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European shares eased Tuesday, with energy stocks leading the losses due to the drop in oil. Investors also weighed the impact of a U.S. shutdown which could delay the release the closely watched monthly jobs data. By 0856 GMT the pan-European STOXX 600 had dropped 0.2%, to 554.5 points. However, it was still on track for its third consecutive monthly and quarterly gains. The stock is expected to rise by nearly 1% in September, compared with its 0.7% increase in August. Investors expect a rise in OPEC+ supplies later this week. TotalEnergies in France and BP in the UK both...

The European Union announced on Monday it had reinstituted sanctions against Iran following a similar action taken by the United Nations. The EU reinstated sanctions today against Iran as a result of its continued non-compliance to the nuclear deal. In a press release, the EU presidency said that diplomatic negotiations remain possible. The EU stated that the sanctions include freezing assets of the Iranian Central Bank, other Iranian banks and travel bans for certain Iranian officials. The EU also banned Iran from purchasing and transporting crude oil, as well as the sale or supply gold and certain naval gear. The...

Pertamina, the Indonesian state energy company, said that Vivo Energy Indonesia, a private retailer, has agreed to purchase 40,000 barrels out of 100,000 barrels imported by Pertamina to relieve fuel shortages in private retailers. Shell, BP AKR – the operator of BP’s fuel stations – Vivo and other companies ran out of supplies this month after more customers sought them out following a report on the quality of Pertamina’s gasoline. In order to alleviate the shortages, the government has allowed private retailers to import additional fuel via Pertamina. Vivo has agreed to an inter-company process with Pertamina. Vivo will take...

Pertamina, the Indonesian state energy company, said that Vivo Energy Indonesia, a private retailer, has agreed to purchase 40,000 barrels out of 100,000 barrels imported by Pertamina to relieve fuel shortages in private retailers. Shell, BP AKR – the operator of BP’s fuel stations – Vivo and other companies ran out of supplies this month after more customers sought them out following a report on the quality of Pertamina’s gasoline. In order to alleviate the shortages, the government has allowed private retailers to import additional fuel via Pertamina. Vivo has agreed to an inter-business agreement with Pertamina. Vivo will take...

Angola’s state-owned diamond company Endiama bid on a minority stake of Anglo American’s diamond unit De Beers, said the African nation’s Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas. De Beers, one of the largest diamond companies in the world, has operations across Botswana Namibia Angola South Africa and Canada. According to a June report, the diamond company that Anglo has put on sale due to falling diamond prices had drawn interest from six consortia. The ministry stated that Angola’s proposal did not include a majority stake in De Beers, a Botswana-based company. Instead, it believes the firm should remain a...

A top executive of Brazilian conglomerate Cosan said that the money raised through its public offering will only be used to reduce the company's debt. He added that none of the money would go towards helping the joint venture between the oil giant Shell and the Brazilian conglomerate. Rodrigo Araujo, Cosan's CFO, said in an investor call that followed the announcement late Sunday of the capital increase: "The capital will only be used to de-leverage Cosan." Raizen is a joint venture between Shell and one of Latin America's biggest energy companies. It produces sugar as well as ethanol. Low sugarcane...

China's rapid production ramp-up in ethylene – a component crucial for plastics and packaging, as well as construction – is expected to lower global prices, and put pressure on U.S., and European, chemical manufacturers who are already struggling with an oversupply of chemicals and weak demand. The domestic demand in China is also waning, as the property market continues to deteriorate amid an economic slowdown. Analysts said that this could result in a flood of Chinese ethylene on global markets, which would delay a price recovery. Vertical Research Partners estimates that the world's second largest economy has ethylene production capacity...

Documents viewed show that the Singapore Police Force has been reviewing a complaint filed by Viceroy Research, a short seller who alleged that Vedanta Ltd, a natural resources conglomerate had improperly funded Vedanta's 2024 dividend. Viceroy's accusations were "baseless" according to Vedanta Ltd, which said it had paid out all dividends in compliance with the applicable laws. The company stated that "we maintain that the allegations contained in the dubious reports of the short seller are malicious and uninformed and we reject them unequivocally." The statement added that there was no SPF investigation in progress and the Singapore Police had...

