2025-12-26 08:33
Domestic India prices extend record rally to 139,286 rupees China discounts narrow to $15–$30/oz from last week's $64/oz Speculative buying narrows China discounts, says analyst Dec 26 (Reuters) - Gold discounts in India widened to their highest in more than six months this week as a relentless price rally curbed retail buying, while discounts in China narrowed sharply from last week's five-year highs. "People are in a festive mood and travelling, so they are not interested in making purchases at these record-high price levels," said a jeweller based in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. Sign up here. Domestic gold prices hit a record high of 139,286 rupees ($1,550.34) per 10 grams on Friday, following a rally in international spot gold rates. Spot gold notched an all-time high of $4,530.60 per ounce, driven by speculative and momentum-driven buying, as well as expectations of more U.S. rate cuts and rising geopolitical tensions. This week, Indian dealers were offering a discount of up to $61 per ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, up from last week's discounts of up to $37. "The slowdown in demand is deepening as prices continue to rise. Demand is likely to remain muted over the next few weeks unless there is a significant correction in prices," said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank. In top consumer China, bullion traded at discounts of $15 to $30 an ounce to the global benchmark spot price , narrowing sharply from last week's discounts of up to $64, the deepest in more than five years. Chinese discounts had hit a record high of $87.50 in August 2020 due to a slump in retail demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Discounts narrowed despite muted retail demand, as speculative buying picked up at record-high prices amid expectations of U.S. rate cuts and constrained supply due to a lack of new import quotas from the People's Bank of China, said Bernard Sin, regional director- Greater China, MKS PAMP. A firmer yuan also lent support, he said. In Singapore , gold was sold at premiums ranging from $0.50 to $3.50 an ounce. "The major purchases are made on silver and platinum, not gold. As usual, once we see the run-up in gold, that's when buy orders come in due to 'FOMO'," said Vergel Villasoto, director at Silver Bullion, referring to the fear of missing out. In Hong Kong, gold traded at par to $2 premium, while in Japan, bullion was sold at a discount of $6.0 to a $0.5 premium over spot prices. ($1 = 89.8425 Indian rupees) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/asia-gold-record-gold-rally-cools-indian-buying-china-discounts-narrow-2025-12-26/
2025-12-26 08:32
Share of these markets in Russia's LPG exports rose to 36% Surge driven by EU import restrictions on Russian LPG Afghanistan is Russia's largest LPG buyer in the region MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Russia has almost doubled exports of liquefied petroleum gas in the January - November period to ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia and Afghanistan to 1.016 million metric tons, industry sources told Reuters on Friday. Moscow has had to divert supplies of LPG, or propane and butane, from Europe, which introduced restrictions on LPG imports from Russia in December 2024 over the war in Ukraine. Sign up here. LPG is mainly used as fuel for cars, heating and to produce other petrochemicals. Traders said supplies to Afghanistan, as well as to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan now account for around 36% of Russia's total LPG exports, up from 19% in 2024. Afghanistan is Russia's largest buyer of LPG in that region. In July, Russia accepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan, making it the first nation to recognise the country's Taliban government. According to the sources, supplies of Russia's LPG to the country, including from Kazrosgaz, a joint venture with Kazakhstan, have jumped 1.5 times in the first 11 months of the year to 418,000 tons. Traders said that Russia's LPG supplies to Afghanistan have increased partially at the expense of declining supplies from Iran, which has been sanctioned by the United States. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-almost-doubles-lpg-exports-central-asia-afghanistan-this-year-sources-say-2025-12-26/
2025-12-26 08:00
Dec 26 (Reuters) - Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf, saying it was carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel, state media reported on Friday. Authorities did not name the vessel or disclose its nationality. They said 16 foreign crew members had been detained on criminal charges. State TV said the tanker was seized on Wednesday. Sign up here. Iranian news websites published video footage and photographs of what they said was the seized tanker. Iran said last week it had seized another foreign tanker carrying 6 million litres of what it described as smuggled diesel in the Gulf of Oman without identifying the vessel or its nationality. Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and a sharp fall in the value of its national currency, has been seeking to curb widespread fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf states. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-says-foreign-tanker-carrying-smuggled-fuel-seized-gulf-2025-12-26/
2025-12-26 07:57
BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) - China's market regulator on Friday urged the country's solar industry to curb deflationary price wars, warning firms against unfair pricing practices such as price collusion and fraud. The State Administration for Market Regulation said it will intensify product quality supervision and crack down on illegal activities to maintain fair market competition. Sign up here. The comments mark the government's latest effort to rein in cutthroat competition and stabilise pricing in the solar industry amid mounting pressure on manufacturers. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/china-warns-solar-firms-against-price-collusion-fraud-2025-12-26/
2025-12-26 06:52
MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - A blaze sparked by a Ukrainian drone attack at Russia's Azov Sea port of Temryuk has been put out, a local task force said on Friday. It also said the fuel reservoirs are being cooled down. Sign up here. Two oil product tanks caught fire on Thursday at the southern Russian port of Temryuk after what regional authorities in the Krasnodar region said was a Ukrainian drone attack. Flames covered an area of about 2,000 square metres, authorities at the Krasnodar operational headquarters said at the time on the Telegram messaging app. Temryuk handles liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), oil products and petrochemicals, as well as grain and other bulk food commodities. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/blaze-russias-temryuk-is-put-out-after-drone-attack-2025-12-26/
2025-12-26 06:23
Oil heading for largest annual decline since 2020 Global crude supply glut looms over investors Russia-Ukraine peace proposals in focus HOUSTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled more than 2% lower on Friday as investors weighed a looming global supply glut, while also keeping an eye on a potential Ukraine peace deal ahead of talks this weekend between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump. Brent crude futures settled down $1.60 or 2.57% to $60.64 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down $1.61 or 2.76% to $56.74. Sign up here. While supply disruptions have helped oil prices rebound in recent sessions from their near five-year low on December 16, they are on track for their steepest annual decline since 2020. Brent and WTI are down 19% and 21% respectively on the year, as rising crude output caused concerns of an oil glut heading into next year. "Geopolitical premiums have provided near-term price support, but have not materially shifted the underlying oversupply narrative," Aegis Hedging analysts said in a note on Friday. The global oil supply next year will exceed demand by 3.84 million barrels per day, according to figures from the Paris-based IEA's December oil market report. EYES ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE PROCESS Investors are watching for developments in the Russia-Ukraine peace process and the possible impact on future oil prices, as a peace agreement could lead to the removal of international sanctions against Russia's oil sector. Zelenskiy will discuss territorial issues, the main stumbling block in talks to end the war, with Trump in Florida on Sunday, as a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantees deal near completion. Announcing the meeting, Zelenskiy said that "a lot can be decided before the New Year." The Ukrainian president also told Axios he would be willing to call a referendum on an agreed peace framework if Russia agrees to a ceasefire. A foreign policy aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to members of the U.S. administration after Moscow received U.S. proposals about a possible Ukrainian peace deal, the Kremlin said on Friday. For the oil price, "the negatives remain of elevated global oil storage, and slight progress on Ukraine-Russia peace talks," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. The White House also ordered its military forces to focus on a "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, indicating Washington is currently more interested in using economic rather than military means to pressure Caracas. "The global impact to crude prices looks minimal at this time," Kissler said of U.S. actions to intercept sanctioned oil tankers leaving and entering Venezuela. Despite headline risk pertaining to Venezuela, the broader market remains focused on the growing global surplus, according to Aegis Hedging analysts. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-rises-market-weighs-venezuela-supply-risks-2025-12-26/
