Russia is planning to systematically strip at least 18 mineral deposits — including titanium, lithium, tantalum, niobium, zirconium, molybdenum, and graphite — from occupied southern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian intelligence.
Russia reportedly intends to conduct geological surveys, carry out rapid extraction, and export the raw materials from the occupied south — mirroring what Zelenskyy described as "essentially the same processes of plunder and deindustrialization" that Russia carried out in the seized Donbas region.
In addition to mineral extraction, Zelenskyy said Russian forces are planning to seize and remove this year's grain harvest from occupied territories. "We are preparing to counter this," he said.
The head of state also said that the financial toll of Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian territory continues to grow, with what he called "long-range sanctions" having a particularly damaging effect on the budgets of Russian regions.
On the question of a ceasefire, Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence sees no sign that Moscow is preparing to halt hostilities, despite repeated public statements to the contrary.
"We see that in recent weeks, additional rings of air defense have been built up around Moscow at the expense of a large-scale redeployment of systems from Russia’s regions," Zelenskyy said. "This indicates that the Russian leadership is not preparing for the ceasefire that has been the subject of so many statements, and is more concerned about its parade in Moscow than about the rest of Russia. At the same time, we observe that this creates additional opportunities for our long-range sanctions. We will define our corresponding priorities."
Earlier on May 6, Zelenskyy said Russia had violated a ceasefire proposed for the night of May 5–6 a total of 1,820 times by 10 a.m.
Overnight, Russia launched 108 drones and three missiles at Ukrainian cities. Russia also struck the city of Sumy on Wednesday, hitting a kindergarten building.
German premium carmaker BMW reported a sharp drop in first-quarter earnings as intense competition in China and tariff pressures weighed on performance, although it maintained its 2026 outlook for now.
The company said on Wednesday that quarterly pretax earnings fell 25 percent to 2.3 billion euros (HK$21.14 billion), slightly above analysts' forecast of 2.2 billion euros in a company-provided consensus.
Group revenue missed expectations, falling by 8.1 percent to 31.0 billion euros.
Rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi also reported a difficult start to 2026, as the threat of higher US tariffs looms and Chinese competitors assert their dominance in the world's largest auto market while starting to build their market share in Europe.
Like many carmakers, BMW is turning to cost reductions to offset pressures from tariffs and high costs for raw materials in a globally weak automotive market.
Unlike Volkswagen and Mercedes, however, it has so far managed to do so without cutting jobs.
BMW's EBIT margin in its core automotive business stood at 5.0 percent in the first quarter, down from 6.9 percent a year earlier but ahead of analysts' forecast of 4.7 percent.
Tariffs, including US levies but also an EU tariff on EVs made in China affecting BMW's Mini brand, had a 1.25-percentage-point impact on BMW's car margin in the first quarter.
The company maintained its full-year guidance on Wednesday, forecasting a moderate decline in its group result. BMW's core operating margin is seen in a range of 4 percent to 6 percent after 5.3 percent in 2025.
The outlook does not incorporate a potential increase in US auto tariffs, which President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to raise to 25 percent from the current 15 percent. It also assumes the Middle East conflict "will not be enduring," the company said in a statement.
Iran is reviewing a U.S. peace proposal, a spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry said, following multiple reports on Wednesday suggesting Washington and Tehran are closing in on a “one-page memorandum” to end the war and begin talks on key issues.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran will be bombed “at a much higher level” if it doesn’t agree to a peace deal. In a Truth Social post, he said the U.S. military offensive known as Operation Epic Fury “will be at an end” if Iran “agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption.”
Reports of a possible agreement between the U.S. and Iran sent crude sharply lower in Wednesday trade. Today, oil prices are holding steady as traders monitor the latest developments out of the Middle East.
NBC News reported that Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plan to help ships through the Strait of Hormuz came after a key Gulf ally suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, according to two U.S. officials.
A call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not resolve the issue, the two U.S. officials said, forcing the president to pause Project Freedom to restore U.S. military access to the critical airspace.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/07/cnbc-daily-open-iran-reviews-one-page-peace-plan.html
BY TARA SUTER - 05/06/26 11:06 PM ET
An Iranian official on Wednesday called a reported peace deal for the end to the U.S. war against Iran the “Americans’ wish list.”
“Axios’ text is Americans’ wish list until it becomes reality,” Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament on national security, said in a post on the social platform X Wednesday morning, translated from Persian by the artificial intelligence tool Grok.
