The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher on Monday as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell assuaged investors' concerns about a possible interest rate hike. President Donald Trump also signaled that an end to the war against Iran could be drawing near.
The 30-stock index added 215 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%.
U.S. oil prices also rose to start the week, with West Texas Intermediate futures up 3% at above $102 per barrel. Brent crude futures were marginally lower, trading above $111 a barrel.
Fed Chair Powell said Monday that even with rising energy prices, he sees inflation expectations as "well anchored beyond the short term." While he did say that the central bank could "eventually maybe face the question of what to do here," he stressed that it's "not really facing it yet, because we don't know what the economic effects will be."
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped following those remarks. The benchmark yield was last down 11 basis points at 4.33%.
Meanwhile, Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday that the U.S. is "in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," adding that "great progress has been made."
However, the president also said that if a peace deal is not reached "shortly" and the Strait of Hormuz is not "immediately" reopened, the U.S. will "conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.'"
This comes after Trump said Sunday that Tehran had accepted most of the U.S.' 15-point plan to end the war and that Iran has agreed to allow an additional 20 oil ships to cross the Strait.
Traders have worried in recent weeks that higher energy prices could hurt the economy. But David Wagner of Aptus Capital Advisors is "not too worried," saying that a sudden spike "can rattle investor confidence and stoke inflation fears, but the shock typically dissipates as the economy and the markets adapt."
"The basics remain very strong," the head of equities told CNBC, noting that earnings growth for the S&P 500 on a year-over-year basis is "still kicking well above [its] historical growth rate." He added, "People are trying to make it a growth scare, and it's not."
Wall Street is coming off a losing week, with the Dow and Nasdaq tipping into correction territory. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all posted their fifth straight weekly declines.
The market will be closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday, although the March jobs report is still scheduled for release that morning.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/29/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
Losses are falling precisely between policy wordings
By Matthew Sellers
Mar 31, 2026
The marine war risk market was the first to move. Within hours of the United States and Israel launching coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, P&I clubs issued notices of cancellation for the Persian Gulf. War-risk premiums for vessels attempting the Hormuz transit surged in some cases twelve-fold. A $20 billion government-backed reinsurance facility was assembled, with Chubb named as lead underwriter, in an effort to restore market confidence and get oil tankers moving again.
That is the story most insurance professionals have been following. It is not the whole story.
Beneath the headline disruption to marine and energy lines, the Iran war is generating a second, quieter crisis - one defined not by losses that are clearly covered, but by losses that fall precisely in the gaps between policy wordings. Business interruption triggers that require physical damage. Cyber exclusions that nobody can apply with certainty. Travel policies that left a million stranded passengers with nothing. Trade credit exposures that most commercial clients never thought to buy.
For brokers and underwriters who have spent recent years pricing geopolitical risk as a tail event, the tail has arrived. The question now is how many of their clients are actually covered for it.
The cyber problem nobody can solve
Of all the non-obvious consequences of the war, the cyber coverage question may be the most consequential - and the least tractable.
Iran has a long-documented history of state-affiliated cyber operations, and the outbreak of hostilities has prompted warnings across Western governments about the risk of retaliatory attacks on critical infrastructure, financial institutions and major corporations. Demand for cyber insurance has surged in response.
The problem is that many cyber policies include wartime or force majeure exclusions that could render claims invalid if an attack can be attributed to state-sponsored actors. Whether a given attack is genuinely state-directed, as opposed to conducted by Iranian-linked actors without formal government sanction, is a forensic question that may take months or years to answer - long after the policy response window has closed.
The Lloyd's market alone has 48 approved cyber exclusion wordings, each drafted differently. The result, as policyholder disputes lawyers have noted, is a chaotic coverage picture in the event of widespread attacks. The mechanism by which a policyholder would even begin to establish attribution has never been tested in practice.
For brokers, the practical implication is urgent. Every commercial client carrying a cyber policy should have its war exclusion wording reviewed now - before any claim arises - to understand what standard of evidence would be required to establish or rebut a state-sponsored attribution, and whether that standard is achievable.
Twenty-one thousand flights, and most passengers had nothing
The aviation disruption that followed the February 28 strikes was immediate and staggering in scale. Airspace closed across large parts of the Middle East within hours. Dubai and Doha - ranked first and tenth in the world for international passenger traffic - became effectively inoperable as transit hubs. More than 21,000 flights were cancelled in the days that followed, stranding tens of thousands of travellers across multiple continents.
Demand for "cancel for any reason" travel insurance surged eighteen-fold in the days following the strikes, according to data from online insurance marketplace Squaremouth.
The surge was too late to matter for most of those affected. Standard travel insurance policies exclude coverage for disruptions tied to acts of war and military action - a provision that is longstanding, widely understood within the industry, and almost entirely unknown to ordinary consumers until the moment it becomes relevant. Cancel for any reason coverage must in most cases be purchased within 14 to 21 days of an initial trip deposit. Once a military action has become a known event, it cannot be insured against retrospectively.
