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☆ With Super Tuesday over, China and Xi may be praying for Trump to beat Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

With Super Tuesday setting the US up for a Biden-Trump rematch, it looks like China has no good choices. But a rising perspective among experts on China posits that Beijing has good reason to hope Trump retakes the White House. Both President Joe Biden and Trump are expected to continue their aggression toward China, with Biden locking away US tech exports and Trump more recently threatening a 60% tariff on Chinese goods. Whichever way Beijing is betting, it's hard to say which man its preferred pick would be. AdvertisementWith close-to-clean sweeps across the board on Super Tuesday, both Biden and Trump are now all but confirmed to be their respective parties' nominees.

Persons: Trump, —, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Chengxin, Pan, MAGA, skittish, Stanley Rosen, Agathe Demarais, Demarais, shelve, China that's, it's, Ian Ja Chong, they're Organizations: Biden, Trump, Service, China, Associated Press, University of Macau, University of Southern California's China Institute, geoeconomics, European Council, Foreign Relations, Foreign Policy, National University of Singapore, White Locations: China, Beijing, Shanghai, Ukraine, Russia, New York

A worker stores aluminium ingots at the foundry shop of the Rusal Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter in Krasnoyarsk, Russia October 3, 2018. China, meanwhile, is emerging as an increasingly important market for Rusal's finished products as Western appetite for Russian metal shrinks. China shipped over a million metric tons of alumina in 2022, of which 843,000 metric tons went to Russia. China's imports of primary aluminium vs Russian-brand metalCHINA IMPORTS MORE RUSSIAN METALWhile Chinese alumina has been flowing to Russia, increasing quantities of Russian aluminium have also been entering China. But the world's largest producer is now operating close to a government-mandated capacity cap of 45 million metric tons.

Persons: Ilya Naymushin, Rusal, China wouldn't, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Rusal's, GAP, London Metal Exchange, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Hebei Wenfeng, Queensland, Australia, China, Ukraine, Russian, mushrooming, CHINA, Volgograd, Novokuznetsk, Siberia, Yunnan

☆ An oligarch who predicted that Russia may run out of money next year is surprised the economy has held up so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Oligarch Oleg Deripaska told the FT he was surprised at Russia's economic resilience. Deripaska, who is worth $2.3 billion, said demand from the global south is supporting Russia's economy. It's an about-turn for Deripaska, who, in March, said sanctions-hit Russia may run out of money next year. Anton Siluanov, the country's finance minister, told the CGTV channel last month he expects the Russian economy to grow by at least 2.5% this year. "Out of the next billion people who're about to be born, 70% will be in this region," Deripaska told the FT. "Let's face reality.

Persons: Oligarch Oleg Deripaska, Deripaska, —, oligarch Oleg Deripaska, It's, Anton Siluanov, it's Organizations: Service, Financial, New York Times, International Monetary Fund, US, European Union, Russia Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Column: South Korea's Gwangyang is the new LME aluminium battleground
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Andy Home | Thomson Reuters | Senior Metals Columnist Who Previously Covered Industrial Metals Markets For Metals Week | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The South Korean port of Gwangyang has emerged as the new hub for storing London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium. Another 54,000 metric tons of aluminium have arrived in the intervening week, promising more turns of the storage carousel. LME aluminium stocks at Gwangyang and Port KlangGWANGYANG GRABS THE SPOTLIGHTA total 198,125 metric tons of aluminium were warranted at LME warehouses in Gwangyang in the first quarter of this year, most of it arriving in four single-day clips. Gwangyang LME aluminium stocks, arrivals and drawdownsRUSSIAN METAL NOW DOMINATESThe competition to store LME aluminium during periods of weak demand is not new. The Gwangyang aluminium storage wars may just be starting.

