South America

As Washington intensifies its pressure against?the Venezuelan President, the United States imposed sanctions Friday on family members and associates. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that the U.S. Treasury Department had imposed sanctions against seven individuals it believed were linked to Maduro, his wife and other officials. Bessent issued a statement saying, "We won't allow Venezuela to flood our nation with deadly drugs." "Maduro, and his criminal accomplices, threaten the peace and stability of our hemisphere." The Trump Administration will keep targeting the "networks" that support his illegitimate regime." The Venezuelan Information Ministry did not respond immediately to...

According to an interview published by NBC News on Friday, U.S. president Donald Trump stated that he would 'leave the possibility of a war with Venezuela out on the table. In a telephone interview with NBC News, he said: "I don't exclude it." According to the interview, Trump said that there would also be more?seizures' of oil tankers in Venezuelan waters. Last week, the U.S. seized an oil tanker that was sanctioned off Venezuela's coast. He told NBC News that if they were foolish enough to "sail along", they would be returning into one of his harbors. Trump ordered on...

Braskem, a Brazilian petrochemical company, announced on Monday that conglomerate Novonor had signed an agreement with IG4 Capital to sell its controlling stake to the private equity firm. IG4 and Petrobras will be sharing control of Braskem under the agreement. Petrobras is the second largest investor in the company. A securities filing revealed that Novonor will retain a 4% share. Braskem could benefit from a new controlling shareholder, as the company has been struggling with tight petrochemical margins. It also faces ongoing liabilities related to damages caused by salt mining operations at?Maceio in northeastern Brazil. The private equity firm announced...

Prices of oil rose on Monday, as disruptions in supply linked to escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela outweighed concerns about oversupply and the potential impact of a Russia-Ukraine "peace" deal. Brent crude futures rose 33 cents or 0.54% to $61.45 per barrel as of 0429 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 31 cents or 0.54% at $57.75 per barrel. The expectation of a surplus for 2026 weighed on both contracts, which fell more than 4% the previous week. Tsuyoshi Ueno is a senior economist with the NLI Research Institute. He said that tensions between Venezuela and...

Venezuela's regional partners voiced their support for the Venezuelan government at a summit held?on Sunday. They condemned the Trump administration's seizure last week of an oil tanker. The US captured the Skipper tanker last Wednesday off Venezuela's coastline, marking the first time that Venezuelan oil has been taken by American forces since sanctions were imposed on Venezuela in 2019. Support for President Nicolas Maduro at a virtual televised meeting of the leftist ALBA group of Caribbean and Latin American nations, occurred during an escalation in a U.S. buildup of military forces in the southern Caribbean. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated...

Ecopetrol, the state-run energy company in Colombia, announced on Friday that it had signed a new contract with Parex Resources to explore and produce hydrocarbons in the Piedemonte Llanero area. Ecopetrol said in a press release that operations will be conducted in areas covered by existing contracts within the departments of Boyaca e Casanare. DEAL DETAILS * This new agreement is in addition to the five other agreements Ecopetrol and Parex signed in December of 2024 for hydrocarbon exploration in two major Colombian basins. * The agreement includes drilling of the Florena-Huron well which is expected increase the domestic gas...

In an auction of crude oil held by the state-run PPSA on Thursday, a consortium of Petrobras (Petroleum) and Shell (Shell) secured two offshore fields in Brazil's Tupi & Atapu oilfields. The consortium was the sole bidder at the auction. It offered 7.79 billion reais (1.47 billion dollars) for the Tupi region, which is 2% higher than the minimum price. For the Atapu region, it offered 1 billion reais, or 16% more. The Mero field's third area did not receive any bids. The auction included stakes in fields that were already producing oil but had not been contracted. This gave...

