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Wildfires in southern Spain worsen as gusts of wind hamper firefighting efforts
Regional authorities reported that a large wildfire burning in southwest Spain was beyond the ability of firefighters to extinguish on Monday. Meanwhile,?hot, windy weather? fueled other fires across the country. According to the European Forest Fire Information System, a series of heatwaves has scorched?much? of Europe. The Mediterranean nation is now facing a disastrous summer wildfire season. Over 244,000 hectares (603,00 acres) of land have been burned in 400 fires this year. This is an area that is six times bigger than it was at the same point last year. Scientists say global warming has exacerbated heat and droughts across Europe this summer, which have caused havoc with power production, shipping, and public health systems. FLYING EMBERS - FIRE IN ALL DIRECTIONS Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s regional head for emergencies, told reporters the extinguishing of the fire around the medieval city of Niebla in the south-west of the county was like a “long-distance obstacles race” and would take several days. The area affected by the fire is already close to 20,000 hectares. The combination of wind gusts and the rugged terrain in the area, along with convective phenomenon creating fire clouds, spread flying embers all over the place, causing secondary blazes to start. Sanz stated that nearly 500 people had been evacuated from the area, while other precautionary measures are being evaluated. There were also wildfires in the provinces of Segovia in the centre and Castello in the east. A fire in Segovia that began on Saturday when a vehicle ignited on an autoroute forced 176 residents of two towns to flee their homes. The fire spread rapidly across the surrounding pastures. Authorities in the area said that the situation had improved after the humidity levels increased over night, but the number of trees scattered across the granite landscape could make firefighting more difficult. According to the Valencia regional government, a second fire in Castellon’s Tirig has still not been fully contained but is close to stabilising after the "very favorable" weather conditions overnight.
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Aluminium prices rise for the 6th consecutive session as inventories continue to be drawn.
Aluminium prices rose on Monday for the sixth consecutive day, reaching their highest level in nearly seven weeks, as exchange inventories continue to deplete. Open outcry activity on the benchmark?three-month aluminum at the?London Metal Exchange increased by?1.2% to $3,320 per metric tonne. The price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange had earlier reached $3,336.50 - its highest level since June 23. Ewa Mnthey, ING commodities analyst, said that the recent rally of copper, which reached a six-month peak last week, has reinforced a bullish sentiment in industrial metals. She added that "Aluminium fundamentals are still supportive with low exchange inventories and the market expecting to remain in deficit for this year." LME's overall aluminium inventories have dropped to their lowest level in a century, at 254,900 tonnes. Available or on-warrant stock is the lowest it has been since April 2025. China, the world's largest metals consumer, saw a draw of 13,000 tons on Shanghai Futures Exchange Aluminium stocks ?last week. Citi said in a Friday note that Chinese end-users' demand was weak during the first half of this year, but the risks for further declines appear to be limited. The bank stated that "low inventory levels make the market more sensitive to changes in physical demand and expectations of demand." There is only 5 tons of aluminium in Owensboro in Kentucky, unlike the huge cushion for copper. COMEX - The COMEX Donald Trump, the president of the United States, announced on Friday that his government would invest $3 billion into critical battery and minerals projects in order to increase domestic production as well as boost national security. LME copper, on the other hand, gained 0.5%, to $14150 per ton. It has now consolidated above $14,000, after posting its strongest weekly gain since last week. Manthey said that copper prices continue to be supported due to tight physical markets, low inventory levels, and ongoing supply concerns. Other metals include zinc, which rose 0.4% to $3720, lead, up 0.7% at $1,900, and nickel, which fell 0.2% to $15,970. Tin, however, rose 1.2% to $56,150. (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair; Additional reporting by Dylan Duan, Lewis Jackson and Joyjeet Das.)
