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☆ Copper prices climb to 2024 high as Citi calls the start of the metal's second bull market this century
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Soaring copper prices show no signs of slowing down, analysts say, with the red metal's rally fueled by supply risks and improving demand prospects for energy transition metals. Copper prices with May delivery traded at $4.323 per pound in New York as of Wednesday morning, extending gains after settling at its highest level since June 2022 in the previous session. Copper briefly hit a high of $4.334 in intraday trading on Tuesday, reflecting its highest level since the middle of January last year. Three-month copper prices on the London Metal Exchange traded 0.6% higher at $9,477 per metric ton. Wall Street banks are bullish on the outlook for copper prices through to the end of the year.

Organizations: Mopani Copper Mines, London Metal Exchange, Citi Locations: Mufulira, Zambia, New York, —

☆ Goldman says the bear market for battery metal prices is far from over
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Sam Meredith | Www.Linkedin.Com In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs finds it is too early to call an end to a battery raw materials price plunge, warning that significant supply pipelines and Western electric vehicle headwinds could keep prices lower for longer. Goldman Sachs said the outlook appeared bearish for nickel, lithium and cobalt. On a 12-month basis, analysts at Goldman said the Wall Street bank is targeting a 12%, 15% and 25% downside in cobalt, nickel and lithium carbonate, respectively. Lithium prices are down nearly 70%, compared to the same period last year. Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) were last trading at $17,945 per metric ton on Tuesday, while cobalt prices on the LME stood at $28,550 per metric ton.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Nicholas Snowdon, Goldman Organizations: Western EV, London Metal Exchange Locations: China

☆ LME CEO: We can't be the 'moral arbiter' amid geopolitical rifts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLME CEO: We can't be the 'moral arbiter' amid geopolitical riftsMatt Chamberlain, CEO of the London Metal Exchange (LME), discusses the impact of various geopolitical tensions and conflicts on metal markets and warehouse practises.

Persons: Chamberlain Organizations: London Metal Exchange

Traders work on the floor of the London Metal Exchange in London, Britain, September 27, 2018. Both explicitly allow for the cancellation of trades "in exceptional cases", which would be a fair description of last year's nickel market meltdown and the resulting threat of multiple member defaults. This is a case of "knowing one when you see one" or "the elephant test" in legal precedent, the judges said. Nor would it have affected Chamberlain's assessment that nickel trading had become irrational and disorderly on the morning of March 8. LME trading has been transformed by the crisis in the form of permanent caps on time-spreads and limits on intraday price movements.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Elliott, Jonathan Swift, Robert Bright, Matthew Chamberlain, Jane Street, Chamberlain, China's, Xiang Guangda, Oliver Wyman, Tsingshan, Barbara Lewis Organizations: London Metal Exchange, REUTERS, London High, Elliott Associates, Jane, Global Trading, Financial, Authority, China's Tsingshan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, U.S

☆ Investors Lose Legal Bid Against Exchange Over Nickel Market Blowup
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Yusuf Khan | Joe Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Traders work on the floor of the London Metal Exchange in London. Photo: simon dawson/ReutersLONDON—The London Metal Exchange chalked up a big victory over investors on Wednesday, when a court said it was within its rights to cancel trades during a high-profile blowup in the nickel market sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The U.K. court rejected claims by activist fund Elliott Investment Management and market maker Jane Street Global Trading that the exchange had overstepped its powers by nixing $12 billion in trades in March last year. Had they won, Elliott and Jane Street planned to claim hundreds of millions of dollars in damages combined in a follow-on trial.

