Western Europe

Early Asian trade on Monday saw oil prices drop, erasing gains made in the previous session. Oversupply worries outweighed optimism about a possible resolution to the U.S. Government Shutdown. Brent crude futures dropped 13 cents or 0.2% to $63.93 per barrel at 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was also at $60 per barrel, down 13 cents or 0.2%. Both benchmarks rose by around 40 cents during the last session. The longest government shut down in U.S. History could end this coming week. A compromise to restore federal funding passed the initial Senate hurdle on Sunday night, but it...

Gold Reserve, a Toronto-listed company, filed a lawsuit in Delaware against Rusoro Mining on Monday for alleged breach in contractual obligations. The consortium agreement required Rusoro to bid in an auction for Citgo Petroleum's parent company in the United States. In August, Elliott Investment Management's affiliate was recommended to be the winner of the auction. This bid beat Gold Reserve's bid of $7.9billion. The auction of Venezuela's PDV Holding is intended to compensate up 15 creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in Venezuela. As part of both bids, Rusoro agreed to allow the use of its $1.5 billion claim relating...

Premier Rosen Zhelyazkov announced on Monday that Bulgarian authorities were conducting inspections at the Russian oil giant Lukoil’s Burgas refinery and taking security measures to protect critical infrastructure. The government is preparing to take control of the site. Last week, Bulgaria made legal changes that allowed it to buy the refinery from the U.S. and sell it on to a new buyer to protect the plant against sanctions. Zhelyazkov stated on Monday that these measures include inspections, and the preparation of military police. They are preventive, and aim to preserve critical infrastructure including oil refinery, and other facilities. The Council...

Bloomberg News, citing the CEO of ADNOC, reported that the trading division at the Abu Dhabi state oil company plans to double its volume in the next few year as part its international expansion. ADNOC has increased its global expansion over the last few years in order to find new revenue sources for the Gulf State, including by building trading operations. Ahmed Bin Thalith is the chief executive officer of ADNOC Global Trading. He told Bloomberg that the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company views trading as a means to maximize the value of fuels sold in the emirate or...

Helsingin Sanomat, citing Teboil's spokesperson, reported Friday that the Finnish petrol station chain Teboil is out of fuel due to U.S. sanctions imposed on its parent company. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on October 22 that Rosneft (Russia's oil company) and Lukoil would be subject to sanctions as a result of a policy shift regarding Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. He also said that companies who do business with these two groups may face sanctions. The U.S. Treasury referred to Gunvor as Russia's "puppet", and indicated that Washington was against the deal. On November 6, a deal between Gunvor, a...

Botswana, Angola and their mining ministers will meet in Botswana’s capital for talks on Friday. The two Southern African nations are seeking to control the Anglo American diamond company De Beers. Botswana considers De Beers, which owns 15% and produces 70% of its rough diamonds, as a strategic asset for the country, despite the global price slump that has hurt their economy. Angola originally sought a minor stake in De Beers, but submitted a bid later for a major stake. This could lead to a bidding war between Angola and its neighbour. According to a program shared by the Botswana...

Gunvor, a Swiss commodity trader, announced on Thursday that it had withdrawn its proposal to purchase foreign assets from Russian energy company Lukoil. The U.S. Treasury indicated it was against the deal so long as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. In a recent post, the U.S. Treasury stated that Donald Trump has "made it clear that this war must be ended immediately" and that as long as Vladimir Putin (Russian president) continues to kill people in a senseless manner, Gunvor (the Kremlin puppet), will not get a license for operation and profit. Gunvor's corporate director Seth Pietras said that Treasury's...

The oil prices were mostly flat on Thursday morning, after having settled at two-week lows the previous session. This was due to the pressure of a weaker global demand and an oversupply of crude oil. Brent crude futures rose 2 cents or 0.03% to $63.54 a bar at 0127 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate futures were unchanged at $59.60. J.P. Morgan said that the global oil demand had increased by 850,000 barrels a day through November 4. This is below the 900,000 barrels a day growth projected earlier. The note stated that "high-frequency indicators indicate that U.S. petroleum consumption remains...

