2025-09-16 06:54

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab and Chile's state-run Codelco have finalised an agreement to jointly operate their neighbouring Chilean copper mines in a deal aimed at generating at least $5 billion from higher production and cost savings, they said on Tuesday. The plan will bring together certain operations at Codelco's Andina mine and Anglo American's Los Bronces mine in the Andes mountains of central Chile, boosting production by 120,000 metric tons of copper a year and reducing costs by about 15% per ton. Sign up here. Los Bronces last year produced 172,000 tons of copper, while Andina produced 182,000 tons, for a total of about 350,000 tons. Anglo and Codelco aim to add 2.7 million tons to output over a 21-year period. Additional pre-tax value, expected to come in at least $5 billion, will be shared equally between Codelco and Anglo's local unit, Anglo American Sur, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi and a Codelco-Mitsui joint venture as partners. Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco told reporters that Codelco had sought a tie-up between Andina and Los Bronces for decades. The agreed scheme, which follows an initial agreement from February, will enable a joint mining program that could yield new production as soon as 2030. "Without major investments, geologists agree on the optimal way to extract the ore — no longer separately from each deposit, but by treating these two deposits as a single one," Pacheco said after a meeting with Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad. "It represents a shift in the paradigm of how mining is done, mining that can be carried out collaboratively," Pacheco said. Analysts have previously noted that Anglo's greater processing capacity at Los Bronces could be a benefit to Andina. Codelco and Anglo will keep ownership of their respective assets even while forming a jointly owned company to oversee execution. The companies next need to appoint executives and board members, secure regulatory approvals and prepare environmental permit applications. In recent years, both Los Bronces and Andina have faced pushback from environmentalists over potential impacts to the local water supply and a nearby glacier. The companies said they would meet existing environmental standards. The finalised deal comes after Anglo last week announced a proposed merger with Canada's Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) , opens new tab that would include Los Bronces. If completed, it would be the biggest mining deal globally in more than a decade. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/anglo-american-codelco-finalise-5-billion-chilean-copper-mines-deal-2025-09-16/

2025-09-16 06:51

LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Britain's jobs market has lost more steam, according to official data, with employment falling for a seventh month in row and wage growth slowing, potentially easing worries at the Bank of England about persistent inflation pressures. The number of employees on company payrolls, as measured by tax office data, fell by a provisional 8,000 in August from July, extending a run of declines that began in February. Sign up here. July's drop in payrolls was revised to 6,000 from an previously reported reduction of 8,000. Employers have blamed finance minister Rachel Reeves' tax increase on them for their cautious stance on staffing. Basic wage growth in the private sector - which is watched closely by the BoE - slowed to 4.7% between May and July from 4.8% in the three months to June. Overall average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, grew by 4.8%, weaker than the previous reading of 5.0% but still above the roughly 3% level seen as consistent with the BoE's 2% inflation target. Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected regular annual wage growth to slow to 4.8%. However, there were some signs of an improvement in employers' appetite for hiring in the jobs market. The number of job vacancies in the three months to August rose to 728,000 having touched its lowest since early 2021 in the previous month's release. The Bank of England last month lowered interest rates to 4% from 4.25% but the central bank is widely expected to keep them on hold this week as it remains wary about inflation heat in the economy, including the jobs market. Tuesday's data showed Britain's unemployment rate in the three months to July held at 4.7%, its highest since the second quarter of 2021, although that figure is based on a survey of households that the ONS has said is not currently reliable. Surveys published last week showed that employers offered the lowest pay settlements in more than three-and-a-half years in July and hiring continued to slow - albeit by less than in previous months. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/uk-jobs-market-slows-again-payrolls-wage-growth-dip-2025-09-16/

2025-09-16 06:47

Dollar on back foot as traders eye series of Fed rate cuts SPDR Gold Trust holdings rose 0.2% on Monday Fed policy statement due on Wednesday Sept 16 (Reuters) - Gold scaled a record peak on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week, where the U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,685.02 per ounce, as of 0632 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,689.27 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.1% to $3,722.70. Sign up here. "The sentiment is very bullish... markets are buying into rate cuts, going into this FOMC decision. The outlook remains strong for gold in the short to medium term," Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said. "There's a lot of dovishness baked into the rate curve, and if the Fed doesn't support that in their guidance and forecasts, it could result in gold prices hitting an air pocket. If the Fed backs market pricing, though that could be the catalyst to send it through $3,700." U.S. President Donald Trump in a social media post on Monday called for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to enact a "bigger" cut to benchmark rates. Traders are pricing in a near-certain 25-basis-point rate cut at the end of the two-day meeting on September 17, with a small chance of a 50-bp reduction, per the CME FedWatch tool. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, making gold cheaper for investors holding other currencies. The dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab traded near a 2-1/2-month low against the euro and close to a 10-month trough versus the risk-sensitive Aussie. SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF), said its holdings rose 0.21% to 976.80 metric tons on Monday from 974.80 tons on Friday. Meanwhile, on Monday, a U.S. appeals court refused to allow Trump to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook - the latest step in a legal battle that threatens the Fed's longstanding independence. Elsewhere, spot silver was steady at $42.73 per ounce, platinum eased 0.2% to $1,398.84 and palladium fell 0.2% t0 $1,182.25. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-touches-record-high-fed-rate-cut-hopes-dent-dollar-2025-09-16/