Persons: simon dawson, Russia’s, nixing, Elliott, Jane Street Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Reuters, Elliott Investment Management, Jane, Global Locations: London, Ukraine

"We have decided to unanimously declare unconstitutional the entire law 406 of October 20, 2023," Supreme Court President Maria Eugenia Lopez said. First Quantum acknowledged the ruling and affirmed its "unwavering commitment to regulatory compliance in all aspects of our operations within the country." Panama President Laurentino Cortizo said the country will abide by the court ruling. For First Quantum, the Panama ruling would be a repeat of its decade-old experience in the Democratic Republic Of Congo. The company exited DRC in 2012 after it filed an arbitration procedure against the African country for cancelling its mining contract.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Maria Eugenia Lopez, Quantum, Laurentino Cortizo, Morgan, Ricardo Martinelli, Leonardo Di Caprio, Elida Moreno, Valentine Hilaire, Natalia Siniawski, Denny Thomas, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter Organizations: Minerals, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Reuters, Panama, London Metal Exchange, Central, RBC, Democratic, Natural Resources Corporation PLC, Cobre, Thomson Locations: Panama's, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA, Central American, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Hollywood, Cobre Panama

☆ Slowing China still leads the race for commodities
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Yawen Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"When it comes to copper, the thinking usually goes that copper equals property, property equals China," said one commodities trader. "And because China property is down, copper must be down too." That’s why China's copper demand will still rise by 4 million tonnes from the 2020 level to around 18 million tonnes per year in 2030, according to estimates by commodity trading group Trafigura. And China's copper demand has grown by 8% this year, faster than the 5% Xi is targeting for overall GDP growth. China's annual aluminium demand rose by 18 million tonnes from 2010 to 2020 and is forecast to grow by another 13 million tonnes to over 50 million tonnes a year in 2030, per Trafigura.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Communist Party’s, Wood Mackenzie, Francesco Guerrera, Katrina Hamlin, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, HK, Communist, Shanghai Futures Exchange, London Metal Exchange, ING, International Monetary Fund, IMF, World Bank, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Oxford, HSBC, Democratic, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, China, Washington, Moscow, Taiwan, Shanghai, Republic, United States, Australia, Beijing, Chile, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ Mining Industry Seeks to Define One Global Standard for Ethical Practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Customers and investors are increasingly considering mining companies’ ESG performance. Photo: douglas magno/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMining giant Anglo American is one of the companies that have been involved in developing the new mining standard. Anglo American itself commits to at least nine different mining standards and is part of 17 industry associations, which all have their own requirements. The LME has been consulted on the development of the new mining standard. For now, work continues on the new mining standard, with the four associations still discussing what it should look like and how it would be governed.

Persons: Cynthia Matonhodze, ”, “, Tracey Kerr, douglas magno, Rebecca Campbell, ” Campbell, Campbell, Paul Hackett, Georgina Hallett, Yusuf Khan Organizations: Bloomberg, International Council, Mining, Metals, Gold Council, Mining Association of Canada, Miners, Business, Global Investor Commission, ING, Jubilee Metals Group, Hochschild, ” Mining, Agence France, Getty, White, London Metal Exchange, REUTERS Locations: Umguza, Zimbabwe, Dutch, Brazil, London, Brumadinho, American, ”

A delay in the new mine's ramp-up would add to the growing stresses on the zinc raw materials supply chain. Low prices have resulted in a lengthening list of mine curtailments in recent months, resulting in falling smelter treatment terms and a rising refined zinc price. London Metal Exchange three-month zinc pricePRICE CASUALTIESThe LME zinc price hit a three-year low of $2,215 per metric ton in May, triggering a string of mine closures. By the end of September analysts at Macquarie Bank had already totted up closures totalling 300,000 metric tons of annual zinc capacity. It is designed to churn out around 345,000 metric tons a year of contained zinc, making it the single largest addition to zinc mine supply in 2024.

Persons: Ilya Naymushin, Boliden, Price, it's, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, London Metal Exchange, Metals, Aeris Resources, Macquarie Bank, Fastmarkets, Study, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Angara, Novoangars, Russia, Swedish, Ireland, Queensland, Western Australia, Portugal, Mexico, Tennessee

