China Just Went On A Gold-Buying Spree
And it’s not the only central bank filling its reserves with shiny yellow stuff.
Russell Burns
What’s going on here?
China marked a glittery 23rd consecutive month of gold buying in September.
What does this mean?
The country’s central bank knows a bargain when it sees one: with the price of gold falling 6% over the month, it snapped up about 23 metric tons – its biggest monthly haul in three years.
And it’s not the only one hoarding. Other emerging-market central banks have been piling into the metal for years, trying to shrink their reliance on US government bonds and the dollar. Gold doesn’t pay interest like bonds do, but these banks are playing the long game, putting diversification over short-term returns.
Saudi Arabia's ability to supply energy remains resilient amid major market and security turmoil, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, as the kingdom suffers attacks on energy and aviation infrastructure.
"Energy resilience is beyond barrels of spare capacity, of pipelines and gigawatts of generation," the minister said at the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh. "It must also be measured by the ability to maintain, repair, reroute, substitute and recover. Above all, it must be measured by the ability to continue delivering under pressure."
The comments come amid waves on attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, with projectiles hitting the airport in Riyadh multiple times that killed at least 14 people and wounded hundreds. The kingdom's main cross-country pipeline, the primary means for getting oil supplies to the market during the Iran war, had been damaged last month while refineries and a port on the Red Sea coast have been targeted.
Saudi Arabia restarted the East-West pipeline last month, with flows rising to over 80 percent of the link's capacity. Meanwhile, state-run Saudi Aramco has boosted crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing total oil exports toward prewar levels in September.
"We honor our commitments and strive to fulfill them, no matter the circumstances and no one can break our resolve," Prince Abdulaziz said on Sunday at International Energy Forum, which took place in Riyadh.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia suffered its deadliest strikes since the Iran war began as Houthi militants repeatedly targeted airports across the kingdom, including in Riyadh and Dammam.
The WPC conference has been disrupted by the hostilities, with chief executives of BP Plc and Shell Plc among those withdrawing their in-person attendance. Prince Abdulaziz thanked those who had traveled to the gathering, and said Saudi Arabia would protect visitors.
1:42pm on 12 October 2026
The news: The energy sector fell 0.6% in afternoon trading, weighed down by oil giants Woodside, Santos, Ampol and Viva Energy, which fell 1.2%, 1%, 2.1% and 2.6% respectively. This follows a retreat in oil prices as traders weigh US President Donald Trump’s claim of an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, even as hostilities escalated across the Middle East.
The context: Brent crude prices fell to around USD103 ($147) a barrel, while US WTI crude hovered near USD90 a barrel. The retreat occurred despite a sharp surge in the prior session, following Trump’s unexpected announcement on Sunday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an energy ceasefire. However, the escalating Middle East conflict continues to keep Brent crude above the USD100 threshold. This comes after Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for a deadly missile strike on Riyadh’s international airport, which left 13 people dead and over 300 wounded.
In addition to this, more attacks on tankers across the Strait of Hormuz this month threaten to stall the recovery in Middle East crude exports seen in September, according to Reuters. In response to the mounting regional supply risks, Goldman Sachs raised its December Brent crude price forecast to USD90 a barrel, up from USD85 previously. What they said: “We maintain our base case that continued adaptation of [Middle East] supply will eventually reduce crude oil prices, while potential renewed escalation still poses significant net upside risk,” Goldman Sachs analyst Daan Struyven said. “We forecast WTI prices, which are unusually low vs Brent because of high US-Europe shipping costs, to average USD81 in December 2026 and USD73 in 2027,” he added.
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Oct 13, 2026, 4:20 AM CDT
Saudi Arabia plans to raise the capacity of its East-West onshore oil pipeline that helps it bypass the Strait of Hormuz to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) within two to three years, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh.
The pipeline, which returned to service after a two-week suspension following drone attacks in September, currently carries about 5.8 million bpd, the minister said last week.
The 740-mile-long pipeline, also known as Petroline, has a maximum capacity of 7 million bpd at present.
Despite the ongoing conflict and disruptions, Saudi Arabia plans to add 3 million bpd to the East-West pipeline, which became a lifeline for Saudi oil exports after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Thanks to the pipeline, Saudi Arabia managed to divert most of its crude oil exports away from the choked Strait of Hormuz and ships increasingly larger volumes via the Yanbu port on the Red Sea.
