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Dollar pause, gold rises by more than 1% in risk-off mood
Gold prices rose more than 1% in Wednesday's trading, driven by a slightly lower dollar and broader risk-off sentiment. By 0845 GMT, spot gold had risen 1.3% to $3,981.27 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose 0.8%, to $3.991.90 an ounce. Carsten Menke, Julius Baer's analyst, said that the recent shift in risk-off sentiment on financial markets is helping to stabilize gold after its decline from record highs. European shares fell to their lowest level in two weeks as investors around the world continued to be nervous about equity valuations. Gold became less expensive to other currency holders after the dollar index eased by 0.1%. Investors are looking for clues about the U.S. rate path as the U.S. shutdown approaches the record-breaking length. The ADP National Employment Report, due on Wednesday, is one of the non-official reports that investors will be focusing on. Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered interest rates. Chair Jerome Powell said it could be the final reduction of borrowing costs this year. CME's FedWatch Tool shows that market participants see only a 72% probability of a December rate cut, compared to over 90% prior to Powell's comments. Gold that does not yield tends to perform well in low interest rate environments and times of economic uncertainty. Menke, a Julius Baer spokesperson, said: "We continue to see a strong demand for gold from those seeking monetary safety. This is also the case with emerging market central bankers." The gold price has risen by 52% in the past year. It reached a high of $4,381.21 at the end of October, boosted by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, bets on rate cuts, and central bank purchases. Silver spot gained 1.6%, to $47.87 an ounce. Platinum gained 0.7%, to $1.546.21, and palladium rose 1.3%, to $1.408.99. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith in Bengaluru, Brijesh Patel from Bengaluru)
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Congo Republic sells its first Eurobond in almost 20 years
According to a Monday statement, the Congo Republic has issued its first eurobond in almost two decades. The central African oil company has been working on easing its debt burden and servicing costs. Proceeds from the bond will be used for refinancing part of the domestic debt maturing between February 2026 and November 2025. In a press release, Finance Minister Christian Yoka stated that "This operation demonstrates the new Congolese energy: that of a nation combining fiscal discipline with exemplary governance and ambition." The bond has a coupon of 9.875% and will mature in November 2032. Yoka said that Brazzaville's debt to GDP ratio: a solution The most important issue was managing the local currency debt, which was 96% in the beginning of the new year. It implemented a regional exchange of debts last year that led rating agencies such as S&P Global Ratings or Fitch to reduce its local currency ratings to selective default. Yoka said that the country was also working on diversifying its economy to include agriculture and tourism in order to reduce its reliance upon oil.
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Starlink rival Eutelsat surprises with a CFO change before fund raising
Eutelsat announced on Wednesday that Sebastien Red has been appointed as its new finance director, just weeks before the satellite operator plans to raise additional funding to compete with Space X’s Starlink. Rouge, who is currently the finance director at minerals group Imerys, and was previously CFO at semiconductor materials firm Soitec will assume his new role on February 20, 2026. Eutelsat announced that he will replace Christophe Caudrelier who is retiring after three years. Eutelsat is currently raising 1,5 billion euros (1,75 billion dollars) in a capital injection spearheaded by the French Government. The capital increase will help reduce the company's debt, and finance new satellites to be used in its Low Earth Orbit constellation (LEO), OneWeb. This is the only LEO network available outside of Elon Musk's Starlink. Eutelsat The company is looking to expand its investor base beyond the anchor investors, including APE (the French state-owned shareholding agency) and the British government. Aleksander Peterc of Bernstein said that "Christophe Caudrelier's departure was a bit unexpected," adding that "it was a bit surprising" to see him leave "literally weeks before the right issue." The shares of Eutelsat, listed in Paris, fell by 3.5% at the opening of trading. This is the second worst performance on France's SBF120 equity index for major companies.
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Gunvor CEO: Western sanctions have resulted in an unprecedented amount of oil being stored on ships.