The result was a consumer protection failure of significant scale. Airlines were legally obligated to offer refunds for cancelled flights, and many offered flexible rebooking terms. But for the broader costs of disruption - hotels, missed connections, stranded cruise passengers, non-refundable land arrangements - the insurance mechanism that consumers believed existed simply was not there.
The travel insurance market's challenge going forward is partly one of product design and partly one of disclosure. Neither is straightforward.
The business interruption gap
For commercial lines, the dominant coverage question is not marine - it is business interruption, and specifically the growing volume of losses that do not meet standard policy triggers.
When Maersk suspended Hormuz transits on March 1 and began rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, the additional cost per ship was approximately $1 million in fuel, plus 10 to 14 additional days of transit time. For cargo owners with time-sensitive supply chains, missed delivery windows, spoiled perishables and breach-of-contract penalties, the financial damage is real and substantial.
Most of it is not insured.
Standard business interruption policies require physical loss or damage as a trigger. A rerouted voyage that arrives late but delivers undamaged cargo is, in policy terms, a pure delay - and pure delay falls outside cover. The same applies to precautionary shutdowns of energy infrastructure across the Gulf states, where companies have paused operations not because of a physical strike but because of proximity to conflict. The business interruption exposure from such shutdowns can be enormous. The coverage, in many cases, is not.
Legal analysis from Pillsbury Law characterised the issue plainly: losses from physical damage, denial of access, seizure and detention, sanctions and pure delay all require different policy responses, and many policyholders have yet to map their actual disruptions to the relevant coverage categories - much less identify the gaps.
Trade credit: the line nobody was watching
Before the war, trade credit insurance was one of the quieter corners of the specialty market. Claims were manageable, pricing was stable, and the line had absorbed recent geopolitical shocks - the Red Sea disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war's effects on commodity flows - without significant systemic stress.
The Hormuz closure is different in scale. The strait carries approximately 20% of global oil flows and a significant share of LNG. Prolonged disruption is beginning to create default risk up and down supply chains as payment terms are missed, contracts are frustrated, and counterparties face liquidity pressure from rising energy costs.
Howden Re's head of global specialty treaty, Phil Bonner, described the situation as one in which what was previously a stable, dependable line is now moving firmly into strategic focus, as insurers and reinsurers reassess counterparty exposure and supply chain dependencies.
The most significant gap is not among large multinationals, which typically carry trade credit cover as part of sophisticated risk programmes. It is among mid-market commercial clients for whom trade credit insurance has rarely been on the broker agenda - and who are now discovering that their receivables are exposed in ways they had not considered.
The attribution of war and terrorism
Across multiple lines - marine, property, political violence, aviation - the same definitional problem keeps surfacing. In fast-moving geopolitical conflicts, the boundary between war, terrorism, sabotage and cyber incident becomes contested territory, and that contest is fought in policy language.
Legal analysis from Mills & Reeve noted that many insureds in the Gulf had purchased only terrorism or lower-level civil unrest coverage, leaving them potentially uninsured for war-related losses. The political violence policies that were meant to fill the gap left by standard property war exclusions do not necessarily dovetail cleanly with those exclusions - particularly where the specific peril purchased does not match the cause of loss.
Morningstar DBRS, in a commentary on the war's insurance implications, noted that terrorism and political violence incidents can trigger claims simultaneously in property, marine, aviation and business interruption policies - and that distinguishing between terrorism, sabotage, cyber incidents and acts of war may become increasingly difficult, increasing the potential for coverage disputes.
Those disputes are not theoretical. They are already beginning.
The GPS spoofing problem
There is one further consequence of the conflict that has received almost no attention outside specialist underwriting circles, but which has the potential to generate significant coverage disputes.
In the period before the February 28 strikes, there had been a series of GPS spoofing incidents in the region - deliberate manipulation of navigational signals that caused vessels to lose accurate positioning data, contributing to collision and grounding risk. Similar spoofing has been documented in the Baltic and Black Seas in connection with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
A physical grounding or collision resulting from GPS spoofing sits in genuinely contested territory between a war peril, a cyber peril and a conventional hull claim. Insurers across those three lines are not aligned on which policy responds, and the wording analysis required to answer the question in any given case is both complex and likely to be disputed.
As the conflict continues, the volume of such edge cases will only grow. The marine and cyber markets have not yet had to adjudicate a major GPS spoofing claim under war conditions. The analytical frameworks for doing so are not established.
What brokers should be doing now
The common thread running through each of these coverage questions is the same: the losses are real, the damage is happening, and the standard policy architecture was not designed for the specific shape of this conflict.
Legal and insurance analysts have begun to outline what a practical response looks like. Every business interruption programme should be mapped against its actual triggers to identify where delay-only losses will fall outside cover. Every cyber policy should be reviewed for the precise wording of its war and state-sponsored exclusions, and clients should understand what attribution evidence would be required to invoke or resist those exclusions. Every commercial client with Gulf supply chain exposure should be asked whether they carry trade credit cover - and if not, whether they understand what is now at risk.
