Published by Global Banking & Finance Review
Glencore now expects its 2026 marketing adjusted operating profit to exceed $5 billion—well above its previous long-term guidance—and has introduced a new framework for 2027 onwards that reflects elevated inventories and funding costs, while confirming its Australian secondary listing will begin Oct.
Glencore Lifts 2026 Marketing Profit Forecast, Updates Long-Term Guidance
Glencore's Upgraded Profit Outlook and Strategic Updates
2026 Marketing Profit Forecast Surpasses Expectations
Oct 2 (Reuters) - Glencore on Friday said it now expects 2026 marketing adjusted operating profit to exceed $5 billion, well above its long-term guidance, after a near-record first-half performance driven by volatile oil, gas and freight markets.
The Swiss miner and trader's earnings from commodity trading have leaped as conflict in the Middle East creates constraints across global energy markets.
Glencore's Unique Business Model and Recent Performance
Unlike most major miners, Glencore combines mining operations with a large commodity trading business. The marketing division generated a record adjusted operating profit of $6.4 billion in 2022, when the Ukraine war triggered similar market dislocations.
The upgraded outlook for the marketing unit sits well above the company's earlier long-term guidance range of $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion.
Introduction of New Long-Term Guidance Framework
Glencore also introduced a new long-term guidance framework that accounts for higher Readily Marketable Inventories (RMI) and elevated interest rates.
Details of the New Methodology
The new methodology, to apply from 2027, guides for a long-term marketing adjusted operating profit of about $3.5 billion annually, within a $2.8 billion to $4.2 billion range, assuming a June 30 RMI of $32.2 billion and 5% funding costs.
Factors Influencing the New Guidance
Glencore said RMI has risen materially in recent years, reflecting higher commodity prices, inflation and greater business scale, while interest rates have moved higher.
Additional Company Updates
The company also confirmed that trading in CHESS Depositary Interests under its Australian Securities Exchange secondary listing is expected to begin on October 14.
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/glencore-raises-2026-marketing-profit-outlook-resets/
Global fuel shortages and sharp price increases have been in focus, especially in the United States, where diesel prices have shot to records over US$6.50 a gallon as the wars in Iran and Ukraine constrain deliveries of fuel, a political risk for US President Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
MOSCOW: Russia has extended its ban on diesel exports for fuel producers until the end of October, the government said on Wednesday, adding further strain to a global energy market already rattled by ongoing conflicts and supply shortages.
Global fuel shortages and sharp price increases have been in focus, especially in the United States, where diesel prices have shot to records over US$6.50 a gallon as the wars in Iran and Ukraine constrain deliveries of fuel, a political risk for US President Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
The price of diesel at the pump in the United Kingdom has hit record highs due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, motoring body RAC said on Monday.
Russia has repeatedly imposed curbs on gasoline and diesel exports to rein in rising fuel prices and tackle shortages triggered by Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries.
In late August, Moscow extended a ban on diesel exports until the end of September while allowing supplies to countries such as former Soviet republics and Mongolia under intergovernmental agreements.
Usually the world's second-largest exporter of diesel after the United States, Russia had already reduced its exports in summer before imposing the overseas supply.
Chinese fuel exporters have canceled some oil-product cargoes slated for export in October, as Asia's top consumer prioritizes domestic supply during an extended period of upheaval in global energy markets.
Shipments including gasoline and diesel have been affected, according to people involved in shipping and purchasing the cargoes, who asked not to be identified as they aren't authorized to speak publicly. The prompt spread for gasoline and diesel in Asia - the gap between immediately available cargoes and those for purchase next month - stretched higher late Wednesday as traders learned the news, indicating a tighter market.
Buyers were not provided with further details, including the exact reason for the cancellations, the people said. The shipments could yet be reinstated later in October after the holiday break ends next week, but any interruption to Chinese exports is closely monitored by buyers and traders at a time when the world is grappling with a supply crunch, thanks to disruptions in Russia and the Middle East.
State-owned companies such as Sinopec Group and Sinochem dominate fuel exports from the country, sending them largely to oil majors and trading houses, who in turn supply other Asian nations. While China is not Asia's top fuel exporter, ranking below heavyweights like South Korea, its supplies are vital in times of strain.
Beijing has long emphasized the importance of maintaining healthy domestic supplies of key fuels including diesel, which it deems strategic. The government told top refiners back in March to suspend diesel and gasoline exports, a move to protect its own consumers in the early days of the Middle East war, but it eventually eased that policy.