☆ LME appoints new technology manager to strengthen expertise for flagship project
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Traders work on the floor of the London Metal Exchange, in London, Britain September 27, 2018. The LME is the world's largest and oldest forum for metals. Its three-year-long flagship project to overhaul its electronic trading system faces up to a year of further delays and mounting costs, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters in October. From Jan. 15, Baldwin will join the LME, succeeding Mario Quonils who has decided to relocate back to Germany, the LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK), said in a statement. "Alistair's knowledge and expertise in running in-house technology platforms will prove invaluable in this regard," he added.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Alistair Baldwin, Baldwin, Mario Quonils, Alistair, Richard Leung, Polina Devitt, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: London Metal Exchange, REUTERS, Companies Hong Kong Exchanges, NatWest Markets, Reuters, Hong Kong Exchanges, HK, HKEX Group, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Germany

Antara Foto/Jojon/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The bears are out in force on the London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel market. The global nickel market is entering a period of massive oversupply thanks to an Indonesian production boom. INSG assessed monthly nickel supply-demand balanceBIG SURPLUSThe big short is a bet on a big surplus. The global nickel market moved into supply-demand surplus in May last year and has been there ever since, according to the International Nickel Study Group. The exact timing of that tipping-point is still unknown, which means the big short is still a big bet that the supply chain can close the nickel product gap sooner rather than later.

Persons: Antara, aren't, it's, It's, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: PT Vale Indonesia, REUTERS Acquire, London Metal Exchange, Fund, Investment, Study, EV, Shanghai Futures, GAP Indonesia, Jingmen, New Energy Science, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sorowako, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Indonesian, London

☆ China October factory surveys disappoint, weigh on Q4 momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in October from 50.6 in September, marking the first contraction since July and missing analysts' forecasts of 50.8 by a large margin. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing will also soften China's imports. Following the release of the gloomy data, China shares (.SSEC) eased 0.15%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) fell 0.75%. PMI surveys track business conditions and offer the first monthly snapshot of China's economic performance. New export orders for Chinese manufactured goods have shrunk for four consecutive months amid a relatively sluggish global economic climate.

Persons: China's, Hong, HSI, Bruce Pang, Jones Lang Lasalle, Goldman Sachs, Ellen Zhang, Ryan Woo, Kim Coghill, Lincoln Organizations: P Global, PMI, Manufacturers, London Metal Exchange, Jones, Goldman, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Japan, South Korea, China, Guangzhou

REUTERS/Claro Cortes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - China's imports of tin concentrates collapsed in September, reflecting the suspension of mining activity in the semi-autonomous Wa state in neighbouring Myanmar. China's imports of tin concentrates from Myanmar and other sourcesIMPORT SLUMPChina imported 7,300 metric tons of tin concentrates in September, which was the lowest monthly count since February 2019. Imports from Myanmar slumped to just 1,421 metric tons after a mini surge over July and August ahead of the mining ban. The Myanmar ban has to date had little impact on either China's production of refined tin or the tin price. The boom in tin usage for home electronics during lockdown in 2020-2021 has given way to a prolonged downturn.

Persons: Claro, that's, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, United Wa State Army, Democratic, London Metal Exchange, International Tin Association, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Claro Cortes, Wa, Myanmar, China, Tanintharyi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia, Brazil, Russia

The project to revamp the LME's electronic system was due to go live in June this year. Sources said the front-end trading platform developed by U.S.-based Trading Technologies does not work for the complicated structure of contracts on the LME. In response to a request for comment, Trading Technologies said: "We would defer to the LME on this." The problem comes from the LME's unique date structure which allows trading for any day between the cash contract and the benchmark three-month forward. One important aspect, the LME said, is aligning its platform with other exchanges.

Persons: Peter Nicholls, Pratima Desai, David Evans Organizations: London Metal Exchange, City of, REUTERS, Companies Hong Kong Exchanges, Trust, Hong Kong Exchanges, HK, U.S, Technologies, Trading Technologies, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain

REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin - S1AETWEXAZAA Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - China's exports of refined lead hit a 15-month high in September with year-to-date shipments already exceeding last year's total. China's net trade in refined leadEXPORTS ACCELERATEChina exported 35,400 metric tons of refined lead in September, which was the highest monthly tally since June of last year. LME lead three-month price, cash-3s spread and stocksLME STOCKS REBUILDThe relocation of stocks from China to the West has seen LME stocks rebuild from their depleted year-start levels. Headline stocks of 125,225 metric tons are up by 100,075 metric tons on January and are the highest they've been in almost three years. The LME stocks rebuild has been driven by repeated bouts of tightness across the front part of the forward curve in recent months.

