US and China extend trade truce as Trump welcomes Xi for summit Treasury secretary Scott Bessent says the countries have agreed to extension until January 10
Updated 00:04
President Xi Jinping landed at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday evening for a high-stakes summit with President Donald Trump as the US and China agreed to extend their trade war truce until January. Trump and his wife Melania greeted Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at the military base outside Washington — the first time a US president has welcomed a visiting world leader there for more than six decades. Xi is making his first visit to Washington since 2015.
Shortly after the Chinese leader landed, US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the two countries had agreed to extend their one-year trade war truce, which was set to expire on November 10, until January 10. Trump and Xi and their spouses briefly chatted on a red carpet that had been laid out at the bottom of the stairs in front of the Air China plane. The leaders then walked through a cordon and were given a military salute. B1 bombers flew overhead and cannons were fired as they listened to the American national anthem, which was played by the US Air Force band. The US president then escorted Xi and Peng to the black limousine that would transport them to Washington, a 23km drive from the base. Trump and his wife got into the presidential limousine — known as “The Beast” — which carried them to the nearby Marine One helicopter for the flight back to the White House.
Xi will stay at the Waldorf Astoria, which was previously the Trump hotel, according to someone familiar with his plans. When Xi last visited Washington he stayed at Blair House, the government residence across from the White House, where visiting leaders often stay. Xi’s arrival comes four months after Trump went to China for a state visit and just under a year after the presidents met in Busan, South Korea, where they struck a one-year truce in their trade war. It will be the leaders’ third meeting since Trump returned to the White House last year. In a statement issued after his arrival, Xi said it was a “great pleasure” to pay a state visit to the US.
The two countries should be “partners, not rivals”, the Chinese leader said, adding that 2026 was a “pivotal” year for US-China relations. “The two sides should move towards each other and work together to build a stable relationship — one where co-operation is the mainstay, competition is kept within proper limits, differences are managed and peace can be expected.” He added: “Together we can and should find the right approach for China and the United States — two major countries — to get along with each other in the new era. I am confident that we can.” Trump and Xi will spend most of Thursday and Friday morning together attending a series of meetings and cultural events.
They are expected to discuss a range of issues, including the trade war truce and the creation of an AI dialogue to discuss risks posed by the technology. Earlier on Wednesday, after the second meeting in four days with his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, Bessent said China had proposed a “bigger” trade deal that would be discussed at the summit. The visit will also include a lot of pomp. During a formal welcome ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday morning that will include a military review, the two leaders will make public remarks before holding talks. The ceremony will conclude with F-22 Raptor fighter jets and B-2 Spirit bombers — the same warplanes that dropped bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer last year — conducting a military flyover. In the evening, the US president and his wife Melania will host Xi and Peng for a state dinner that will be attended by a number of American business leaders, including Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Jane Fraser from Citigroup and Apple’s former chief executive Tim Cook.
Xi is not expected to bring a big delegation of chief executives, according to people familiar with the planning between Washington and Beijing. Dennis Wilder, the White House China official who managed former president Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington in 2006, said Xi would be “thrilled with the unprecedented reception”. He said Chinese media would tout it as a “sign that China has now arrived as an equal on the world stage to the US” and that it would help solidify Xi’s position as China’s uncontested leader as he looks to a fourth five-year term at next year’s 21st Communist Party plenum.
In addition to economic and trade issues, Xi is expected to discuss Taiwan with Trump. The US president sparked alarm in Washington and Taipei in May when he said American arms sales to Taiwan were a “good negotiating chip”, suggesting that he might curtail US support for the country. Before Xi departed Beijing, Chinese state media reinforced China’s claims to sovereignty over Taiwan. It described Taiwan as “the most important issue” in China-US relations and reminded Washington that Xi warned in May at the last summit that if handled “poorly”, Taiwan could lead to clashes and “a very dangerous situation”.
https://www.ft.com/content/8ff1b8fd-ff58-42a4-8e44-6a31f6db8154?syn-25a6b1a6=1
New Delhi [India], September 23 (ANI): Recovery in the European Union's chemicals industry may be pushed into 2027 as weak demand, volatile crude prices, elevated freight costs and excess global supply continue to weigh on production, 360 ONE Capital said in a sector report.