The companies announced on Wednesday that Glencore, a Swiss miner and trader, and Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco have signed a preliminary agreement to work together on a smelter in Chile. Codelco will provide the copper concentrate, and Glencore will build the smelter, which has a processing capacity of about 1.5 million tons per year, in Antofagasta in the northern part of Chile. Experts in the industry say that a project this large would require an investment of $1.5 billion - $2 billion. Glencore will carry out a feasibility study and the companies aim to finalize the agreement by the...

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman stated on Monday that a new mechanism adopted by OPEC+ for assessing members' maximum production capacity will help stabilize markets and reward those investing in production. OPEC announced on Sunday that the OPEC+ group has approved a mechanism for assessing members' maximum production capacities to be used to set baselines starting in 2027 against which output targets will be set. Prince Abdulaziz claimed that the production level determination mechanism was "fair" and "transparent". He said, "Now, we have the most detailed and transparent approach to managing the market in the future, as well...

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the President of Guinea-Bissau, struck a confident tone when he launched his reelection campaign in early November. He claimed that "stability" had been achieved since he assumed office in 2020. Embalo told journalists that he was deposed ahead of the results to be announced Thursday. Army officers announced on Wednesday that they had been deposed on state television. seized power In the country prone to coups. The unrest is consistent with Embalo’s turbulent tenure, during which his government attempted three coups. Critics claim that, as long as the political instability continued, Embalo failed to control the notorious...

The United States officially designated Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist group on Monday, adding additional sanctions related to terrorism against the group that includes Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and high-ranking officials. Venezuela's government has rejected what it calls a "ridiculous plan" by the United States to designate a "nonexistent" group. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this month that his country will announce its designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) due to its alleged role in the importation of illegal drugs to the U.S. Maduro is under increasing pressure because President Donald Trump has increased the U.S.'s...

The U.S. Court of Appeals denied a motion made by Toronto-listed Gold Reserve on Tuesday to stop all proceedings in the court ordered auction of Citgo Petroleum’s parent company in Delaware. This is yet another setback to the miner, who has been fighting in court for its $7.9billion bid for Citgo Holding's parent PDV Holding. PDV Holding is a U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuelan state-owned energy firm Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). In late August, a court officer supervises the sale of goods. Recommended by A rival offer by an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management. Motions Disqualify The earlier this month,...

Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Friday that Antofagasta, a Chilean miner, has agreed to pay 0 cents and 0 dollars per pound for treatment?and?refining?charges (TC/RCs). After protracted negotiations, the deal was reached. It compares with charges of $21.25 per ton?and 2.125cents per lb?for 2025, agreed in December last year. The agreement matches?a mid-year contract between Antofagasta?and some Chinese smelters?at zero levels. Miners pay smelters?TC/RCs for the copper concentrate they turn into refined metal. A severe shortage of mine supplies?in the past few months sent spot processing fees to negative territory, meaning that smelters had to pay more...

The Chilean Comptroller's Office announced on Friday it would launch an "unprecedented audit" of the lithium agreement between the state copper giant Codelco, and local producer SQM. The Comptroller's Office announced in a statement that it will "launch an unprecedented audit" as a response to complaints made by members of parliament about the Codelco-SQM Agreement. The regulator stated that previous court decisions prevented it from ruling on the majority of claims. Legislators questioned the decision to reach an agreement through direct negotiations rather than by a competitive process. They also questioned Codelco's choice of SQM - a company that has,...

LIMA, December 17 - Peru’s Congress approved on Wednesday a one year extension to a temporary?permit?program?for small-scale miner amid ongoing protests that?sought to give miners a longer period of time to regularize their operation. The extension will last until the end of 2026. The government previously opposed a bill which sought to extend REINFO by two years. After receiving an initial approval at the beginning of December, the extension was approved by 13 votes in favor, 4 against, and 2 abstentions. The REINFO permits have been extended five times since the program began a little more than a decade ago....

