2024-08-16 11:50

SANTIAGO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The main union at BHP's (BHP.AX) , opens new tab Escondida copper mine in Chile agreed to management's sweetened wage offer on Friday, leading the union to suspend its strike and easing concerns about global supplies of the metal. The union, which represents about 2,400 workers, began striking on Tuesday at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, after failing to reach a deal over pay. The strike had started to push up global copper prices. But on Friday, BHP said the two sides reached an agreement after resuming talks. Sources at the company and the union told Reuters that BHP offered workers around $32,000 as a bonus and an additional $2,000 in soft loans. BHP had previously offered a $28,900 bonus per worker, compared with the union's demand of 1% of shareholder dividends from the mine, or roughly $35,000 to $36,000 per member. "BHP and Union No. 1 have come to an agreement for a collective contract proposal. Along with that, it was agreed to suspend the strike," BHP said. In a statement, the union said the contract offer had overwhelming support from its members and the deal would be signed. "I feel this is the greatest recent union victory in terms of results," said Marco Lopez, a lawyer for the union. "Not just because of the economic part, but substantial improvements in historic demands we hadn't been able to achieve (before)." Andres Gonzalez, head of mining analysis at Plusmining consultancy in Santiago, said the deal could have an impact beyond Escondida. "The large sums in this negotiation could mark a precedent not just for Escondida, but for all of Chile's mining industry," Gonzalez said, adding that the industry will have to think strategically about how to conduct future negotiations. Gonzalez said, however, that the strike's suspension was a good sign not just for global markets, but also for Chile's economy since Escondida represents about 3% of the country's GDP and around 5% of the world's copper supply. Copper prices initially fell after the news before recovering and were up 0.3% at $9,177.5 per metric ton after hitting a session low of $9,047. The metal, used in power and construction, headed to its first weekly gain in six weeks - of 3.5% - as the strike had sparked concerns about supply disruptions. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/bhp-says-strike-ends-escondida-copper-mine-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 11:48

MUMBAI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) , opens new tab came off record highs and fell to $670.12 billion as of Aug. 9, the central bank said on Friday. The reserves fell by $4.8 billion in the reporting week, the biggest fall in four months. They had risen by $7.5 billion in the prior week. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervenes in the foreign exchange market to curb excess volatility in the rupee. Changes in foreign currency assets are caused by the RBI's intervention as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves. Foreign exchange reserves also include India's reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund. In the week to which the foreign exchange data pertains, the rupee had fallen to a record low of 83.9725, and logged its worst weekly fall in more than two months. The currency settled at 83.94 on Friday, and was flat week-on-week. FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (in million U.S. dollars) --------------------------------------------------------- Aug 09 Aug 02 2024 2024 --------------------------------------------------------- Foreign currency assets 587,960 592,039 Gold 59,239 60,099 SDRs 18,282 18,161 Reserve Tranche Position 4,638 4,620 ---------------------------------------------------------- Total 670,119 674,919 ---------------------------------------------------------- Source text: (https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx , opens new tab) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-foreign-exchange-reserves-come-off-record-highs-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 11:26

Aug 16 (Reuters) - Mining giant BHP (BHP.AX) , opens new tab has reached a preliminary agreement with the Escondida union in Chile over the strike at its copper mine, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/bhp-reaches-preliminary-agreement-with-escondida-union-chile-bloomberg-news-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 11:15

SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Chinese biodiesel producers are seeking new outlets in Asia for their exports and exploring producing other biofuels as supply to the European Union, their biggest buyer, dries up ahead of anti-dumping tariffs, biofuel executives and analysts said. The EU will impose provisional anti-dumping duties of between 12.8% and 36.4% on Chinese biodiesel from Friday, hitting over 40 companies including leading producers Zhejiang Jiaao, Henan Junheng and Longyan Zhuoyue Group in an export business that was worth $2.3 billion last year. Some larger producers are eyeing the marine fuel market in China and Singapore, the world's top marine fuel hub, as they seek to offset already falling biodiesel exports to the EU, biofuel executives said. Exports to the bloc have fallen sharply since mid-2023 amid investigations. Volumes in the first six months of this year plunged 51% from a year earlier to 567,440 tons, Chinese customs data showed. June shipments shrank to just over 50,000 tons, the lowest since mid-2019, according to customs data. At their peak, exports to the EU reached a record 1.8 million tons in 2023, representing 90% of all Chinese biodiesel exports that year. The Netherlands was the top importer in 2023, soaking in 84% of China's biodiesel shipments to the EU, followed by Belgium and Spain, Chinese customs figures showed. Chinese producers of biodiesel have enjoyed fat profits in recent years, making the most of the EU's green energy policy that grants subsidies to companies that are using biodiesel as a sustainable transport fuel such as Repsol, Shell and Neste. Many of China's biodiesel producers are privately-run small plants employing scores of workers processing waste oil collected from millions of Chinese restaurants. Before the biodiesel export boom, they were making lower-value goods like soaps and processing leather products. However, the boom was short-lived. The EU began in August last year investigating Indonesian biodiesel that was suspected of circumventing duties by going through China and Britain, followed by a 14-month anti-dumping probe into Chinese biodiesel believed to be priced artificially low and undercutting local producers. Anticipating the tariffs, traders stocked up on used cooking oil (UCO), lifting prices of the feedstock, while prices of biodiesel sank in view of shrinking demand for the Chinese supply. "With hefty prices of UCO partly supported by strong U.S. and European demand, and free-falling product prices, companies are having a tough time surviving," said Gary Shan, chief marketing officer of Henan Junheng. Prices of hydrotreated vegetable oil, or HVO, a main type of biodiesel, have halved versus last year's average to the current $1,200 to $1,300 per metric ton and are off a peak of $3,000 in 2022, Shan added. With low prices, biodiesel plants have cut their operations to an all-time low of under 20% of existing capacity on average in July, down from a peak of 50% last seen in early 2023, according to Chinese consultancies Sublime China Information and JLC. Meanwhile, shrinking biodiesel sales are boosting China's UCO exports, which analysts predict are set to touch a new high this year. UCO exports soared by two-thirds year-on-year in the first half of 2024 to 1.41 million tons, with the United States, Singapore and the Netherlands the top destinations. OUTLETS While many smaller plants are likely to shutter production indefinitely, larger producers like Zhejiang Jiaao, Leoking Enviro Group and Longyan Zhuoyue are exploring new outlets including the marine fuel market at home and in the important hub of Singapore, which is using more biodiesel for ship fuel blending, according to the biofuel executives. One of the producers, Longyan Zhuoyue, agreed in January with COSCO Shipping to use more biodiesel in marine fuel. Companies would also accelerate planning and building of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plants, executives said. China is expected to announce an SAF mandate before the end of 2024. They have also been scouting for new biodiesel clients outside the EU bloc, in Australia, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia where there are local mandates for the alternative fuel, the officials added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-biodiesel-producers-seek-new-outlets-hefty-eu-tariffs-bite-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 11:04