EU27 chemical production fell 1.6 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, following a 2.4 per cent decline in 2025. While capacity utilisation improved to 75 per cent in the third quarter from 73.2 per cent in the first quarter, it remained well below the long-term average of 81.3 per cent.
The report said a near-term recovery does not appear imminent, with crude volatility and higher freight costs causing some demand destruction, particularly in discretionary segments. 'We expect the remainder of 2026 to remain subdued for EU27 chemicals,' it said, adding that these factors were 'likely to push the recovery timeline into 2027'.
The pressure is also visible in business confidence. The EU27 chemicals confidence indicator improved to an average of -10.5 during January-July 2026 from -14.6 a year earlier, but remained in negative territory, indicating that challenges facing the industry persist.
Energy costs remain a major disadvantage for European chemical producers. European gas prices averaged 45.1euros (USD 51.53) per megawatt-hour during January-July 2026, up 15.7 per cent from a year earlier, while US gas prices fell 9 per cent. As a result, the EU27-US gas price ratio widened to 3.6 times from 2.8 times a year earlier.
The report also highlighted a gap between sales and actual production. Chemical prices rose 4.2 per cent in the first half, supporting sales despite lower output. However, it said the divergence 'suggests that the improvement remains fragile', with production volumes continuing to contract and underlying industrial demand remaining subdued.
Production weakness was particularly sharp in basic organic chemicals, which declined 9.2 per cent, while polymers and crop protection products fell 6.5 per cent each.
Globally, chemical production growth slowed to 1.5 per cent in the first half of 2026, with growth concentrated in China and India. China's chemical production rose 4.6 per cent, while India recorded 0.6 per cent growth.
In contrast, production contracted in the US by 2.1 per cent, Brazil by 2.2 per cent, the EU27 by 1.6 per cent and Japan by 4.2 per cent. The report said China remained the key driver of global chemical expansion. (ANI)
Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi meets with HKN Energy Chairman Ross Perot in New York on September 22, 2026. Photo: Zaidi’s office
The Iraqi premier met with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods and HKN Energy Chairman Ross Perot on the sidelines of UNGA.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Tuesday met separately with the heads of US energy giants ExxonMobil and HKN Energy in New York, where they discussed exploring and developing Iraq’s oil fields.
The Iraqi premier arrived in New York on Monday for the high-level General Debate of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, marking his second trip to the US since taking office. He is set to deliver Iraq’s remarks at the event.
On the sidelines of the event, Zaidi met with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, discussing “exploration and the development of producing fields, with a view to increasing production and the optimal use of Iraq’s oil resources,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The two previously met in Houston in July where they discussed enhancing Iraq’s refineries and reducing its reliance on imported gas.
Zaidi separately met with HKN Energy Chairman Ross Perot, another US-based energy company with substantial investments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
The Iraqi prime minister called on the company to “redouble its efforts, accelerate the pace of work, and increase working hours on its projects and contractual commitments in Iraq, particularly those related to increasing oil production.”
“The government will work to overcome obstacles and address problems that could delay project implementation and the fulfillment of companies’ contractual commitment,” the statement added.
Zaidi also mentioned the country’s commitment to hold the Baghdad Energy conference where new exploration blocks are set to be announced.
In May 2025, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani presided over the signing of two major agreements in the energy sector between the Kurdistan Region’s natural resources ministry and HKN Energy and WesternZagros in Washington, DC.
The deals hold a combined value of $110 billion and aim to boost the Kurdistan Region’s energy sector.
Oil prices fell in Asian trading on Wednesday and were on course for a sixth consecutive day of declines as the first U.S.-Iran talks in months revived hopes of a deal and eased concerns about oil supply from the Middle East.
In Wednesday trade in Asia, Brent Crude prices dipped by about 1% to $98.30, after falling on Tuesday below the $100 a barrel mark. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, fell by 1.4% to below the $ 90-a-barrel threshold and traded at $89.49.
Oil prices extended the losses that began late last week and were on track on Wednesday morning to post a sixth straight day of losses, for the first time since August 2025.