The broader market question - whether the insurance industry's product architecture is adequate to a world in which geopolitical conflict generates losses that are diffuse, correlated, and definitionally ambiguous - is one that will take years to answer through policy reform and litigation.
The claims, however, are not waiting.
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Stocks to Sell: Global brokerage Goldman Sachs has struck a cautious note on India’s oil marketing companies, saying recent relief measures may not be enough to offset the pressure from high crude prices and a weak rupee.
The government’s decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre has provided some support to the sector. However, the brokerage believes the overall risk profile remains elevated, especially for companies like Indian Oil Corporation.
Relief from duty cut, but only to an extent
The excise duty cut has helped oil marketing companies by reducing their marketing losses, as the benefit has not been passed on to consumers. This has effectively improved near-term margins.
But Goldman Sachs points out that the relief is limited. Earlier, the break-even level for these companies was around $70 per barrel. Due to rupee weakness, this had dropped to about $67 per barrel. After the duty cut, the break-even has moved up to roughly $78 per barrel.
With crude prices currently hovering near $122 per barrel, the gap remains wide, keeping margins under pressure.
EBITDA losses remain elevated
The brokerage has flagged that the EBITDA loss run-rate for oil marketing companies is still high, even above levels seen during earlier peaks. This suggests that companies are yet to fully absorb the impact of elevated input costs.
Stock-specific views
On Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Goldman Sachs has maintained a Neutral rating with a target price of Rs 310, implying a downside of around 7 per cent from current levels.
For Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, the brokerage has also retained a Neutral stance but sees some upside, with a target of Rs 340, indicating a potential gain of about 21 per cent.
The most cautious view is on Indian Oil Corporation, where the brokerage believes the risk-reward is unfavourable. It sees a potential downside of up to 49 per cent in a bear case scenario and about 20 per cent even in the base case.
Why pressure may continue
Looking ahead, Goldman Sachs expects Brent crude to average around $80 per barrel in CY27. Even then, the brokerage believes challenges will persist.
Crude prices could remain structurally high, pricing flexibility for companies may stay limited, and geopolitical tensions continue to create uncertainty. All these factors together keep the sector under stress.
What it means for investors
The brokerage’s view suggests that while there has been some relief, the sector is not out of the woods yet. Volatility could remain in the near term.
For investors, the advice is to stay selective. Companies with stronger balance sheets and better margin visibility may be better placed to handle the pressure. Among the pack, BPCL appears relatively better positioned, while caution is advised on HPCL and IOC for now.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose 1.6 cents on Sunday to $5.987, its highest amount since Oct. 9, 2023.
The average price has increased 38 of the last 39 days, including 1.1 cents Saturday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 11.7 cents more than one week ago, $1.293 more than one month ago and $1.223 more than one year ago. It is 50.7 cents less than the record $6.494 set on Oct. 5, 2022.
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The Orange County average price rose 1.1 cents to $5.923, its highest amount since Oct. 6, 2023. It is 8.2 cents more than one week ago, $1.287 more than one month ago and $1.186 more than one year ago. It is 53.6 cents less than the record $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
Prices were rising slightly in line with seasonal norms before the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28 sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.
“Southern California gas prices are following a similar pattern to the spike we saw after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022,” Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California's senior public affairs specialist, said in a statement released Thursday.
“Today marks 27 days since the Iran conflict began, and the Los Angeles average gas price has risen by $1.26 a gallon since then. During the same number of days after the Russia-Ukraine war began, the Los Angeles average gas price rose by $1.19 a gallon to an average price of over $6 a gallon.”
The national average price ticked up four-tenths of a cent to $3.98, after dropping slightly for three consecutive days. It is 3.8 cents more than one week ago, 99.8 cents more than one month ago and 82.1 cents more than one year ago. It is $1.036 less than the record $5.016 set on June 14, 2022.
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/average-la-gas-price-nears-6-per-gallon/3868493/
Dubai officials said a fire on the Al Salmi tanker had been extinguished and all crew members were safe after strike
Tue 31 Mar 2026 05.11 BST
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker anchored at Dubai port, with the strike damaging the vessel’s hull, in the latest strike on merchant vessels in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz amid the US and Israel war on Iran.
Dubai authorities said the drone attack on the Al Salmi tanker caused a fire on board that was extinguished early on Tuesday, hours after the attack was first reported. They later confirmed there was no oil leak.
The attack came hours after Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the strait of Hormuz.The month-long conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.
Mnila’s transport workers struggle to make ends meet as Philippines feels force of oil crisisRead more
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said the Al Salmi was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai port in the United Arab Emirates, causing a fire onboard and other damage to the vessel.
