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2025-05-13 07:24

Qinghai Salt Lake Industry aims to control Highfield Resources with a $300 million investment Deal includes potash projects in Canada and Spain Qinghai and Minmetals are developing a lithium-potassium hub in China May 12 (Reuters) - A unit of state-owned China Minmetals plans to invest $300 million to take control of Highfield Resources (HFR.AX) , opens new tab, Yankuang Energy (600188.SS) , opens new tab said on Monday, as part of Minmetals' push into potash projects in Canada and Spain. In September, Australian potash miner Highfield said it would raise $220 million from Yankuang Energy and other parties, making the Chinese coal miner its majority shareholder. Sign up here. However, if the deal with Minmetals-owned Qinghai Salt Lake Industry (000792.SZ) , opens new tab goes through, Qinghai will become Highfield's largest shareholder. The deal will give Qinghai access to Yankuang's Yancoal Canada operations, including its Southey potash project, alongside Highfields' construction-ready Muga Project in Spain. Highfield Resources has signed letter of intent with Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, giving Qinghai the exclusive right to conduct due diligence until June 30, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Potash is a critical component in agricultural fertilisers, essential for food production. Qinghai, which controls the most potassium and lithium resources in China, will now conduct due diligence and audit the transaction, according to a filing with the Shenzhen stock exchange. Qinghai and Minmetals, traditionally known for their mining operations focused on metals like copper and zinc, are jointly developing a 10 billion yuan ($1.39 billion) lithium and potassium production hub in northwestern China. In April, Yankuang had secured approval , opens new tab from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board for its investment in Highfield. If a binding agreement is reached, Qinghai would also need to meet this requirement, alongside approvals from Spanish and Canadian foreign investment authorities for the deal. ($1 = 7.2022 Chinese yuan renminbi) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-minmetals-unit-seeks-take-control-australias-highfield-resources-yankuang-2025-05-12/

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2025-05-13 07:20

LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Global asset managers held their biggest underweight position in the dollar in 19 years in May, as President Donald Trump's chaotic trade policy cut investor appetite for U.S. assets, Bank of America's global fund manager survey (FMS) showed on Tuesday. The United States and China have agreed to a 90-day trade truce, after weekend talks in Geneva to break the deadlock between the world's two largest economies. Reciprocal tariffs have been slashed temporarily and, with them, the immediate threat to the global economy. Sign up here. "Pre-Geneva, investor sentiment glum, especially on U.S. assets. May FMS (was) not as bearish as April FMS, but bearish enough to suggest pain trade modestly higher given positive US-China trade war ceasefire prevents recession/credit event," BofA said. Fund managers cut their cash levels to 4.5% from 4.8%, often a sign of confidence, but held the largest underweight position in the U.S. dollar since May 2006, the bank said. Bank of America said 75% of the survey was conducted before the Geneva negotiations. The poll asks 208 panellists with $522 billion in assets under management. A quarter of respondents expect a hard landing for the economy, but this was down from nearly 50% in April's survey, while a soft landing - one where the economy gently slows without a recession - is now the central scenario, according to 61% of those polled. https://www.reuters.com/business/fund-managers-most-underweight-us-dollar-since-2006-bofa-says-2025-05-13/