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Hormuz, inflation and global stocks are in the spotlight
Markets remained focused on Federal Reserve interest rate expectations and a possible deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz as they climbed higher Monday. The Stoxx 600 index, which covers Europe as a whole, rose by 0.2%. Futures for the U.S. S&P 500 increased by 0.1%. Nasdaq futures also gained 0.2%. The U.S. stock market hit a new record on Friday, after traders cut their bets about Fed rate increases due to a weaker than expected jobs report. Iran announced on Sunday, as markets focused on inflationary pressures that a deal was being finalized with Oman?about transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has reiterated its position that the waterway will only be reopened once the United States?mets other conditions. These include compensation, the end of sanctions and military threat and the lifting of the sanctions. Brent crude grew 2% to $85 per barrel, as the shipping through the Strait remained?at a trickle. Although it was still well below its peak in late April of over $126 per barrel. Wednesday's U.S. Inflation reading will have a major impact on the Fed officials' rate decisions. The economists surveyed by are expecting the consumer price index will have increased 3.4% year-on-year on Wednesday. This is compared to a 3.5% increase in the previous month. Mohit Kumar is a senior European analyst at Jefferies. He said, "We remain confident that the Fed will not hike rates this year." The key would be the inflation report this week. Kumar said that if oil prices remain stable and continue to fall from their current levels, the Fed would not need to raise rates. Asian shares grew overnight in line with Wall Street, with Japan’s Nikkei gaining 2.1% and South Korea adding 0.7%. The MSCI global index rose 0.1% on Monday. EARNINGS HELP POWER STOCK In recent weeks, stock markets have soared to record levels around the globe. This was largely due to strong corporate earnings. Analysts from BofA stated that earnings per share were 30% higher than the previous year, even after taking out investment gains made by Alphabet and Amazon. The 76% EPS?rate was the highest since 2021. JPMorgan strategists revised their estimate of 2026 EPS to $365. This represents a 35% annual increase. They also raised their S&P500 price target from 7,800 to 8,000. It is currently at 7,758. This week's earnings are lower, but semiconductor company Applied Materials and cloud infrastructure technology provider CoreWeave all posted positive results. The yield on 10-year Treasuries has risen very slightly, to 4.664%. This week the market is expecting $125 billion of new issuance. The currency markets were largely stable, with the euro only a few cents off its seven-week high at $1.155. Investors remained wary about possible intervention, but the dollar rose 0.5% to 158.68 yen. A summary of the opinions expressed at the Bank of Japan's July meeting shows that policymakers are concerned about inflation, which could force them to increase interest rates faster than expected. This is a strong argument for an increase in September. Harry Robertson reported from London, Wayne Cole from Sydney and Sharon Singleton edited the article.
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Russell: The demand for crude oil in Asia is balanced by the ROI-China.
China is reducing crude oil demand across Asia by itself to compensate for the reduced Middle East shipments as a result of the Iran War. The world's largest oil importer reported arriving 8.41 million barrels a day (bpd), up from the near decade-low of 7.12 millions in June but still 24.3% less than July last year. When June and July's "imports" are combined, the average for these two months is 7.78 million bpd. The average for the three-month period ending in February was 11,99 million bpd. This is 4,21 million bpd less. The United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on 28 February. The conflict escalated to the point that the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut down, cutting off the waterway which carried about 20% of crude oil and refined goods in the world before the war began. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, two of the Middle East’s largest crude exporters have been able to increase shipments outside the Strait of Hormuz. However, flows have fallen by about 5 million barrels per day. Crude oil exports to Asia have dropped significantly. Asia is the largest importer of crude oil. According to commodity analysts Kpler, Asia's total imports of oil in July reached 22.82 millions bpd. Although this is an increase from April's 18,77 million bpd (which was the lowest since Nov 2015), July's imports are still about 4 million below the average of 26,89 million bpd for the three months before the start of the Iran conflict. The data shows that China's imports have dropped by about the same amount as Asia's imports over the last two months. Price Moves China's reduced imports are partly due to price volatility. Brent futures hit a four-year peak of $126.41 per barrel on April 30 – a date when cargoes for June and July would have been scheduled. China has historically reduced imports as prices increase, but this drop is unprecedented. Analysts estimate that China's crude oil stockpile is at least 1.2 million barrels, and could even be higher. How long will China be able to balance crude oil in Asia with China? Imports from China are expected to show a slight recovery in August as the cargoes which managed to leave the Strait of Hormuz despite the short ceasefire between Iran and the United States are delivered. Kpler estimates that China's Middle East imports?will reach 2.71 million barrels per day (bpd) in August. This is up from the 2.43 million bpd of July, and the 1.42 mbpd of June. Kpler estimates that China's crude oil imports in August will be 5.97 million barrels per day. This is up from 2.43 million barrels per day (bpd) for July and 1.42 millions bpd for June, which was the lowest since 2013. September imports will 'likely be more telling, given that flows from the Middle East are more restricted due to the sharply reduced shipments via the Strait of Hormuz following the failure of the ceasefire agreement between U.S. president Donald Trump and Tehran. Even if recent moves to restore vessel movement through the strait are successful, it will still take several weeks before exports ramp up and for these tankers to arrive at?Chinese port. China's refiners have two options: they can continue to suppress their appetite for import crude and dip into stocks, or bid for cargoes coming from outside the Middle East. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
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US inflation data is the focus as gold drops from a seven-week high.