Aug 16 (Reuters) - China will impose export controls on some antimony products from Sept. 15, it said on Thursday, citing national security, adding to measures imposed by Beijing since last year to curb shipments of strategic minerals. Following are details on Chinese restrictions and the antimony market. WHAT IS ANTIMONY AND WHAT IS IT USED FOR? Antimony is a shiny grey metalloid known since ancient times when it was used in medicine and cosmetics. Its biggest application today is as a flame retardant, which accounted for around half of global usage in 2023, according to brokerage CICC. At the same time, about a fifth of antimony was used to make photovoltaic glass to improve the performance of solar cells. Most of the rest was used in lead-acid batteries. Antimony has also become increasingly strategic because of its use in military equipment, such as infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, and as a hardening agent for bullets and tanks. The most commonly mined ore is called stibnite, which contains antimony and sulphur. Antimony can also be a byproduct of gold mining, or recovered from recycling lead-acid batteries. WHAT ARE CHINA'S RESTRICTIONS? China's new limits apply to antimony products including ore, ingots and oxide. Exporters must apply for licences for dual-use items and technologies - those with potential military as well as civilian applications, a process that typically takes two to three months in China. The rules also prohibit the export of gold-antimony smelting and separation technology without permission. There are no limits on volume, but on the basis of previous curbs, antimony exports are likely to drop after the restrictions are enforced. Chinese exports of gallium and germanium, under similar restrictions since last year, fell as some Chinese exporters could not secure licences and some overseas buyers did not want to disclose the ultimate purpose of usage as required under the new rule, industry sources have said. WHAT IS CHINA'S ROLE IN THE ANTIMONY MARKET? China is the largest producer of antimony, accounting for 48% of mine production in 2023, followed by Tajikistan at 25%, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data showed. In China, antimony reserves are concentrated in Guangxi, Hunan and Gansu provinces. China is also the biggest producer of processed antimony, including antimony trioxide (ATO), which is traditionally used in flame retardants and increasingly as a clarifying agent in solar glass. Consultancy Project Blue said China had also been the biggest exporter of antimony ingots, with purity above 99%, but as Chinese production of solar cells has surged, more ingot is consumed domestically. China's exports of unwrought antimony, including ingot, fell 45% year-on-year in the first half of 2024 to 1,694 metric tons, customs data showed. In response, European ATO refiners looked to Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar as alternatives, with U.S. buyers mostly sourcing materials from India, Project Blue said. WHY IS ANTIMONY SUPPLY SO TIGHT? Known antimony reserves can meet demand for about 24 years, far less than known reserves of rare earths, lithium and other metals, though slightly more than for silver, USGS data showed. China is the biggest antimony ore producer but production has declined to 40,000 tons in 2023 from 61,000 tons in 2020 as a result of falling ore grades and more stringent environmental requirements. Despite its dominance in ore output, China is a net importer of antimony concentrates and depends on ore from countries including Thailand, Myanmar and Russia. Russia was once a major antimony concentrate exporter to China, but its supply fell sharply this year as major producer Polyus' output declined. Export duty and mineral extraction tax also made shipping the material overseas less attractive. "There is no pipeline of supply to turn on," said Christopher Ecclestone, a principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Company in London. China has accounted for more than 70% of ATO production globally since 2022, said Project Blue. Outside China, processing capacity is limited. Perpetua Resources (PPTA.O) , opens new tab, which is building a U.S. antimony and gold project with support from the Pentagon, had planned to begin production by 2028, but is studying ways to produce antimony faster in response to the Chinese curbs. The market is also tight because of increased demand from the solar and military sectors, with a deficit estimated at 10,000 tons in May by Project Blue. The shortfall could widen after the latest Chinese restrictions. IMPACT ON PRICES Antimony prices have already hit record highs. Chinese antimony, CIF Northwestern Europe and of 99.65% purity, traded at all-time highs above $22,000 a metric ton by the end of July, LSEG Workspace data showed. In China, antimony, of 99.91% purity, has traded at a record 162,500 yuan ($22,657.24) a ton since Wednesday, Shanghai Metal Exchange data showed. Industry analysts say prices could climb another $8,000 a ton this year to $30,000, as ex-China buyers seek to stockpile more material because of the new restriction. Share prices of antimony producers in China jumped by up to 10% on Friday. Shares of Perpetua surged nearly 24% to their highest in more than three years on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/what-is-antimony-why-is-china-curbing-its-exports-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 10:53

Aug 16 (Reuters) - Sterling touched a three-week high on Friday as retail sales data added to signs of positive momentum in the UK economy, with gains underpinned by a broad recovery in risk appetite. Data showed British retail sales edged up 0.5% in July, boosted in part by extra spending due to the men's Euros soccer championship, following a 0.9% drop in June when an unusually cool and wet weather had kept shoppers away. That follows data showing UK gross domestic product grew 0.6% in the second quarter of 2024, in-line with economists' expectations. The pound climbed 0.4% against the dollar to $1.2904 on Friday - its strongest level since July 25. The currency was last up 1.2% on the week, on track for its biggest weekly rise in more than a month. The Bank of England cut interest rates from a 16-year high this month and Britain's longest-running consumer confidence measure rose to its highest in nearly three years as shoppers became more willing to make big purchases. Signs of resilience in the economy and tame inflation readings have prompted traders to price in fewer interest rate cuts from the Bank of England than are expected from the Federal Reserve, supporting the currency. Traders see 43 basis points of rate cuts from the BoE this year and are pricing in a 37% chance of a 25-bps cut at the central bank's September meeting. They see nearly 62 bps of rate cuts from the Fed by the end of 2024. "From a monetary policy point of view this week's data has not altered our call for one more 25bp reduction this year, likely in November," Investec economist Ellie Henderson said. "There is always the risk that the MPC collectively might think it appropriate to do more, particularly if the data were to turn and the risk of inflation undershooting the target to grow, but the economic releases this week do not suggest we are at that point." Euro/sterling fell to a two-week low at 85.18 pence. Meanwhile, encouraging U.S. economic data this week lifted stocks markets around the globe on Friday after worries about a U.S. recession had sparked a sell-off earlier this month. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-climbs-3-week-high-data-recovering-sentiment-2024-08-16/