The route to bypass Hormuz is not without risks, either. The Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen vowed in July to halt Saudi shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is the shortest route for Saudi oil supply from Yanbu to reach Asian markets.
Still, Prince Abdulaziz on Monday touted the energy resilience of the Kingdom, telling the WPC Energy Congress that energy resilience “must also be measured by the ability to maintain, repair, reroute, substitute and recover. Above all, it must be measured by the ability to continue delivering under pressure.”
Saudi Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said at the same event that “In alignment with the Ministry of Energy, we are studying additional crude export routes, and working on expanding overseas storage.”
Aramco’s top executive added that the company is “also focused on mitigating risks and limiting damage, using frontier technologies to inspect facilities and accelerate restoration.”
German energy company RWE has completed the sale of its 33.33% shareholding in the Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm to French electric utility company EDF.
Following this transaction, EDF will assume lead responsibility for the project on behalf of its joint venture partners.
A RWE spokesperson said: "The priority of the Five Estuaries project is to progress its transition from development into construction and ultimately operation.
"We are delighted that EDF, with its long-standing commitment to delivering UK renewables, is committed to maintaining the pace of the project's ambitions, and we look forward to seeing it come to fruition in the months and years to come."
The Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm, located in the southern North Sea, covers two seabed zones spanning approximately 128km².
The project has construction consent for up to 79 wind turbines, each with a maximum tip height of 370m, and associated foundations.
When fully operational, the wind farm is expected to have a total capacity sufficient to supply around one million average UK households.
Development consent for the project was granted on 17 December 2025 by the UK's Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
RWE will continue to support the transition process to EDF in the short term.
The Five Estuaries scheme is an extension project associated with the Galloper Wind Farm, which lies 30km off the Suffolk coast.
Galloper is a 353MW facility with a reported investment of $1.98bn (£1.5bn). It began generating power in November 2017 and became fully operational in March 2018.
The planned Five Estuaries extension will cover two seabed areas and connect onshore at Sandy Point, next to Frinton-on-Sea and Holland-on-Sea.
RWE secured five awards representing 6.9GW of installed capacity in the UK's most recent Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 and intends to add a net 5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2031.
Last month, RWE reached a final investment decision to construct a battery storage facility with a capacity of 400MW/1.1GW-hours at its Moerdijk power station in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands.
"RWE sells stake in Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm to EDF" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rwe-sells-stake-five-estuaries-091013506.html
Copper prices rose 1% to more than $14,600/metric ton on the London Metal Exchange on Monday, extending gains on hopes for stronger Chinese demand and concerns over supply disruptions.
The cash price of copper reached a premium of $170/ton to benchmark three-month prices, the highest since early September, an indication of a shortage of immediate supply.
"Stronger-than-forecast Chinese industrial activity, improving credit demand, and accelerating infrastructure expenditure could reinforce expectations of higher copper consumption," Zaye Capital Markets analyst Naeem Aslam said in a note, pointing to China's plan to tap 550B yuan in additional government debt and allocate funds to areas such as infrastructure.
Supply concerns are also supporting prices, with a strike at Chile's Centinela mine and potential labor action at Escondida adding to uncertainty.
"We believe supply developments in Chile, Peru, and Indonesia will remain equally important, particularly as mining disruptions and operational constraints threaten production availability," although weaker U.S. consumer sentiment and persistent inflation concerns could limit gains by clouding demand prospects and keeping monetary policy restrictive, Aslam wrote.
Two workers died Sunday after a snow avalanche struck Codelco's giant El Teniente copper mine, where open-pit operations had already been stopped due to bad weather.
QMines (ASX:QML) has uncovered a new copper discovery extending 180m beyond the resource zone at the Mt Chalmers Project in Queensland, signifying ‘significant’ resource growth potential.
In the ongoing drilling campaign, hole 26MCDD052 intersected 11m of visually identified copper sulphides, which includes semi-massive chalcopyrite-pyrite mineralisation.
QMines says the discovery has opened an “exciting new exploration target” beyond the existing resource as mineralised intercepts exhibit consistency with the copper-gold system at Mt Chalmers.
The company intends to conduct follow-up drilling to test whether this zone represents an extension to the Mt Chalmers main lode, a separate mineralised zone that trends north-northeast, or whether mineralisation is associated with Botos.
If mineralisation is associated with Botos, QMines says the discovery will open up a ‘significant’ new exploration target.