“Americans will not obtain through a failed war what they failed to gain in face-to-face negotiations,” he added. “Iran has its finger on the trigger and is ready; if they do not surrender and grant the necessary concessions, or if they or their devilish henchdog allies try to act mischievously, we will deliver a harsh and regret-inducing response.”
The U.S. and Iran were reportedly attempting to put together the details of a one-page memorandum to end hostilities on Wednesday.
The memo, from the U.S., would create a framework for future discussions about Tehran’s nuclear program, a source familiar with the talks told NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer on Wednesday.
Axios reported earlier Wednesday that the deal would involve Iran agreeing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the Trump administration lifting sanctions and releasing billions in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the beginning of the war around two months ago, the Iranian military started threatening commercial vessels from countries that are not its allies against transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which is key to the oil industry.
On Tuesday night, President Trump announced an abrupt end to his operation to loosen Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, shortly before reports came out that Washington and Tehran were nearing a framework of a deal to end the war.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5867352-iranian-official-peace-proposal-americans-wish-list/
FILE PHOTO: General view of Aramco's oil field in the Empty Quarter, Shaybah, Saudi Arabia, January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed//File Photo
Reuters/REUTERS
Saudi Arabia has set the June Arab Light crude oil official selling price to Asia at $15.50 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, down from the previous month, Saudi Aramco said in a statement on Tuesday.
The OSP premium for the previous month was $19.50 a barrel. The cut broadly matched expectations from a Reuters survey of industry sources last month, which showed Saudi Arabia might trim its official June OSP to Asia from record highs as spot premiums retreated and demand cooled following weeks of supply disruptions caused by the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran.
The company lowered Arab Light OSP for Northwest Europe to a $25.85 premium versus ICE Brent, down by $2 per barrel and kept its price for North American customers unchanged at $14.60 premium to ASCI.
Meanwhile, seven OPEC+ countries will raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June, the third consecutive monthly increase, OPEC+ said in a statement on Sunday.
The hike in oil output comes after the United Arab Emirates last week said it was quitting OPEC and OPEC+, dealing a heavy blow to the oil exporting groups and their de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, as the Iran war unleashes an energy shock and rattles the global economy.
Separately, Saudi Aramco asked buyers to submit their nominations for June-loading crude by Wednesday, including planned lifting volumes from both the usual Ras Tanura export terminal inside the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea port of Yanbu, in case the Strait remains closed, said two Saudi crude buyers.
The company has been using the Red Sea port of Yanbu to export Arab Light crude after the war restricted shipping.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Shri Navaratnam)
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI) Shares of oil marketing companies and paint manufacturers climbed on Wednesday amid a steep decline in oil prices, which fell below the USD 100 per barrel-mark.
The stock of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd jumped 6.89 per cent, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd climbed 5.12 per cent, and Indian Oil Corporation went up 4.22 per cent on the BSE.
Among paint manufacturers, shares of Indigo Paints climbed 3.77 per cent, Asian Paints rallied 3.56 per cent, Shalimar Paints advanced 2.33 per cent and Berger Paints went up 1.67 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, tanked 10.50 per cent to USD 98 per barrel.
Helped by fag-end heavy buying, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 940.73 points, or 1.22 per cent, to settle at 77,958.52. The 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 298.15 points, or 1.24 per cent, to end at 24,330.95.
"The trigger was largely global -- renewed optimism around a potential US-Iran peace deal led to a sharp decline in crude oil prices, offering immediate relief to an import-heavy economy like India," Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.
Oil-sensitive sectors outperformed, with IndiGo, BPCL, Asian Paints, and Pidilite gaining on the back of falling crude, which directly improved input cost dynamics and margins, he added.
https://money.rediff.com/news/market/oil-prices-drop-omcs-paint-stocks-rally/46551520260506
New Delhi, May 06: India’s domestic LPG supply remains stable, with over 87.28 lakh cylinders delivered against bookings of around 88.82 lakh in the last two days, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Around 95 per cent of these deliveries were authenticated using OTP-based verification sent to registered mobile numbers, aimed at preventing diversion at the distributor level. Online booking for LPG has reached 99 per cent, with no dry-outs reported across retail distributorships.
Public sector oil companies, including Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, have also sold about 1.2 lakh 5-kg cylinders over the past two days, supported by more than 10,400 awareness camps since April to promote their usage among urban migrant workers.
Commercial LPG supply remains robust, with over 15,900 metric tonnes sold during the same period. A joint committee comprising executives from the three oil PSUs is coordinating supply planning in consultation with state authorities and industry bodies.
On the infrastructure front, around 6.31 lakh PNG connections have been activated, with capacity created for an additional 2.67 lakh connections, taking the total to nearly 8.98 lakh. Another 6.93 lakh consumers have registered for new connections.