2025-09-16 06:36

Russia oil supplies in focus after drone attacks Markets eye Fed meeting for clues on macroeconomy Analysts expect US crude inventory declines last week Sept 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, extending previous session gains, as markets contemplated potential supply disruption from Russia after Ukrainian drone attacks on its refineries as well as the prospect of a U.S. central bank interest rate decision. Brent crude futures edged up 8 cents to $67.52 a barrel by 0632 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.41, up 11 cents. On Monday, Brent settled up 45 cents at $67.44 while WTI settled 61 cents higher at $63.30. Sign up here. Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure in an attempt to impair Moscow's war capability, as talks to end their conflict have stalled. "An attack on an export terminal like (Russia's) Primorsk is aimed more at limiting Russia's ability to sell its oil abroad, affecting export markets," said JP Morgan analysts. "More importantly, the attack suggests a growing willingness to disrupt international oil markets, which has the potential to add upside pressure on oil prices," they said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the government would not impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods to encourage China to halt purchases of Russian oil unless European countries hit China and India with duties of their own. Also on investors' radar is the U.S. Federal Reserve's September 16-17 meeting at which the bank is widely expected to cut interest rates. While lower borrowing costs typically boost fuel demand, analysts were cautious on the health of the overall U.S. economy. "The recent rebound from the 5 September low in oil prices has indeed been 'shaky' ... due to lower demand from the U.S. on the backdrop of more data pointing to a weak consumer in the near future," said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong. If the Fed lowers its GDP growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 and "the projected Fed Funds rate for 2026 is lowered to 2% in line with current market pricing", that implies a weaker demand environment in the U.S. which could weigh on oil, said Wong. Markets were also factoring in the likelihood of crude inventory declines in the U.S. last week, with official data expected on Wednesday at 1430 GMT. U.S. crude inventories likely fell 6.4 million barrels for the week ended September 12, following a 3.9 million build a week earlier, energy strategist Walt Chancellor at Macquarie Group said in a client note. A Reuters poll on Monday showed analysts expected U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles to have fallen last week, while distillate inventories likely rose. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-edges-up-market-weighs-russia-supply-risk-us-rate-decision-2025-09-16/

2025-09-16 06:20

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab and Chilean state-run copper giant Codelco (COBRE.UL) said on Tuesday they have finalised an agreement to jointly operate their neighbouring Chilean mines, aiming to unlock at least $5 billion in value. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/anglo-american-codelco-finalise-5-billion-chile-copper-mines-deal-2025-09-16/

2025-09-16 05:51

Markets see total of 81 bps of cuts by end-January Dollar sinks to 2-1/2-month low vs euro, 10-month low vs Aussie BoE announces rate decision on Thursday, Bank of Japan on Friday TOKYO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The dollar sank to a 2-1/2-month low against the euro and a 10-month trough versus the risk-sensitive Aussie on Tuesday as investors cemented bets for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut this week and more to follow. The greenback eased to a more than two-month low on the British pound with U.S. President Donald Trump renewing calls for aggressive monetary easing. Sign up here. Markets see a rate reduction of at least 25 basis points on Wednesday as a certainty, with a small chance of a super-sized 50 basis-point cut. A total of 67 basis points of reductions are seen over the rest of this year, rising to 81 basis points by end-January. The U.S. dollar index , which tracks the currency against a basket of six major rivals, fell to 97.161, its lowest since July 24. Trump in a social media post on Monday called on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to enact a "bigger" cut to benchmark interest rates in a social media post, pointing to the housing market. Rapidly softening labour market data has been the key driver of the ramp-up in easing bets in recent weeks, resulting in a lower dollar and bond yields while pushing up equity prices, with Wall Street setting new records on Monday. There is an "increasing view that the Fed is behind the curve and needing to ramp up the urgency to take rates to neutral," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "The weight of capital is moving ever closer to a consensus position that the Fed cut rates not only in the September meeting, but also in October and December, and possibly in January too." The euro rose as much as 0.23% to $1.1787, a level not seen since July 24, ahead of the release of Germany ZEW surveys and Italian consumer inflation data. Sterling gained as much as 0.19% to $1.3624 for the first time since July 8, with British employment data due on Tuesday, ahead of the Bank of England's policy announcement on Thursday, where no change is expected. The Australian dollar edged as high as $0.6677, its strongest level since November 8, with Asian equity markets generally tracking Wall Street's overnight gains. The dollar slipped 0.3% to 146.975 yen . The Bank of Japan sets policy this Friday, with economists widely expecting the central bank to forgo a rate hike this time. Several hopefuls threw their hats in the ring on Tuesday to be Japan's next prime minister, including popular Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi. (This story has been corrected to say Tuesday, not Monday, in paragraph 13) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/forex-dollar-wobbles-traders-eye-series-fed-rate-cuts-2025-09-16/