VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Iron ore futures rose on Wednesday in a bargain-buying bounce from a slump in previous sessions after investors stayed on the sidelines following China's state planner's decision to clamp down on excessive market speculation.

The most-traded May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended day-time trade 0.9% higher at 841.5 yuan ($124.27) a tonne.

On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark February iron ore was up 0.7% at $121.40 a tonne, as of 0703 GMT.

China's state planner issued on Wednesday its third warning this month against excessive speculation in iron ore, adding that it will increase supervision of the country's spot and futures markets.

The outcome of Tuesday's meeting lacked any real teeth, so markets have assimilated it and moved on. In fact, some traders are using these events as a "buy the dip" opportunity, said Atilla Widnell, managing director of Navigate Commodities.

China's property sector fell 5.1% in 2022 from a year earlier, value-added data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday, heaping more pressure on policymakers to revive the sluggish sector in 2023.

Brazil's CSN Mineracao SA (CMIN3.SA) said on Tuesday it has reached a deal for a long-term supply of iron ore to Swiss trader Glencore.

The most-active rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 1.5%, hot-rolled coil rose 1.5%, wire rod edged 0.9% higher, and stainless steel gained 0.4%.

During 2023, crude steel production will continue to be affected by the Chinese central government's determination to ensure that steel output remains flat or below the previous year's total, according to Mysteel consultancy.

Dalian coking coal and coke rose 2% and 1.4%, respectively.

Coronado Global Resources (CRN.AX), which has not typically sold Australian coking coal to China, has received enquiries for long-term supply as Beijing lifts its unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia, its chief executive said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

The United States and Taiwan concluded four days of trade negotiations on Monday and reached consensus on several areas related to trade facilitation, anti-corruption, small and medium-sized enterprises and regulatory practices, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said.

The first major negotiating round of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade saw the two sides exchange texts on those areas in Taipei, the office said in a statement.

"Officials also reached consensus in a number of areas and pledged to maintain an ambitious negotiating schedule in the months ahead to continue this momentum," the statement said.

Taiwan's top trade negotiator, John Deng, told reporters in Taipei he was "quite satisfied" with the outcome of the meetings.

"Both parties are willing to speed up the process," he said. "There is a high degree of ambition and I hope there will be considerable results this year."

The talks, which do not include tariff reductions or traditional market access enhancements, aim to reach agreements with "economically meaningful" outcomes and will include discussions on China's "economic coercion," Deng said last year.

Taiwan has also applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, and Deng said an agreement with the United States could help with that bid.

"If an agreement can be successfully signed with the United States, it will also be proof that Taiwan is capable and willing to accept high standards, which will be of considerable help to Taiwan's membership in the CPTPP," Deng said.

Taiwan last year was excluded from a broader U.S. trade initiative covering Indo-Pacific countries, the Indo Pacific Economic Framework, that also focuses on non-tariff issues.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office (USTR) said the trade texts exchanged during the Taipei negotiating round "follow through on the two sides' shared commitment to pursue a high-ambition trade initiative" that would "strengthen and deepen economic and trade ties."

The USTR statement did not include a date for the next round of negotiations, saying that this would be revealed.

Any agreements reached between the United States and Taiwan would not need approval from the U.S. Congress, but USTR said congressional staff attended the meetings and were briefed throughout the talks.

Despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, the United States has been eager to bolster support for Taiwan, especially as it faces stepped-up political pressure from China to accept its sovereignty claims.

China has expressed strong opposition to the new Taiwan-U.S. trade initiative. (Reuters)

 Pacific island nations are urging Japan to delay the release of water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant over fears fisheries will be contaminated, the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) said on Wednesday.

The Japanese government said last week that water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant could be released into the sea "around this spring or summer," raising concerns from island nations still grappling with the legacy of nuclear testing decades ago.

Japan had approved the future release of more than 1 million tonnes of water from the site into the ocean after treatment in April 2021.

The PIF, a regional bloc of 17 island nations, argues the release of the water could have a major impact on fishing grounds that island economies rely on, and where up to half of the world's tuna is sourced.

"Our region is steadfast that there be no discharge until all parties verify it is safe," PIF Secretary General Henry Puna said on Wednesday at a livestreamed public meeting in Suva, Fiji.

"We must prevent action that will lead or mislead us towards another major nuclear contamination disaster at the hands of others," he added, saying Pacific islanders continued to endure the long-term impacts of the nuclear testing legacy on a daily basis.

The United States conducted nuclear testing in the Pacific islands in the 1940s and 1950s and the Marshall Islands continues to campaign for more compensation from Washington over lasting health and environmental effects.

France conducted atomic testing between 1966 and 1996 at Mururoa Atoll in French Pacific territories.

Ken Buesseler, a scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, told the forum on Wednesday that a PIF scientific expert panel was urging Japan to reconsider the waste release because it was not supported by data and more information was needed.

Radioctivity moves across the ocean with currents and tides and risks contaminating fish, he said.

Japan's foreign ministry has previously said that regulators deemed it safe to release the water, which would be filtered to remove most isotopes but would still contain traces of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen hard to separate from water. (Reuters)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr expects the domestic economy to grow around 7% this year, saying strong fundamentals, prudent fiscal management and reforms in key sectors will cushion against risks from a potential global recession.

The Southeast Asian country, which will announce its 2022 economic performance on Jan. 26, also expects last year's gross domestic product growth to be faster than the 6.5%-7.5% target.

"Our strong macroeconomic fundamentals, fiscal discipline, structural reforms and liberalisation of key sectors instituted over the years have enabled us to withstand the negative shocks caused by the pandemic and succeeding economic downturns and map a route toward a strong recovery," Marcos was quoted as saying in a statement his office issued on Wednesday.

Marcos was in Davos, Switzerland this week for the World Economic Forum, accompanied by his economic team and several Philippine business executives. There he met with potential investors to seek support for his infrastructure development programme.

Pent-up domestic demand following the removal of pandemic restrictions propped up economic growth last year and will continue supporting consumer spending this year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla said on Jan. 10.

"Our actual projection is 6.5 (percent for 2023) but there are signs that we might be able to surpass that," Marcos said in Davos, where he also presented his proposed sovereign wealth fund to potential investors.

Critics have raised concerns over the transparency and governance of the wealth fund, which has been approved by the House of Representatives, and is pending deliberation in the Senate.

Under the bill, state lenders Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines would provide a total 75 billion pesos ($1.37 billion) for initial capital, while the central bank will contribute subsequently through dividends. (Reuters)