The oil market appears to welcome with relief news about U.S.-Iran talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, hoping – again – that a diplomatic breakthrough could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and recovery of oil flows from the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump said late on Tuesday that U.S. and Iranian representatives “had a very good meeting, a very productive meeting -- they have another one scheduled in the very near future.”
“The meeting of US and Iranian delegations in New York has given traders a glimmer of hope,” Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM Trade, told Reuters.
“Despite the continued tough rhetoric, including threats of 'annihilation,' the market is choosing to price in the possibility of talks.”
The market is also pricing in the return of the East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia to partial operations. The onshore pipeline, the Kingdom’s main conduit to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, was closed for over 10 days following drone attacks on September 10. The pipeline is running at a low rate for now, while Saudi oil giant Aramco is working to return flows to roughly 4 million barrels per day (bpd) within a few weeks.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Sep 23, 2026, 5:00 PM CDT
The White House on Wednesday denied that the Administration is considering a ban on U.S. diesel exports, clarifying comments from President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a day earlier that appeared to leave the door open to restrictions as the average diesel price in America topped $6.50 per gallon.
A White House official denied a report that the Administration was preparing a 90-day ban on diesel exports, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright said nobody was considering a flat ban on shipments.
Instead, the Administration is discussing ways to get more diesel into the U.S. market while maintaining maximum flows of gasoline and jet fuel, Wright said.
The clarification came after President Trump on Tuesday signaled support for keeping more U.S. diesel at home, saying, “I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel.”
Treasury Secretary Bessent also said Tuesday, “We’re examining whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.”
The oil industry and oil market analysts say a ban is not a fix to the high prices and would ultimately backfire on U.S. fuel prices and refining capacity.
As of Tuesday, the national average diesel price had hit $6.5276 a gallon, per AAA data, up by nearly $1 from a month ago and almost $3 a gallon higher than at this time last year.
The global diesel crunch resulting from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, which choke supply out of the Middle East and Russia, is being felt in price spikes everywhere, including in the United States, threatening to hit economies, including the world’s largest.
For the U.S. Administration, record-high diesel prices and gasoline prices at an all-time high for this time of year, when they normally drop due to declining demand, could be a major blow ahead of the midterm elections in early November.
Some Republican Senators led by Iowa’s Chuck Grassley are calling for a ban on diesel exports as record-high diesel prices are hitting American farmers and truckers.
“W diesel $6.57 in Iowa why doesn’t Pres Trump put an embargo on diesel exports like presidents in the 70s put embargoes on ag products bc food prices were inflated. High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME,” Senator Grassley said this weekend after the national diesel price hit $6.50.
Trump’s comments on Tuesday appeared to lend support to those calls, before the White House clarified Wednesday that a diesel export ban was not under consideration.
The Administration has sent mixed signals on possible restrictions over the past week.
Early last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said, “We would consider an export ban if we thought that actually might lower prices, but that's not the case.”
Then Bessent said Tuesday that the Administration was examining whether a full or partial restriction could work.
On Wednesday, however, Energy Secretary Wright rejected the idea of a flat ban, saying it could actually increase gasoline and jet fuel prices.
“What's being discussed is what's the most efficient way to get more diesel into the United States of America, and continue maximum flows of gasoline and jet fuel,” Wright said, without providing further details.
Wright said the Administration was also discussing voluntary measures.
In the week since Secretary Burgum’s initial comment, national average diesel and gasoline prices continued to soar, and Republican Senators called for export embargoes to protect American farmers.
“If our govt can embargo chips to China it can embargo diesel to help American farmers & truckers We need our family farmers who feed&fuel the world 2b on the strongest footing possible no matter what’s happening across the globe,” Senator Grassley posted on X.
The issue with fuel prices is that they cannot be fixed “no matter what’s happening across the globe,” analysts and the American Petroleum Institute (API) say.
“We understand the administration is looking at every option to deliver relief, but restricting U.S. energy exports would only compound the problem—exacerbating refining challenges and ultimately hurting consumers,” API CEO Mike Sommers said.
“The answer is more supply and more flexibility—not new restrictions that risk making a difficult situation worse.”
The U.S. currently makes more diesel than it consumes and American exports are essential to provide relief to regions such as Europe and Latin America, where the diesel crunch is bigger.