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2025-05-13 06:54

Shipping sector seeks to curb emissions Maersk, Lego and Novo Nordisk to be e-methanol customers Cost is one of the biggest challenges of greener shipping fuel COPENHAGEN, May 13 (Reuters) - The world's first commercial-scale e-methanol plant began operations in Denmark on Tuesday, with shipping giant Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) , opens new tab set to buy part of the production as a low-emission fuel for its fleet of container ships. The shipping sector is under pressure to find new sources of fuel after a majority of countries gave their backing to measures to help meet the International Maritime Organization's targets towards elimating carbon emissions by 2050. Sign up here. So far zero-emission shipping fuels, such as green ammonia and e-methanol, which are produced using renewable energy, have tended to be more expensive than conventional fuel largely because they are not produced at scale. Located in Kasso in southern Denmark, the new plant, which has cost an estimated 150 million euros ($167 million), will produce 42,000 metric tons, or 53 million litres, of e-methanol per year, its joint owners Denmark's European Energy and Japan's Mitsui (8031.T) , opens new tab said. Maersk will be a major customer. It operates 13 dual-fuel methanol container vessels that can be powered with fuel oil and with e-methanol and has ordered another 13 of the vessels. It said, the plant's annual production is enough to power one large 16,000 container vessel sailing between Asia and Europe. For the smaller Laura Maersk, the world's first dual-fuel container ship, with a capacity of more than 2,100 twenty-foot equivalent units, requires only 3,600 tons of fuel per year. The Laura Maersk was scheduled to fuel near Kasso on Tuesday. Traditional methanol is typically produced from natural gas and coal. The Kasso plant will make e-methanol using renewable energy and CO2 captured from biogas plants and waste incineration. Maersk said one of the biggest challenges of switching to sustainable fuel was cost, and it is researching green fuel technologies and more efficient shipping to make the process cheaper. "When you look at the production from Kasso, it is of course just a literal drop in the ocean, so we need to scale up and we need to bring costs down," Emil Vikjar-Andresen, head of European Energy's Danish Power-to-X team, said in a webinar. In addition to its use in shipping, e-methanol can replace fossil methanol in plastic production, meaning it can supply other Danish companies. Drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) , opens new tab and toymaker Lego will use e-methanol from the plant for making injection pens and plastic bricks respectively. Excess heat generated from the e-methanol production will be used to heat 3,300 households in the local area. ($1 = 0.9004 euros) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/worlds-first-commercial-scale-e-methanol-plant-opens-denmark-2025-05-13/

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2025-05-13 06:52

US and China reach deal to temporarily slash tariffs Tariff pause may reduce need for Fed rate cuts, Kugler says US CPI data due at 1230 GMT May 13 (Reuters) - Gold recovered on Tuesday as bargain-hunters stepped in after prices hit a more than one-week low in the previous session, pressured by a U.S.-China tariff truce that lifted appetite for riskier assets and dented bullion's safe-haven appeal. Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,254.39 an ounce, as of 0639 GMT. Bullion recorded a 2.7% decline in the previous session. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures were up 1% at $3,258.70. After two days of negotiations in Geneva, U.S. and China announced tariff reductions for the next three months, with U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports dropping from 145% to 30% and Chinese duties on U.S. imports falling to 10% from 125%, leading to a surge in global shares. The U.S. and China had imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other last month, triggering a trade war. "There is some value-buying happening on gold at current levels which is helping to prop up the price, despite the generally better outlook for global growth with the US and China on better terms," said KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer. "The consolidation move in the dollar has allowed the gold price to make a mild push higher." Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said the pause on import levies reduces chances that the U.S. central bank will need to lower interest rates in response to an economic slowdown. Traders await the U.S. Consumer Price Index report, due later in the day, for fresh signals on the Fed's monetary policy trajectory. The market is expecting a 55-basis-point rate cut this year by the Fed, starting September. "If the inflation data happened to produce a downside miss this could take some momentum away from the USD, which could see gold make forward progress," Waterer said. Gold, traditionally considered a safe-haven asset during times of political and economic uncertainty, tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment. Meanwhile, Citi projected a continued short-term consolidation in the $3,000 to $3,300 range and downgraded the 0-to-3-month price target to $3,150. Spot silver rose 1.5% to $33.10 an ounce, platinum climbed 1.2% to $987.85 and palladium was up 0.6% at $950.95. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-languishes-near-more-than-1-week-low-after-us-china-tariff-truce-2025-05-13/