The CEO of Gunvor Group said that Western sanctions against Russia and Iran have led to record oil storage onboard ships, which prevents a global supply glut. The European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) have all imposed sanctions on Russia for its involvement in the war in Ukraine. Last month, the US embargo targeted Russia's top two oil producers, Rosneft & Lukoil. Torbjorn Tornqvist of the Swiss commodities trader Gunvor Group told the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi that the surplus oil supply had cushioned the effect of the trade disruptions due to the sanctions. This has kept markets stable and reduced price volatility. He added that sanctions had also caused "enormous amounts" of oil to be dislocated, some of which is now being stored on tankers. The size is unheard of. Tornqvist stated that if sanctions were to disappear, the market would be oversupplied. The global oil price fell for a third consecutive month in October, as OPEC and its allies increased production while non-OPEC producers' production was increasing. Marco Dunand, CEO and cofounder of Mercuria, said that oil supply could surpass demand by two million barrels a day next year. However, he added that Western sanctions are still a wildcard in curbing the supply. Dunand stated that "that probably means we are moving more from the 2 million barrels per day surplus to the 1 million barrels per day surplus." It is true that (global) oil inventories are low. The oil in the water is very high. This means that the glut (of supply) is slowly forming and will probably hit the market within the next few weeks. Reporting by Yousef Abdallah, Nayera Abadallah, Tala Ramadan and Jana Choukeir. Writing by Florence Tan. Editing by Muralikumar Anathraman, Kim Coghill, Christian Schmollinger.
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No buyback clause in potential Lukoil deal, Gunvor CEO says
Torbjorn Tornqvist, CEO of Gunvor Group, said on Wednesday that any potential deal for the purchase of foreign assets from Russia's second largest oil company Lukoil would not include a buyback provision. Lukoil has accepted Gunvor's offer to purchase its foreign assets, after Washington imposed sanctions against it last month. Tornqvist, speaking on the sidelines the ADIPEC Energy Conference in Abu Dhabi Tornqvist has ruled out any possibility of a Buyback Clause that would allow Gunvor the ability to sell back the assets to the Russian Oil Major if sanctions were lifted. When asked by whether such a provision could be included in a final agreement, he replied "Absolutely Not". Bloomberg News reported that Gunvor, a Swiss company based in Geneva, has started talks with regulators about the planned acquisition. In the 2000s, the company became the largest trader of Russian oil in the world. The company has benefited from the rise in oil and natural gas prices, which began after the start of the Ukraine war and Europe's decision to reduce its dependency on Russian energy. Gunvor, Vitol, and Trafigura all used their profits to buy assets from oil refineries to wind farms and power plants. (Reporting and writing by Sarah El Safty and Yousef Taba; editing by Tom Hogue, Joe Bavier and Nayera Abdballah)
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Japan dispatches troops to help combat deadly bear attacks
Japan's army deployed troops in the mountainous north of the country on Wednesday, after local authorities urgently requested help to trap bears. The operation started in the town Kazuno where residents have been warned to stay away from the dense forests surrounding it, to come home at night and to carry bells with them to scare off bears who might be foraging near their homes. According to the Environment Ministry, there have been over 100 bear attacks in Japan since April. Twelve people were killed. The environment ministry reports that two-thirds were in Akita Prefecture where Kazuno and Iwate are located. Shinji Sasamoto, Kazuno's mayor, said that the townspeople felt dangers every day after meeting with 15 soldiers in an army vehicle and several jeeps equipped with body armor and large maps. Sasamoto stated that the situation has caused people to cancel or stop attending events. The troops will assist in transporting, setting and inspecting the box traps that are used to catch the bears. However, they will be culled by hunters who have been trained to use weapons better suited for this purpose. Akita authorities say that bear sightings in the area have increased six-fold to over 8,000 this year. The governor of Akita prefecture requested help from Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (JSF) last week. The soldiers will then head to Odate and Kitaakita, two cities in Japan, under an agreement that is expected to last through the end of this month. A ATTACK ON HOT SPRING RESORT AND SUPERMARKET In Japan, the increasing bear population, climate-changed shifts in food sources and rural depopulation are causing people to come into more contact with bears. The authorities are now overwhelmed by an ageing group of hunters. In the last few weeks, bears attacked shoppers in a supermarket. They also jumped a waiting tourist at a bus station near a UNESCO World Heritage Site and mutilated a resort worker. A few schools had to close temporarily after bears wandered around the grounds. As the animals begin to forage in preparation for winter hibernation, bear attacks are often at their peak between October and November. Japanese black bears can reach a weight of 130 kg (287 lbs). Hokkaido's brown bears can reach 400 kg. This is not the first occasion that Japan has sent troops to help control wildlife. In the 1960s, the military conducted aerial surveillance of deer hunts and killed sea lions for fisheries protection. The British army also provided logistical assistance in the 2001 mass cull of animals with foot-and mouth disease. Kei Sato, the Deputy Chief Cabinet secretary, told a news conference that Tokyo would announce an emergency package later this month to address the bear issue. This will include recruiting more licensed hunter licenses. In September, the Government relaxed gun laws to allow hunters to more easily shoot bears within urban areas. He said that "as bears continue entering populated areas and bear-related injuries are increasing daily, we cannot afford to delay bear countermeasures."