If restrictions were imposed, refiners would reduce their run rates, ultimately deepening the global refining crisis and hiking prices even further, according to API.
“Limiting access to global markets could force refiners to cut runs—reducing production of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel and tightening supplies further at home and abroad,” the main U.S. oil lobby noted.
According to Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, “Keeping distillates and diesel home does not change the world price that reference our prices. You can't fence off a globally traded commodity by executive order and expect the global price to stop applying to it.”
An export ban would ultimately damage U.S. refinery capacity in the longer term as political regulation of “bringing prices down” would discourage investment in additional capacity, De Haan noted.
Moreover, the U.S. could lose its position as “the world’s backstop for diesel supply”, driving importing regions to diversify away from U.S. supplies. This will ultimately hit the refining capacity in America, the expert said.
“The bottom line is this: the U.S. is not short of diesel. The world is. A potential export ban treats the global price problem as if it was a U.S. only problem, and the cure would be far worse than the disease.”
I
September 24, 2026
Italy’s Senate has given final approval to legislation reopening the country to nuclear power, almost four decades after the referendum that led to the closure of its reactors. The law creates the framework for a new generation of nuclear technologies as Rome seeks greater energy security and lower decarbonisation costs.
Italy has taken its most consequential step towards restoring nuclear power since abandoning the technology in the late 1980s, after the Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to the government’s nuclear energy law.
The upper house approved the legislation by 81 votes to 51, with seven abstentions. The measure had already passed the Chamber of Deputies and therefore completes its parliamentary passage. The legislation on “sustainable nuclear energy”does not itself authorise construction of individual reactors. Instead, it gives the government the legal powers to establish the system under which nuclear generation could return to Italy.
Under the law, the government has 12 months to adopt implementing decrees covering the entire nuclear cycle, including construction and operation of plants, licensing procedures, safety requirements, spent fuel and radioactive waste, decommissioning and regulatory supervision. The legislation also provides for a national programme covering advanced nuclear technologies and fusion.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the decision, saying that almost 40 years after Italy abandoned nuclear generation, the country would again have a regulatory framework allowing it to produce atomic energy.
In a statement following the parliamentary vote, Meloni pointed to the contradiction of Italy importing electricity generated by nuclear power stations in neighbouring countries while being unable to produce nuclear electricity domestically.
The government says the policy is intended to address both rising electricity demand and Italy’s exposure to imported energy.
Energy security returns to the centre of policy
That argument has acquired greater urgency as Europe again confronts volatile international energy markets.
Italy remains heavily reliant on imported fuels, leaving its economy exposed to movements in international oil and gas prices. Across the EU, the same vulnerability has become increasingly visible: European gas storage entered the approach to the 2026–27 winter at unusually low levels, while disruption to Middle Eastern LNG exports has intensified competition for alternative supplies.
The Italian government is therefore presenting nuclear power not simply as a climate measure but as part of a wider strategy to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told the Senate before Wednesday’s vote that changing geopolitical conditions, volatile energy markets and the need to reduce fossil-fuel dependence had altered the terms of Italy’s nuclear debate. He said nuclear technologies were being considered alongside other sources as part of a system intended to provide security of supply, lower emissions and more predictable energy costs.
The government is concentrating primarily on small modular reactors and other advanced reactor designs, rather than a return to the large conventional plants that characterised Italy’s earlier nuclear programme.
That distinction matters. SMRs are intended to use smaller, more standardised reactor units, potentially allowing construction in stages rather than through a single multi-gigawatt project. However, the technology has yet to achieve widespread commercial deployment in Europe, and questions remain over costs, licensing and delivery schedules.
Italy will therefore be entering a market that is still developing. Sweden’s recent selection of Rolls-Royce SMRs for new capacity at Ringhals has already shown how the revival of nuclear power is developing into an industrial contest between competing European, American and Asian reactor technologies.
Nuclear could provide up to 22 per cent
The potential economic case is set out in Italy’s National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan.
Its modelling found that a conservative nuclear scenario could achieve net-zero objectives at an estimated system cost around €17 billion lower than a comparable scenario without nuclear power. The government’s energy and climate modelling envisages nuclear initially providing around 11 per cent of the future energy mix, while modelling indicates that its economically optimal contribution could eventually reach approximately 22 per cent.