China's focus has only increased as the Northern Hemisphere heads into winter, with little sign of fuel exports returning to normal in the Persian Gulf or Russia, which has just extended a diesel export ban.
Supply of diesel - a vital industrial and heating fuel - has not been as tight in Asia as it has been in the Atlantic Basin. Still, any lasting pullback from China would tighten markets and send prices even higher, even if other refining giants in the region continue to send cargoes abroad.
Despite its vast refining industry, China is grappling with expensive crude supply and a sharp drop in Iranian flows, a blow to smaller private refiners. Domestic fuel inventories have plunged.
DAMASCUS
This handout photograph taken and released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Sept. 30, 2026 shows Syrian Civil Defense teams working to cool the fire at the site of a gas pipeline explosion in the Tishreen thermal power plant near the town of Al-Atiba in the Eastern Ghouta region of the Damascus countryside. (AFP Photo)
A blast at a gas pipeline near the Syrian capital Damascus late on Sept. 30 sparked a massive fire and put three power stations out of service.
It came two days after an explosion caused by sabotage at a gas pipeline in the country's east.
The official SANA news agency first reported the Sept. 30’s explosion saying a "detonation was heard in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus."
A government source told AFP it was an "explosion in a gas pipeline near the Tishrin power plant" that sparked a "huge fire."
Tishrin is a thermal power plant located around 36 kilometers southeast of Damascus.
The explosion put three power stations out of service, the Syrian Electricity Company said in a statement.
"The shutdown of these plants will lead to a decrease in the amount of electricity produced and a temporary increase in rationing hours," it said.
Abdelhamid Sallat, director of the media department at the Energy Ministry, said the effects of the blast were no longer limited to the electricity sector but had "extended to drinking water pumping and purification stations."
The explosions come at a time of rising protests over rising fuel prices, which authorities blame on the regional war with Iran.
Syria's oil, gas and electricity production have been heavily affected by the civil war that ravaged the country between 2011 and 2024.
Syria used to produce 30 million cubic meters of gas per day for electricity generation, compared to only 8.5 million now.
The domestic gas needs are estimated at between 22 and 25 million cubic meters per day, according to Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/blast-at-syrian-gas-pipeline-power-stations-hit-227581
Crude oil prices moved markedly lower on Wednesday and stayed there earlier today, after booking a solid jump for September. The decline came in response to reports from JP Morgan, Goldman, and Kpler, suggesting oil flows out of the Persian Gulf had virtually returned to pre-war levels.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $97.36, down from over $103 per barrel yesterday, and West Texas Intermediate was trading at $89.57 per barrel, down from over $90 per barrel.
Earlier in the week, Kpler reported oil export figures close to 80% of pre-war levels for Hormuz, while JP Morgan said it estimates oil exports via the chokepoint as high as 98% of pre-war levels. Goldman trumped both, claiming oil flows out of the Middle East at 23.3 million barrels daily, which is the same rate as the average for 2025.
Not only that, but according to the bank, Saudi Arabia was actually exporting more oil in September this year than it did in September last year. “We note a divergence between the fall of Iranian exports and the rise of exports of other Persian Gulf producers," Goldman's commodity analysts said, as quoted by Bloomberg. “Saudi estimated exports more than doubled in September and rose above their 2025 average.”
Meanwhile, reports about Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that were not picked up by any of the major corporate media but were carried by shipping and insurance media, including Lloyd’s List, failed to have any impact on prices. The attacks were initially reported by the UK Maritime Trade Operations outlet, a regular source for information on attacks in Hormuz.
The ports suggest that even though oil flows out of the Persian Gulf may be improving, thanks to ship-to-ship transfers and alternative routes, safe is still not a word one can use for the region, and this is affecting the cost of those flows that are making it out in greater volumes than before.
By Irina Slavfor Oilprice.com
As diesel costs continue to spiral, many are holding Donald Trump responsible for the rise. Andrew Misra explores if diesel fuel prices in the UK are now at the whim of the US President.
Steffie Vause, pictured above, runs a concrete provider business in West Yorkshire. Like many firms, they have had to harden themselves to fuel price surges in recent years.
The company, 24/7 Concrete and Aggregates, employs around two dozen staff, yet it’s diesel that really does most of the heavy lifting.
Since the turn of the year, the total diesel costs for their fleet have doubled. Throw into that another challenge - thieves.
Some 750 litres of diesel was stolen from their premises recently, costing Steffie’s company £3,000. She says it shows how desperate people are at the moment.