Persons: Gwangyang, ISTIM, Henry Bath, Sharon Singleton Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Glencore, ISTIM, Pac Global Services, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gwangyang, Malaysia's Port Klang, Port, Rotterdam, Busan, South Korea, Port Klang, Malaysian, Detroit, Vlissingen, ISTIM

The great destock has resulted in a significantly slimmed-down LME warehouse network. The number of exchange-registered warehouse units has fallen by 151 over the last two years. LME storage space at the latter has grown by 35,000 square metres to 249,000 since the end of September last year. LME warehouse operator Istim has been expanding its presence, listing 24 units over the last year. But it's decidedly good news for LME warehouse operators.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, It's, Kloosterboer, Istim, Jane Merriman Organizations: London, Halley Metals, Pac Global Services, Infinity Logistics, HK, Rotterdam, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Krasnoyarsk, Siberian, Detroit, COVID, Ukraine, Spain, Antwerp, Vlissingen, Rotterdam, KOREA, Singapore, Malaysia's Port Klang, Busan, Incheon, Gwangyang, LME, Port Klang, China, United States, Europe

☆ Ex-FBI agent accused of working for Russian oligarch may change plea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Charles McGonigal, a former FBI official who has been charged with working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, arrives at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoCompanies OK Rusal MKPAO FollowNEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A former FBI agent accused by U.S. prosecutors of working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska may change his plea in relation to criminal charges of evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, court records showed on Monday. A change of plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden in Manhattan has been scheduled for Aug. 15. The charges against McGonigal came as U.S. prosecutors ramped up efforts to enforce sanctions on Russian officials and police their alleged enablers in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Mark Porter and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Charles McGonigal, Oleg Deripaska, Brendan McDermid, Jennifer Rearden, McGonigal, oligarch, Russia's, Luc Cohen, Mark Porter, Conor Humphries Organizations: FBI, Court, REUTERS, U.S, Deripaska, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russian, New York City, U.S, Manhattan, New York, Ukraine, Washington

Norwegian producer Norsk Hydro (NHY.OL) has called for the exchange to reconsider its decision last November to continue accepting deliveries of Russian metal. China imported 462,000 metric tons of Russian-brand primary aluminium last year, up from 291,000 metric tons in 2021. The country has emerged as the market of first resort for Russian metal since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The top two destinations for June's "exports" were Japan (10,000 metric tons) and South Korea (20,500 metric tons). China's aluminium run-rate fell by an annualised 636,000 metric tons over the first quarter, according to the International Aluminium Institute.

Persons: Rusal, Goldman Sachs, ingot, isn't, Jane Merriman Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Norsk Hydro, Hydro, Rusal, International Aluminium Institute, AZ Global, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Norwegian, Russian, China, United States, Europe, Asia, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea, Gwangyang, CHINA, Yunnan

While there are no international sanctions on Russian metal, many consumers are shunning aluminium produced by Rusal (RUAL.MM), which accounts for 6% of global supplies. U.S. import tariffs on Russian aluminium and products are also prompting some consumers to "self-sanction". Some analysts estimate the discount for Russian aluminium at $100-$300 per metric ton, Norsk Hydro said. As LME aluminium prices are referenced in contracts between consumers, producers and traders, the dominance of Russian aluminium in the system is a problem, said Norsk Hydro's Chief Financial Officer Paal Kildemo. "There is still a risk that even more Russian aluminium will be delivered to LME further weighing on the reference price...

Persons: Paal Kildemo, Kildemo, Rusal, Pratima Desai, Polina Devitt, Eric Onstad, Veronica Brown, Jason Neely Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Norsk Hydro, Reuters, Britain's Financial, Authority, Norsk, Shanghai Futures Exchange, CME, Hydro, FCA, Thomson Locations: Norwegian

Exports last year were 94 metric tonnes, up 25% on 2021. Last year's exports totaled 44 metric tonnes in both wrought and unwrought form. As of September 2022 the DLA was storing 14 metric tonnes of germanium metal and 6.9 metric tonnes of scrap. An outright ban could be counter-productive, as China found out when it halted exports of rare earths to Japan in 2010. China has no shortage of pressure points to push, from rare earths to cobalt to lithium and even electric vehicle batteries.

