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Gold prices rise on Middle East tensions, but all eyes are on the Fed meeting
The gold price rose on Tuesday, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated. Attention also turned to the U.S. Central Bank's policy announcement on Wednesday. Silver surged to its highest level in 13 years. As of 10:00 am (14:00 GMT), spot gold rose 0.2%, to $3,390.73, while U.S. futures gold fell 0.2%, to $3,410.40. Jim Wycoff is a senior analyst at Kitco Metals. He said that geopolitical uncertainties, such as the Israeli-Iran conflict, which will likely escalate before de-escalating, would keep the market's safe-haven bids in check. Israel's Military said Iran's Military Leadership is "on the Run" and that they killed Iran's Wartime Chief of Staff Ali Shadmani over night four days after his appointment, replacing another top commander who was killed in the strike. U.S. president Donald Trump stated that he wants a "real ending" to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and suggested he might send senior American officials in order to meet the Islamic Republic, as the Israel-Iran war has raged on for the fifth day. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announces its policy decision, followed by Jerome Powell's Press Conference. It is expected that the U.S. Central Bank will keep its benchmark overnight rate at 4.25% to 4.50%, as it has done since December. Gold's appeal is boosted by a low-interest rate environment, as well as geopolitical unrest. A survey by the World Gold Council revealed that central banks expect to see their gold holdings increase as a percentage of their reserves over the next five year period. The data showed that retail sales in the United States fell more than expected, but consumer spending was still supported by wage growth. Spot silver rose 2.1% to $37.1 an ounce, its highest level since Feb 2012. Wycoff said, "The next target for silver bulls is 40 dollars. I think it's possible in the next few weeks or even sooner." Palladium rose 1.7%, to $1 047.23, while platinum increased 0.4%, to $1 251.81. (Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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IAEA: Israeli strike hit Iran's Natanz underground enrichment plant directly
The U.N. nuclear watchdog revised its initial assessment on Tuesday after initially reporting that it was only indirectly hit. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has provided updates since Israel launched a wide-ranging attack on Iran last Friday. However, it hasn't been able conduct inspections. IAEA previously stated that an above-ground enrichment pilot plant in Natanz had been destroyed, but the larger underground facility was not directly affected. However, IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi claimed on Monday that its centrifuges were very likely badly damaged due to a strike against the plant's electricity supply. On Tuesday, it was reported on X that "based on continued analysis high-resolution imagery collected after the Friday attacks, the IAEA identified additional elements which indicate direct impacts on underground enrichment chambers at Natanz." The report said that there were "no changes to report" in Iran's other two major nuclear sites: Isfahan, and Fordow. Grossi said that there were no visible damages at Fordow where Iran enriches uranium to 60%, which is close to 90% weapons grade. The plant, dug deep in a mountain, has been enriched to this level. IAEA reported that several facilities at the Isfahan Nuclear Complex were destroyed. This included Iran's facility for converting uranium to a form which could be fed into enrichment centrifuges. (Reporting and editing by Peter Graff.)
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The US manufacturing output barely increased in May
The U.S. factory output barely increased in May, as a surge of motor vehicle and plane production was partly offset by weakness elsewhere. And the outlook for manufacturing is still clouded by trade tariffs. The Federal Reserve announced on Tuesday that manufacturing output increased by 0.1% in May after a 0.5% drop in April which had been downwardly revised. The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that economists polled had predicted a rebound of 0.2% in production after an earlier reported drop of 0.4%. In May, the production at factories rose 0.5% year-over-year. The President Donald Trump’s changing tariffs policy is a major headwind for manufacturing, which represents 10.2% of GDP and heavily relies on imported raw materials. Trump has recently increased the steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%, up from 25%. A 25% tax is included in the array of tariffs. Trump argues that the duties are necessary to revive the U.S. industry base which has been in decline for a long time. However, economists argue that this cannot be achieved within a short period, citing the high costs of production and labor as some of the challenges. The production of motor vehicles and parts increased by 4.9% in May, after falling 2.3% in April. The production of miscellaneous transport equipment and aerospace increased by 1.1%. The production of nonmetallic minerals, machinery and fabricated metals all declined by at least one percent. Durable manufacturing production increased by 0.4%. The nondurable manufacturing sector's production fell by 0.2% due to a drop in printing and support products, petroleum and coal, as well as food and beverage, tobacco and tobacco products. Production of nondurable goods fell by 0.8%, with a drop of 3.2% in energy-related nondurable goods. The mining output increased by 0.1% in August after a 0.3% drop the previous month. Utilities output fell by 2.9%. A 3.6% drop in electric utilities output was more than offset by a 2.7% rise in natural gas utilities production. This followed a 4.9% increase in April. The overall industrial production dropped by 0.2% in May after increasing by 0.1% in April. In May, it increased 0.6% year-over-year. The capacity utilization rate for the industrial sector fell from 77.7% to 77.4% in April. This is 2.2 points below the average for 1972-2024. The manufacturing sector's operating rate remained unchanged at 76.7%. This is 1.5 percentage points lower than its long-term average. Lucia Mutikani, Lucia Ricci and Andrea Ricci (Reporting)
