Egyptian fertilizers companies halt operations after Israeli gas imports drop, sources

CAIRO, June 13 (Reuters) - Egyptian fertilizers companies halted operations on Friday morning, industry sources told Reuters, due to a drop in gas imports from Israel.
They said the gas import decline was caused by the suspension of operations at major Israeli gas fields resulting from tensions between Israel and Iran.

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Daily Mail​

35 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Going for gold - should the 'new dollar' be your next investment?

The fast-mounting tensions in the Middle East are fuelling the ascent of gold. The price hit $3,389 an ounce this week – 30 per cent higher than at the start of the year, and 185 per cent above its level of a decade ago. The metal is being called 'the new dollar' since it is supplanting the US currency as the place to seek shelter in tough times. This new status suggests that maybe you should make some room for gold in your portfolio, particularly if you are apprehensive about the outlook for inflation. Meanwhile, even if you have already joined the gold rush of 2025, it is worth taking a look at the other precious metals whose values are being propelled by the view that gold is the safe haven of our era. The price of silver is up by 29 per cent since January, while platinum has soared by 39 per cent to $1,312. Silver is used in batteries and solar panels. The demand from platinum is coming from the jewellery industry, particularly in China. This metal is also needed for the catalytic converters on hybrid and petrol cars. Precious metals are having a moment. But will it turn into a long-term trend? Here's what you need to know. WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE GOLD PRICE? In the short-term, any worsening of the hostilities between Israel and Iran may spur further gold price rises. Goldman Sachs expects the price to increase to $3,700 by Christmas, and to $4,000 by the summer of 2026. Citigroup is almost a lone pessimist, forecasting a retreat to about $2,600 by Christmas next year. By contrast, the arch-optimists see bullion hitting $5,000 by the end of the decade. Earlier in the year, the fears that Donald Trump would impose tariffs on the import of gold to the US gave the price a fillip. This did not materialise. But a gold spending spree at central banks is now fuelling the metal's ascent. These institutions, whose key responsibility is to ensure the financial stability of their nation's, are buying 80 metric tonnes of gold a month which is worth about $8.5billion. US dollars still make up about 46 per cent of these banks' reserves, but gold accounts for about 20 per cent, having overtaken the euro, as data released this month reveals. Secrecy covers which central banks are buying. But it is clear that some nations, such as China, are playing catch up. China's holdings may be at the highest ever, but just 10 per cent of its reserves are in gold, by contrast with France, German, Italy and the US where the share is closer to 70 per cent. In the UK, the percentage is under 20 per cent, following the sale by then Chancellor Gordon Brown in 1999 of about half of the stockpile stashed in the Bank of England. At the time, the price was about $298. Through its gold purchases, China is seeking to bolster the credibility of its currency, the yuan. But, like other nations, it is engaged in 'de-dollarisation' that is lessening dependence on the US currency. In some emerging market nations, this shift is being driven by anti-American sentiment. But it is also a policy prompted by pragmatism, with fears that there could be more 'weaponisation' of the dollar. US sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and its exclusion from the Swift international payment system rendered that country's dollar reserves worthless. Central banks view moving more into gold as way to swerve such a fate. They are also alarmed by the size of US debts. But this anxiety has yet to reach a pitch that would precipitate a frenzied investment in gold. James Luke of asset manager Schroders says: 'The fiscal frog continues to boil slowly, for now.' This is a reference to the adage that people tend to wake up too late to the progressively increasing risks of a situation in the same way that a hapless frog seems not to be conscious that the temperature of water is becoming ever hotter. Even if there is no sudden upward surge, central banks seem set to keep going for gold, limiting the amount available for trading and so putting a floor under price falls. Lina Thomas of investment bank Goldman Sachs says: 'The long-run bull story for gold is that central banks are buying large amounts of it. We expect that to continue for at least another three years.' SHOULD YOU GO FOR GOLD? Despite the predictions that the gold price will remain strong, some investors will never get into the metal because it does not provide an income – and because they regard it as fundamentally uninteresting. As the legendary US investor Warren Buffett has said, gold 'doesn't do anything but sit there and look at you'. Even if you are unconcerned by the lack of a yield and also of excitement, it would still be unwise to commit more than 5pc of your portfolio to the metal. You also need to ponder your strategy. If you are drawn to the look of gold, with its beguiling lustre, you may be interested in acquiring a bar, a coin or an ingot. A one kilogramme gold bar will set you back about £82,000 at Sharps Pixley, the bullion dealer in St James's Street, London, although smaller, much less expensive versions are available. The Royal Mint has also options for most budgets. Its website is a mine of information on every aspect of gold. But do not overlook the practical issues such as storage – in a secure vault. Holding physical gold through low-cost exchange traded commodity (ETC) fund is simpler, if more prosaic. These funds track the price of the metal by owning bullion, which is safely stashed in vaults. The investor platform best-buy options include iShares Physical Gold, which opts for responsibly-sourced gold. This column highlighted this fund in February, when the metal's price was about $2,900, and it became my choice for a first foray into gold. For me, gold jewellery is an adornment, rather than an investment. Funds that hold gold mining shares are a more complex proposition. The profits of these companies gain an extra boost from upward moves in the gold price since their overheads are fixed. But they face other challenges, like the cost of borrowing and possible political intervention. For example, the authorities in Mali have taken control of Barrick Gold's mine in that country following a dispute. The mine accounts for 14 per cent of the output of Barrick, a Canadian group. If you are prepared for such eventualities, the gold mining company funds that appear on the platforms' best buy lists include BlackRock World Mining and Ninety One Global Gold. Ninety One Global Gold has stakes in the big mining names like Newmont, Northern Star, Alamos Gold and AngloGold Ashanti. The $64.81billion Colorado-based Newmont is the world's largest name in its field. As always, it is wise to check whether you already have exposure to gold through funds and trusts that aim for capital protection. Personal Assets, Ruffer and Troy Trojan all have a slug of gold. If you are ready for an adventure in the world of metals, Ben Yearsley of Fairview Investing suggests Amati Strategic Metals which invests in gold, silver platinum, but also copper, manganese and rare earth metals. The fund's top holding is Fresnillo, the Mexican gold and silver mining group whose shares have jumped by 117 per cent since January. This rise may not continue. But it is a sign that this is a sector which you cannot afford to ignore.