Persons: Germany's, Wei Jianguo, Barbara Lewis Organizations: U.S, Chips, Export, United States Geological Survey, Alliance, Defense Logistics Agency, Teck Resources, Agency, Solutions, Democratic, Gecamines, World Trade Organization, China, Toyota, Honda, Audi, Commerce, China Daily, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, United States, Teck, NYR.BR, Clarksville, Tennessee, New York, Australia, Europe, Democratic Republic of Congo's, Russia, Japan, Beijing, West

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - European Union (EU) countries have added aluminium to the list of minerals and metals covered by the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Western European primary aluminium production is the lowest this centuryFALLING OUTPUTAs things stand, Europe is going to struggle to lift primary production at all over that time-frame. European aluminium imports by countryIMPORT DEPENDENCYEuropean aluminium consumption averaged just over 5.0 million metric tons per year over the 2016-2020 period, according to the EU. However, the key difference is where Europe sources its bauxite and primary aluminium. POWER PROBLEMSGetting aluminium onto Europe's critical raw materials list is an important win for the region's aluminium sector.

Persons: didn't, it's, David Evans Organizations: Union, Federation of Aluminium Consumers, International Aluminium Institute, IAI, EU, Rusal, Thomson, Reuters Locations: United States, China, Europe, EU, Ukraine, Guinea, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Iceland, Britain, Russia

"But the situation is changing and it is possible that a window of opportunity will appear before the end of this year, then we will issue yuan bonds." Russian firms placed bonds worth 1.7 billion yuan ($237.5 million) in May. The bank has issued 140 billion roubles ($1.7 billion) worth of rouble-denominated bonds this year, he said, and would continue to do so at the right price. The head of Sberbank rival VTB last week told Reuters Russia's economy had adapted to sanctions. Sberbank's record first-quarter profit of 357.2 billion roubles featured no one-time revenues, meaning profits should grow as the business does, Skvortsov said.

Persons: Taras Skvortsov, Skvortsov, VTB, Alexander Marrow, Elena Fabrichnaya, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Reuters, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Ukraine

☆ Glencore, automakers to back $1 bln nickel, copper SPAC deal in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, September 30, 2015. Glencore will invest $100 million in ACG equity. Stellantis and mining investment fund La Mancha Resource Capital will each provide an equity investment of the same amount, while PowerCo will make a $100 million nickel prepayment. During the process, ACG will become ACG Electric Metals and issue new shares, making Glencore, Stellantis and La Mancha owners of 51% and leaving 49% for free float, Artem Volynets, ACG chief executive, told Reuters. The deal "will establish ACG Electric Metals as a premier supplier of critical metals into the western EV value chain," Volynets said.

Persons: Arnd, ACG, Mick Davis, PowerCo, Artem Volynets, Appian, Sibanye, Volynets, En, Rusal, Polina Devitt, Clara Denina, Kirsten Donovan, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Chrysler, Company, Santa, Appian, Chartered, Citigroup, Blue Resources, Metals Acquisition Corp, Glencore, La, La Mancha Resource, Metals, Reuters, South Africa's, Hong, Thomson Locations: Baar, Switzerland, Brazil, London, New York, Western Europe, North America, La Mancha, Stillwater, Santa Rita, Hong Kong

☆ Deripaska denies lying to London court in Russian tycoon feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska on Wednesday denied lying about the relocation of EN+ Group from Jersey to Russia to avoid U.S. sanctions, as he fights his former business partner's attempt to jail him at London's High Court. Chernukhin's lawyers argue Deripaska breached an undertaking to preserve 45.5 million EN+ shares in Jersey to meet a $95 million debt to Chernukhin, which has since been paid in full. Jonathan Crow, representing Chernukhin, said on Tuesday that the shares were rendered "worthless" because of the difficulty in enforcing debts against Deripaska in Russia. But Deripaska, who denies breaching the undertaking, argues the EN+ shares would have been worthless if the company was not redomiciled as the company would have been bankrupted. Grant also said U.S. charges for allegedly violating sanctions could have prompted U.S. authorities to seek Deripaska's extradition from London.