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Indian miner Hindustan Zinc has approved a $1.39 billion project
Hindustan Zinc (India's largest producer of refined metal) has approved a 120 billion rupees (1,39 billion dollars) project to increase capacity. The miner announced this on Tuesday. The company plans to build a 250-kilo-tonne (KT) metals complex in Rajasthan, a state in northern India where it operates a zinc smelter. This (project) is only the beginning of a larger plan. We will release more parts within a month or so," said CEO Arun misra, adding that the company aims to double its production from 1.02 MT to 2 MT per year. The company has said that it will use its internal accruals and loans to expand. Sandeep Modi, CFO of the company, said that the capital expenditure to double the capacity in the next five-year period should be between 320 and 350 billion rupees. Hindustan Zinc is expecting a revenue between 620 and 650 billion rupees per year at its peak capacity. Modi stated that the newly approved 250 KTPA Project, which is expected to be finished in 36 months will start generating cash from its fourth-year. This phase also includes an additional 30 KT silver capacity. Hindustan Zinc is second in terms of revenue. CEO Misra stated that the company wants to increase its silver refining capability to 1500 tonnes per annum from 800 tonnes. Misra predicted that silver prices would be between $41 and $42 per ounce by January 2027. Hindustan Zinc, too, is interested in the mining of rare-earth metals in India. Misra said that they will be more willing to invest when private players can participate. China, which controls over 90% of the global rare earth processing capability, has severely restricted shipments. This has caused severe supply chain interruptions around the world.
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Medical reports say that Israeli tanks killed 59 people trying to reach food aid in Gaza.
Israeli tanks opened fire on a crowd of people trying to reach trucks with aid in Gaza, Tuesday. According to doctors, at least 59 were killed in the most violent incident yet as residents in Gaza struggle to find food. A video shared on social networks showed a dozen bodies mangled in a street of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces, which have been at war in Gaza with Hamas militants since October 2023 acknowledged that they had fired in the area. They said they were investigating the incident. Israeli tanks fired at least two shells, according to witnesses interviewed by. The crowd was gathered along the eastern main road in Khan Younis with the intention of receiving food from the aid trucks using the route. "All of a suddenly, they let us go forward and forced everyone to gather. And then shells began falling, tank-shells," said Alaa an eyewitness interviewed by at Nasser hospital, where injured victims were sprawled out on the floor or in corridors because of the lack of room. "Nobody is showing mercy to these people." People are being torn to pieces to feed their children. "Look at these people. They are being torn apart to get flour for their children." Palestinian medics reported that at least 59 were killed, and 221 injured in the incident. At least 20 of those in critical condition. The injured were rushed to the hospital by civilian cars, donkey carts and rickshaws. This was the highest death toll on a single-day since Gazan aid began in May. The Israeli military released a statement saying: "Earlier today a group was identified near an aid distribution vehicle that became stuck in the vicinity of Khan Younis and close to IDF soldiers operating in the region. The IDF has been made aware of reports that a number were injured by IDF fire after the crowd approached. Details of the incident are being reviewed. The IDF regrets the harm caused to those not involved in the incident and works to minimise that harm as much as is possible while maintaining safety for our troops." At least 14 more people died in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire elsewhere in the densely-populated enclave. Tuesday's death toll is now at least 73. Since late May, the health ministry reported that 397 Palestinians who were trying to receive food aid had been killed, and over 3,000 others wounded. This was just the latest of a series of large-scale killings that have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, since Israel lifted its total blockade over the area it had controlled for nearly three months. Israel is channeling much of the aid that it now allows into Gaza via a new U.S. and Israeli-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This group operates a few distribution sites within areas guarded Israeli forces. The United Nations has rejected the system, calling it inadequate, dangerous and in violation of rules on impartiality. Israel claims it's needed to stop Hamas fighters diverting aid. Hamas, however, denies this. Gaza authorities claim that hundreds of Palestinians were killed while trying to reach GHF locations. In a late-night press release, the GHF announced that it had distributed over three million meals without incident at its four distribution centers. Gaza war began in October 2023 when Palestinian Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel. According to Israeli allies, they killed 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages. Gaza's Health Ministry reports that Israel's military attack on Gaza in October 2023 killed or injured nearly 55,000 Palestinians. It also displaced nearly the entire 2.3 million population and caused a food crisis. Gaza Palestinians, who have been watching the air war between Israel, and Iran, a long-time Hamas supporter, since last week, are now a little more aware of what is happening. Gaza residents circulated images showing buildings in Israel destroyed by Iranian missiles. Some said they were happy to see Israelis feeling the same fear of airstrikes they had endured for more than 20 months. Nidal Al-Mughrabi is responsible for reporting and writing. Hatem Khaled in Gaza, Hussam Al-Masri and Dawoud Ab alkas contributed additional reporting; editing by Alex Richardson and William Maclean.