To curb malpractice, authorities conducted over 2,100 raids nationwide, penalised 366 LPG distributors, and suspended 75 distributorships.
Despite global uncertainties, including disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, fuel supply remains unaffected. Petrol and diesel prices continue unchanged, with adequate stocks available across retail outlets.
The government has urged citizens to avoid panic buying and rely on official updates, while highlighting that refineries are operating at high capacity and domestic LPG production has been ramped up to meet demand.
https://www.sarkaritel.com/govt-delivers-over-87-28-lakh-lpg-cylinders-in-just-48-hours/
Vladimir Putin appears increasingly determined to hold on to the allies he still has left.
Russia has already watched several key partners weakened or pushed out of power in recent years, from Bashar al-Assad fleeing Syria to growing US war with Iran and the collapse of Moscow-friendly governments like in Hungary.
This makes the alliances he already have much more important.
Energy alliance
In an interview with TASS, Serbian Minister Nenad Popovic praised Russia as Serbia’s most important energy partner and defended the country’s close cooperation with Gazprom.
“Serbia receives gas at the most favorable price in Europe and on the best supply terms,” Popovic said.
He added that Russian energy remained “a key factor in the stability of the Serbian economy” as global oil and gas prices continue rising.
Kremlin contact
Popovic also pointed to direct communication between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Vladimir Putin as proof of the close relationship between the two countries.
“During a recent telephone conversation between our President Aleksandar Vucic and Russian President Vladimir Putin, various topics were discussed, including energy security,” the minister said according to Tass.
“These are agreements at the highest level. Constant contact between our presidents is very important for us,” he added.
Refusing sanctions
Vucic meanwhile defended his refusal to join Western sanctions against Russia despite continued pressure from the European Union.
“If Serbia had imposed sanctions against Russia, I would have been proclaimed the greatest democratic leader in the world,” Vucic said during an interview on Informer TV.
“But I would have betrayed the soul of our people,” the Serbian leader added.
Between East and West
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Serbia has officially backed Ukraine’s territorial integrity while refusing to sanction Moscow.
Vucic has repeatedly described Russians and Ukrainians as “brotherly nations” and insisted Belgrade wants to maintain ties with both sides.
But Serbia’s dependence on Russian gas and its increasingly defiant rhetoric toward Europe continue fueling concerns in Brussels that one of the Balkans’ key states is drifting further toward Moscow.
Sources: TASS, Informer TV
A sign saying "Sorry, No Petrol" on the forecourt of a BP service station during a fuel shortage in London on Feb 9, 1971.
For Britons of a certain age, an oil price shock brings back memories of the 1970s, with food and petrol shortages, the state-imposed three-day working week, power cuts, doing school homework by candlelight, and the resulting increases in both inflation and unemployment.
The good news is that, according to an assessment by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the energy intensity of U.K. GDP has fallen by 70% since the mid-1970s, reflecting improvements in energy efficiency and a decline in heavy industry.
So even a prolonged rise in energy prices should not see the U.K. economy suffer as it did in that decade.
In theory, as a country still enjoying some domestic oil and gas production, Britain should also be rather less exposed to the impact of higher energy prices than peers such as Japan and some major euro zone economies.
In practice, however, the oil and gas price surge is having a dire impact.
This is partly because Britain's electricity prices are higher than those of its peers. According to the International Energy Agency, the average price per megawatt hour for electricity in the U.K. in April was $110.56, compared with $92.89 in Japan, $88.98 in Germany, $44.19 in France and $26.48 in the U.S.
Ministers blame this on Britain's "marginal pricing" system, under which the most expensive source of energy brought onto the grid to meet demand sets the price for all generators unless those generators have agreed to accept a fixed price. That is currently natural gas — and has delivered windfalls for other generators, including renewables operators, not on fixed contracts.
Energy U.K., the industry body, argues the system is efficient because the cheapest generation capacity is used first and notes that gas often sets the price "because it is typically the flexible generation needed to meet demand when lower-cost sources [like renewables] are unavailable."
The government, whose dash to net zero is blamed by many for pushing up the cost of power for industrial and domestic users alike, has just announced plans to try and break the link between gas and electricity prices.
Nonetheless, energy-intensive businesses are suffering.
Denby Pottery, one of Britain's best-known producers of china and tableware, went into administration in March, blaming high energy and labour costs, while the government is spending more than £1 million ($1.35 million) per day to keep British Steel, the country's last producer of virgin steel via energy-intensive blast furnaces, alive.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/06/uk-energy-prices-1970s-oil-shock-consumers-businesses.html
By Scott Murdoch and Melanie Burton
SYDNEY, May 6 (Reuters) – BHP’s Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant said on Wednesday that a new and broader set of investors were buying into the company as AI demand makes its exposure to copper more valuable.