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2025-05-13 06:51

Zelenskiy will attend talks only if Putin does, says aide Kremlin yet to say whether Putin will attend Trump's envoys will travel to Istanbul for the talks Europe works on more sanctions on Russia KYIV, May 13 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would attend talks with Russia on the war in Ukraine this week only if Vladimir Putin is also there, and goaded him by saying the Russian leader was scared to meet him face-to-face. The Kremlin has yet to say whether Putin will take part in the talks scheduled to be held in Istanbul on Thursday, more than three years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Sign up here. The planned talks have become the main focus of peace efforts led by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio and has also offered to attend. Trump is also sending senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, three sources familiar with the plans said. Zelenskiy said he wanted to negotiate an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a step toward ending the war, and that Putin should take part in talks because "absolutely everything in Russia" depends on him. "We want to agree on a beginning to the end of the war," Zelenskiy told a press conference. But he added: "He (Putin) is scared of direct talks with me." Zelenskiy said he expected the U.S. and the European Union to impose "strong sanctions" if talks did not take place. Moscow and Kyiv have both sought to show they are working towards peace after Trump prioritised ending the war, which has raged since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian bombs killed at least three people in Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Tuesday, a local official said. Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine, after ignoring a Ukrainian offer for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Trump publicly told Zelenskiy to accept the proposal. The Ukrainian leader then said he would be waiting for Putin in Istanbul on Thursday, though the Kremlin chief had never made clear he intended to travel himself. Asked who would represent Russia at the talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "As soon as the president sees fit, we will announce it." TRUMP MAY ATTEND During a speech in Saudi Arabia, Trump said Rubio would attend the talks on Thursday, as well as others. "We'll see if we can get it done," he said. Kellogg, in an earlier interview on Fox Business Network, said Trump would join the talks in Istanbul if Putin showed up. "We're hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there. This could be an absolutely incredible meeting," he said. "We can get peace, I really believe, pretty fast if all three leaders sit down and talk." Kellogg told Fox Ukraine was willing to accept a "ceasefire in place" in which Ukrainian and Russian forces would each back up 15 kilometres (9 miles), creating a demilitarized zone. International forces would be stationed west of the Dnipro River as a deterrent. Ukrainian officials have not publicly said what ceasefire terms it may accept. Russia has said it would not accept international forces in Ukraine. Ukraine's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Newly elected Pope Leo promised Zelenskiy on Monday he would do his best to help bring about a just and lasting peace, a Zelenskiy aide said. Reuters reported last year that Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire with Trump but that Moscow ruled out making any major territorial concessions and demanded that Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO. Ukraine has said it is ready for talks but a ceasefire is needed first, a position supported by its European allies. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Moscow was ready for serious talks on Ukraine but doubted Kyiv's capacity for negotiations. The agencies quoted him as saying realities "on the ground" should be recognised, including the incorporation of what Moscow calls "new territories" into Russia - a reference to territory in Ukraine that is occupied by Russian forces. U.S. officials want Russia to agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire, a senior U.S. official said. https://www.reuters.com/world/rubio-discusses-way-forward-ukraine-ceasefire-with-european-counterparts-2025-05-13/

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2025-05-13 06:49

JOHANNESBURG, May 13 (Reuters) - Exxaro Resources (EXXJ.J) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it has reached an agreement to buy manganese mines in South Africa in a deal worth 11.67 billion rand as it diversifies into green transition minerals. The South African coal miner entered into a binding agreement to buy shares and claims in manganese assets held by Ntsimbintle Holdings and OM Holdings, it said in a statement. Sign up here. The coal miner has been seeking to diversify into manganese and copper, as it positions to benefit from surging demand for the minerals, vital in the global transition from polluting fossil fuels to cleaner energy technologies. "This acquisition provides Exxaro with a strong entry point into the manganese sector," Ben Magara, who took over as CEO in April, it said in the statement. South Africa is the world's biggest producer of the steelmaking ingredient. Manganese is also used in lithium-ion ore batteries for electric vehicles. The deal gives Exxaro exposure to four operating manganese mines in South Africa's Northern Cape province. The mines have long-term contracts with customers in China and India where Exxaro sells its coal, it said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/south-africa-coal-miner-exxaro-agrees-deal-buy-manganese-assets-2025-05-13/

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