Wealthion Macro Bites 5-7
While the U.S. awaits Iranian response to its recent ceasefire proposal, Israel’s IDF confirmed the killing of Hezbollah Radwan Special Forces Commander Ahmad Ghaleb Balout in a precision Beirut strike. Separately, NBC reports President Trump paused the Project Freedom plan to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz just 36 hours after announced on Truth Social because the plan angered Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman (who were not consulted), with Saudi Arabia informing Washington it would not permit U.S. military aircraft to operate from the critical Prince Sultan Airbase or use Saudi airspace in support of the mission.
The International Renewable Energy Agency published a new report (24/7 Renewables: The Economics of Firm Solar and Wind) stating that round‑the‑clock solar and wind paired with battery storage now deliver power at lower cost than new fossil fuel generation in high‑quality resource regions. Firm levelized costs of electricity for solar-plus-storage range from $54/MWh to $82/MWh in high-irradiance regions (from $100MWh in ’20), compared with $85/MWh for new coal in China and more than $100/MWh for new gas globally. Since 2010, total installed costs have declined by 87% for solar and 55% for onshore wind, while battery storage costs have fallen 93%. IRENA expects costs to decline an additional 30% by 2030 and 40% by 2035.
LME CEO Matthew Chamberlain announced the Exchange is seeking to expand its network of approved Hong Kong warehouses after licensing 15 in 2025 with capacity for 24,000t of copper, tin and zinc. Chamberlain stated LME is examining “how we can really open this up and hopefully get from tens of thousands of tons to hundreds of thousands of tons, which we know would be the natural demand here.”
Indonesia Energy and Mineral Resource Minister Bahlil Lahadalia announced Indonesia and the Philippines will discuss nickel cooperation during President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Cebu later this week. Indonesia plans to request more nickel imports from the Philippines for its domestic smelters when they face shortages from domestic miners. The two countries will also discuss cooperation on the development of technology and exchange of information.
Trafigura, the Egyptian Aluminum Company and Metallurgical Industries Holding Company plan to establish a joint-venture company that will build, own and operate a 330kt/y primary aluminum smelter and a 150kt/y anode plant at Egyptalum’s Nag Hammadi complex.
Euro Stoxx 50, S&P futures and Nasdaq futures little changed. European bonds tiocking higher with yields declining 2bp-3ps across the board. DXY dollar index -0.1%, spot gold +1.0% and spot silver +4.5%. Brent futures -3.0% ($98.20) and WTI futures -3.2% ($92.07). [8am ET] U.S employment report Friday @ 8:30 am (est. payrolls +65k and 4.3% unemployment rate).
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