Those figures remain scenarios rather than a construction programme. Italy still needs to decide which technologies would be permitted, where reactors could be located, how projects would be financed and how radioactive waste would be managed.
The latter issue remains unresolved from Italy’s previous nuclear era. Parliamentary debate highlighted the fact that the country has still not completed a permanent national repository for radioactive waste produced by its former reactors and other nuclear activities.
Part of a wider European reversal
Italy’s decision also comes amid a broader reassessment of nuclear power within the European Union.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in March that Europe had made a “strategic mistake” by reducing nuclear generation over previous decades. Nuclear supplied roughly one-third of European electricity in 1990, compared with around 15 per cent today.
In her speech at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris, von der Leyen argued that nuclear and renewable energy should increasingly operate together as Europe attempts to build an electricity system that is lower-carbon, less dependent on imported fossil fuels and capable of meeting rising demand.
The Commission has also backed development of small modular reactors, while several European governments have revised earlier nuclear policies. Sweden is preparing new capacity, Belgium has moved away from its previous phase-out strategy, while France continues to rely heavily on nuclear generation.
For Italy, however, the change is particularly substantial because the country currently has no operating nuclear power stations.
Italy’s nuclear generation ended following the three referendums held in November 1987, after the Chernobyl disaster had transformed the political debate over atomic energy. An official parliamentary history of Italy’s nuclear legislation records how the referendum result was followed by decisions to halt further nuclear development and eventually close the existing reactor fleet. A second referendum in 2011 subsequently blocked another attempt to reopen the sector.
Wednesday’s vote changes the legal position, but it does not mean reactors will appear immediately.
The next phase will be considerably more practical. Rome must write the detailed rules governing safety, licensing, waste, oversight and public consultation before individual projects can proceed.
Pichetto Fratin has indicated that the government intends to move faster than the statutory 12-month deadline and complete the implementing decrees by the end of 2026.
Only then will Italy’s return to nuclear power begin moving from a parliamentary decision towards decisions over actual technologies, sites and reactors.
US debt above US$40b is pushing many large investors to spread their reserves across more assets, including gold. That rethink creates a clear opening for individuals who want exposure to metal backed value, but without guessing which smaller miner might struggle if prices move. This article walks through three of the stronger low cost producers from an elite group, and how they might fit into a long term portfolio.
The stocks below are just a starting sample from this elite group. The full screen surfaced 33 more gold miners with equally compelling narratives that are not covered in this article.
AngloGold Ashanti (AU)
AngloGold Ashanti gives you pure gold exposure through large scale mining, backed by sizeable reserves and production that fit the Elite Gold Stocks focus on robust assets and cost discipline.
AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold miner producing primarily from its Metals & Mining segment, which generated about US$11.8b, with additional by products like silver and sulphuric acid, and the group is valued at roughly US$52.0b by the market.
⚠️ Cost structure above industry average
What matters next is how pressure on its cost base intersects with the pricing power of its best ore bodies.
That tension sits at the center of the full narrative for AngloGold Ashanti, where you see how cost pressure, project mix and capital choices could be quietly reshaping AngloGold Ashanti's next chapter.
NYSE:AU Revenue & Expenses Breakdown as at Sep 2026
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)
Agnico Eagle Mines is one of the heavyweight gold producers in the Elite Gold Stocks group, with most of its income tied to established, low cost operations that turn large ore bodies into cash flow rather than side bets on early stage prospects.
Agnico Eagle Mines focuses on producing gold, with supporting exposure to silver, copper and zinc, from mines across Canada, Finland, Mexico and Australia. Revenue is led by Detour Lake at about US$3.2b, Canadian Malartic at roughly US$2.5b and Meadowbank near US$2.0b, with several other sites between roughly US$400 million and US$1.6b. The business carries a market value near US$100b.
Continuation of strong free cash flow generation, highlighted by about $1.3b in Q2 2026 and supported by company wide cash costs and all in sustaining costs that sit hundreds of dollars per ounce below the industry average, can support future revenue resilience, net margins and earnings capacity.