This discovery is also set to support further exploration of the interpreted Woods Shaft-Mt Chalmers-Botos corridor at the project, which is emerging to showcase a 4km copper-gold corridor that remains semi-untested.
Exploration Manager Tom Bartschi says the discovery hosts geological similarities and position that increase chances of Mt Chalmers and Botos forming a larger, connected mineralised system.
“Our focus to date has been on advancing Mt Chalmers towards production, with the Definitive Feasibility Study now well underway,” Bartschi states.
“With recent strategic land acquisitions, we are now in a position to accelerate exploration across the broader mineralised corridor. Remarkably, 26MCDD052 is only the second hole to test this highly prospective area north of the main pit.
“This discovery reinforces our belief that significant exploration potential remains at Mt Chalmers.”
QMines is already conducting follow-up drilling at this discovery, which intends to establish the extent and continuity of mineralisation. Assays are expected to be returned later this month.
“While the connection between Mt Chalmers and Botos remains to be demonstrated, we are excited by the opportunity to potentially grow the resource well beyond its current boundaries,” Bartschi adds.
QMines is a copper and gold developer focused on creating a multi-project copper and gold production hub in Central Queensland, spearheaded by its Mt Chalmers Project.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Main Image: QMines
https://mining.com.au/qmines-strikes-copper-discovery-outside-of-mt-chalmers-resource/
Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) highlights the scale and continuity of mineralisation across the Metz Mining Centre following drill results from an ongoing program at the Hillgrove Antimony-Gold Project in New South Wales.
Managing Director Ron Heeks says the latest results demonstrate the growth potential of the Metz Mining Centre.
“Importantly, we are now consistently intersecting multiple high-grade gold-antimony-tungsten lodes across a growing mineralised footprint, while also discovering new mineralised structures outside the current resource model,” Heeks says.
“With four diamond rigs operating and results pending from a further 17 drill holes, we are rapidly advancing towards a maiden Midas mineral resource while continuing to demonstrate the broader potential of the Metz Mining Centre as a major contributor to future growth at Hillgrove.”
Some of the latest results from the Blacklode discovery include 20.5m @ 9.4 grams per tonne gold equivalent (AuEq) from 199m, including 6.2m @ 27.2g/t AuEq from 207.6m.
Drilling returned 20m @ 6.7g/t AuEq from 342.5m at the Midas Gully discovery and 3.4m @ 13.7g/t AuEq from 109.6m at Endurance.
Meanwhile, results at the newly discovered Echidna lode include 11.2m @ 6.7g/t AuEq from 63m, including 3.2m @ 17.5g/t AuEq from 71m.
Larvotto says all completed holes intersected targeted structures in predicted positions. This validates the company’s geological and structural interpretation of the Metz Mining Centre.
Future plans
Drilling is continuing to expand multiple open gold-antimony-tungsten lodes across the Metz Mining Centre.
The company is evaluating opportunities to establish underground drill platforms from existing development to accelerate resource delineation and test extensions beyond the limits of current surface drilling.
Follow-up drilling will test the strike and depth extensions of the Midas, Blacklode, Endurance, and Echidna lodes, while increasing drill density across the Midas exploration target.
With Hillgrove now in production, Larvotto is continuing to focus on growing its mineral inventory proximal to existing infrastructure.
Growth at Clarks Gully and Blacklode, advancing Midas towards a maiden mineral resource estimate, and ongoing discoveries within the broader Metz Mining Centre provide multiple pathways to increase Hillgrove’s resource base and extend mine life.
Larvotto Resources is advancing a portfolio of in-demand minerals projects across Australia. This includes the Hillgrove Gold-Antimony Project in NSW, the Mt Isa Copper-Gold-Cobalt Project in North West Queensland, and the Eyre multi-metals and lithium asset in Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Main image: Larvotto Resources
https://mining.com.au/larvotto-flags-metz-mining-centres-growth-potential/
USGS revised U.S. molybdenum concentrate production for April-June 2026 from 3,470, 3,650 and 3,510 tonnes to 3,420, 3,610 and 3,480 tonnes, respectively, cutting the three-month total by 120 tonnes. Based on the revised monthly data, SMM calculates H1 output at about 20,900 tonnes, versus 21,100 tonnes previously reported. Part of the 200-tonne displayed difference reflects USGS rounding. H1 output nevertheless remained about 4% higher YoY.
https://news.metal.com/newscontent/104150571-flash-usgs-revises-us-h1-molybdenum-output-lower
KGHM Polska Miedz stock had a PLN 69.9 billion market value on October 12, 2026, after the company received EU strategic status for two copper projects worth more than PLN 9.5 billion on October 9, 2026. The Northern Miner reported that the designation covers the Retkow-Grodziszcze mining project and the conversion of the Legnica smelter into a recycling facility.
