotreating Unit (RHU), the sources said.
Sources who refused to identify themselves because the information was not publicly available did not quantify exactly the production impact.
In an email sent Thursday night, Jamal Kheiry, the spokesperson for Marathon, declined to comment on operations at its refinery.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Galveston Bay Refinery has the second largest capacity in the United States.
The 400 train is the third of three hydrotreaters that are part of the RHU. It uses hydrogen to remove sulfur in feedstocks, and products derived from them. This helps to meet U.S. Environmental Rules.
The RHU has also a heavy oil unit which uses hydrogen as a boost to the motor fuels feedstocks, which can be squeezed from residual crude. This thick residue is most commonly used to make petroleum coke and asphalt.
Sources said that following the fire, production of the 144,000 bpd gasoline producing fluid catalytic Cracker 3 (FCC-3), was reduced for several days. Reporting by Erwin Seba, Editing by Sandra Maler & Jamie Freed
(source: Reuters)