Persons: Ilya Naymushin, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, London Metal Exchange, Shanghai Futures Exchange, Shanghai, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Novoangarsk, Russia, China, Shanghai, Europe, Stolberg, Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, Thursday's, London

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

Zinc's relative under-performance is down to a build-up of excess metal as the global market shifts from supply shortfall to widening surplus. It now thinks zinc supply will exceed usage by a hefty 248,000 tonnes with the surplus growing to 367,000 in 2024. Zinc market balance forecasts by the ILZSGSHIFT TO SURPLUSThe zinc market's shift to surplus after two years of supply deficit is down to weaker-than-expected demand and higher-than-expected production. European demand is expected to contract by 1.8% this year due to slowing activity in the construction sector, which accounts for around half of zinc demand in the form of galvanised steel. LME zinc price, stocks and cash-3s spreadNOW YOU SEE IT...

Persons: LME, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, OZ Minerals, London Metal Exchange, Citi, Thomson Locations: Lawn Hill, Queensland, Europe, China, New Orleans, United States, Singapore, Malaysia's Port Klang

The future may be bright and electric but copper and the rest of the LME metals are currently caught in an old-fashioned industrial downturn. Such "green" investment appears to be acting as a major offset to the downturn in the traditional metals demand driver that is the commercial property market. MIXED SIGNALSThe energy transition and the resulting booster to metals demand was the core talking-point at this year's collective LME Week discussions. Yet the LME metals have not yet escaped the gravitational pull of the traditional industry cycle. But most visitors to LME Week will have returned home braced for more short-term price weakness.

Persons: Ruben Sprich, Max Layton, Tin, Jeremy Pearce, Jorge Vazquez, Jim Lennon, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Metal Exchange, Citi, International Tin Association, HIT, Study, GREEN, Groups, European Union, Producers, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Thoerishaus, Bern, London, Macquarie, China, Europe, North America, Indonesia, GREEN CHINA, China . China, United States

☆ Industrial metals to remain vulnerable to more softness near-term, says Goldman
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo for Goldman Sachs is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 16 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Monday said it expects industrial metals markets to remain vulnerable to incremental softness in the near term due to deteriorating demand and the impact from higher interest rates. "Building and construction activity remains the weakest segment, but there were downdrafts now noted in volume appetite from most other sectors, with the exception of aerospace," analysts at Goldman Sachs said. The copper market could face near-term pressure from the likelihood that Chinese imports of the metal could be restrained, the bank said. Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was trading around $18,710 per metric ton by 1425 GMT on Monday.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Andrew Kelly, downdrafts, Goldman, Brijesh Patel, Tina Parate, Sharon Singleton Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Goldman, London Metal Exchange, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, China, Bengaluru

Traders work on the floor of the London Metal Exchange in London, Britain, September 27, 2018. Rebuilding the London nickel contract is clearly very much work in progress. FIXING NICKELOthers, meanwhile, are looking to muscle into the LME's nickel price discovery domain. The Shanghai market also took a big collateral hit from the London turmoil, volumes on its nickel contract collapsing by 53% last year relative to 2021. The blow-out of the nickel contract and the resulting near-death experience of both brokers and exchange have sapped confidence in the historical market of last resort.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Elliott, Nicolas Aguzin, Matthew Chamberlain, hasn't, it's, Ireland's, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: London Metal Exchange, REUTERS, U.S, Elliott Associates, Jane, Trading, Hong Kong Exchanges, HK, Bloomberg, London, Global Commodities Holdings, Abaxx Commodities Exchange, Canadian, Technologies Inc, Shanghai Futures Exchange, EV, CME, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, London's, China, Shanghai, U.S

☆ Codelco says reassessing mine costs, will maintain capex
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Pratima Desai | Julian Luk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON (Reuters) - Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, is reassessing the cost structure at its mine projects, its chairman said on Friday, given recent overruns. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, is seen at their headquarters in downtown Santiago, Chile March 29, 2018. The company, which has some of the highest input costs for miners in Chile, said in July direct production costs during the first six months of the year jumped 41.3% to hit about $2.12 per pound, from $1.506 the year before. In response, Codelco said it had a solid financial position and broad access to financial markets. The South American country has the world’s largest lithium reserves.