Gold prices fell on Monday, despite hitting a seven-week peak in the previous session. The stronger dollar was to blame, and investors are looking forward to inflation data, which will provide new clues about the policy direction of central banks. As of 1122 GMT, spot gold was down 0.2% to $4,332.68 an ounce. After weak U.S. payroll data, prices hit their highest level since June 17, on Friday. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 0.2% on Monday to $4,391.60. Dollar gained 0.2% making greenback bullion prices more expensive for holders of other currencies. Gold remains capped by the U.S. - Iran conflict and tensions along the Strait of Hormuz. This is keeping the threat of inflation and higher energy prices alive. It also shields the greenback against further losses. Oil prices rose a little on optimism about talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, gains were limited by Iran's demand that the United States meet several conditions before the waterway could reopen. Increased oil prices may cause inflation fears and interest rates to rise for longer. Gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation, but it becomes less appealing in an environment of high interest rates. The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost jobs in July. Previous job gains reported for the previous two months have been revised dramatically lower. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders now price a 44% chance of a rate increase in September, down from 57% prior to the jobs report. Investors will now be waiting for the U.S. producer and consumer price data, due Wednesday, to get a better idea of what the Fed is thinking about interest rates. Economists surveyed by predict that the consumer price index for July will have increased 3.4% on an annual basis, compared to 3.5% in June. Evangelista said that a headline figure lower than the consensus forecast of 3.4% would further decrease expectations of a Fed rate hike before the end of the year. This could weaken the dollar, and create upside potential for gold. Silver spot rose 0.6%, to $63.94 an ounce. Platinum fell 0.5%, to $1736.20 and palladium dropped 1.5%, to $1357. (Reporting and editing by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru, with Pablo Sinha reporting from Bengaluru)
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What is the identity of Iran's Mohsen Rezaei?
Iran has named Mohsenrezaei secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. This is a promotion of a prominent hardliner, and close ally to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The move comes more than five months after the conflict began with the United States. Rezaei succeeds Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr in the position of second-in command at the body that coordinates Iran’s security and foreign policy and is presided over by President Masoud Peshkian. Zolqadr has been appointed to be Khamenei's political advisor. What you need to know about Rezaei 71 COMMANDED RELATIONAL GUARDS AGE 27 Rezaei, who was 27 years old when he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1981, became its commander shortly after the Islamic Revolution. He was the IRGC's commander for 16 years and led it during the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-88, for the majority of that time. He belongs to a group of IRGC leaders who rose from the revolutionary underworld and became'senior figures within Iran's security apparatus. He has been a prominent figure within the political and security establishment of the country since he left his role as IRGC Commander. He is a perennial 'candidate' for the presidency of the Islamic Republic. He was vice president for economic matters from 2021-2023 under the hardline President Ebrahim Raisi. He has a Ph.D. in economics from University of Tehran. MOJTABA ADVISOR TO MOJTABA Rezaei became Khamenei's military advisor in March, after he was elected Iran's Supreme leader, replacing his late father, Ayatollah?Khamenei. He was killed during the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. He has frequently made public statements throughout the war, in which he expressed a?deep doubt about negotiations? and threatened?the United States. Rezaei stated in April that it would be "great", if the U.S. invaded Iran on foot, because "we could take thousands of hostages, and for each hostage, we would receive a billion dollars". He said, "I'm not in favor of extending ceasefire. This is my personal opinion." Rezaei stated that the agreement was ambiguous and needed clarification in June before Iran signed the memorandum of Understanding aimed at ending war on June 17. He accused Washington of violating a deal on June 27 by creating tensions along the Strait of Hormuz. The Supreme Leader, reflecting his close ties with Mojtaba issued a Sunday decree appointing Rezaei to be his representative at the SNSC. Khamenei cited Rezaei's?valuable experience? in making the appointment. This includes his long military service. OPPOSED TO THE SHAH Rezaei, a teenager at the time, was a leader in the opposition against the Pahlavi monarchy that was overthrown in 1979. He was also imprisoned in 1973 by SAVAK (the security service of the Shah). He was instrumental in the formation and development of the Mansouroun group that was active in the 1970s against the monarchy. Rezaei and other members of the Mansouroun militant group, who were all imprisoned at the same time, became part of the senior leadership of the IRGC. CONTROVERSY OVER RECORDS IN IRAN-IRAQ WOAR His record in the Iran-Iraq War has caused controversy in Iran. His role in expensive offensives that resulted heavy Iranian casualties has been questioned by critics. In 2018, Rezaei stirred up new controversy when he tweeted that Karbala-4 was carried out in order to deceive enemies ahead of Karbala-5. Later, he clarified that initially the operation was intended to be a real offensive but that Iran used its failure in order to deceive the enemy ahead of Karbala-5. His remarks drew criticism from veteran groups, bereaved family members and political leaders. (Editing by Tom Perry and William Maclean).