Dubai authorities said maritime firefighting teams successfully put out the blaze which was sparked by a drone attack and continued to assess the situation, adding that no injuries were reported and all 24 crew members were safe.
Crude oil prices briefly spiked after Kuwait’s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2m barrels of oil worth more than $200m at current prices, but retreated slightly after the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump had told aides he was willing to end the war even if the strait of Hormuz remains closed and that military options were “not his immediate priority”.
Brent crude prices are on course for a 59% surge in March, the largest monthly gain on record due to the war in the Middle East.
The jump in oil and fuel prices has started to weigh on US household finances and become a political headache for Trump and his Republican party ahead of the November midterm elections, having vowed to lower energy prices and ramp up US oil and gas production.
The tanker was loaded with 2m barrels of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to data from industry trackers. Its destination was listed as Qingdao, China, according to reports.
Attacks by both sides of the conflict are showing no signs of easing, with fears of a wider conflict growing.
Thousands of soldiers from the US army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory, even as he pursues talks with Tehran.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted to reach a deal with Tehran before the 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline he had set for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
These initiatives are being implemented as part of the relevant national mission
The Indian government has approved three pilot hydrogen projects in the steel industry as part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, according to SteelOrbis.
Approximately $41 million will be allocated to support these projects, which are expected to be completed within the next three years.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is supporting these three initiatives in the steel sector, which will be implemented by Matrix Gas and Renewables, Simplex Castings, and the Steel Authority of India.
The metallurgy program, part of the national mission, aims to identify cutting-edge technologies for using “green” hydrogen in steel production, confirm the technical feasibility and efficiency of its use, and demonstrate safe operation in the production of low-carbon steel. Pilot projects will involve 100% use of “green” hydrogen in blast furnaces and for the production of direct reduced iron (DRI) to reduce the use of coal and coke.
As a reminder, last fall, India’s JSW Energy commissioned its first and largest “green” hydrogen production plant in India. The plant will supply hydrogen directly to the direct reduced iron (DRI) facility of steelmaker JSW Steel in Vijayanagar (Karnataka state), enabling the latter to produce low-carbon steel. Under the seven-year agreement, the plant will supply JSW Steel with 3,800 tons of “green” hydrogen and 30,000 tons of “green” oxygen annually.
https://gmk.center/en/news/india-will-fund-three-pilot-hydrogen-projects-for-steel-production/
Simon Roberts says Easter shop will be unaffected by Middle East conflict, but industry warns prices may rise this year
Tue 31 Mar 2026 09.01 BST
Shoppers will not see food prices rise until at least the summer and Easter will be unaffected by conflict in the Middle East, the boss of Sainsbury’s has said, despite fears of an inflation spike.
Simon Roberts said it was “too early” to say whether and when food price inflation related to higher commodity costs would hit supermarket shelves and that the UK’s second-largest supermarket had long-term agreements with suppliers to help protect shoppers.
“We have a lot of the tools to make sure we’ll do everything possible to contain the impact on inflation,” he said. “Obviously we are watching and monitoring events closely.
“We’re not looking at immediate consequences or near-term consequences that we don’t think we’ve got a plan to navigate.”
Farmers across the world are facing rising costs, as the closure of the strait of Hormuz affects about a third of the global seaborne trade in fertilisers. “Volatility and uncertainty for farmers has only become a bigger issue for them. They need certainty on making sure they can see what’s coming,” Roberts said.
Speaking from a fruit farm in Kent, where Sainsbury’s has signed a new five-year deal with a berry producer as part of a plan to invest £5bn in longer-term contracts, Roberts added that the effects of the war were unlikely to hit food prices until the summer at the earliest as, for example, many farmers had bought fertiliser and fuel before the disruption and many businesses had hedged commodity costs.
He said the impact would become clearer in three to five weeks and was helped by the British growing season getting under way, meaning food imports will be lower until the autumn. Any impact on price would be linked to “how long this situation may or may not [continue]” and “what happens ultimately to the cost of oil”, Roberts said.
“It’s not going to be in the Easter shopping basket, but I can’t say by the summer that will be the case,” he added.
Roberts called on the government to ease planning restrictions to help expand UK food production in an increasingly volatile world affected by the climate crisis and geopolitical disruption.
He said he believed the government wanted to ease the way for developments such as polytunnels and poultry facilities to help farmers produce more, as well as extend the harvest season. “We want to grow and produce more at home,” said Roberts, who is expected to be among retailers meeting with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, this week to discuss the effects of the Iran conflict.
Sainsbury’s said that by the end of this year, 60% of its own-brand suppliers of fresh produce including mushrooms and carrots, dairy, meat, fish and poultry – 2,500 farms – would have agreements covering five or more years. Berry farmers are the latest group to join the scheme, with apple and pear producers expected to follow soon.
Roberts said the supermarket chain had become adept at dealing with volatile trading conditions after more than five years of significant disruption, ranging from Brexit to the Covid pandemic, as well as a surge in commodity prices after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He said Sainsbury’s had committed to more long-term contracts after several years of supply issues on fresh produce including tomatoes caused by extreme weather in Spain.
