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Kremlin welcomes the fact that Germany's AfD is interested in dialogue with Russia
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was pleased with the fact that Germany's AfD party wants to dialogue with Moscow. It contrasted this with what they called the confrontational attitude of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. On Sunday, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a group that opposes immigration, won a state-level election in Mecklenburg/Western Pomerania. This builds on their victory a few weeks ago in Saxony/Anhalt and intensifies?political pression on Merz. Last week, it was reported that the AfD and Vladimir Putin's economic envoy had begun preparing to meet in order to discuss restarting Russian gas supplies to Germany. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, told reporters that he did not have any information on reported attempts by AfD to contact Moscow. "However, this is a political force in Germany that's?popular and?showing an upward trend, while also talking about the necessity of establishing relations with our country," he said. Peskov stated that Merz on the other hand had only made confrontational remarks against Russia.
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The dollar is firm, but Chinese demand for copper drives up prices.
The copper price?extended its gains for a six-session session on Tuesday, as the?top metals consumers China stocked up before holidays. However, a'stronger dollar' dampened the increase. Benchmark 'three-month' copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.7% to $14,770 per metric ton at 0930 GMT after gaining 1% the previous session. LME copper prices have risen 18% this year, mainly due to large metal flows to the US on speculation regarding tariffs on refined Copper. Sources told US officials that they were worried that tariffs could increase costs for manufacturers. EwaManthey, commodities analyst at ING, said that tightening physical market conditions in China are supporting copper. "Falling inventory, seasonal restocking demands and constrained availability are?offsetting stronger dollar and tariff uncertainties." The most traded copper contract at the?Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 1.2% to 111,320 Yuan ($16.616) per ton. This was also aided by renewed speculative interest. Sandeep Daga of Metal Intelligence Centre said that Chinese consumers are purchasing ahead of the holidays and shutdowns of smelters. China's next holidays are from September 25-27 and October 1-7. Copper stocks in warehouses are monitored by?SHFE Since early June, the market has fallen by 70%. Robert Montefusco, broker at Sucden, believes that prices may be nearing a ceiling. "I believe it's a little bit overinflated here." "I think it's a little bit inflated here," Montefusco said. Traders were waiting for the meeting between US president?Donald Trump, and Chinese president Xi Jinping to take place later this week. They wanted to get a sense of what trade ties are like and how global economic?outlook is. Other metals include LME aluminium, which fell 0.2%, to $3.261 per ton. Zinc grew 0.5%, to $3.944; lead rose 0.2%, to $1.940; nickel climbed 1.3%, to $16,525; and tin slipped 0.2%, to $54,030.
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Hurricane Polo reaches category 5 near Mexico's Pacific Coast
The US National Hurricane Center reported on Tuesday that Hurricane Polo has a category 5 rating as it continues?to intensify and'sweeps towards the Mexican Pacific?coast. The advisory said that despite its proximity to the coast and the heavy rainfall it will bring, Polo should move slowly away from the coast in the next few days. The category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds up to 150 mph (240km/h), is located 215 miles (345km) south of Zihuatanejo and 345 miles south-southeast from the port city of Manzanillo. NHC warned that heavy rains in the coastal states of Guerrero & Michoacan could cause life-threatening flooding & mudslides. Authorities in Mexico warned of heavy rains forecast for the western and southern regions of the country. This could cause rivers to overflow. The National Civil Protection Agency asked residents to avoid walking or driving on flooded roads and to remove furniture and beach equipment to avoid wind-related hazards. The agency said on X that "if you live in an area prone to flooding, identify higher ground and best routes to get there." According to NHC, a rapid intensification of the storm is still expected. Polo could reach category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale later Tuesday.
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Tech stocks surge on renewed AI fever, while oil and bond yields rise.
