24/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | DEC 24, 2025 ‘Unreasonable’ tin price rally has hit industry: China association BEIJING: A Chinese state-backed industry association said yesterday that the tin industry has taken a hit from the “unreasonable” price rally and it called on investors to resist excessive speculative trading. Tin prices have hit their highest levels in 44 months after a wave of supply disruptions for the material used in circuit-board soldering for products like mobile phones and in electric cars. “The rapid price surge driven by funds has deviated from industry fundamentals, significantly magnifying market risks and harming the global industry chain,” the tin branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said in a statement. It called on all parties in the market to “avoid blindly following the trend” and to “resist speculation that violates the objective laws of the market”. The most-active tin contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit 347,500 yuan (RM200,919) per metric ton on Dec 22, its highest price since April 7, 2022. The benchmark three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange touched its highest since April 19, 2022, at US$43,935 a ton on Dec 19. Shanghai and London prices have risen 12% and 10%, respectively, so far this month. Supply from major producers, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar, has improved with exports of tin ore from Myanmar’s Wa State rising to nearly 1,000 tons, it said, adding that SHFE and LME warehouse stocks have not shown signs of tightness. China’s refined tin output in the first 11 months rose 6.2% from the same year-earlier period, while global tin consumption is expected to grow by 3%, leaving a supply surplus of around 10,000 tons, it said. – Reuters 17

Gold touches record high on safe-haven demand

liquidity conditions could amplify price swings,” said Frank Walbaum, a market analyst at trading and investment platform Naga, noting that gold might remain especially sensitive to geopolitical headlines and shifts in rate expectations. Spot silver advanced 0.6% to US$69.44 per ounce after touching a record high of US$69.98, with its year-to-date gains topping 141% and outpacing gold on supply deficits, industrial demand, and investment inflows. Some consolidation was possible over the festive period as liquidity thinned, said Michael Brown, a senior strategist at Pepperstone. He, however, said the rally should resume in earnest once volumes returned, with the US$5,000 level a natural target for gold next year and the US$75 mark a longer-term objective for silver. Spot platinum jumped 2.2% to US$2,167.25, its highest in more than 17 years, while palladium rose 2.5% to a three-year high of US$1,803.91, tracking strength in gold and silver. – Reuters The feature, introduced by Apple in 2021, requires apps to obtain user consent through a pop-up window before tracking their activity across other apps and websites. If they decline, the app loses access to information on that user which enables ad targeting. Critics have accused Apple of using the system to promote its own advertising services while restricting competitors. Apple in its statement said its privacy rules “have been embraced by our customers and praised by privacy advocates and data protection authorities around the world”. – AFP

at KCM Trade, adding that gold had surged this week as part of a broader positioning shift with US interest rates projected to ease further. Waterer said buyers continued to see precious metals as an effective way to diversify portfolios and preserve value, adding that “I don’t think we are at the high watermark yet for gold or silver”. US President Donald Trump last week announced a “blockade” of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. Further support for gold came from reports that Trump could name a new Federal Reserve Chair by early January, with markets pricing in two rate cuts for next year amid expectations of a more dovish policy stance. Bullion, a classic refuge in times of geopolitical and economic unease, has surged more than 70% so far this year, riding a potent mix of geopolitical risks, rate-cut bets, central bank buying, de-dollarisation, and renewed exchange-traded fund inflows. “With year-end approaching, thinner

o Silver climbs to new peak, outpaces ‘more expensive cousin’ with 141% YTD gain NEW YORK: Gold touched a record high yesterday, coming within a whisker of breaching the key US$4,500 per ounce level, as investors flocked to the safe-haven metal amid US-Venezuela tensions, while silver also rallied to an all-time peak. Spot gold rose 0.7% to US$4,476.15 per ounce, as of 0637 GMT (2.37pm in Malaysia), after hitting a record US$4,497.55 earlier in the session. US gold futures for February delivery rose 0.9% to US$4,509.80. “US-Venezuelan tensions are keeping gold on the radar for investors as an uncertainty hedge,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst

Italy fines Apple €98 million over app privacy feature ROME: Italy’s competition authority said on Monday it had fined the US tech giant Apple €98 million (RM467 million) for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the mobile app market. investigation had established the “restrictive nature” of the “privacy rules imposed by Apple ... on third-party developers of apps distributed through the App Store”.

The rules of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) “are imposed unilaterally and harm the interests of Apple’s commercial partners”, according to the AGCM statement. French antitrust authorities earlier this year handed Apple a €150 million fine over its app tracking privacy feature. Authorities elsewhere in Europe have also opened similar probes over ATT, which Apple promotes as a privacy safeguard.

The AGCM said in a statement that Apple had violated privacy regulations for third-party developers in a market where it “holds a super-dominant position through its App Store”. Apple said it would appeal the decision and defended its “strong privacy protections for our users”. But Italy’s antitrust body said its

Oil slips as market weighs geopolitical risks versus bearish fundamentals SINGAPORE: Oil prices slipped yesterday as traders weighed geopolitical risks against bearish fundamentals, after the US signalled it might sell the Venezuelan crude it has seized while Ukraine’s attacks on Russian vessels and piers heightened fears of supply disruption. traders weigh the geopolitical risks against forecasts of ample supply in early 2026, leaving prices potentially sensitive to any prolonged disruptions.

On Monday, President Donald Trump said the US might keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks, amid his pressure campaign on Venezuela, which includes a “blockade” of oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving the country. “It is true that even if Venezuelan oil exports were to fall to zero over the near term, oil markets will likely still be well supplied in the first half of 2026,” Barclays said in a note dated Monday. However, Barclays estimates the global oil surplus will shrink to just 700,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2026, and a prolonged disruption could tighten the market further, depleting recent inventory builds. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine waged attacks on each other’s facilities on the Black Sea, a vital export route for both countries. Russian forces struck Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa late on Monday and damaged port facilities and a ship, in the second attack on the region in less than 24 hours. A Ukrainian drone attack damaged two vessels, two piers and

Brent crude futures edged lower by 13 cents, or 0.2%, to US$61.94 per barrel by 0720 GMT (3.30pm in Malaysia). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude eased 14 cents, or 0.2%, to US$57.87 a barrel. On Monday, prices rose over 2% with Brent posting its best daily performance in two months and WTI climbing the most since November 14. “Crude oil markets are grinding through the final weeks of 2025 with prices largely subdued, reflecting a tug-of-war between persistent bearish fundamentals and intermittent bullish headlines,” Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova, said in a note. While prices have shown modest rebounds on geopolitical headlines throughout 2025, the broader narrative points to a balance of sluggish demand and oversupply, she said. “Overall, the trend remains weak as structural supply concerns eclipse short-lived risk-off rallies.” But markets are cautious as

A drone view shows the building of the Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro. – REUTERSPIC

sparked a fire in a village in Russia’s Krasnodar region, regional authorities said on Monday.

Ukraine has also targeted Russia’s maritime logistics, focusing on shadow-fleet oil tankers that

attempt to bypass sanctions on Russia over the nearly four-year war. – Reuters