Roberts’ comments contrast with those of Allan Leighton, the chair of the struggling rival supermarket Asda, who suggested UK food price inflation was inevitable given the impact of fuel and energy costs on producers.
Food inflation eased slightly to 3.4% in March from 3.5% in February, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Analysts at Shore Capital forecasted on Monday that it would remain as high as 3% by the end of the year.
Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said: “Higher costs resulting from the conflict in the Middle East are starting to feed into supply chains. While retailers will work with their suppliers to mitigate the impact on prices as far as possible, inflation will rise, although there are no indications it will reach the peaks of the last spike in April 2023.”
Leighton called on the government to provide short-term financial support for farmers hit by energy and fertiliser cost increases linked to the Middle East crisis.
Roberts agreed, saying: “We need to pay really close attention to what’s happening now.” But he added it was important not to focus on short-term solutions and to “work in a strategic way to drive the strong food system” the country needed.
He said the retailer’s cost-of-production-based longer deals guaranteed farmers a price that reacted to changes in the cost of fuel, fertiliser and animal feed. They also meant a closer relationship between supplier and supermarket so that, for example, an unexpected drop or rise in production could be managed.
“If we didn’t have these long-term partnerships in place we would be more concerned. It gives us certainty to navigate our way through,” he said.
Roberts was speaking at the Kent fruit farm of Tim Chambers, who has been investing in technology such as solar power, heated polytunnels and robotic equipment to tackle pests, assess crop ripeness and carry picking crates to help improve worker efficiency.
Chambers said he had been confident to make the investments – which increase the length of harvest, reduce waste and reliance on volatile commodities such as fuel and chemicals – because of his five-year deal with Sainsbury’s. “You can’t make big investments and decisions on uncertainty,” he added.
Roberts said Sainsbury’s longer-term commitments were “joining the dots up across the supply chain, giving farmers certainty and making sure investments are happening in the right place”.
While DRDGOLD Limited DRD and Gold Fields Limited GFI are key players in the gold mining sector, they operate in fundamentally different niches. DRDGOLD specializes in retreating historical surface tailings in South Africa, using cost-efficient, environmentally conscious methods that capitalize on high gold prices while maintaining a sustainable operation.
Gold Fields, on the other hand, is a globally diversified gold producer. It operates large-scale mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia, Peru, and Chile. This geographic spread gives the company broad production capacity and multiple sources of revenue. Its size and diversification provide financial resilience and the ability to invest in growth and return capital to shareholders.
Both DRDGOLD and Gold Fields are heavily influenced by high gold prices. Prices are rising due to geopolitical tensions, inflation, and safe-haven demand. Rising energy, labor, and material costs affect profitability. This creates both revenue opportunities and earnings volatility.
Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of these two miners to determine which one is a better investment now.
The Case for DRD
DRDGOLD reported solid operational performance in the first half of fiscal 2026, which ended on Dec. 31, 2025. Gold production was 2,337 kilograms (75,136 ounces), down 9% from 2,564 kilograms (82,434 ounces) a year ago.
Production was driven by the company’s two core tailings operations. Ergo Mining Proprietary Limited produced about 1,683 kilograms. Far West Gold Recoveries Proprietary Limited contributed around 654 kilograms.
Lower recovery yields and reduced throughput caused the decline. Throughput fell to about 12.5 million tons due to heavy rainfall and adverse weather in November and December. Production was also adversely impacted by the depletion of higher-grade material at Driefontein 5 and increased processing of lower-grade material from Driefontein 3.
The company benefited from a sharp rise in gold prices. The average realized price increased to R2,114,227 per kilogram or $3,788 per ounce. This marks a 43% increase from the prior-year period’s level.
DRDGOLD continues to expand its tailings retreatment capabilities and improve energy efficiency under its Vision 2028 strategy. The company is advancing Phase 2 of the Far West Gold Recoveries project, including a Regional Tailings Storage Facility and upgrades to the Driefontein 2 plant. These are expected to lift processing capacity to about 1.2 million tons per month by 2026.
DRD also sold its stake in Stellar Energy Solutions for about R147.5 million and secured a long-term renewable power agreement on Dec. 19, 2025. This is expected to supply around 76 GWh annually from 2028. DRDGOLD is planning to initiate a 150 MW solar project in Polokwane.
Cash and cash equivalents rose sharply to R1,734.4 million ($99.86 million) from R661.2 million ($38.09 million) in the prior-year period. Cash generated from operating activities increased notably to R2,309.1 million ($133.05 million) in the first half of 2026 from R1,282.9 million ($73.89 million) a year ago. DRDGOLD generated a free cash inflow of R793.1 million ($45.68 million), significantly higher than R319.0 million ($18.38 million) recorded a year earlier.