‘Most relied upon asset’
The thieves are targeting the firm’s most relied upon asset.
Steffie explains: “So our quarries that we buy our supplies from, all their machines run on diesel. All the transport that they use to deliver our product runs on diesel. Then everything they use in our yards to load the trucks is all run on diesel. Our trucks run on diesel. Even a generator to fire up like our conveyors and silos, the lighting towers, everything runs on diesel.”
Prices for diesel are now up more than 57 pence per litre since the start of the Iran warin February.
Some price trackers today show diesel to have breached the £2 barrier - seen as important psychologically as well as financially.
That’s more than an 80% increase from a decade ago. And they’re expected to rise even further.
One van driver we spoke to near Wakefield told us about the effect diesel prices are having on his life.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “My missus used to like to go out for a meal once a month. Don’t do that now. And they’ve announced £300 more on your energy bill. So I want to leave this country.”
Blaming Trump
Several people we spoke to held one man responsible - US President Donald Trump.
And that man might be about to make it even worse. The US President is considering banning exports of diesel to give voters a boost ahead of the midterms.
So I asked Dr Jonathan Owens, Senior Lecturer in Operations Management at the University of Salford, whether fuel prices in the UK are now essentially at the whim of Mr Trump.
He said: “Yeah, we’re at the whim of Donald Trump to see what’s actually happening. But because the US is a major exporter, and we actually get a third of our diesel coming out of that at the moment, it’s going to have a big actual restriction on our supply.”
Elizabeth de Jong is CEO of Fuel Industry UK and wants to see the UK regain its resilience.
She said: “The UK’s now more reliant on global markets to meet its fuel needs than any point in its recent history, because of the closure of refineries. We’ve seen imports rising over time. In 2000 it was 16%, now it’s 54%. We’re becoming less resilient.”
‘Breathing space budget’
The UK Government has frozen fuel duty until the end of the year and pointed us to the Chancellor’s comments at the Labour Party conference this week.
John Healey, pictured below, said: “We have seen diesel petrol prices rising. We’ve seen power prices rising and people can also see the direct connection with some of the worldwide shocks that this country is hit by. It’s the conflict in the Middle East. It’s Russia’s war on Ukraine. It’s trade tensions, and it’s hitting us hard at home,” he told delegates in Liverpool.
“And I’m very conscious of that. So as Chancellor, you know, I’m glad we’ve got in place a freeze on duty until the end of the year. I’m glad we’ve also put in place this fuel finder that helps people, wherever they are, find the cheapest price on the forecourt.
“But I’m very aware as I prepare the Budget, I’ll deliver it a month today. This needs to be a breathing space Budget, recognising the cost of living and the cost of business pressures. We can’t remove them. But where we can, we will act as we did in the first week of this new Government, to just offer people a little bit of help, a little bit of breathing space from those pressures.”
Back in the Yorkshire concrete yard, those pressures continue to build for Steffie and her team.
Even for those businesses made of sterner stuff.
https://channel4news.substack.com/p/whats-really-behind-uks-diesel-fuel
PUBLISHED WED, SEP 30 202610:29 PM EDT
US President Donald Trump speaks on the day he makes an announcement about an energy infrastructure project in Alaska, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, Sept. 30, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
South Korea’s $200 billion investment into the U.S., which President Donald Trump said would transform America “for generations,” is not a done deal in totality.
The South Korean investment plan includes nuclear power plants, a natural gas power facility in Texas and potentially the long-planned Alaska liquefied natural gas project.
Trump in a Truth Social post late Wednesday stateside said the countries had agreed to work on the Alaska LNG project, pegging its value at $50 billion, drawing a response from South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, who emphasized that involvement in some of the projects remains subject to commercial considerations.
Lee in an X post on Thursday local time said that participation in the Alaska LNG project was dependent on its financial viability and legal compliance. He added that investments in nuclear power plants would also require assessment of commercial viability on a plant-by-plant basis.
The U.S.-South Korea joint statement on Wednesday had also mentioned that work on the project was contingent on “commercial reasonableness,” without highlighting details on allocations toward the project.
The Alaska LNG project seeks to transport natural gas roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from fields on Alaska’s North Slope to the southern part of the state, where it would be liquefied for export to markets including Asia, reported Yonhap. The project has faced long-standing questions over its economics given the large up-front investment required.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan had described it as “high-risk” last year and said participation would be difficult unless it could generate sufficient cash flow.