BreakingNews.ie

an hour ago

• BreakingNews.ie

Israel and Iran trade fire as Europe's diplomatic effort yields no breakthrough

Israel and Iran have traded strikes a week into their war as President Donald Trump weighed US military involvement and key European ministers met Iran's top diplomat in Geneva in a scramble to de-escalate the conflict. But the first face-to-face meeting between western and Iranian officials in the week-long war concluded after four hours with no sign of an immediate breakthrough. Advertisement To give diplomacy a chance, Mr Trump said he would put off deciding for up to two weeks whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran. US participation would most likely involve strikes against Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility, considered to be out of reach to all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. Whether or not the US joins, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue 'for as long as it takes' to eliminate what he called the existential threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Israel's top general echoed the warning, saying the Israeli military was ready 'for a prolonged campaign'. As the talks ended in Switzerland, European negotiators expressed hope for more negotiations in the future. Iran's top diplomat said he was open to further dialogue. Advertisement But foreign minister Abbas Araghchi emphasised that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets in Iran early Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities. 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes,' he said in a statement. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Mr Trump pulled the US unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% – a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% – and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Advertisement As negotiations kicked off in Geneva, Iranian missiles crashed into the northern city of Haifa, sending plumes of smoke billowing over the Mediterranean port and wounding at least 31 people. The war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Advertisement 'I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,' said Rafael Grossi, chief of the UN nuclear watchdog. 'This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.' Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (Hassan Ammar/AP) Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor south-west of the capital. Mr Grossi has warned repeatedly that such sites should not be military targets. After initially saying there was no damage visible from Israel's strikes on Thursday on the Arak heavy water reactor, the IAEA on Friday reported that 'key buildings at the facility were damaged', including the distillation unit. Advertisement The reactor was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so the damage posed no risk of contamination, the watchdog said. Although strikes on uranium enrichment facilities can carry some risk of radiological and chemical contamination, the chance of a serious incident is far lower than at reactors such as the Russian-built Bushehr power plant. After a call with Mr Netanyahu, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has secured Israel's promise to keep Russian workers at the plant out of harm's way. Smoke rises from the Soroka hospital complex (Leo Correa/AP) Iran has long maintained its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. But it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons programme but has never acknowledged it. Dozens of Israeli warplanes struck targets across the country early Friday, including industrial sites in the north, missile storage and launchers in the west and the headquarters of an advanced research institute in Tehran, known by its acronym SPND. The US alleges SPND has conducted research and testing that could be applicable to the development of nuclear explosive devices. Iranian state media reported explosions from Israeli strikes in an industrial area of Rasht, along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Israel's military had warned the public to evacuate the area around Rasht's Industrial City, south-west of the city's downtown. But with Iran's internet shut off – now for more than 48 hours – it's unclear just how many people could see the message. While praising the Israeli military's 'significant achievements' in the conflict with Iran, army Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir warned that 'difficult days still lie ahead'. 'We are preparing for a wide range of possible developments,' he told the public in recorded remarks, describing the offensive against Iran as the most complex in Israeli history. 'The campaign is not over.' Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war would last 'as long as it takes' (Jack Guez/AP) From the ruins of the Weizmann Institute of Science hit in an Iranian missile barrage this week, Mr Netanyahu also vowed that Israel would fight as long as necessary to destroy Iran's nuclear programme and ballistic missile arsenal. 'We face an existential danger,' he said. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the 35 missiles that Israel said Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's vaunted aerial defence system, setting off air-raid sirens across the country and sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, a frequent target of Iranian missiles where a hospital was hit on Thursday. A handful of cars were set ablaze in the attack but no one was seriously wounded, as residents had hunkered down in bomb shelters. The Israeli military said Iran had fired a missile rigged with fragmenting cluster munitions in its attack on Beersheba on Friday for the second time. In northern Israel, a projectile fell in downtown Haifa, wounding at least 31 people, according to the city's Rambam Medical Centre. Black smoke rose over the city's main port. The windows and walls of several buildings, including a mosque, were blown out by the blast.