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Nippon Steel excludes US Steel in its profit guidance due to'significant' market issues
Nippon Steel is Japan's largest steelmaker. It expects to report an annual profit drop of 14% before one-offs in the current fiscal year. However, it did not include its outlook for U.S. Steel due to the significant challenges on the U.S. Market. The Japanese steelmaker is expecting a underlying business gain, or profit adjusted to remove one-offs of 680 billion dollars for the fiscal year ending March. This is down from last year's 793.7 billion dollars. Nippon Steel acquired U.S. Steel for $15 billion in June. The company said that it had excluded the U.S. Steel business from its fiscal year forecast "due the significant decline of the U.S. Steel market, the one-time cost degradation caused by facility problems and other factors and the high level of uncertainty in the U.S. market." The company reported a loss for the six-month period ending in September of 113.4 billion Japanese yen, compared to a profit of 243,4 billion yen during the same time last year. It also said that it expected to report a loss for the full fiscal year of 60 billion Japanese yen (398 million dollars), which was 50% worse than the previous forecast. This is because it would have incurred a loss of 21 billion yen on the sale its stake in Usiminas Steel Manufacturing Company in Brazil. In its results presentation, Nippon Steel announced that its minority stake in Usiminas would be transferred to Ternium. The Japanese company will instead focus on the U.S.A., India, and Thailand. ($1 = 150,7800 yen)
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Dalian iron ore falls further on China's demand concerns
Dalian iron ore prices fell for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday due to concerns over demand in China, the top consumer. This is because of a persistently low manufacturing sector. The January contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange(DCE) dropped 0.26%, to 776 Yuan ($108.94) per metric ton. As of 0720, the benchmark December iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was $0.1% higher at $103.7 per ton. A private sector survey revealed on Monday that China's factory activities in October expanded at slower pace due to a decline in new orders and production as a result of tariff worries. Official data released last week showed that China's manufacturing activity declined for the seventh consecutive month in October. The factory activity fell to 49.0 from 49.8 a month earlier and remained below 50, which separates growth from contraction, due to a decline in new orders. Galaxy Futures, a Chinese broker, predicted that iron ore prices would remain low due to a weakening of steel demand and an increase in domestic inventories since the third quarter. Analysts at ANZ stated that although Hebei, a large steelmaking province in China has reissued a environmental protection alert, these measures are still focused on sintering activities and have not yet affected blast furnace activity. This limits the impact of iron ore on demand. The Chinese consultancy Mysteel stated that "China's leading property developers have increased land purchases in the first ten months of 2025. This indicates a cautious recovery in the real estate industry as some developers increase investments despite ongoing financial pressures." Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also lost ground. They fell by 0.47% and 0.03 %, respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell. Rebar fell 1.21%, while hot-rolled coils dropped 0.85%. Stainless steel also declined 0.28%. Wire rod ended flat. ($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Lucas Liew; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
Ahold Delhaize will launch a $1.2 billion buyback program after Q3 profits beat expectations
Ahold Delhaize, a Dutch supermarket group, announced on Wednesday that it plans to buy back 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) of shares, beginning in 2026, following its third-quarter earnings beating market expectations.
Analysts polled by the company had predicted an average of 866 millions euros for the quarter.
Ahold said that the strong performance in its U.S. operations, which includes Stop & Shop and Giant chains as well as Hannaford, was a major contributor to this positive result.
Sales comparable in the United States excluding gasoline increased by 2.9%. Ahold earns over half its revenue in the United States.
The company's financial targets for the full year include an operating margin of 4%, and at least 2,2 billion euros in free cash flow. Ahold's record-breaking sales for the first quarter 2025 may be headed into rougher waters because of rising inflation and the impending expiration of food aid programs in the U.S.
"With rising prices, stagnating growth, and government policy changes, the business climate and customer climate are under pressure", said Frans Müller, CEO of Frans Muller, in a press release, pointing out price limitations in Serbia and increased VAT rates in Romania.
(source: Reuters)