Three dated milestones
On September 22, 2026, KGHM published preliminary production and sales data for August 2026, with the report covering a production month ending August 31, 2026. KGHM said the final quarterly production and sales results would be included in its third-quarter report. On October 2, 2026, KGHM announced a USD 725 million expansion of the Sierra Gorda mine in Chile, designed to lift ore processing capacity from 48 million to 60 million tonnes annually. KGHM said completion is scheduled for the end of 2029. On October 9, 2026, the EU designation added a regulatory milestone to the Polish projects.
What does the expansion add?
The Retkow-Grodziszcze project is planned to extract more than 100 million tonnes of ore through 2055, containing nearly 1.5 million tonnes of copper and more than 5,000 tonnes of silver, according to The Northern Miner. The Legnica recycling operation is planned to produce 135,000 tonnes of electrolytic copper and 250 tonnes of nickel annually. The strategic designation may shorten permitting procedures, but it does not guarantee financing, the publication reported.
Dates for the next reports
KGHM has scheduled an Extraordinary General Meeting for October 28, 2026, with proposed resolutions published on September 30, 2026. PAP MediaRoom carried the filing. The investor calendar lists the consolidated third-quarter 2026 report for November 18, 2026, on KGHM's investor page.
Price and market value
KGHM stock was trading at EUR 79.55 at Lang & Schwarz on October 12, 2026 at 9:25 a.m. CEST. The latest Polish listing data showed a market capitalization of PLN 69.9 billion, while the company reported PLN 24.7 billion in first-half 2026 revenue and PLN 5.6 billion in net income, according to stockd. That combination leaves the stock story tied to both higher copper capacity and execution of projects that extend well beyond the next quarterly report.
The further course of trading is shown by the continuously updated real-time quote of KGHM stock.
India's ministry of steel has released a draft steel policy for public consultation targeting 604 million mt of steel capacity by 2047 from around 220 million mt at present, a government official said quoting from the draft document on Monday, October 12.
The policy aims to cut the sector's average carbon-emission intensity to around 1.54 mt of carbon dioxide per mt of crude steel by 2047 from the current 2.54 mt, in line with India's net zero emission goal for 2070, according to the draft document.
The steel ministry expects iron ore demand to reach 772 million mt and plans to secure access to high-grade reserves by pursuing foreign assets and joint ventures, the document said.
The ministry also expects coking coal demand to reach 236 million mt, the document said, with the government planning to diversify its sourcing via "strategic global outreach" and acquire overseas assets.
The policy seeks to reduce import dependence through domestic mining, washery expansion, asset acquisition, long-term supply arrangements, and AI-based optimisation of coal blends. Other raw materials important for the steel sector, like manganese and limestone, will also remain in policy focus to ensure long-term resource sustainability.
The secondary steel sector, comprising around 2,550 units and nearly 47 percent of crude steel production capacity, will receive support for enhanced raw material access, technology improvement, skill development and safety, the document said.
The government introduced a National Steel Policy in 2017, aimed at increasing India's steel manufacturing capability to 300 million mt by 2030, along with other parameters such as 160 kg per capita consumption, ensuring raw material availability, among others.
Compared with the previous month, the figure remained virtually unchanged
In August 2026, US steelworks shipped 8.22 million short tonnes of steel, which is 5.9% more than in the same period of 2025. This is stated in a report by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Compared with the previous month, this figure remained virtually unchanged.
In January–August, steel shipments totalled 63.97 million short tonnes, which is 5.4% more than in the same period last year.
Over the past eight months, shipments of corrosion-resistant sheets and strips rose by 11% year-on-year, those of hot-rolled sheet by 9% year-on-year, and those of cold-rolled sheet by 0.1% year-on-year.
It should be noted that in August this year, the US saw a 3.4% increase in total steel imports compared with the previous month, reaching 2.34 million short tonnes. Compared with August 2025, the figure fell by 15.1%. In particular, imports of rolled steel for the period amounted to 1.6 million short tonnes of the total volume, rising by 2.2% month-on-month, but falling by 18.5% year-on-year.