Shares in BHP, the world’s biggest listed miner and top copper producer, rose to a record on March 2 and then fell amid a broad sector selloff as the war in Iran began, though they have since pared some of the losses.
“What we have seen since half results is that there is a growing interest and what we see in our register is more international generalist investors,” she told the Macquarie Australia Conference in Sydney.
BHP Group reported a stronger-than-expected half-year underlying profit driven by copper, which for the first time surpassed iron ore in the company’s earnings, as prices for the red metal surged on AI-fuelled demand.
“They like electrification like AI, but they don’t want to pick winners. They are going upstream and saying where’s the bottleneck? Copper is a bottleneck. Who do we invest in where the downside risk can be cut, but we still have exposure to this upside. And for them, BHP seems like a good choice.”
Major fund managers are heralding a sustained rally in mining and metals as money floods into the sector at the fastest pace in years, driven by a build-out of AI infrastructure, rising defence spending and a shift away from expensive tech stocks, investors told Reuters last month.
Responding to a question on whether BHP would ever revise the commodities it focuses on from its core four of copper, iron ore, potash and coking coal, Pant said the portfolio was regularly reviewed and also mentioned its uranium output.
BHP is a major producer of uranium, which it mines as a byproduct at its Olympic Dam copper operations in South Australia.
“We continue to be quite a positive even on uranium,” she said. “We have a lot of that in our Olympic Dam mine here in South Australia. So (we are) very comfortable with that position.”
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
https://wtaq.com/2026/05/05/bhp-cfo-says-new-investors-buying-in-on-copper-exposure-ai-demand/
DR Congo is set to take an equity stake in a $270 million cross-border power line linking the country to Zambia, its finance ministry told Semafor. The move comes as electricity demand in the country’s mining region rises faster than supply, with miners building metal processing plants to satisfy local policymakers’ desire to keep some of the value chain in the country. The rising power needs are forcing operators to turn to diesel and build their own backup systems due to under-developed industrial options.
The project, approved by Zambia’s energy regulator last year, is being developed by Enterprise Power DRC, a private power trading company, and its Zambian subsidiary. DR Congo’s ministry of finance said the 200-kilometer, high-voltage line will have initial capacity of 460 MW, expandable to 550 MW, running from Kalumbila, a copper-mining town in northwestern Zambia, to Kolwezi, the heart of Congo’s copper mining region. But a start date for the project is still to be set.
The planned equity stake is being tied to the Congolese government’s wider infrastructure push after the $1.25 billion debut eurobond it raised last month. Finance Minister Doudou Fwamba told reporters in Kinshasa that studies showed 1 GW of additional power could double current mine production in the country, adding that DR Congo needs energy infrastructure to move from lightly processed mineral exports toward local processing and manufacturing.
https://www.semafor.com/article/05/06/2026/dr-congo-eyes-stake-in-270m-zambia-power-link
Molten copper casting
6th May 2026 By: Reuters
HONG KONG/BEIJING - As copper smelters, miners and traders gather in Hong Kong for LME Week Asia, sulphuric acid prices are shaping talks over how low copper concentrate processing fees can go.
Soaring prices for the acid, a byproduct of copper smelting, have buffered Chinese smelters from a collapse in treatment and refining charges, or TC/RCs, the fees miners pay smelters to process copper concentrate into refined metal.
But the new economics is facing a test in the lead-up to mid-year negotiations for annual contracts as China's decision to ban sulphuric acid exports from May leaves prices in some regions softening.
Smelters were already reluctant to lock in negative annual TC/RCs to avoid setting a precedent that would undermine the industry. Falling acid prices are likely to harden that stance, analysts and traders said.
In the last two rounds of talks for annual negotiations, held roughly every six months, miner Antofagasta agreed benchmark-setting processing fees of $0.
China’s sulphuric acid prices were at 1 760 yuan ($258) per metric ton on April 30, down 4.9% week on week, although they were still up 204% year on year, data from information provider Oilchem showed.
Spot treatment charges for imported copper concentrate in China have been negative for 16 months and are still falling, reflecting tight concentrate supply. They stood at minus $86.70/t on April 30, compared with minus $81.60 a week earlier and minus $42.60 a year earlier, data from information provider Argus showed.
Some smelters have been accepting negative charges on a spot basis because they are willing to rely on making money from sulphuric acid for short-term transactions, according to a source involved in miner-smelter negotiations.
