Australia's most valuable export, iron ore, is getting much less valuable
Iron ore is Australia's most valuable export, but declining demand from Chinese steel mills and trade uncertainty are combining with growing global production to send prices lower.
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The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
China's Xi in Kazakhstan to cement Central Asia ties
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Central Asian leaders at a summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, his second trip to the region in under a year as Beijing competes with Russia for influence there. The summit in Astana brings together Xi -- who arrived in the Kazakh capital on Monday -- and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Under Russia's orbit until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five countries of Central Asia have courted interest from major powers including China and the United States since becoming independent. The region is rich in natural resources and strategically located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. In a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Tuesday, Xi called for the two countries to "scale up trade and investment and expand cooperation in emerging sectors", Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. The two sides should "advance high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and foster new drivers of growth in clean energy, green minerals and artificial intelligence", Xi reportedly said. In talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Xi said Beijing "firmly supports Tajikistan in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and security", according to Xinhua. The Chinese leader also held talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, according to Beijing's state media. While Central Asian leaders continue to view Russia as a strategic partner, ties with Moscow have loosened since the war in Ukraine. The five nations are taking advantage of the growing interest in their region and coordinating their foreign policies. They regularly hold summits with China and Russia to present the region as a unified bloc and attract investment. High-level "5+1" format talks have also been organised with the European Union, the United States, Turkey and other Western countries. "The countries of the region are balancing between different centres of power, wanting to protect themselves from excessive dependence on one partner," Kyrgyz political scientist Nargiza Muratalieva told AFP. - Biggest trade partner - Russia says China's growing influence in the region does not pose a threat. "There is no reason for such fears. China is our privileged strategic partner, and the countries of Central Asia, naturally, are our natural historical partners," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. But China has now established itself as Central Asia's leading trading partner, far outstripping the EU and Russia. Central Asia is also an important target for China in its Belt and Road initiative -- which uses huge infrastructure investments as a political and diplomatic lever. Construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway and the China-Tajikistan highway, which runs through the Pamir Mountains to Afghanistan, are among the planned investments. New border crossings and "dry ports" have already been built to process trade, such as Khorgos in Kazakhstan, one of the largest logistics hubs in the world. "Neither Russia nor Western institutions are capable of allocating financial resources for infrastructure so quickly and on such a large scale, sometimes bypassing transparent procedures," said Muratalieva. Kazakhstan said last week that Russia would lead the construction of its first nuclear power plant but that it wanted China to build the second. "Central Asia is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, uranium, gold and other minerals that the rapidly developing Chinese economy needs," Muratalieva said. "Ensuring uninterrupted supplies of these resources, bypassing unstable sea routes, is an important goal of Beijing," the analyst added. - Human rights - China also positions itself as a supporter of the predominantly authoritarian Central Asian leaderships. At the last Central Asia-China summit, Xi called for "resisting external interference" that might provoke "colour revolutions" that could overthrow the current leaders in the region. "Beijing sees the stability of the Central Asian states as a guarantee of the security of its western borders," Muratalieva said. Central Asia border's China's northwestern Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of having detained more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims, part of a campaign the UN has said could constitute "crimes against humanity". burs-mjw/je/jhb
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
ASX flat on Tuesday as Iran/Israel conflicts leaves investors wary
Nervous investors continued to watch the fallout from the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, leading to a cautious trading day on the Australian share market on Tuesday. The benchmark ASX 200 index practically traded flat, losing just 7.10 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 8,541.30. The broader All Ordinaries also slipped 3.90 points or 0.04 per cent to 8,771.10. The Aussie dollar is trading near US65.31c. Initially markets jumped on the opening bell before the Australian market dragged lower in line with US and Europe futures as US President Donald Trump urged people to leave the Iran capital of Tehran. Mr Trump issued the chilling warning to everyone in Tehran to 'immediately evacuate' in a post made on his social media platform Truth Social. 'Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life,' Mr Trump wrote. Futures markets in the US slid, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.32 per cent, while the S & P 500 futures dropped 0.34 per cent, and the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures dipped nearly 0.4 per cent. On the local bourse, seven of the 11 sectors finished in the red paring back some of the early gains. Gold miners were the bright spot on the market for a second day running with Northern Star Resources gaining 1.50 per cent to $20.99, Newmont Corporation added 2.49 per cent to $89.29 and Gold Road Resources finished up 0.60 per cent to $3.38. On the other hand, the market heavyweight financial sector dragged on the market. Commonwealth Bank fell 0.15 per cent to $179.14, NAB slipped 0.36 per cent to $38.80, Westpac slumped 0.54 per cent to $33.01 and ANZ finished in the red down 0.47 per cent to $29.46. The major iron ore miners had a mixed day as the price of the commodity traded flat at $US95.23 per tonne. BHP fell 0.37 per cent to $37.30 and Fortescue Metals slumped 0.38 per cent to $15.66. Bucking the trend was Rio Tinto which eked out a tiny 0.04 per cent gain to close at $107.15. AMP chief economist and head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said the market was following its usual process with history showing falls of around 6 per cent during times of geopolitical uncertainty, before rallying by 15 per cent in the corresponding 12 months. 'The Israel/Iran war along with tariff uncertainty poses a high risk of a renewed set back in share markets, if the conflict escalates to the point that it threatens oil supplies from the Middle East,' Dr Oliver said. 'It should also be remembered that conflicts regularly flare up in the Middle East only to settle down, so the key is not to get too negative and look for any opportunities that the conflict throws up.' In corporate news Santos continued its climb higher adding another 0.5 per cent of $7.80 after soaring more than 11 per cent on Monday after announcing an almost $30bn takeover bid.
Daily Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Lowes heir Josh Penn and Ben Palmer's Point Piper home sells
Lowes heir Josh Penn and his husband Ben Palmer have sold their Wyuna Rd, Point Piper mansion for $23.5m. The couple, with son Brooklyn, 6, and daughter Blake, 4, are now understood to be focusing on renovating the Penn family's palace at Cap 'd'ail in the south of France, where they're intending on spending some time next year. And they're also now debating whether to move to their former Double Bay home, now rebuilt, or to another eastern suburbs mansion they've apparently purchased, that's 'quite substantial'. MORE: Hush-hush sale hits 2025 record MORE:Billionaire chicken heiress's record-breaking sale Penn and Palmer are listed as co-owners on the land title for Capri, the Edwardian residence at 4 Wyuna Rd bought for $16m in 2021, alongside Penn's parents David and Linda Penn who have 70 per cent ownership. But it's now sold via Monika Tu and Jad Khattar of Black Diamonz, with Tom Penfold of Cohen Handler known to have introduced the buyer. There'd initially been hopes of $28m. Penn and Palmer had been living in Capri during the three-year rebuild of their own home at 7 Carlotta Rd, Double Bay, bought for $6.7m in 2020, which is apparently 'incredible' and nearly ready to move into. No clue yet as to the location of this other 'quite substantial' property, which is yet to settle. The Wyuna Rd residence was previously owned by nursing-home scion Mark Moran and his interior decorator wife Evette. The historic home on a 723sqm block had harbour views, an internal lift, multiple balconies, manicured grounds and a pool. Penn and Palmer had initially intended to do major renovations, but ended up doing just landscaping the garden and adding lighting. Their good taste in furniture helped give the home extra zing. Josh Penn and mother Linda, the highly regarded philanthropist and CEO of Lowes Menswear that's worth $800m, recently raised a whopping $84.3m at the recent Gold Dinner for the Sydney Children's Hospital foundation.