☆ Canada bans Russian aluminum and steel imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, March 10 (Reuters) - Canada on Friday banned the import of all Russian aluminum and steel products in a move that Ottawa said was aimed at denying Moscow the ability to fund its war against Ukraine. "We are ensuring Putin cannot pay for his war by selling aluminum and steel in Canada, in coordination with action taken by the United States today," Freeland said. Last month, the United States announced a 200% tariff on Russian aluminum and related products that came into effect on Friday. Russian aluminum is produced by Rusal (RUAL.MM), which accounts for about 6% of global supplies. Canada imported C$45 million of aluminum and C$213 million of steel products from Russia In 2021, according to official data.

☆ Russia may run of out money next year and needs foreign investors due to 'serious' pressure from sanctions, oligarch warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska warned Thursday that Russia may run out of money in 2024. Deripaska said Russia needs foreign investors due to "serious" pressure from western sanctions. Deripaska, who founded Rusal, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers, said the gloomy economic outlook was due to "serious" pressure from western sanctions, per the report. The US has imposed more than 2,700 sanctions against Russia, more than any other country, according to the Atlantic Council's database. He told the forum that Russia needed to ensure a safe business climate for foreign investors, Bloomberg reported.

Aluminium will be hardest hit with penal tariffs of 200% on imports of Russian metal, effective March 10, and imports of any third-country product containing Russian metal, effective April 10. This sort of "super contango" is the market's cry for financiers to pick up spare metal, particularly Russian metal. The Gwangyang deliveries are reported to be Russian aluminium being delivered by Glencore (GLEN.L), which has a long-term off-take deal with Rusal. The cash-to-threes time-spread will be a litmus test of financing appetite for Russian aluminium over the coming period. The only get-out for supplier nations is if they too impose minimum 200% tariffs on their own Russian aluminium imports.

☆ U.S. Aluminum Producers Support Biden Tariffs on Russian Imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Bob Tita | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Reliance on imported aluminum from producers including Rusal has declined in recent years. U.S. aluminum companies said they supported the Biden administration’s move to impose steep tariffs on imported Russian aluminum, as analysts and executives predicted the new duties would have a minor effect on domestic aluminum costs. The White House on Friday imposed 200% tariffs on imported aluminum from Russia, as well as aluminum imports from elsewhere that include Russian aluminum, as part of a package of duties on Russian metals, minerals and chemicals worth about $2.8 billion. The tariff package coincided with the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Western policy-makers are still mindful of the supply-chain chaos caused by U.S. sanctions on Russian aluminium giant Rusal and its owner Oleg Deripaska in 2018. A unilateral move to shut out Russian aluminium will accelerate the splintering of what was once a highly globalised market-place. Excess Chinese product in the Asian region is now being supplemented by excess Russian primary aluminium as many Western users choose to self-sanction and not buy Russian metal. Were the United States to impose high tariffs on Russian metal, the LME need only suspend delivery to U.S. locations, a precedent set with the United Kingdom's post-war tariffs on Russian nickel. The LME decided in November not preemptively to ban Russian metal deliveries ahead of formal government action against Russian producers.

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - China raised export tariffs on unwrought primary aluminium and alloy at the start of this year after a rare burst of export activity in the first part of 2022. Russian aluminium dominated the import mix and Russian smelters were the main recipients of Chinese alumina exports last year. China's unwrought aluminium imports vs Russian metalRUSSIAN IMPORTS GROWDecember's imports of primary aluminium, by contrast, accelerated to 128,000 tonnes, the highest monthly tally in over a year. China's total alumina exports vs RussianCHINA LIFTS ALUMINA EXPORTSThe two countries' aluminium trade also extends to the intermediate alumina stage of the processing chain. It could also mean China returning to consistent net importer of unwrought aluminium, particularly if domestic smelter production continues to be plagued by power constraints.