The Case for GFI
Gold Fields delivered a strong operational performance in fourth-quarter 2025, with a meaningful increase in attributable gold-equivalent production. The company reported 681,000 ounces in the quarter, up 6% year over year.
Salares Norte was the key growth driver, ramping up toward steady-state production and contributing a meaningful increase in quarterly output. South Deep delivered a strong performance, supported by higher mining volumes and improved efficiencies. Tarkwa remained a major, steady contributor with consistent throughput, while Damang produced lower but stable ounces as it processed stockpiles toward the end of its life. Gruyere delivered solid and stable output despite some grade variability.
The company's average realized gold price reached $4,184 per ounce, marking a substantial year-over-year increase. This sharp rise was driven by a favorable global gold market.
Gold Fields expects production to remain stable to modestly higher, ranging from 2.4 million ounces to 2.6 million ounces. This outlook is supported by the continued ramp-up and optimization of Salares Norte, steady contributions from its core asset base, and ongoing operational efficiency improvements.
The company remains focused on disciplined cost management and portfolio optimization with AISC expected to be between $1,800 per ounce and $2,000 per ounce. Capital expenditure levels will remain elevated, given the capital planned budget for Windfall. Sustaining capital expenditure remains essential to maintaining the Group’s production base.
Gold Fields strengthened its portfolio through the acquisition of Gold Road Resources in October 2025 for about $1.42 billion, giving full ownership of the Gruyere asset and surrounding tenements.
In 2026, Gold Fields will advance studies to optimize the Gruyere deposit, including evaluating an open-pit cutback versus underground options while accelerating access to higher-grade ore from Golden Highway and Gilmour.
The Windfall project became a core long-term growth asset for Gold Fields after its October 2024 acquisition of Osisko Mining, securing full ownership of this high-grade underground project in Québec. It is now in advanced development, with a final investment decision expected in 2026 and first production targeted around late 2026 to 2027.
Gold Fields had a cash and cash equivalent of $1.78 million for fiscal 2025, supported by higher gold prices and improved operating performance. The company reported robust cash flow from operations, contributing to a full-year operating cash flow of about $3.77 million, reflecting a sharp year-over-year increase. Adjusted free cash flow also remained strong at $2.97 billion.
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/drd-gfi-gold-stock-could-143800729.html
30 March 2026 – In response to Israeli missile strikes, Iran attacked and damaged two major aluminium mills in the Gulf region over the weekend. Aluminium prices jump higher. Will the Thyssenkrupp and Jindal Steel deal fail over pension liabilities?
Gulf conflict hits steel and aluminium mills in the region
After three Iranian steel mills had been hit and damaged by Israeli missiles last week, Iran retaliated over the weekend by attacking and damaging two major aluminium mills in the region that produce alumina and primary aluminium. The exact extent of the damage is not yet known. Roughly nine percent of global aluminium supply comes from the Gulf region.
Even before that, the ongoing fighting and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had already caused disruptions in the supply chain. But aluminium is not the only sector affected: a major producer of steel, iron ore pellets and direct reduced iron (DRI) was also forced over the weekend to declare force majeure.
Aluminium prices jump higher
Aluminium prices rose sharply in response to the weekend attacks. In Asia, prices increased by more than 3.4%, while in Europe they jumped by more than 5% shortly after the start of trading and were last seen at around USD 3,435 per tonne.
Nickel and copper moved in a stable sideways range in Asian trading today and started the week calmly on the European commodities exchange LME.
Will the Thyssenkrupp and Jindal Steel deal fail over pension liabilities?
Talks between Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) and Jindal Steel International over a possible sale of the German steelmaker are at risk of collapsing, according to sources familiar with the matter. After nearly six months of negotiations, both sides are struggling to bridge key differences, making the completion of the sale increasingly unlikely, according to media reports.
Alongside energy costs, Thyssenkrupp’s very high pension liabilities, reportedly amounting to as much as EUR 2.5 billion, are cited as the biggest obstacle to a takeover.
https://steelnews.biz/gulf-conflict-hits-steel-and-aluminium-mills/
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Shares of aluminium companies rose sharply on Monday. The rally came after a spike in global aluminium prices. National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) jumped over 6 per cent to around Rs 395. Hindalco Industries gained more than 5 per cent to nearly Rs 913. Vedanta Limited rose about 5 per cent to around Rs 679.
These stocks were the top gainers on the Nifty Metal index. The index was the only sector trading in the green. The broader market remained weak.
Gulf disruption lifts aluminium prices
Add Zee Business as a Preferred Source Aluminium prices rose sharply on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Prices jumped nearly 6 per cent on March 30. They touched around $3,492 per tonne.
The rise followed supply disruptions in the Middle East. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) in Abu Dhabi confirmed damage at its plant. Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) also reported impact at its facility.
The Middle East is a key supplier. It contributes about 9–10 per cent of global aluminium supply. Any disruption in this region impacts prices quickly.