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The share of Chinese copper in LME stock available fell to 42% by July
Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that in July, the share of Chinese-origin stocks was down to 42%, down from 59% one month earlier. The total amount of inventories available also nearly halved. The total available copper stocks in LME warehouses 0#MCUSTX_LOC> fell to 101.42 metric tons by the end of July. This is the lowest level seen since January. Metal continues to flow into the U.S. ahead of potential import tariffs. The total volume of?copper in China fell by 75,600 tonnes to 43,050, while stocks of other 'key suppliers' such as Chile and Zambia, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, showed a?more modest drop. The share of Russian-origin aluminum stocks available in LME storages remained at 95% after a small decrease in July. The total available or on-warrant aluminium inventories (0#MALSTXLOC>) fell by 0.5% to?245,250 tonnes in July, the lowest level since April 2025. The available Russian aluminium stock fell by 1,225 tonnes to 232 800 tons. Many traders shun Russian aluminum, even though it is still eligible for trading if produced before April 13, 2024. After that date, all aluminium produced in Russia was banned from the LME's warehousing system. At the end of December, the share of "Chinese-origin Nickel" remained at 70% of LME stock. Reporting by Tom Daly. Mark Potter (Editing)
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TechMet, a mining investor, forms a US subsidiary to attract additional capital
TechMet, a mining investor, announced on Monday that it would 'form a U.S. based subsidiary in order to attract capital from both public and private partners for critical minerals projects. The U.S. Government is a major shareholder in Dublin-based TechMet. This new subsidiary will help the company boost the mining industry of the United States, which was highlighted by President Donald Trump last week. Brian Menell is the CEO of TechMet. He said, "This is a significant acceleration in TechMet's commitment towards building out its U.S. critical minerals production platform." Menell will be appointed chairman of the U.S.-focused company, which will hold TechMet's stakes in the lithium startup EnergySource Minerals and the U.S. Vanadium is partnering with Momentum Technologies, Xerion Advanced Battery and battery recycling company Momentum Technologies. TechMet is the largest shareholder of all four companies, having invested over $400 million in them. Menell stated that the U.S. subsidiary would be based in Washington, D.C., with an initial goal to get those four companies into commercial production before considering other investments. He said that there was no question about spinning off the company, distributing it, or realizing its value. "We see billions of dollars in value and relevance that we must make happen in the U.S., and want to be a part of it in 'the long-term." TechMet, a privately-held company, also holds stakes in other mining companies outside of the U.S. including Brazilian Nickel and South Africa’s Rainbow Rare Earths. (Reporting and editing by David Gaffen; Ernest Scheyder)
Documents show that Libya's central Bank governor has resigned.
According to documents seen on Monday, Naji Issa has submitted his resignation to both the legislative chambers of Libya.
The documents, whose authenticity was confirmed by Issa in the document, stated that he could not continue to hold his position, but he did not elaborate on the reason, citing the sensitive nature of the issues.
Issa stated in documents sent to the leaders of the two chambers that he would not be able to continue his position.
The two documents stated: "I apologize that I am unable to continue my duties as Governor of Central Bank of Libya without disclosing the reasons due to their sensitive nature."
Issa sent a message to confirm?the authenticity? of the letters, but declined to give any more information about the reasons?for his decision.
Both documents date from August 9.
The two legislative chambers are the eastern based?House of Representatives, elected in 2014, and the High Council of State located in the western part of the country. This council was formed in 2015 as part of an agreement between the government and its members elected in 2012.
Since 2014, Libya is divided into two rival authorities in the east and west. This division was created by the chaos that followed the fall of Muammar Gadhafi during a NATO-backed revolt in 2011.
Issa has not received a response from either chamber.
Issa was appointed to the post in 2024 after the two legislative chambers agreed to his appointment to resolve a'standoff' over the control of the CBL, which led to Sadiq Al-Kabir being ousted as former governor.
The standoff began when, in August 2024, western factions attempted to oust Kabir from his position and replace him with a rival board. This led eastern factions to stop all oil production. This move dramatically reduced Libya's output of oil and its exports throughout the crisis. Ahmed Elumami (Reporting and Hani Amara, Writing by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by William Maclean).
(source: Reuters)