Orsted, the Danish offshore wind company, said that it has no plans to acquire the renewables division of Equinor. Equinor is its second largest shareholder and had proposed closer ties with Orsted. Equinor is a Norwegian oil and gas group that also produces renewable energy. It took a 10% share in Orsted in October last year, and invested close to $1 billion into the company. Last week, it said that offshore wind needed consolidation. Orsted shares are down 85% since their peak in 2021, due to rising costs, disruptions of the supply chain, and challenges in the United States, where...

People with direct knowledge of this matter expect that the EU will approve the ADNOC bid of 14.7 billion euros ($17 billion) for the German chemicals firm Covestro within the next few weeks. According to a Wednesday update, the European Commission, EU's competition enforcer reopened its investigation on the deal on 24 October after stopping it on 3 September while awaiting requested information. The new deadline is March 2. ADNOC offered last month to amend its articles of Association to address EU concerns about its unlimited state guarantees, and pledged to maintain Covestro’s intellectual property in Europe. The company then...

Spain continues to be the fastest-growing economy in the Eurozone, and has outperformed its peers again in the third quarterly. The Iberian nation's successful mix of policies offers lessons that are at odds with global political trends. Spain's economy has grown by 0.6% in the last three months, a rate slightly lower than the previous quarter but still well above the 0.2% for the Eurozone as a group. This continues a trend of positive growth over the past few years. The International Monetary Fund has recently ranked Spain the fastest-growing advanced country, increasing its growth forecast for 2025 to 2.9%...

People familiar with the plant's operations said that Motiva Enterprises’ 640,500 barrels per day (bpd), Port Arthur, Texas refinery, along with two other refineries in the east Texas Gulf Coast, were now operating normally following repairs. Sources at both plants say that the Motiva refinery in Louisiana and Valero Energy’s Port Arthur refinery with a capacity of 380,000 bpd suffered multiple malfunctions due to a loss of nitrogen gas. Sources familiar with the operations of the plant said that the TotalEnergies Port Arthur refinery, which produces 238,000 bpd, suffered a boiler failure on October 26. This caused the refinery's steam...

T.V. Narendran, the chief executive of Tata Steel India, hopes that the government will extend the import tariffs for some steel products in order to protect against imports from China and other countries. Narendran said on Thursday. Narendran, in an interview, said that although the import volumes in India are small, they still affect the market. Narendran stated that "China exports a lot" of steel globally, and added that Indian steel producers had no choice but to export due to the "over-saturation" of most markets by Chinese competitors. In April, India, the second largest crude steel producer in the world,...

Solvay, a French chemical company, announced on Wednesday that it has signed two agreements to supply rare-earths to U.S. magnetic makers in order to expand its processing facility. Solvay is one of only a handful of companies outside China that can perform the difficult rare earths separation. In April, it began processing minerals for permanent magnets in its French facility. However, commercial production will depend on government and customer support. Separate statements stated that Solvay has concluded agreements to supply rare-earth oxides with U.S. firms Noveon Magnetics & Permag. In order to reduce dependence on China, the United States, Europe,...

China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that Vice Premier Liu Guozhong visited the Simandou Iron Ore Mine Project in Guinea this past week. The project, which is 75% owned by China, will be the largest iron ore mine in the world, with a production capacity of 120 million tons per year. It will also be key to the green transformation in the global steel industry. Xinhua reported that the Chinese vice-premier called the project a result of the friendship and cooperation of China with Guinea and Africa for nearly 70 years. He added that the project would contribute to Guinea’s...

Voestalpine, an Austrian steel manufacturer, reported lower half-year revenues on Wednesday. The market had expected this and the company said that it did not expect any improvement in the economic climate in the months to come. The revenue fell from 8 billion to 7,59 billion euros (8,85 billion dollars) in the first six months of the financial year 2025/26. This was in line with the median forecast of LSEG's analysts. The company that makes specialty steels for the automotive industry said they did not expect economic conditions to improve over the next few months. They would continue with reorganizational measures,...