Holcim announced on Tuesday that it had paid $550 million to acquire a majority stake in Cementos Pacasmayo in Peru, in order to expand the Swiss cement manufacturer's presence in South America. Holcim will take a 50.01 % stake in Cementos Pacasmayo in the deal, which values the Peruvian firm at $1.5 billion, including debt or $1.1 billion in equity value. According to the Peruvian law on takeovers, Holcim is required to offer more shares of the 'company and will likely increase its stake in the company, Holcim said. Cementos Pacasmayo expects sales of $630 millions for 2025, with a...

According to a report published by the Chilean Copper Commission on Monday, Chile's copper industry has significantly higher operating costs than its?regional rivals, which could limit its ability to attract new investment, despite having?strong? geological resources. The study examined 67 greenfield copper project across the Americas and found that Chile has the highest capital intensity of all the countries studied for medium-capacity processing facilities, while ranking second for large-scale operations. Chile's energy costs for grinding range between $2.4 and $3 per metric ton processed. This is the highest cost in the region. * Labor costs in the country are lower...

China's imports of iron ore in November dropped for the second consecutive month by 0.7% compared to the previous month. The decline was due to a decrease in buying interest after several mills began equipment maintenance because profit margins were shrinking. Data from the General Administration of Customs revealed on Monday that China imported 110.54 millions metric tons of this key ingredient for steelmaking last month. It was less than 111.3 millions tons in October, but higher than 101.86 in the same month of last year. Last month, more steel mills performed maintenance on furnaces as iron ore prices remained...

The UK's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday as investors assessed corporate updates and data that suggested potential weakness. Burberry also gained following an HSBC increase in price target on the luxury goods manufacturer. The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.1% at 11:15 GMT Thursday, and the midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.3%. The S&P Global monthly purchasing managers' Index showed that British construction activity has contracted at the fastest rate since May 2020. The employment index fell to its lowest level since August 2020, as the pace of job losses accelerated. The survey's measure of optimism fell to a three-year low. Cost...

The copper prices fell on Tuesday due to the stronger dollar and a lower risk appetite. Investors also locked in profits after a rally that reached a record-high in the previous session. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.4% by 1015 GMT to $11,202 per metric ton, after hitting a record high of $11,334 Monday. LME copper is up 27% this year so far, mostly due to fears about possible shortages. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank, Copenhagen. He said: "We are pausing today as we have seen the dollar...

Investors remained focused on the future risks of supply, after China's planned production cuts and Codelco's increase in premium. After reaching a record-high of 89.920 yuan per ton, the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended daytime trading 0.10% higher, closing at 88.920 yuan (12,574.60). The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.39%, to $11,208.50 per ton at 0719 GMT. Investors are assessing the impact of major Chinese Smelters' plans to reduce production by 10% in 2019. Analysts at Chinese broker Jinrui Futures stated in a report that the plan of smelters to...

The copper price fell from its record high as investors focused on the future risks of supply, after China's planned production cuts and Codelco’s premium increase. As of 0240 GMT the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange had fallen 0.15% to 88,700 Yuan ($12,535.33) a metric ton after reaching a record-high of 89920 yuan per ton earlier in this session. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.77%, to $11,165 per ton. Investors are still assessing the impact of Chinese smelters’ plan to reduce production by 10% in 2019. Analysts at Chinese broker...

The copper price soared on Monday to new record highs as traders cited the plans of smelters from China, the world's top producer to reduce output in 2019. A softer dollar also boosted positive sentiment. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange remained flat at 11,189 dollars per metric ton, down from its previous all-time high of $11,294.5 at 1118 GMT. Prices for metals used in construction and power industries have risen by 28% this year. According to a Chinese market data provider, China's leading copper smelters plan to reduce production by over 10% in 2026 in order...

Two sources familiar with this matter claim that Chile's state owned copper producer offered to sell copper to U.S. clients with contracts based upon London Metal Exchange copper price at a record premium of over $500 per metric ton. The premium is added to the benchmark LME price and reflects fundamentals of demand and supply. The premium also covers transport costs and taxes. Codelco didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. The LME copper price reached a record high of $11,200 per ton on the 29th October due to expectations that shortages would occur, partly as a result...