Supply concerns deepen
The supply situation was already tight. Around 19 per cent of global aluminium capacity is offline. The new disruption has increased concerns.
There are also risks from raw materials. Guinea is a major supplier of bauxite. It may consider export limits. This can affect aluminium production globally.
Smelters may face a double impact. Input costs may rise. Output may fall.
Shifting production is not easy. It takes time and money. This can keep supply tight in the near term.
Downstream sectors under pressure
Higher aluminium prices can hurt many sectors. These include automotive, aerospace, solar panels, packaging, and power infrastructure.
There are no easy substitutes for aluminium. Companies may face higher costs.
Margins may come under pressure. Some companies may try to pass on costs. But demand will decide pricing power.
In the two-wheeler segment, aluminium and copper form about 32 per cent of input costs. This makes the sector sensitive to price changes.
Anil Singhvi view: stay cautious in volatile market
Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi said global tensions are driving metal prices.
“Volatility is high. Metals are reacting to global events,” he said.
He added that aluminium prices may remain strong in the short term. This is due to supply concerns.
However, he advised caution. He said investors should avoid aggressive bets.
He also said upstream companies may benefit. Higher prices can improve realisations.
Producers gain from price rise
Higher aluminium prices are positive for producers. Companies like Hindalco, NALCO, and Vedanta can benefit.
They may see better margins in the near term. This is due to higher selling prices.
However, the trend depends on global developments. If tensions ease, prices may cool.
Demand trends will also matter. Weak demand can limit gains.
Kenya has opened a high-stakes tender for global investors to develop the mineral-rich Mrima Hill in Kwale County, a rare earth site valued at about $62.4 billion and increasingly central to the global race for critical minerals.
In a gazette notice dated March 24, Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho invited qualified firms to submit expressions of interest to commercialize deposits of niobium and rare earth elements - minerals essential for advanced electronics, clean energy systems, and military technologies..
Mrima Hill has long attracted international interest, with both the United States and China eyeing the asset as part of a broader geopolitical contest over supply chains.
American officials have made multiple visits to the site in recent years, pushing for a value-added approach that includes local refining, while China - responsible for about 90% of global rare earth processing, has historically favored an extract-and-export model.
The Kenya Times reports that the government has identified five key minerals - niobium, yttrium, thorium, strontium, and lanthanum, at the site following a geological mapping exercise conducted in 2022.
However, Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho noted that a full economic viability assessment of the deposits has not yet been completed.
“The Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs recently completed a nationwide airborne geophysical survey and now has the latest radiometric and magnetic data over the project area,” the notice read further.
“This data and the resulting grids serve as primary geophysical information for the winning bidder to conduct detailed exploration in the area.”
The renewed push highlights Kenya’s growing appeal as a mining destination, driven by fresh geological data, improved regulatory clarity, and rising global demand for critical minerals.
Africa tightens grip on mineral wealth
Kenya’s move reflects a broader shift across Africa, where governments are increasingly seeking to retain more value from their natural resources.
Countries are revising mining codes, enforcing local content rules, and pushing investors to establish in-country processing facilities rather than exporting raw materials.
From lithium in Zimbabwe to cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, policymakers are leveraging the global energy transition to demand better terms and greater economic participation.
In Kenya’s case, requirements around beneficiation, sustainability, and community engagement signal a clear intent to avoid past extractive models.
The government said the tender will be conducted under the Mining Act and 2017 regulations, requiring investors to demonstrate technical expertise, financial strength, and a commitment to local processing and sustainability.
Firms must also engage local communities and comply with Kenya’s framework on state participation in strategic minerals.
By Natalia Katona - Mar 30, 2026, 6:23 PM CDT
Japan’s heavy dependence on imported energy is being put through a real-time stress test. The crisis triggered by the war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the structural vulnerabilities in one of the world’s largest energy importers. With roughly 90% of its crude oil sourced from the Middle East, Tokyo has already moved to release around 80 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserves – equivalent to roughly 26 days of domestic oil demand. This should be sufficient to stabilize the immediate fuel balance, particularly as Japan covers nearly 100% of its gasoline and around 95% of its diesel demand through domestic refining. Yet the oil reserve drawdown addresses only part of the problem. The broader energy system – electricity and heat generation in particular – remains exposed to the ripple effects of the crisis.
Japan’s natural gas balance is no less dependent on imports. Around 98% of domestic gas demand is met by LNG imports, although overall consumption has been declining in recent years due to slower economic growth, the expansion of renewables, and the gradual restart of nuclear power. In 2025 Japan imported 66.3 Mt of LNG, down 1.5% year-on-year, retaining its position as the world’s second-largest buyer after China. Roughly 6% of this supply transits the Strait of Hormuz (from Qatar and the UAE) while the majority comes from Australia (26 Mt), Malaysia (10 Mt), Russia (5.8 Mt, supported by Japan’s sanctions exemption for Sakhalin-II in which Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold a 22.5% stake), and the United States (4.5 Mt). The disruption of Gulf-origin LNG volumes is therefore manageable in physical terms and is unlikely to materially alter Japan’s overall supply balance.
