2025-11-17 06:21

Dollar extends gains against its main rivals Fed needs to move slowly with further rate cuts, Jefferson says Fed minutes due on Wednesday Focus on US non-farm payrolls report on Thursday Nov 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell more than 1% on Monday, pressured by a stronger dollar and reduced expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut next month, as investors awaited delayed economic data this week that could offer clues on the Federal Reserve's policy path. Spot gold was down 1.5% at $4,019.12 per ounce, as of 03:13 p.m. ET (20:13 GMT). U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled 0.5% lower at $4,074.5 per ounce. Sign up here. The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab inched higher, making dollar-priced bullion expensive for holders of other currencies. The market is seeing "some back and forth choppy action ahead of what is expected to be a release of a deluge of economic data now that the U.S. government has reopened," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. "Right now, there's a lesser expectation for additional Fed rate cuts, which has dented optimism for gold." This week's calendar includes September jobs data on Thursday and minutes from the Fed's last meeting, where it cut rates by 25 basis points, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, an increasing number of Fed policymakers have maintained a hawkish stance on rate cuts for the central bank's next meeting in December. Traders are currently pricing in a 41% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December, down from more than 60% last week, the CME FedWatch tool showed. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said the U.S. central bank needs to "proceed slowly" with any further interest rate cuts as it eases policy towards a level that would likely stop putting downward pressure on inflation. Safe-haven gold tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment as it is a non-yielding asset. Scotiabank analysts estimate gold prices at $3,800/oz for 2026, compared with $3,450/oz this year, citing uncertain economic conditions and an eventual decline in real interest rates. Elsewhere, spot silver dropped 1.2% to $49.94 per ounce, platinum fell nearly 1% to $1,526.45, and palladium dipped 0.4% to $1,379.02. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-holds-steady-focus-turns-us-data-more-fed-cues-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 06:17

TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Tokyo Gas (9531.T) , opens new tab, Japan's largest city gas supplier, said on Monday it sold its U.S.-based subsidiary, TVL LLC, involved in gas development and production to Grayrock Energy for $255 million. The unit, operating in Louisiana's Haynesville and Cotton Valley formations, was sold as part of Tokyo Gas's strategy to optimise its asset portfolio, it said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/tokyo-gas-sells-us-gas-unit-grayrock-energy-255-million-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 06:17

JAKARTA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Rain-triggered landslides in two regions in Indonesia's Central Java province last week have led to the deaths of at least 18 people, authorities said on Monday, with search operations ongoing. A landslide in the city of Cilacap last week buried a dozen houses in Cibeunying village, the disaster mitigation agency said. Search and rescue efforts were challenging as people were buried 3 to 8 metres (10 to 25 feet) deep, it said. Sign up here. The Cilacap landslide has killed at least 16 people, with 7 missing, said M Abdullah, chief of the search and rescue agency's local division. Excavators were deployed to dig through dirt in Cilacap, footage from news channel KompasTV showed on Monday. Separately, two people died and 27 were missing after a landslide on Saturday in the region of Banjarnegara in Central Java, the disaster mitigation agency said on Monday. As many as 30 houses as well as farms were damaged, it said. The Southeast Asian country's wet season started in September and is likely to last until April, bringing a high risk of extreme rainfall and flooding, the weather agency said. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/landslides-indonesias-central-java-kill-least-18-dozens-missing-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 05:32

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook U.S. economic data starts flowing again on Monday, with construction spending figures for August. September jobs data is due on Thursday. Sign up here. More up-to-date labour and price figures are not due until next month and concern over the data's quality as well as hawkish policymaker comments has expectations for a rate cut in December fading. The main event for markets this week is likely Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab earnings after the close on Wednesday, which are shaping as a test for the artificial-intelligence bull run. Analysts on average expect the company to post a 53.8% year-over-year rise in fiscal third-quarter earnings per share, according to LSEG, and they have been getting more optimistic about future revenue - leaving the company with a lot to beat. In Asia on Monday, markets struck a cautious tone, sending the dollar up a little bit, while the deepening diplomatic disagreement between China and Japan hit stocks in Tokyo. Shares in Muji parent Ryohin Keikaku (7453.T) , opens new tab, department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi (3099.T) , opens new tab and Shiseido (4911.T) , opens new tab notched losses of around 10% each after China's warning to its citizens against travel to Japan. A row erupted after Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told lawmakers a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan's survival and potentially trigger a military response. A senior Japanese diplomat will head to China on Monday to try to calm things down, Japanese media reported. A separate Japanese news report on plans for a $110 billion government-spending stimulus package put pressure on Japanese bonds. Key developments that could influence markets on Monday: - Canada inflation data - Delayed U.S. construction data; November Empire State manufacturing survey - Fed's Williams, Jefferson, Kashkari and Waller https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-view-europe-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 05:17