The real test is how one unresolved operational constraint shapes that cost edge and the durability of those premium margins over time.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/commodities/articles/3-gold-stocks-own-september-131822897.html
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold: December gold contracts moved lower overnight as dollar strength and hawkish Fed commentary reinforced tightening expectations and dampened the outlook for the metal. Recent trading patterns suggest that gold has established a $4,300-$4,400 range, with Fed commentary and dollar strength playing an outsized role in determining price direction. Boston Fed President Susan Collins also said she supported last week’s rate hike amid concerns that future inflation could remain above the 2% target. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said on Tuesday that inflationary shocks could take time to fade and that elevated price pressures risk becoming entrenched. St. Louis Fed President Musalem said that the Fed will need to raise rates further to combat inflation resulting from strong demand as well as the commodity price shock, which has moved beyond oil. Gold’s future upside is likely to remain under pressure as long as a hawkish Fed is priced in and as dollar strength remains.
Silver: December contracts are down 0.94% to $65.31.
BASE METALS
Copper: Copper prices on the LME dipped 0.6% at $14,655 on a wave of profit-taking. Also weighing on copper was a Reuters report that the White House still has yet to decide on copper tariffs, with the administration’s main concern being affordability. COMEX inventories have once again began to record daily inflows as the premium on US copper over LME prices moved higher. COMEX warehouses now hold roughly 70% of all copper held in exchange warehouses, which has underpinned tightness in markets outside the US. The LME cash contract also increased its premium over the three-month forward to $76 after falling earlier this week. Demand in China has underpinned prices among expectations of a wave of seasonal buying in the country; physical buying has moved the Yangshan copper premium up nearly 70% in September to $119 a ton, easing from Friday’s $124
Zinc: Zinc eased by 0.5% to $3,892.
Aluminum: Aluminum slipped by 0.2% to $3,258.
Tin: Tin was steady at $54,200.
Lead: Lead slipped 0.5% to $1,926.
Nickel: Nickel lost 0.2% to $16,595.
https://www.admis.com/copper-weighed-down-by-dollar-and-profit-taking/
TSX-V-listed Koryx Copper has announced assay results from 18 drill holes (7 074 m) received as part of the ongoing infill and expansion drill programme on the wholly-owned Haib copper project, in southern Namibia.
Haib is a massive, disseminated porphyry copper/molybdenum/gold deposit and is envisaged to produce a copper and molybdenum concentrate via large-scale openpit mining and conventional sulphide milling and flotation.
“Consistent with our prior results, we continue to see wide intercepts across the Haib deposit, together with some notably higher-grade zones near surface, and this set of results demonstrates this well, particularly within Target Area 3 where the mine plan is scheduled to begin,” Koryx CEO and president Heye Duan says.
“With the infill and expansion drilling programme now complete, our technical team is focused on completing the geological modelling and estimation work required for the update mineral resource estimate and prefeasibility study, both of which remain on track for publication before the end of 2026,” he adds.
https://www.miningweekly.com/article/koryx-completes-drill-programme-at-namibian-project-2026-09-23
China's domestic steel demand is expected to stay above 800 million tonnes annually during the 15th Five-Year Plan period spanning 2026 to 2030, even as the broader trend points downward over the coming decade, according to SteelOrbis, which cited remarks by Liu Jian, president of the China Iron and Steel Association.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the country cut total steel output by more than 100 million tonnes and put in place a self-discipline mechanism aimed at curbing aggressive price competition, while also promoting mergers and corporate restructuring. The combined market share of China's ten largest steelmakers is projected to reach 43.1% by 2025, a gain of 4.2 percentage points from 2020.
Liu indicated that steel demand will move unevenly over the next ten years while trending lower, and could drop below 800 million tonnes by 2035. In response, the Chinese steel sector intends to concentrate on curbing capacity growth, raising production concentration and reinforcing resource security, with targets set for 2030.
On the global market, the CISA head pointed to mounting pressure from surplus capacity, a sluggish economic recovery, elevated decarbonisation costs and trade restrictions. Global steel production capacity is expected to expand by 165 million tonnes, or 6.7%, between 2025 and 2027, which would sharpen competition.