☆ Potanin says sanctions constrain Nornickel, force it to adjust strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] President and Chairman of the Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia June 6, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovJan 23 (Reuters) - Nornickel boss Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s richest men, said on Monday that the metals giant was reworking its strategy and building closer ties with countries such as China, Turkey and Morocco because of Western sanctions on the Russian economy. We have to deal with all this," added Potanin, who is Nornickel's (GMKN.MM) chief executive and biggest shareholder, owning 36% through his Interros holding group. Potanin reiterated the view he stated soon after the war began, that Russia should not respond to sanctions by confiscating or nationalising Western assets. Potanin was placed on a U.S. sanctions list last month as part of wider measures targeting people and businesses close to President Vladimir Putin.

LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Global aluminium production rose by a marginal 2.0% last year, a rate of growth that was down from 2.7% in 2021 and the slowest since 2019, according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Global aluminium production by region change versus 2021EUROPE POWERS DOWNWestern European aluminium output was running at an annualised 2.73 million tonnes in December, down by 540,000 tonnes on December 2021 and the lowest production rate this century. Latin America was the fastest-growing aluminium production region last year with output up 10.7% year on year. As ever more smelters switch to green energy sources, global aluminium production is ever more dependent on seasonally variable power availability. Such regional adjustments are now part and parcel of the global aluminium production landscape but they have injected a new degree of volatility into aluminium's previously slow-changing supply side.

☆ Ex-FBI official worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A former top FBI official was arrested over the weekend on accusations he worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, prosecutors said on Monday. Charles McGonigal, who led the agency's counterintelligence division in New York before retiring in 2018, faces four counts including sanctions violations and money laundering. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say McGonigal, 54, received concealed payments from Deripaska, who was sanctioned in 2018, in exchange for investigating a rival oligarch in 2021. He is also charged with unsuccessfully pushing in 2019 for the lifting of the sanctions on Deripaska. The following month, U.S. prosecutors charged British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter with conspiring to violate sanctions by trying to move Deripaska's artwork in the United States overseas.

☆ Factbox: Aluminium companies compete to sell low-carbon products
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Expert Analysis | Reuters Professional | Calls Grow For Companies To Disclose Impacts On Nature In Bid To Plug Finance Gap | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Aluminium companies have launched a raft of aluminium products with lower carbon emissions, largely by either using hydro power or recycled material. Below are low-carbon aluminium brands by the major producers. * ALCOA (AA.N)ECOLUM - Primary aluminium with a total carbon footprint of under 4 tonnes of CO2, including bauxite mining and refining. * RIO TINTO (RIO.L), (RIO.AX)RENEWAL - Primary metal with CO2 emissions of 4 tonnes or less of CO2 per tonne of metal. * CHINA HONGQIAO GROUP (1378.HK)The Chinese producer has introduced two low-carbon products, HQALoop and HQALight, one made with recycled aluminium and the other from low-carbon aluminium produced in Yunnan using hydro electricity and other renewables.

☆ Factbox: Who is Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Vladimir Potanin, who was placed on a U.S. sanctions list on Thursday, is one of Russia's wealthiest businessmen. - Potanin, 61, is the president and largest shareholder at Nornickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and refined nickel. In 2021 Nornickel was the world's top producer of refined nickel, used to make stainless steel and important for electric vehicle batteries. - The son of a high-ranking Soviet trade official, Potanin was educated at Moscow’s elite diplomatic academy. - Potanin has taken care to stay on the right side of President Vladimir Putin, for instance by accepting a $2 billion fine after Nornickel angered the president by causing Russia's biggest Arctic oil spill two years ago.

[1/2] Chinese Yuan and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen behind illuminated stock graph in this illustration taken February 10, 2020. His contract manufacturing business with Russia has been small in the past, but now he's preparing to invest in warehousing there. He sees a win-win situation in Chinese exporters reducing their currency risks and payment becoming more convenient for Russian buyers. The U.S. Treasury declined to comment on the yuan's growing presence in Russia. ($1 = 7.2074 Chinese yuan renminbi)Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Pravin CharOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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