The technology shares were boosted by a renewed optimism about AI on Tuesday. However, the broader stock market struggled as oil prices rose?above $100 per barrel and bond yields increased?once again. Meta Platforms' Muse AI Assistant has been a viral hit since its launch two weeks ago. The stock of the company soared on Monday after a sell-off caused by gloomy warnings issued by AI executives a week prior. Semiconductors were one of the few gainers on the STOXX 600 index in Europe, which fell by 0.2% after gaining 1% the previous day. Meta shares jumped more than 11% on Monday, their biggest one-day gain since April 2024. This helped propel a number of AI-related stocks such as AMD which reached the $1 trillion mark. Intel and?Arm Holdings jumped 12,2% and 17% respectively. Kathleen Brooks is the research director at XTB. She said: "This indicates that demand for expensive AI tools are robust and worth hundreds of billions in capex expenditure by the hyperscalers." She said that if Muse is widely adopted, this could increase demand for other AI-based tools. This could help the AI industry recover after a few difficult months. Nasdaq Futures?were down by 0.1%, indicating a slight drop at the opening for the index which reached record highs on Sunday, while S&P Futures were down by 0.1%. TRUMP-XI METING IS AWAITED Investors are watching to see if the two leaders of the largest economies in the world can avoid a further deterioration of relations. Xi arrived in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday - the first time he has been there in over a decade. This is fueling optimism that the trade truce agreement between the two nations will be extended. There could also be a potential for cooperation in artificial intelligence. The general tone is positive but there is still no agreement, according to Jim Reid, a Deutsche Bank strategist. Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to $101.67 per barrel, after falling over 3% on Monday, when they briefly dropped below $100 for the very first time in the past two weeks, based on speculation that Trump could meet Iranian President Masoud Pesehkian at the UN General Assembly next week. Oil futures have still risen about 12% in the past month. The physical market, however, is showing signs of stress. Prices for immediate delivery in the northwest Europe region, for instance, are over $130. This is a nearly 50% increase in September. RATE INCREASES ARE ON THE WAY Investors are pricing in another round of rate increases from major central banks. This helped to underpin the US dollar but drove up global bond yields. The dollar gained the most against the Japanese yen. It rose 0.26% to 157.7. This is near the three-week high. Support for the Japanese currency was fading as the Bank of Japan's rate hikes were expected to be more rapid. Investors were disappointed by the BOJ's decision to raise rates in last week, a move that marked a new high for 31 years. However, two dissenting voices and lacked of explicit hawkish advice left the yen vulnerable. Matthew Ryan, Ebury's head of market strategy, said: "FX interventions remain a blunt tool for proping up currencies. Without a strong monetary policy response, it will be hard for Japanese authorities to stop the selloff of the yen." The Federal Reserve on the other hand, increased rates last week, and warned that its fight against inflation is not over. The 10-year Treasury yields in the US have risen to 4,969%. This is not far from October 2023, when it reached its 16-year-high.
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Victoria proposes that new data centres must source their own green energy
As part of its sustainable data centre development plan, the state of Victoria in Australia has proposed that all new data centers in this?region must secure their own renewable power supply. Victoria Premier Ben?Carroll announced the proposal Tuesday and called it the "strongest and clearest data center rules in the nation". Data centres would be required to provide their own renewable energy and storage and pay for the costs of connection and network upgrades. William Taylor, ETFshares COO, stated that the new mandate would require data centre developers to become power project developers. This would add capital and lead time. Taylor stated that some of the world's largest hyperscale operators have already established dedicated renewable power purchase contracts as part?of global standard practice and Victoria's announcement could help formalise this practice. The cost of dedicated generation and the data center itself will be felt most by operators in the mid-tiers. The new rules will prohibit the construction of data centers in residential zones and near schools, childcare centres and rural areas where the infrastructure cannot be supported, as well as the management of traffic during the construction and operation. The data centre energy demand in Victoria is growing rapidly, and communities all over Australia are pushing back against the strain this sector puts on water, land and power resources. According to a government statement, data centres in Victoria use less than 1 percent of the drinking water available in the state for cooling. NEXTDC and CDC are two of the largest data centres in the state. The Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan of the Victorian Government outlines a new set of rules that will govern the development of data centres in Victoria, including what is expected from the state's planning, water, energy and environment departments. The Australian government has promised to restrict data centre resource usage from 2027, but continues to pursue an investment boom that may reach A$150 billion (106.53 billion dollars) by 2030.
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Copper prices rise on pre-holiday Chinese purchases
The price of copper rose on Tuesday as demand from the top consumer, China, pushed it back to its previous record high. The benchmark three-month 'copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose?0.4% to $14,720 per metric tonne by 0700 GMT. This was the sixth consecutive session of gains. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose by 1.24%, to 111320 yuan (16,615.67) per ton. This was also aided by renewed speculative interest. Sandeep Daga is the head of research for Metal Intelligence Centre. He said that Chinese consumers are buying in advance of the holidays and shutdowns of smelters. China's next holidays will be from September 25-27 and October 1-7. The premium?Yangshan Copper On Monday, the price of copper in China fell to $119 per ton, but was still 65% higher than the beginning of the month. Low inventories in China also support prices. Daga stated that "Chinese inventory levels are low due to the fact that imports and output both fell." Traders awaited the outcome of a meeting that will take place between US President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping in this week to get hints on global economic prospects and trade ties. The gains were a'rebound' after a short pullback during a larger rally in recent months. The prices were supported by concerns about a possible US tariff on imported refined copper, which drove more metal into US warehouses. On September 10, copper reached a record-high of $14,875 per ton due to a shortage outside the United States. The price then eased after it was reported that the White House had not yet decided on tariffs. Aluminium gained 0.29% on the LME, while zinc fell 0.24% and lead dipped by 0.15%. Nickel rose 0.72%, while tin ticked up 0.09%. Aluminium fell 0.27% on the SHFE. Zinc dropped 0.6%. Lead increased 0.18%. Nickel gained 0.97%. Tin rose 0.47%.