Australia remains Japan’s largest LNG supplier, but the relationship is now evolving under pressure. As Canberra faces acute shortages of refined fuels, the two countries have entered discussions on potential LNG-for-products swap arrangements, whereby Japan could supply gasoline and diesel in exchange for continued LNG flows. At the same time, Tokyo has cautioned Australia against imposing a windfall tax on LNG exports – an option the Albanese government has been considering amid soaring commodity prices. Given the intensifying domestic fuel shortages in Australia, it appears increasingly likely that such populist taxation measures will be kept for less critical times in favour of preserving supply security and bilateral cooperation.
The importance of gas to Tokyo is real. Within Japan’s energy mix, natural gas remains the dominant fuel, accounting for around 32% of power generation, followed by coal at 28%, nuclear at 9%, and oil-fired generation at 7%. However, gas-fired power’s share has been gradually declining as nuclear capacity returns and renewables expand. The structure of gas demand is heavily skewed toward the power sector, which absorbs roughly 55–65% of total consumption. However, around a quarter is used in industry, particularly in petrochemicals and refining.
This industrial component is now under pressure. Natural gas is a key input for hydrogen production in refining and petrochemical processes, but with crude and naphtha supplies tightening (around two-thirds of Japan’s naphtha imports previously passed through Hormuz, while the domestic refining system is skewed towards gasoline production) industrial activity is expected to slow. Gas suppliers are already pointing at a likely near-term drop in industrial demand, which could partially offset the Middle Eastern LNG imports decline.
In this context, the issue for Japan is less about physical gas availability and more about prices. The JKM benchmark has surged to around $20/MMBtu in recent days, up sharply from approximately $10.5/MMBtu prior to the conflict. At the same time, Australian FOB Newcastle coal prices have climbed from around $115/t at the end of February to approximately $135/t. Despite this increase, coal remains a comparatively more economical option for power generation, reinforcing its role as a short-term substitute.
Japan’s coal supply is heavily concentrated in one country, Australia. In 2025, Australia accounted for roughly two-thirds of imports, supplying 100.6 Mt out of a total of 153.8 Mt. Indonesia followed with 25 Mt and Canada with 13.7 Mt. Australian coal (with its higher calorific value and overall better quality), trades at a premium to Indonesian material, which is typically discounted in Asian markets. While Japan continues to import significant volumes from Indonesia, it is likely to favour increasing purchases from Australia due to higher quality , outbidding other players in the Asian market, thanks to its greater financial capacity. This shift is very likely to come at the expense of smaller buyers such as Vietnam and Malaysia, effectively pricing them out of the Australian coal market over the upcoming months and pushing regional coal prices higher.
A recently announced US-Japan energy deal adds a geopolitical dimension but is unlikely to shift market fundamentals. The agreement, lauded by Donald Trump in October 2025 as part of a broader bilateral trade framework, involves a multi-year $100 million supply deal for US thermal coal from Global Coal Sales Group to Tohoku Electric Power. Volumes remain small (although not announced, the financial side of the deal points at around 1 Mt of coal spread across several years) relative to Japan’s 150 Mt annual imports, and US thermal coal generally offers lower calorific value than Australia’s Newcastle-grade supply. Not to mention the freight costs, substitution potential is limited, leaving Japan sensibly tied to Australian cargoes.
Coal may provide a short-term buffer, but Japan’s longer-term response is unlikely to hinge on a sustained increase in coal-fired generation. Despite the palpable political and social sensitivities following the Fukushima disaster in 2011, nuclear power remains central to Tokyo’s strategic energy outlook. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been working to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant – the world’s largest nuclear facility, wielding a capacity of 8 GW. After 14 years of inactivity, trial power transmission began in February, with commercial operations initially targeted for late February. However, technical setbacks have delayed the process several times. Current output remains limited to around 20%, with transmission suspended, and TEPCO is now targeting April 16 for a full restart. The plant is expected to supply electricity to the Tokyo metropolitan area, where approximately 70% of power generation currently relies on gas-fired plants.
Therefore, Japan’s strategic trajectory points towards nuclear. The current crisis is reinforcing the country’s long-standing objective of reducing vulnerability to imported fuels by accelerating nuclear restarts and expanding domestic generation capacity. In that sense, the disruption is not only a test of resilience – it is also a catalyst for structural change and a good talking point for the politicians in their dialogue with nuclear-energy sceptics. Over the near term, however, Japan is likely to tighten availability in the Asia-Pacific coal market, reinforcing upward pressure on Newcastle benchmark prices. This shift will not go unnoticed for others. If Japan increases its spot?market coal purchases, upward price pressure is inevitable—and the impact will be felt most acutely by Asia’s more financially vulnerable economies.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Coal/Coal-Is-Back-and-Japan-Is-Driving-the-Rally.html
