Ministry of energy and mineral resources has set US$630 million as value of 10.64% shares of PT Freeport Indonesia, a 63% discount to the price offered by Freeport McMoRan (US$1.7 billion). The government has then asked Freeport to revise down its offer.

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, one of the world’s largest coal producers and traders, sold 48.4 million tons of coal last month, jumped 90.6% from March 2015. Shenhua sold an aggregate of 92.5 million tons of coal in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 27.1% from the same period of 2015.

Gold prices retreated 1.36% to US$1232 per ounce Friday, but still significantly better than average price in the first quarter 2016 and fourth quarter 2015. Newmont fell almost 3% on NYSE, but Freeport McMoRan advanced 1.3%. That means Freeport has surged by 154% from its bottom in early January.

Copper, gauge of global manufacturing industry, has finally returned to above US$5025 per ton in London Metal Exchange (LME), the highest level in two months. Tin, meanwhile, firmed up to US$17475 per ton, while nickel advanced to US$9430 per ton. Shares of metal producers, however, retreated worldwide on profit taking.

WTI crude oil advanced to US$42.74 per barrel in Asian trading of Nymex Thursday (Apr 21) as US output falls for the sixth week. Brent crude also advanced 0.63% to US$46.09 per barrel, the highest level year-to-date. They contributed to further gains of crude palm oil. The benchmark July 2016 contracts of CPO gained RM21 to RM2730 per ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives.

Shares of Freeport McMoRan jumped almost 9% in New York Tuesday (Apr 19), while Anglo American gained 8.5% earlier in London. BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, meanwhile, reported 12% fall in copper production and 9% decline in nickel output for the March 2016 quarter.

The benchmark July 2016 contracts of crude palm oil (CPO) opened closer to RM2700 per ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Tuesday (Apr 19) morning to tracking crude oil and responding lower harvest of FFBs in Indonesia and Malaysia last month.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed China’s coal production of 293.8 million tons last month, down 4.5% from March 2015. That means in the first quarter of 2016, China’s coal output dropped by 5.3% from the corresponding period of 2015. Vietnam’s coal import last month, meanwhile, reached 1.21 million tons, skyrocketing from 395,000 tons in March 2015. These are two promising news for coal market.

Sawit Sumbermas (SSMS) is currently the most ‘valuable’ plantation company listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), valued almost six times equity. The Company reported net profit of Rp561 billion last year, down 22.4% from 2014 due to falling prices of palm oil.