EU moves to reduce reliance on China for rare earth supplies

View: Source Europe will on Wednesday unveil a plan to reduce its reliance on China for rare earths and other critical minerals, opening a fresh front in its effort to secure supplies needed for major industries. The initiative, known as RESourceEU, is meant to give the bloc more control over materials that support sectors from energy to defence. The plan, to …

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The Geopolitical Weaponization of Critical Minerals Supply

View: Source Global trade in late 2025 is increasingly defined by the geopolitical weaponization of Critical Minerals (CMs), moving these essential resources from mere commodities to strategic national security assets. The extreme concentration of mining and, crucially, refining capacity for CMs like lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements in a handful of nations has created acute supply chain vulnerabilities for the rest of the world. The Trade-Off: …

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China Launches First Lot of Simpler Rare Earth Export Licences

View: Source Three auto suppliers have received “general licences” designed to ease demand pressure by allowing more exports under year-long permits for customers. China has issued an initial batch of new streamlined rare earth licences, which a source says should speed up exports to certain customers. The move could fulfil a key outcome of the summit in late October between Presidents Donald Trump …

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UBS Lifts Palladium Forecasts as Options Market Signals Ongoing Optimism

View: Source UBS has increased its price outlook for palladium by $50 an ounce across all forecast horizons, saying it expects the metal to remain modestly undersupplied through next year. The bank noted that sentiment in the options market is still leaning positive, although it has drifted closer to neutral compared with earlier in the year. Current implied volatility skews between …

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Silver Hits Record High with 100% Price Increase This Year, Far Outpacing Gold

View: Source Key Takeaways Silver prices rose to record highs for the second consecutive trading day on Monday, driven by tight supply and growing investor demand. Deutsche Bank expects exchange-traded funds’ silver holdings to hit a record high next year as rate cuts boost demand on Wall Street. The price of silver rose to an all-time high on Monday, boosted by …

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Competition Intensifies Over Central Asia’s Rare Earth Elements

View: Source In pursuit of rare earth elements (REEs), U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the leaders of five Central Asian states at the White House on 6 November. China currently controls about 90 percent of global REE processing and, amid its trade conflict with the U.S., expanded export restrictions in October, constricting U.S. access to critical minerals. For an REE-dependent Washington, Central Asia …

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