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Actis observes a growing interest from investors in sustainable infrastructure in emerging areas
Actis, the London-based global investor in infrastructure, has seen a growing intra-trade between growth markets, and an increased interest from investors in sustainable infrastructure projects. This is because global capital is reallocating away from developed markets, such as the U.S., to emerging markets, according to its chairman. Torbjorn Cesar, senior partner at Actis, stated in an interview in Singapore on Monday that the global economic activity has been increasingly centered on Asia and Latin America due to population growth, strong energy demand, and a boom of digital infrastructure. He said that Actis was looking to harness growth through investments in the energy sector. This includes renewable assets such as solar, wind, and hybrid projects combining battery storage. He added that it is also investing heavily in transmission lines and data centres. Why it's Important: The global markets experienced some swings during the first few months of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. His April 2 decision to increase tariffs to trading partners caused some investors to pull out of American assets. Despite a slight decrease in volatility, some investors believe that the threat of tariff disruptions will not go away any time soon. CONTEXT: Actis announced in May that it had raised $1.7 billion to fund its second long-term infrastructure fund. General Atlantic acquired Actis in October of last year. According to a press release from earlier this year, the combination increased General Atlantic's assets managed to $108 billion. KEY QUOTES "The demand for electricity is huge." When you look at markets across Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia (what we call'most of world'), it is not just about energy transition. Although that is very important, there is also a need for energy addition because electricity demand continues to grow. "It is growing along with economic activity and growth in demographics. In terms of population growth, there is a huge need for new energy," Caesar said. (Reporting from Yantoultra NGi)
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Wall Street to open at lower levels as Middle East conflict continues
Wall Street's major indexes are on course for a lower opening on Tuesday, as the Israel/Iran conflict enters its fifth day. This has dented global investor confidence in advance of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision on monetary policy. The air war between Israel and Iran, which began Friday with Israel attacking Iran's nuclear facility, has raised fears that it could cause bottlenecks in oil exports to the oil-rich Middle East. Wall Street believes that the situation will be contained. "The market is paying attention, but there is no panic at the moment," said Larry Tentarelli of Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, chief technical analyst. Energy stocks in the United States rose in premarket trade as oil prices continued to rise due to uncertainty. Chevron, Exxon, Occidental Petroleum, and Devon Energy all gained 0.7%. The rise in oil prices coincides with the Fed's decision to maintain interest rates on Wednesday. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, money market movements show that traders are pricing about 48 basis point rate cuts by 2025. There is a 59% probability of a rate cut of 25 bps in September. At 8:49 am. At 8:49 a.m. ET, Dow Eminis had fallen 204 points or 0.48%. S&P 500 Eminis had dropped 27.25 or 0.45% and Nasdaq Eminis fell 108.25 or 0.5%. The data on Tuesday revealed U.S. retail sales dropped More than expected in May Retail sales dropped 0.9% in May, while economists had predicted a 0.7% drop. The U.S. Senate Republicans released late Monday proposed changes to the President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cut bill, which had passed through the House of Representatives earlier this year. Solar stocks dropped after Senate changes to Trump’s tax-cut legislation revealed that solar, wind, and energy tax credit credits would be phased out by 2028. Enphase Energy, a manufacturer of solar inverters that makes Enphase Energy shares, has seen its share price drop by 21%. Solar panel suppliers Sunrun and SolarEdge Technologies both dropped by 31.3%. First Solar lost nearly 17.6%. The shares of nuclear energy companies have risen after the Senate extended credit for nuclear energy until 2036. Oklo shares rose 5.2%, while Nano Nuclear Energy shares rose 4.3%. A rise in U.S. Treasuries, as investors seek out traditional safe-havens amid increased geopolitical unrest, has pushed down yields across the curve. The yields on the benchmark 10 year fell by about 5 basis points, to 4.40%. Eli Lilly, among other players, fell 0.4% following its agreement to purchase Verve Therapeutics up to $1.3 Billion. Verve shares soared by over 75%. T-Mobile dropped 4.3% as Japan's SoftBank raised a total of $4.8 billion by selling 21.5 million shares of the wireless carrier at $224 per share, according to an. (Reporting from Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru and Sukriti. Gupta, with editing by Maju Samuel.)