On Thursday, a U.S. court upheld the validity and the 2020 bonds of Venezuelan oil company PDVSA. This led to the suspension of an auction of shares of the parent company of Venezuelan-owned U.S. refining firm Citgo. The bonds are secured by a majority stake in Citgo, which is ultimately owned by Caracas-headquartered PDVSA. The company defaulted in 2019 on the bonds, putting the refiner under threat of seizure from creditors. Since years, bondholders and companies expropriated by Venezuela have been fighting in U.S. courtrooms for the country's assets abroad, including Houston-based refiner Citgo Petroleum valued at $13 billion. Venezuela...

Anglo American, the state-run Chilean copper giant Codelco and their Chilean neighbours have finalised a joint operation agreement for their Chilean copper mines. The aim is to extract at least $5 billion from their key assets. The mining plan is based on the memorandum signed in February by both Codelco and Anglo American. It relates to the Andina Mine of Codelco, as well as the Los Bronces Mine of Anglo American in central Chile near the capital Santiago. Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said, "We are now able to maximise the potential of Andina-Los Bronces without major investment and with much...

Google announced on Tuesday that it will make new investments of 5 billion pounds (6.80 billion dollars) into Britain in advance of U.S. president Donald Trump's visit to the nation, which is expected feature a flurry business deals and partnership. The U.S. technology company announced also the opening of a data centre near London to meet growing demand for AI-powered Google Cloud, Search and Maps services. In a statement, finance minister Rachel Reeves stated that the investment was "a powerful vote for confidence in the UK's economy and our strong partnership with the US". Alphabet's company stated that the investment...

Google announced on Tuesday that it will make new investments of 5 billion pounds (6.80 billion dollars) into Britain in advance of U.S. president Donald Trump's visit to the nation, which is expected feature a flurry business deals and partnership. The U.S. technology company announced also the opening of a data centre near London to meet the growing demand for AI-powered Google Cloud, Search and Maps, as well as Workspace. In a statement, finance minister Rachel Reeves stated that the investment was "a powerful vote for confidence in the UK's economy and our strong partnership with the US". Alphabet's company...

Rio Tinto announced on Tuesday that it, along with joint venture partners Mitsui Iron Ore & Nippon Steel, will invest $733 Million to develop new ore deposits in the West Angelas Hub of Western Australia's Pilbara Region. Rio Tinto said that the West Angelas project, for which it will contribute $389 millions, will maintain the hub’s annual production capability at 35 million tonne, and extend mining operations by several years. Around 600 full-time jobs will be created during construction, and around 950 will remain after the project is operational. The autonomous trucking of ore will begin in 2027. Rio Mining...

Prices of copper fell on Monday, after reaching 16-month-highs earlier in session. Profit-taking due to a stronger dollar overshadowed concerns about supplies from Chile and Indonesia. Benchmark copper was trading 0.7% lower at $10.636 per metric ton, after reaching its highest level since May 22, at $10.800. Monday's peak was a nearly 25% increase since early April. The traders said that the absence of Chinese markets during Golden Week holidays was a major factor in the rapid rise of copper since last week. Chinese players sold LME Copper many times during this latest rally. Some traders and funds have squared...

Predictive Discovery, an Australian gold miner, and Robex Resources of Canada have announced that they will merge their companies in a A$2,35 billion (1.55 billion) all-share transaction. This merger will create a mid-tier producer of gold in West Africa. According to a joint announcement released late Sunday, Robex shareholders receive 8.667 shares of Predictive for every Robex share. This gives them approximately 49% ownership in the combined company. The new company is listed in Sydney, and will seek a dual listing at the TSX Venture Exchange of Canada. The combined project will produce more than 400,000 ounces of gold annually...