Persons: Codelco, Ivan Alvarado, Maximo Pacheco, Pacheco, ” Pacheco, Alejandro Rivera, Rivera’s, Rodrigues, Blaine J, Maximo Pacheco’s Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, London Metal Exchange, for Copper, Mining Studies, Moody’s Investor Services Locations: Santiago, Chile, London, China

REUTERS/Yusuf Ahmad/File Photo - RC2DGT9XQ73M Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Global nickel production will outpace demand to the tune of 239,000 metric tons next year, according to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG). The cumulative forecast surplus of 566,000 metric tons over the three years is huge relative to the size of the nickel market. Global consumption this year is expected to come in at 3.2 million metric tons. The mining rush fed an 85% jump in production of intermediate products such as nickel pig iron (NPI) and nickel matte and a 20% rise in primary nickel products such as sulphate. But rising global production is also increasingly about China, which lifted its primary nickel production by 18% year-on-year in January-July.

Persons: Yusuf Ahmad, it's, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Study, Global, London Metal Exchange, Shanghai Futures Exchange, Investor, EV, Macquarie Bank, Traders, London, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lisbon, London, Indonesia, China, Shanghai

Last trading at $7,990 per metric ton, London copper is now within sight of the year-to-date lows of $7,867-7,871 recorded in late May. Investment fund positioning on CME copper contractBEARS FLEX MUSCLES ON CMEFund positioning on the CME copper contract has oscillated between long and short for several months as the price chopped around in a sideways range. Outright long copper positions have been slashed from 63,665 contracts at the start of September to 35,050 as of the Sept. 26 close. Net positioning has shifted to a collective short of 3,051 contracts, just shy of the 3,228-contract peak 2023 short in June. It's worth noting that the "other financial" reporting category, which includes index funds, is still in modest net long territory.

Persons: Kim Hong, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Fund, London Metal Exchange, Investors, Investment, CME, Bulls, Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Gunsan, South Korea, London, U.S, United States, Tuesday's

REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - China's appetite for base metal imports appears to be growing. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVEChina's imports of primary aluminium surged to a near two-year high of 153,000 metric tons in August, bringing the year-to-date count to 755,000 metric tons. SLOW COPPER BOAT TO SHANGHAIRefined copper imports were 340,000 metric tons in August, the highest monthly tally this year. The country's refined zinc trade has reverted to net imports this year but volumes remain modest by historical standards. SHIFTING THE NICKEL MIXThere has been no pick-up in China's imports of refined nickel.

Persons: Florence Lo, they've, They've, China's, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Shanghai Futures Exchange, London Metal Exchange, LOVE, Malaysian, New, Democratic, China's CMOC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, contango, Shanghai, RUSSIA, U.S, New Zealand, SHANGHAI, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Indonesia

REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Global production of primary aluminium hit an all-time high in August, with the world's smelters running at an annualised rate of 71.2 million metric tons. It now estimates national output rose by 1.3 million metric tons. Global production in August came in at 6.0 million metric tons, up 1.6% on August last year, while cumulative production of 46.5 million metric tons was up 1.7% on the year-ago period. The country's annualised run-rate has increased by 2.1 million metric tons since March and registered a fresh all-time high of 42.4 million tons in August. Everything depends on rainfall levels in Yunnan, which has emerged as a major aluminium production hub due to its "green", low-carbon credentials.

Persons: Stringer, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, International Aluminium Institute, IAI, Institute, Shanghai Futures Exchange, London, Exchange, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Binzhou, Shandong province, China, Malaysia, Iran, Yunnan, Sichuan

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