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Solar stocks fall on Senate proposal of phase-out tax credits by 2028
U.S. Solar stocks fell in premarket trade on Tuesday, after a Senate committee proposed to phase out solar and wind credits by 2028. This proposal was part of President Donald Trump's tax-and spending bill. Enphase Energy, a manufacturer of solar inverters, was one of the largest decliners among S&P 500 companies. Its stock fell 20.9% from $36.35 to $36.35. SolarEdge Technologies and Sunrun, both solar panel suppliers, each fell more than 30%. First Solar fell 17.3%. A Senate committee circulated a draft bill that amends Trump's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill Act', which the House narrowly approved last month. Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James, said: "At first glance, provisions of the Investment Tax Credit/Production Tax Credit for solar and wind appear worse than industries had hoped. However, not in the same manner as the House Bill." The draft bill of the committee proposes to reduce solar and wind incentives by 60% in 2026, and then eliminate them altogether in 2028. According to current law, credits would not begin to phase out until 2032. Citi strategists stated that they "remain in favor of residential solar" and called the proposal a "slight improvement" compared to the House version, but "far restrictive than the initial bill". Solar firms in the U.S. are already struggling with a weak residential demand. High interest rates, as well as metering reforms implemented in California have reduced credits for excess electricity sent to grid. Sunrun shares have fallen 27% over the last year while Enphase Energy has dropped 63%. Invesco's Solar ETF dropped by 22.8% in the last year. The Senate proposal, however, will extend tax credits for geothermal, hydro, and nuclear energy through the year 2036. Nano Nuclear Energy, Oklo, and Sam Altman's nuclear startup Nano Nuclear Energy all saw their shares rise. Diverging versions of the House and Senate may complicate efforts for Trump to pass his top domestic priority before a July 4 self-imposed deadline. (Reporting from Shashwat Chandhan and Pooja menon in Bengaluru, Editing by Devika Syamnath.)
EDPR, a renewable energy company, sticks to its US plans despite tax credits cuts
EDP? EDP?
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives approved a budget reconciliation bill last month, which weakens clean-energy tax credits included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
The Senate can still amend the bill. However, it is currently written in a way that would terminate 60 days after the bill's enactment several credits for projects which have not yet started construction. This makes most of the projects unfeasible.
The CEO of the Portuguese company, Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade, told reporters at a late-night conference on Monday that he believes the firm will keep its forecasts for 2025 and 2026 in terms of the results and the installation of new capacities.
EDPR has been preparing a business plan that will be revealed on 6 November and go beyond the year 2027.
The renewables bet is here to remain in the U.S. He said that in 2024 we would install 2 GW, and this year 1 GW. We will also install up to 750 Megawatts by 2026.
He added that the exact amount of investment in 2027 would depend on the final version approved of the reconciliation bill.
He said, "Let's wait and see what the Senate produces."
Senator John Curtis is one of only a few Senate Republicans to have stated that they would like to keep some tax credits. He said last week, however, that the bill needed to be changed to protect investors from major disruptions and to safeguard jobs.
In December 2024, EDPR had installed capacity of 19,3 GW, with 51% in the United States.
(source: Reuters)