JAKARTA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia will charge taxes on exports of gold of between 7.5% and 15% in a plan that will be implemented sometime next year, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday. The tax policy, currently being finalised, is being designed so that lower rates are applied to processed goods to help encourage domestic processing, Febrio Kacaribu, the ministry's director general of fiscal strategy, told a parliamentary hearing. Sign up here. For example, a higher rate for gold dore - bars or ingots with impurities - and a lower rate for minted bars would be charged, he said. Global gold prices will also be a factor in determining the taxes, he said, noting that higher rates are likely to be applied when prices are at or above $3,200 per troy ounce to capture miners' windfall profits. Spot gold has been trading above $4,000 per ounce since early November. It is up more than 50% so far this year. The bull run has helped Indonesia's gold exports hit $1.64 billion for the first nine months of 2025, much higher than the $1.1 billion shipments for all of last year. Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong are the top buyers. Resource-rich Indonesia has the world's fourth-largest unmined gold reserves, including in the Grasberg mine in the country's east, operated by a local unit of Freeport-McMoRan. However, many domestic investors have found it difficult to find gold bars to buy amid the boom in gold investment, Febrio said. "We want production in Indonesia, as well as liquidity in and ample circulation of gold in Indonesia. And we want as much value added as possible so that gold can be enjoyed by Indonesians," Febrio said. The government's plan to impose a tax on coal exports is still under discussion, he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-plans-impose-tax-gold-exports-2026-official-says-2025-11-17/

2025-11-17 04:59

China's export controls on rare earth yttrium throttling supply International prices have rocketed, stocks running low for some Shortages pose risks for aerospace, energy, chipmaking BEIJING/MONTREAL/SINGAPORE/HOUSTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Global supplies of the rare earth element yttrium are running low due to Chinese export restrictions, sparking fears of shortages and surging costs that could hit aerospace, energy and semiconductor production. China, the main source of the element used in speciality alloys found in engines as well as coatings to shield against high temperatures, restricted exports along with six other rare earths in April in retaliation for U.S. tariffs. Sign up here. While a high-stakes meeting last month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had raised industry hopes for a more reliable flow of critical materials, the dispute has not been fully resolved. So while China has since paused some of its rare earth restrictions, its April controls remain in place, raising questions about access for U.S. industry in the absence of a comprehensive deal between Washington and Beijing. The controls, which require exporters to obtain licences from Beijing, have made it hard to get yttrium out of China, according to four rare earth traders and Argus analyst Ellie Saklatvla. The licences issued thus far have been for small shipments and there are still long delays getting material delivered, Saklatvla said. 'SCRAMBLE FOR YTTRIUM' "China’s export controls have undoubtedly prompted a scramble for yttrium that continues several months on," Saklatvla said. European prices for yttrium oxide, used to make heat-shield coatings, are up 4,400% since January at $270 a kilogram, Argus data showed. Chinese prices, around $7 per kilogram, are 16% higher over the period but falling, according to the data. U.S. trade group Aerospace Industries Association said yttrium was essential to the world's most advanced jet engines and it was working with Washington to expand domestic supply. "At present, our supply chain depends heavily on imports from China — a reliance that has contributed to rising costs amid growing shortages," said Dak Hardwick, AIA’s vice president, international affairs. Shortages are also a major concern for the semiconductor industry, where yttrium is used as a protective coating and insulator, two industry sources said. One described it as a "9 out of 10" in severity. Richard Thurston, CEO of Great Lakes Semiconductor, said yttrium shortages would lengthen production times, raise costs and make equipment less efficient, though immediate shutdowns were unlikely. Problems are likely to be worse for the larger producers, he added. "Shortages will increasingly become a real chokepoint," he said. In addition to aircraft engines and semiconductors, yttrium coatings are used in gas plants to protect turbine blades from high temperatures. Major producer Mitsubishi Heavy (7011.T) , opens new tab said its gas turbine business faced no issues at present from China's expanded rare earth export controls. Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) , opens new tab CEO Christian Bruch said the company was working to diversify itself away from Chinese rare earths in general but it would take time to do so. "So far, we have not seen any direct impact on our supply chains. We are monitoring the situation with concern, but it is still manageable for us at the moment." GE Vernova (GEV.N) , opens new tab did not respond to questions. STOCKS OUTSIDE CHINA China's yttrium exports to the U.S. began slowing early this year before stopping altogether after the April controls, customs data through September showed. Exports to the rest of the world are down about 30% over the same period, but supplies are unlikely to flow to the U.S. because companies or traders are concerned China could restrict their own shipments in retaliation, said a yttrium trader. The yttrium market is opaque and information about stocks outside China varies. Six industry sources gave estimates ranging from one to 12 months of consumption. Several said reserves likely varied widely by company. A rare earth trader, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that their stocks had fallen to 5 tons from 200 tons. Another said they were out of stock. Two aerospace industry sources said yttrium prices were rising, but the shortfall had not disrupted production. Mark Burns, president of U.S. Gulfstream Aerospace, told Reuters that the business jet maker had limited exposure to yttrium. "I have heard the discussion, but only on the perimeter. Nothing that impacts our deliveries at this point," he said. ALTERNATIVES The U.S. imports all of its yttrium, with 93% coming directly from China and the remainder made from material that was first processed in China, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a January report. That could soon change thanks to ReElement Technologies, based in Indiana, which plans to start producing yttrium oxide at a rate of 200 tons per year, or about 16 tons a month, by December, before rising to 400 tons per year by March, CEO Ryan Jensen told Reuters. The U.S. imported an estimated 470 tons of yttrium products in 2024, according to the USGS. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/new-rare-earth-crisis-is-brewing-yttrium-shortages-spread-2025-11-14/