Key transactions & industry news Weekly Update 07/18/2025

Metals & Mining

Gold set for weekly fall; platinum hits highest in over a decade. Gold prices recently gained, but were on track for a weekly decline on easing concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s independence and strong U.S. data, while platinum rose to a near 11-year high. Spot platinum rose 1% to $1,472.2 per ounce, its highest since August 2014.

Trump’s 50% aluminum tariff pushes Inalum to focus on the local market. The state-owned aluminum smelting firm, PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), has reportedly urged the government to revisit the country’s import strategy to strengthen the local market, in lieu of anticipated reduction in exports to the U.S. due to Donald Trump’s decision of doubling aluminum tariffs from 25% to 50% on May 30, 2025. Inalum, in particular, expects ~30,000 tons of its exports to the U.S. will be affected.

Rio Tinto Q2: Bauxite hits highs, aluminum rises, alumina slips slightly. Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest metals and mining corporation, posted a mixed yet overall strong operational performance in the second quarter of 2025, reporting year-on-year growth across bauxite, alumina, and aluminum production. Bauxite and aluminum output rose both compared to 2Q24 and the previous quarter, while alumina production increased from a year earlier but edged down slightly from 1Q25.

Guinea mandates 50% of bauxite exports to use domestic shipping. Bouna Sylla, Minister of Mines and Geology, stated that at least 50% of all bauxite exports will require shipping under the Guinean flag. This is a clear sign of Guinea’s drive for more value than just raw mineral sales.

World alumina production in May rebounds by 3% M-o-M , but with a dip in daily output. In May 2025, world alumina production recorded a slight rise month-on-month following a slump in April. While total monthly output rose to 12.626 million tons, marking a 3% increase, the daily average slipped slightly from 408,400 tons to 407,300 tons, according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI).

Transportation & Logistics

Higher electricity demand boosts railroad coal carloads. According to data from the Association of American Railroads, three commodities have driven Class I railroad outperformance in 2025: intermodal containers, coal, and grains. Year-to-date, intermodal volume is up 5% compared to the same stretch in 2024; coal is up 6%, and grains are also up 6%.

Trump’s FRA revokes federal funds for California high-speed rail. The Federal Railroad Administration under President Donald Trump has terminated about $4B in unspent federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project.

U.S. freight-rail traffic climbs 2.6% in Week 28. U.S. freight-rail traffic rose 2.6% to 496,188 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending July 12 compared with the traffic in the same week in 2024, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern in merger talks. In a move that could signal the final round of railroad mega-mergers, Union Pacific is in discussions to acquire Norfolk Southern, its smaller eastern rival. The talks are in the early stages, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting anonymous sources.

June produces mixed freight trends, recovery remains ‘elusive’. Freight volumes remained pressured in June, but expenditures stepped higher again on a year-over-year comparison. Uncertainty around trade policy continues to cloud shippers’ decision making, extending an already prolonged freight downturn.

Energy

Oil Gains After EU Slaps New Sanctions on Russia. Oil prices extend gains in afternoon trade after the EU agreed to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, including a revised oil price cap. Brent crude rises 1.7% to $70.71 a barrel, while the U.S. oil gauge is up 1.9% to $67.48 a barrel.

SLB beats quarterly profit estimates on steady oilfield services demand. Top oilfield services firm SLB narrowly beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit, as resilient demand in parts of its international business helped offset drilling slowdown in North America, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

Others

Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding and foreign aid. The House has approved a Trump administration plan to rescind $9B in previously allocated funds, including $1.1B for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — a move that cuts all federal support for NPR, PBS and their member stations — and about $7B in foreign aid.

The U.K. will lower its voting age to 16. Could the U.S. follow suit? The British government says it will introduce legislation to lower the voting age from 18 to 16, as part of a slew of reforms aimed at modernizing U.K. democracy.