Every 100-yuan ($14.64) net profit from one ton of sulphuric acid could offset around a $10 per-ton loss from processing fees, said two analysts on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media.
Smelting a ton of copper produces 3.5 t to 4 t of sulphuric acid.
ACID SHORTAGE THREATENS SOME PRODUCERS
LME Asia Week attendees will also be watching for how the war-induced acid shortage, exacerbated by China's acid export ban, could lead to shortages elsewhere and raise costs for copper producers that use the chemical to leach copper from ore.
“Whether China’s acid export suspension affects smelter run rates and whether acid shortages elsewhere affect leach copper production will be in focus,” said Raghav Jain, who leads copper pricing at Argus.
Around a fifth of global primary refined copper production comes from solvent extraction and electrowinning, or SX-EW, operations, which use sulphuric acid as a leaching reagent, according to the International Copper Study Group.
Large producers have largely been shielded by term contracts and inventories, but smaller miners could face output cuts if shortages worsen, said Anna Xu, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
LME Asia Week kicked off in Hong Kong on Monday.
 "STEEL")
India’s steel sector extended its growth momentum in April 2026, with finished steel consumption rising 8.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 12.99 million tonnes, even as domestic prices recovered across major categories, according to a statement from the Steel Ministry.
The robust demand, driven by construction, infrastructure and manufacturing activity, came alongside a 5.8 per cent increase in crude steel production to 14.09 million tonnes. Finished steel production stood at 13.05 million tonnes, up 3.4 per cent, while hot metal output rose 5.4 per cent. However, pig iron production declined 6 per cent to 0.69 million tonnes.
On the trade front, India remained a marginal net importer during the month, with imports rising sharply by 30.8 per cent to 0.68 million tonnes, outpacing exports, which grew 24.9 per cent to 0.47 million tonnes.
Steel prices showed a broad-based recovery in April. Long steel products such as TMT rebar prices increased about 2.6 per cent month-on-month (M-o-M) and were up 3 per cent Y-o-Y, the first positive annual movement after months of softness. Flat steel prices recorded stronger gains, with hot-rolled (HR) coil prices rising around 6.3 per cent and GP sheet prices up 7.3 per cent M-o-M, reflecting improved demand conditions.
Raw material trends remained mixed but firm. Domestic iron ore prices rose 10-11 per cent M-o-M, while international coking coal prices edged higher, keeping input cost pressures elevated for integrated producers. Scrap prices remained largely stable.
On the capacity front, India’s steelmaking capacity reached about 220 million tonnes per annum in FY26, progressing towards the National Steel Policy target of 300 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2030. Major companies such as SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL and AMNS continued expansion efforts, including Tata Steel’s commissioning of a ₹3,200 crore scrap-based green steel plant in Ludhiana.
The government also highlighted progress under its green steel initiative, with 90 producers across 15 states receiving certification as of March 2026, indicating growing adoption of low-emission steel production.
The ministry said the sector remains well-positioned for sustained growth, supported by infrastructure spending and manufacturing expansion, although challenges from input costs and global trade dynamics persist.
Iron ore futures jumped on Wednesday as China returned from the May Day holiday break, with demand for the steelmaking feedstock expected to pick up in summer as construction activities rebound and blast furnaces resume production.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) was 2.33 per cent higher at 812 yuan ($119.08) a metric ton, as of 0221 GMT.
The benchmark June iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.19 per cent higher at $109.8 a ton.
Steel demand is expected to pick up after the five-day break in China, with blast furnaces likely to resume operations after maintenance during the holidays, Chinese broker Galaxy Futures said in a note on WeChat.
Iron ore prices are also supported by increased volatility in coking coal and coke prices, driven by higher energy demand as summer approaches, Galaxy Futures said, adding that high ore imports and overall weaker steel demand however weighed on price gains.
From April 27 to May 3, iron ore arrivals at 47 Chinese ports increased by 2.15 million tons week-on-week, according to data from consultancy Mysteel.
Although there have been marginal improvements in steel demand over the past two months, it is still on the weaker side as consumption of steel products fell week-on-week, said Liu Huifeng, chief researcher of ferrous metals futures at Donghai Futures.
Although steel prices have rebounded, surging energy and raw material prices are pressuring already declining steel mill margins, he said.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE climbed, with coking coal and coke up 2.57 per cent and 2.04 per cent, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose. Rebar gained 1.25 per cent, hot-rolled coil firmed 1.9 per cent, wire rod spiked 5.26 per cent and stainless steel increased 1.49 per cent.