Overall, the investment package includes $22.3 billion for a 6,472-megawatt natural gas power facility in Encinal, Texas, that will supply electricity to co-located data centers. The project will be led by developer Related Cos. and U.S. power company NextEra Energy, with the first phase expected to begin commercial operations in 2029 and the full facility coming online in stages by 2032.
Trump said the investments would turn South Korea’s commitments into “huge construction projects” and create “tens of thousands of American jobs.”
“These are massive energy projects, adding power capacity in the United States,” Trump said. “This is new construction, new manufacturing, and great jobs for American workers.”
The two countries said they would seek to expand Korean companies’ participation in the Texas project across equipment supply, engineering and construction as well as long-term operations and maintenance. The U.S. also intends to give Korean companies opportunities to supply equipment, including turbines, to similar projects in the country.
Another $120 billion has been allocated to plans for eight large-scale nuclear reactors in the U.S. Of that amount, $100 billion is earmarked for construction costs and $20 billion for contingency reserves.
The nuclear agreement was signed by both governments as well as Westinghouse Electric, Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. The plan also calls for pursuing a potential significant minority investment in Westinghouse by Korean companies, with the terms subject to commercial negotiations.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/01/trump-south-korea-investment-alaska-lng-nuclear-power.html
ISLAMABAD (PEN) : Barrick Mining Corporation, a leading global mining, exploration and development company, has slowed development of its Reko Diq copper-gold project in Balochistan, Pakistan and is reviewing its plans, saying improved security conditions are needed before it proceeds with a full construction schedule.
“We are revisiting it because we need some sort of security improvement before we would embark on a full construction schedule at Reko Diq,” said Barrick CEO Mark Hill at the Mining Forum Americas.
The CEO did not provide a new construction timeline for the project or quantify the impact of the slowdown in the presentation.
The comments came as the security situation in Balochistan remains a significant concern, marked by a surge in militant activities and comprehensive counter-terrorism operations. In 2026, Pakistan’s security forces conducted over 40,000 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) nationwide, with more than 31,000 of these taking place in Balochistan alone.
The Reko Diq project is operated by Canada’s Barrick Mining, formerly known as Barrick Gold Corporation, which holds a 50% ownership stake. The Balochistan government owns 25%, and Pakistani state-owned enterprises share the remaining 25%.
Initial investment for the first phase was estimated at $4 billion, later revised to $5.6 billion. The total investment across two phases is projected to be approximately $7 billion, with phase two estimated at $3.5 billion.
The mine is expected to have a life of at least 40 years, though a recent feasibility study revised the mine life to 37 years due to increased throughput, with potential to extend to 80 years.
During peak construction, the project is expected to employ 7,500 people, and once in production, it will create 4,000 long-term jobs.
The project is envisioned as a conventional open-pit and milling operation, producing a high-quality copper-gold concentrate. Phase one will process approximately 45 million tons of ore per annum, potentially doubling to 90 million tons in phase two.
The Reko Diq project is expected to generate approximately $74 billion in free cash flow over 37 years, based on consensus long-term prices.
Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) has secured government support to operate its Bell Bay Aluminium smelter until 2031, while separately facing a legal claim concerning alleged metals contamination in Madagascar.
Bell Bay backed until 2031
Rio Tinto and the Australian and Tasmanian governments have reached an agreement covering the northern Tasmanian smelter.
Under the arrangement, state-owned Hydro Tasmania will continue supplying electricity to Bell Bay until 31 December 2031. The federal and state governments will provide a combined $200 million in support over five years.
Bell Bay’s existing electricity agreement was due to expire at the end of 2026.
The smelter produces approximately 190,000 tonnes of aluminium annually and employs about 550 people. Rio Tinto says it also spends around $260 million annually with 180 suppliers.
Madagascar residents file claim
More than 6,500 residents of southern Madagascar have filed a claim against Rio Tinto and its 80%-owned QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) subsidiary in London’s High Court.
The claimants allege acidic wastewater containing uranium, lead, and other metals from QMM’s mineral sands operation contaminated waterways used for drinking, cooking, washing, and irrigation. More than 2,000 claimants are children, according to their legal representative, Leigh Day.
The residents are seeking compensation and court orders requiring remediation and an end to further alleged contamination.