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NHK reports that four people have died in the torrential rains caused by a typhoon in Japan.
NHK, the public broadcaster, reported on Tuesday that torrential rains caused by a powerful storm slamming Japan's Pacific Coast had led to landslides which killed four people and left six others missing. Typhoon Dujuan was the latest extreme weather phenomenon in an unusually wet year that saw floods, tropical cyclones, and intense rains hit regions around the world, from East Asia to North America and Europe. The broadcaster reported that mud poured into a house in Yokosuka, Kanto, killing a woman aged in her 60s. This was after landslides in Kanagawa, Chiba and other areas. Rescuers removed?debris? in Miura, a city in Kanagawa, south of Tokyo, while searching for a missing individual at a home that was hit by a landslide. After the typhoon left Japan, a resident removed heavy mud from an adjacent street. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that about?45,000 homes in the area are without electricity. Richard Yonamine, 37 years old, said that water flooded into his house in Chiba's city of Sakura after a nearby river swelled by rains. This was the only time he had experienced this in more than 30 years. "I'm afraid if it begins to rain... "I'm afraid that as soon it starts raining, it will become a big problem," Yonamine said. Media reported that more than 10,000 vehicles were irreparably damaged by heavy?rain in Chiba last month, leaving passengers stranded at the busy Narita Airport.
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Victoria, Australia proposes that new data centers must secure their renewable energy supply
As part of its plan for sustainable data center development, Victoria, Australia, has proposed that all new data centers in the region will be required to have their own renewable energy supply. The new proposed?rules would also 'ban' data centres from residential areas and require that they use non-drinking?water for cooling. This comes as the demand for energy in Victoria is growing rapidly, and communities all over Australia are pushing back against this sector’s increasing strain on land and water resources. Anthropic, an AI company, signed its first lease agreement for a data center in Brisbane, Queensland, earlier this month. Victoria Premier Ben 'Carroll announced the proposal Tuesday and called the regulations "the strongest, clearest data center rules in the country". Data centres would be required to provide their own renewable energy, pay for network upgrades and?connection costs,' and use recycled water or non-drinking bottled water as cooling. The 'would also prohibit?the?construction?of data centres near schools and childcare centers, as well as in rural areas which cannot support the infrastructure. They would also pass on the responsibility for managing traffic during the construction and operation these facilities, that power AI growth. Data centres are traditionally cooled by water, which is a concern for local communities and policymakers, particularly in regions prone to drought. According to a statement from the Victoria government, data centres use less than 1 percent of the drinking water in the state for cooling. NEXTDC AirTrunk, and CDC are a few of the major data centres in the state. The Victorian government's Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan outlines the expectations for data center development in Victoria, including planning, water, energy and environment, as well as how it will coordinate to support the initiative. The Australian government has promised to restrict the use of data centres resources from 2027, but continues to encourage an investment boom which economists estimate could total A$150 Billion ($106.82 Billion) in Australia by 2030.
France asks EU to delay methane reporting due to tight energy supply
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, wrote to the European Commission to urge it to delay new rules on methane reporting for oil and 'gas importers. He argued that they could create legal risks if energy supplies are tightening.
Les Echos, a French newspaper, first reported on Macron's September 18 letter to Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
The new regulations, which will come into force on 'January 1', will require monitoring and verifying methane emission for fuel deliveries in the?Block. They aim to reduce leaks of this powerful greenhouse gas, and to impose a?fine if companies violate the regulation.
Macron asked for the regulation to be delayed an additional year, until? January 1, 2028.
Methane is second in importance to global warming after?carbon dioxide.
Germany, Europe's largest gas market, has already called for the delay of the regulations. The European Commission responded by instructing EU member states in July to waive financial penalties related to the regulation until the end 2029.
Macron also asked the EU in his letter to "temporarily relax fuel quality rules" so that European production of diesel and kerosene could increase by up to 20%, as demand for these products increases.
Macron wrote in his letter that French refiners believe that loosening some specifications would increase fuel production from 5% to 20 percent, depending on refinery.
The French president proposed a relaxation of the blending limits for biofuels, such as allowing distributors replace B7 diesel (which contains up to 7 % biodiesel) with B10 diesel, which has up to 10 %.
(source: Reuters)