Liontown Resources announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with German digital commodity platform Metalshub for online auctions of spodumene from its Kathleen Valley Lithium project in Western Australia. After the announcement, shares of the Australian lithium mining company soared up to 5.7% to A$1.31, their highest level since the middle of 2024. This outperformed a 0.2% increase in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200. This tie-up aims to digitalise and streamline spot sales while promoting market pricing, as lithium buyers and producers adopt auction formats. The project will see the first 10,000 metric ton digital sale on November 19. Liontown plans...

The U.S. Government has added copper to its list of critical mineral - metals that are vital to the economy and national security of the United States. The United States, however, has amassed the second-largest copper stockpile in the world, after China's reserves. The federal government has not spent a single dollar on this project. The copper market did all the work by creating a huge arbitrage gap between U.S. prices traded at the CME and international prices traded on the London Metal Exchange. Price differentials have already brought massive quantities of copper to the United States. The market is...

The U.S. Government has added copper to its list of critical mineral - metals that are vital to the economy and national security of the United States. The United States, behind China, has accumulated the second-largest copper stockpile in the world. The federal government has not spent a single dollar on this project. The copper market did all the work by creating a huge arbitrage gap between U.S. prices traded at the CME and international prices traded on the London Metal Exchange. Price differentials have already brought massive quantities of copper to the United States. The market is still betting...

Botswana has been working to acquire a majority stake of De Beers. This was announced by President Duma Boko on Monday after Angola made a bid for control over the giant diamond firm. Botswana owns 15% of De Beers, and the company contributes 70% of their annual rough diamond production. Despite a global slump in diamond prices, which has hurt its economy, Botswana considers De Beers a strategic asset. Boko said during the State of the Nation address in Gaborone, that diamonds will remain the major contributor to growth. Boko, without revealing any further details, said that "concrete steps are...

Guinea's mines minister has told reporters that the country will accelerate the development of iron ore pellet and alumina refineries to stop decades of raw ore shipments. The first shipments of iron ore from the huge Simandou mine are expected this week. The World Bank stated in July that alumina and ore processing within Guinea could be a game changer for the country's economy, creating industrial jobs while reducing Guinea's exposure to swings in commodity prices. Guinea exports about 60% of its bauxite to China as a feedstock, and a third is iron ore from the Simandou Mine, which is...

Vattenfall CEO, Vattenfall, said that Sweden was closer than ever to building new reactors. This is after a group large industrial firms decided to invest 400 millions Swedish crowns (42.5 million dollars) in small modular nuclear reactors. Industrikraft is a group of 17 industrial firms, including SKF and Volvo Group, that have agreed to invest in Videberg Kraft. This company was set up to help build several small modular reactors. In a Monday joint statement, the group said it planned to take 20% of Videberg Kraft in the future. Vattenfall plans to build three to five small modular reactors in...

The companies announced on Monday that they had reached a settlement of $215 million over the South African company's cancellation of a $1.2billion deal to purchase the investment firm’s Brazilian nickel-and-copper mines. Sibanye's shares rose by more than 5% at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in line with those of other gold and silver miners who have been boosted by rising metal prices. The London High Court has ordered Sibanye to compensate Appian in October 2024 for the failed transaction. In a joint press release, the companies stated that the agreement was announced one day before the court hearing to determine...

RHI Magnesita's London-listed shares jumped by 20% on Monday, after the refractory product supplier reported robust profits and reaffirmed their full-year outlook despite a difficult steel market. The company reported that adjusted earnings before interest tax and amortization were 136 million euro ($158.6 millions) for the period July-October, with a margin of 12.7%, which was ahead of the first halves despite a seasonally lower third quarter. RHI Magnesita shares, listed in London, were the top gainers on the FTSE Mid-Cap index at 0926 GMT. They traded up 15.8%, to 2,310 pences, and are on track to have their best day...