Rio Tinto told Reuters it had been notified of the claim but had not received its details. The company says its 2025 monitoring found all uranium samples and most lead samples were below laboratory detection limits.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Main image: Rio Tinto
https://mining.com.au/rio-tinto-secures-bell-bay-faces-madagascar-claim/
Unions at three copper concentrate-producing mines voted in favor of strike action between Monday September 28 and Thursday October 1. The mines are BHP's Escondida and Antofagasta Minerals' Centinela in Chile, and Philex Mining's Padcal in the Philippines.
October 1, 2026
By Julienne Raboca
Supervisors at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world’s largest, rejected the company’s final collective contract offer on Wednesday September 30, according to media reports. Two days earlier, members of two unions at Antofagasta Minerals’ Centinela mine, also in Chile, had voted to strike.
In the Philippines, the Philex National Mines and Allied Workers Union (NAMAWU) submitted the results of a strike vote to the labor department’s mediation board on Thursday October 1, Philex Mining said in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Escondida and Centinela copper mine disputes head to government mediation in Chile
The 1,020-member union representing supervisors at Escondida received the company’s final proposal the previous week and urged its members to reject it, Reuters reported. The union said 95% of participating members voted in favor of strike action.
Under Chilean law, the parties must now enter a five-day government-led mediation process before a strike can legally begin. The process can be extended by a further five days by mutual agreement.
The vote followed the death of an operator in a maintenance-related accident at Escondida on Wednesday September 23. On Friday September 25, the supervisors’ union rejected BHP’s request to suspend contract talks temporarily after the death. BHP said the request was intended to focus on supporting workers after the incident.
Escondida said late on Thursday September 24 that operations were resuming gradually while it assessed conditions at the site.
Escondida produced 1.26 million tonnes of copper on a 100% basis in BHP’s 2026 financial year, which ended on June 30, BHP said in its operational review published on July 16. Payable copper in concentrate fell by 7% to 1.05 million tonnes. BHP has guided Escondida production of 1.00-1.10 million tonnes for its 2027 financial year.
BHP operates Escondida and holds a 57.5% interest. Rio Tinto holds 30% and Japan-based JECO Corp holds 12.5%.
At Centinela, members of the Minera Esperanza and Distrito Centinela unions, which have 708 members combined, voted 98.73% in favor of a strike on Monday September 28.
The unions want workers to receive the same benefits regardless of union affiliation. They said Antofagasta Minerals had refused to discuss equalizing benefits.
Antofagasta Minerals does not comment on its collective bargaining negotiations. The company told Chilean newspaper Diario Financiero that the strike vote was a normal step in regulated collective bargaining and that it would continue to seek an agreement through dialogue, The Rio Times reported.
Centinela produced 240,400 tonnes of copper in 2025
The mine’s copper-in-concentrate production fell by 13% year on year to 69,700 tonnes in the first half of 2026, mainly because copper grades were 14% lower, Antofagasta said in its half-year results on August 13. The company said bad weather at the ports had delayed end-of-period shipments from Centinela and Los Pelambres.
Antofagasta’s copper concentrate TC/RCs were a net credit of $18.7 million in the first half of 2026, against an expense of $29.7 million a year earlier, according to the results. The company attributed the change to “the positive effects of trade agreements, mainly at Los Pelambres.”
Antofagasta’s Centinela Second Concentrator will add 170,000 tonnes of copper-equivalent production, with ramp-up due to start at the end of 2027, the company said.
Antofagasta lowered its full-year 2026 group copper production guidance to 625,000-655,000 tonnes from 650,000-700,000 tonnes, following a precautionary shutdown at Los Pelambres due to severe weather in Chile, according to its half-year results published on August 13.
Chilean mine production fell by 7% year on year in January-July, mainly because of reduced output at El Teniente, Escondida and Spence, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said in preliminary data published on September 24.
Philex union submits strike vote results, company warns of reduced operating capacity
NAMAWU submitted the results of its strike vote referendum to the Department of Labor and Employment’s National Conciliation and Mediation Board for the Cordillera Administrative Region on October 1, Philex said. The union voted to strike on what the company described as the “alleged ground of bargaining deadlock.” The union had voted on September 22 to reject the company’s improved offer in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, Philex said.
“If the strike [proceeds], it may lead to reduced operating capacity,” Philex said in the filing.
The filing did not name the affected mine, give the vote margin, or say when a strike could begin.
Padcal, in Benguet province, produces copper concentrate containing gold and silver. The mine produced 44,172 dry metric tonnes of copper concentrate in 2025, down by 8% from 47,823 dmt in 2024, Philex said in its 2025 annual report. Copper in concentrate fell by 8% to 18.155 million lb, from 19.78 million lb (about 8,235 tonnes and 8,972 tonnes respectively).