The copper price fell on Monday, after reaching a 16-month high in the previous session. A stronger dollar countered support from supply concerns from Chile, the top producer and Indonesia as a major supplier. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.4%, to $10,666.50 a metric ton, as of 0726 GMT. It had previously reached its highest level since May 2024 earlier in the day. The U.S. Dollar Index rose by 0.4%, reaching a record high of more than a week against its competitors. A stronger dollar makes greenback-denominated assets more expensive for holders of other...

The copper price rose to its highest level in 16 months on Thursday, as fears of shortages caused by supply disruptions and the lower dollar surpassed weak demand forecasts for China's leading consumer. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 1% to $10,479 per metric ton, up from $10,520.5. This is the highest level since May of last year, when industrial metal prices reached record highs over $11,100 per ton. The latest on supplies comes from Indonesia, where Freeport McMoRan’s Grasberg operations suspended operations on 8 September after a deadly mudslide. The suspension of operations at Grasberg...

Two merchant bankers reported on Wednesday that a Vedanta subsidiary, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vedanta Resource, has accepted bids for bonds with a seven-year maturity in U.S. dollars worth $500 million. The bankers said that Vedanta Resource Finance II would pay an annual coupon below its initial price guide of 9.50% after receiving bids totaling over $2.2 billion. CreditSights, however, sees the fair price of the bond as 9.22%. This is based on a relative value comparison of existing debt from December 2031 and March 2033 with similar bond structures and comparable returns. The issue will include a call option...

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed concern on Wednesday about a report stating that China's iron ore state buyer has taken steps to stop purchases of iron ore from BHP. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the state-owned China Mineral Resources Group had asked steelmakers and traders in the country to halt purchases of BHP’s seaborne iron ore shipments denominated in dollars during the annual price negotiations. Albanese, a reporter, said: "I'm concerned about this and we want to ensure that the markets are operating properly." We have dealt with these issues before. I...

Local media reported that Namibia is considering whether to buy a stake in De Beers due to the continued decline of diamond prices, according the deputy prime minister. Anglo American has put the diamond giant up for sale as it restructures to focus its portfolio on iron ore and copper. Anglo announced on September 9th that it is pursuing a merger to create a heavyweight in copper. De Beers attracted at least six investors by June, and Angola’s state diamond company Endiama revealed on September 24 that it had bid to acquire a minority share in the company. Angola wants...

According to a document from the Mines Ministry, Mali's industrial production of gold fell by 32% on an annual basis to 26.2 tonnes by the end August. This was due to the long-term suspension of Barrick Mining operations. A mines ministry official reported that the industrial output in Mali was 22.5% lower than the government's prediction of 33.8 tonnes for the same time period. The source did not say if the country's target for this year would be revised. The source, who spoke under condition of anonymity, was not authorized to brief the media. Mali's industrial output of gold fell...

Two merchant bankers announced on Monday that a wholly owned subsidiary of Vedanta plans to raise money through the sale of bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and with a seven-year maturity. Vedanta Finance II may raise $750 million in the coming days through these bonds, which have a call-option at the end of the two-year period, according to the company. One of the bankers stated that any proceeds over and above this amount will be used for other debts or general corporate purposes. Investors have been more interested in dollar bonds issued by Indian companies over the past few weeks,...

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency wants to purchase scandium oxide from Rio Tinto for up to $40,000,000 over the next five-year period to ensure supplies of this critical material to add to the nation's stockpile. Scandium, one of the rare-earth elements, has gained prominence in recent years, especially since China, its main producer, began imposing export controls. "Scandium was, up until recently, mainly sourced from China. China implemented export controls for scandium in late 2024. This constrained the supply and led to this acquisition by the National Defense Stockpile," DLA stated in a report published last week. The company plans...

Three sources familiar with the matter said that Mercuria is the first major commodity company to start physical trading of uranium. It joins banks Natixis, Citibank and others as the expected nuclear energy boom fuels the interest in this niche market. Sources said that Mercuria started trading uranium earlier this year. Two sources confirmed that Citibank and Natixis both launched uranium trades this year. The information provided by the three sources is confidential, so they asked that their names not be disclosed. Citi and Natixis (part of French financial group BPCE) declined to comment. Three new banks will be competing...