Direct and indirect steel exports currently represent roughly 40% of worldwide production. From 2020 through the first half of 2026, 111 initial trade defence investigations were initiated against Chinese steel products.
Turning to the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, Liu observed that the EU's baseline emissions figures are considerably higher than China's actual figures. CISA estimates that by 2028 the cost of shipping Chinese steel to the EU could climb by 7%, translating into an additional EUR1.42 billion in expenditure.
As reported by GMK Center, CISA has urged domestic producers to restrain output volumes and lower stock levels, with chronic overproduction and weak demand cited as the main factors placing substantial pressure on the market.
The shortage of coking coal in China is set to persist in 2027, ensuring strong demand for imports despite the authorities’ attempts to revive domestic production and stabilise prices. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The supply shock caused by the mine accident in Shanxi Province in May will have long-lasting consequences. According to estimates by analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence (BI), the recovery in production will be gradual due to strict safety measures. Increased supplies from Mongolia, Australia and Russia will partially offset the shortfall, but will not be able to fill the gap entirely.
According to customs data, imports of coking coal into the PRC in August totalled 13.1 million tonnes, which is 4% below the peak figure recorded in July, but 29% higher than last year’s level and remains close to the record set in December 2025.
The National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China has called for the resumption of operations at mines that were shut down after May to be accelerated, by allowing low-risk facilities to restart. Production in Shanxi is expected to begin recovering in the fourth quarter, although a full return to normal will not occur until the first half of 2027 at the earliest. According to Mysteel data from 16 September, 75 mines with an annual capacity of around 73 million tonnes remained closed in Shanxi.
Expectations of a resumption in production and the low profitability of steelworks have already led to a price correction. In September, only around 7% of steelworks were operating profitably, meaning they were no longer able to afford expensive coking coal. On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, coking coal futures fell by 12% from their August high (1,729 yuan) to 1,523.5 yuan per tonne. Singapore iron ore futures were trading at $96.55 per tonne.
As reported by GMK Center, global coking coal prices showed a significant increase in August due to rising demand in China against a backdrop of supply shortages. The price of high-quality coking coal FOB Australia stood at $267.1/t as at 28 August 2026 (+22.2% compared with 31 July). Spot prices for coking coal in China (EXW, Anze) on the same date stood at $357.1/t, which is 20% higher than at the end of July.
https://gmk.center/en/news/the-shortage-of-coking-coal-in-china-is-set-to-continue-until-2027/amp/
Coal powers roughly 34% of the world's electricity and makes the steel behind every building, car, and ship - and despite talk of its decline, the global coal market is worth $1.09 trillion and still growing. In this episode of Let's Talk Commodities, YES SECURITIES, Rahul Saini traces coal from ancient China and the Industrial Revolution to today's record-breaking demand, and breaks down the crucial difference between thermal coal (power generation) and coking coal (steel-making) - a distinction every investor needs to understand.
We dive into China's coal paradox - the world's fastest builder of solar and wind, yet still adding tens of gigawatts of new coal power every year - and India's own billion-ton production milestone, led by Coal India Limited, the world's largest coal producer. Learn why India still imports coking coal despite record domestic output, how the West Asia conflict pushed gas-starved utilities in Asia back to coal overnight, and why coal's supply chain - unlike oil's - passes through no contested chokepoint.
We also unpack the launch of India's new MCX Coal Exchange, the twist of coal fly ash as a potential source of rare earth minerals, and why the clean energy transition still runs on coal-made steel.
Whether you're tracking Newcastle FOB, Rotterdam API2, or India's new coal benchmark, this episode decodes why coal remains one of the world's most structurally important - and least understood - commodities.
Tune in to Let's Talk Commodities by YES SECURITIES.
Chapters :
- Intro
- A Brief History Of Coal
- Where Coal Is Found & Why It Matters
- Thermal Coal vs Coking Coal
- Why Coal Demand Keeps Hitting Records
- China's Coal Paradox
- India's Billion-Ton Coal Story
- India's Coking Coal Gap
- How The Hormuz Crisis Pushed Asia Back To Coal
- Can Coal Coexist With Renewables?
- Investing In Coal: Opportunity & Risk
- Where Coal Trades: Newcastle, Rotterdam & MCX