Philex attributed the lower output to falling ore grades, mechanical problems with old equipment and power interruptions. The company shipped nine concentrate cargoes in 2025 to buyers including IXM, Hartree, MRI Trading and Mercuria, according to the annual report.
Philex’s smelting charges fell by 53% to PHP 312 million in 2025, from PHP 656 million in 2024. The company said this was because TC/RCs were lower and smelters had offered negative TC/RCs.
Padcal’s mine life has been extended to December 31, 2028, Philex said. The company’s Silangan project is designed to produce copper cathode, with flotation only added from year nine, according to the annual report.
There were no strikes at Philex in 2025, extending what the company called a five-year record of industrial peace, according to its 2025 sustainability report. The report said the collective bargaining agreements of the Padcal unions were in their final year in 2025.
Fastmarkets calculated the weekly copper concentrates treatment charge (TC) index, cif Asia Pacific — the midpoint between smelter and trader buying levels — at $(267.40) per tonne on Friday September 25, down by $3.60 per tonne from $(263.80) per tonne on September 18.
The copper concentrates TC implied smelters purchase, cif Asia Pacific, was calculated at $(233.90) per tonne on the same day, down by $3.60 per tonne from $(230.30) per tonne on September 18.
Photo: Shutterstock
Steelmakers and nuclear-related shares surged after President Donald Trump said South Korea’s planned $200 billion investment in the US would include nuclear power projects and the Alaska liquefied natural gas venture.
According to the Korea Exchange, steel stocks rallied broadly on Oct. 1. Korea Steel closed 16.82% higher at 9,100 won. Dongkuk Steel rose 4.55% and Koryo Steel Wire added 5.02%. Nuclear-related shares also gained. Wonil T&I hit its daily upper limit at 10,850 won, while Hanyang ENG climbed 9.24% and Seojeon Electric Machinery advanced 4.01%.
Trump’s announcement fueled the gains. At the White House on Sept. 30, he called it “one of the largest energy infrastructure investments in American history” and said the South Korean government planned to invest as much as $200 billion. The US side said $120 billion would be spent on eight nuclear reactors and more than $50 billion on the Alaska LNG project. South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy pushed back, saying the only confirmed investment destination was a gas-fired power plant in Texas and that nothing had been decided on other projects or the size of any investment.
Rebar makers stand to benefit regardless of whether the broader investment plans are finalized. Separately, exports of rebar to the US have been rising amid a boom in artificial intelligence data center construction there. Korea Iron and Steel Association data showed South Korea’s steel exports to the US jumped 145.5% in August from a year earlier. Korea Steel, one of the day’s biggest gainers, has a high proportion of sales from rebar, meaning stronger demand can flow quickly into earnings.
Doosan Enerbility is the main beneficiary of the confirmed Texas project. Lee Min-jae, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said Doosan Enerbility could supply key equipment, while South Korean builders could participate in engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC. Barron’s also described Doosan Enerbility as “a key supplier of reactor pressure vessels and other major components.”
Park Ju-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter grumpy_cat@hankyung.com
Steel products are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province in April. Yonhap News
South Korea's steel industry welcomed the government's first investment project in the United States and said it expects synergy with a planned electric-arc-furnace steel mill in Louisiana to be built by Hyundai Steel and POSCO.
The Korea Iron and Steel Association said in a statement on the 1st that the industry "expresses its deep welcome for the Ministry of Trade and Industry's final confirmation of the first investment project in the United States."
The association said that if investment in building an integrated electric-arc-furnace steel mill in Louisiana is linked to the broader U.S. investment plan, "considerable synergy will be created in establishing a local supply chain connected to major demand industries in the United States, including automobiles, shipbuilding, energy and infrastructure, with steel at the center."
The Hyundai Steel-POSCO Louisiana Steel (HPLS) project is a $5.8 billion integrated steel mill that Hyundai Steel and POSCO plan to build in Louisiana. It will be the world's first facility to produce automotive steel sheet using an electric arc furnace, with annual capacity of 2.7 million tons.
The association said the project "will serve as an important turning point in expanding economic and industrial cooperation between South Korea and the United States and in linking the two countries' supply chains more closely," adding that it is "deeply grateful for the government's efforts."
https://en.sedaily.com/finance/2026/10/01/steel-industry-welcomes-first-us-investment-project