Reuters

2 hours ago

• Reuters

Oil hedging volumes hit new records as US producers rush to lock in soaring prices

HOUSTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Israel's surprise attack on Iran last week had oil prices spiking which sent U.S. producers scrambling to lock in the price gain, driving record hedging volumes that will help shield them from future price swings. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose further this week, closing on Friday at around $75 a barrel. This prompted U.S. producers to secure additional price gains through 2026, having already driven hedging activity on the Aegis Hedging platform to a record high last Friday. Aegis Hedging, which handles hedging for roughly 25-30% of U.S. output, according to internal estimates, saw a record volume and greatest number of trades done on its trading platform on June 13. The U.S. produces some 13.56 million barrels per day of oil, according to the latest government figures. U.S. crude futures jumped 7% on June 13 to around $73 a barrel, after Israel struck Iran, the largest single day rise since July 2022. Prices had been hovering under where many producers would opt to hedge, hitting a four-year low of $57 a barrel in May as OPEC+ started hiking output while U.S. President Donald Trump waged a trade war. The jump on June 13 gave traders an opportunity to lock in prices for their barrels not seen in several weeks. When prices react to risk-related events - such as Israel's attack on Iran - as opposed to supply-and-demand fundamentals, the front of the oil futures curve rises more than later contracts, influencing whether producers opt for short- or long-term hedging strategies, according to Aegis Hedging. "In this case it was probably a six-month effect," said Matt Marshall, president of Aegis Hedging. Oil producers need a price of $65 a barrel on average to profitably drill, according to the first quarter 2025 Dallas Federal Reserve Survey. U.S. crude futures closed below $65 every day from April 4 to June 9, according to LSEG. "We stay disciplined and pay close attention to market volatility. We watch for accretive pricing to our existing hedges and layer in hedges to reduce risk to our asset revenue as well as meet our reserve-based lending covenants," said Rhett Bennett, chief executive at Black Mountain Energy, a producer with operations in the Permian Basin. A reserve-based lending covenant refers to a type of loan producers can obtain, based on the value of the company's oil and gas reserves. "Producers recognized that this could be a fleeting issue and so they saw a price that was above their budget for the first time in a few months, and instead of doing a structure that would give them a floor which is below market, they opted to be aggressive and lock in," said Aegis' Marshall. Aegis' customers often have hedging policies in which a certain amount of production must be hedged by a certain time in the year. "Producers had two months of hedges that they needed to catch up on," Aegis' Marshall said. Traders on June 13 exchanged the most $80 West Texas Intermediate crude oil call options since January on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, expecting more upside to prices. A total of 33,411 contracts of August-2025 $80 call options for WTI crude oil were traded that day on a total trading volume of 681,000 contracts, marking the highest volume for these options this year, according to CME Group data.