As reported by GMK Center, the US reduced imports of rolled steel by 17.1% year-on-year last year, to 18.66 million short tonnes. Total steel imports (rolled products and semi-finished products) amounted to 25.24 million tonnes, down 12.6% year-on-year. The share of imported rolled steel on the US market is estimated to have reached 18% in 2025.
https://gmk.center/en/news/steel-shipments-to-the-us-rose-by-5-9-y-y-in-august/
South Korea's top three steelmakers have reduced rebar production or suspended some facility operations in response to the construction slump. The moves come as a sharp drop in rebar demand has coincided with rising raw material and electricity costs. At the same time, growing confidence that the construction market has bottomed out is raising expectations for a demand recovery starting next year.
According to industry sources on October 12, Dongkuk Steel temporarily suspended operations of the No. 1 and No. 2 rolling lines at its Incheon plant from October 1 to October 5. The decision was made in consideration of rebar demand and inventory levels, and operations resumed on October 6. The company plans to flexibly adjust operating days through the end of this year depending on market conditions.
Earlier, Hyundai Steel shut down a 90-ton electric furnace and a small rolling line at its Incheon plant in January this year. The facilities had the capacity to produce 800,000 to 900,000 tons of rebar annually, equivalent to half of the Incheon plant's total rebar output.
POSCO has exited the construction rebar business entirely. The company decided in April this year to halt production and sales of coiled rebar, roughly three years after it began selling the product in 2023. Coiled rebar is supplied in rolled form and can be uncoiled, cut, and bent to required lengths at processing facilities, offering the advantage of reducing material waste.
A steel industry official said, "With rebar demand down sharply, raw material prices are rising and the electricity costs required to run operations are substantial. We have no choice but to cut costs by reducing operations for now."
Demand Plunge Meets Construction Bottoming-Out Narrative
The production adjustments by steelmakers are rooted in declining rebar demand. According to the Korea Iron & Steel Association, domestic rebar demand in South Korea fell 13.4% from approximately 7.8 million tons in 2024 to 6.754 million tons last year. The weakness continued into the first half of this year, with demand of 3.351 million tons, down 3.2% year-on-year.
However, recent analyses suggesting the construction market has bottomed out are raising the possibility that steel demand will recover with a time lag. The main basis is improvement in leading indicators for the construction sector.
According to South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, nationwide housing starts totaled 156,396 units from January to August this year, up 10.8% year-on-year. Seoul saw 20,679 units, a 41.1% increase. Over the same period, nationwide housing presales also rose 35.3% to 145,314 units.
https://finance.biggo.com/news/a07248c4-0021-4b1d-a50d-6faf92ff4ea9
With COP31 just a few weeks away, one would expect a stable, gradually strengthening stream of news about emissions, net-zero policies, and windfall profit taxation for oil and gas companies. Instead, something absolutely unexpected is happening. There is almost no COP31 news, coal demand is about to surge as heating season starts, and Asian governments are talking about boosting their oil stash for a rainy day.
Meanwhile in Brussels, “Participants [in a youth meeting with Klimakommissar Wopke Hoekstra] highlighted their call for integrating social justice into the EU’s climate policies to support vulnerable communities during the transition.”
None other than the International Energy Agency forecast last month that coal demand this year was about to break a record, rising to 8.94 billion tonnes. Let us spare a moment and think about the pain this forecast must have caused its authors, and then continue with the IEA’s observation that the war in the Middle East has prompted stronger coal demand because gas has become too expensive. Not a word about panels or turbines replacing expensive gas-fired generation. Odd, that.
The misery spreads, however, with Reuters’ Gavin Maguire grimly predicting a pick-up in coal exports in the current quarter despite earlier signs pointing towards a year of declining coal demand. I’m not sure where the signs came from, seeing as the gas market has been majorly disturbed since March but let’s assume there were some. Now, these signs are reversing as spot LNG prices for Asia top $26 per mmBtu and EU gas prices top 80 euro per MWh. Oil prices are topping certain numbers as well, but the Asia Zero Emission Community does not care. The Asia Zero Emission Community wants more oil. This is not a comedy sketch.
https://irinaslav.substack.com/p/massive-net-zero-win-for-coal-and