Materials in mixed session as Trump order hits critical minerals and coal producers
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The news: Australia's largest miners experienced a mixed session after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost US production of critical minerals, and potentially coal, as part of efforts to make the country less reliant on overseas imports.
The numbers: Coal miners New Hope (-2.6%), Whitehaven (-2.6%) and Yancoal (-1.6%) were all trading lower by 2pm AEDT.
Miners of critical minerals, Liontown Resources (-5%), Pilbara Minerals (-4.1%) and South32 (-3.2%) also dropped.
But iron ore giants Rio Tinto (1.2%) and BHP (1%) were up, as Fortescue traded flat.
And Genesis Minerals (4.2%), Westgold Resources (1.9%) and Regis Resources (1.1%) led a rally by gold producers, after bullion held near Thursday's all-time record high of USD3,057.49 an ounce.
The materials sector lifted 0.3%, reversing a 0.5% decline in early trade, as the ASX 200 index rose 0.5%.
The context: On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order to drive financing, loans and other investment support to domestically process critical minerals and rare earth elements.
The US International Development Finance Corporation, working with the Department of Defense, will provide financing for new mineral production projects, Bloomberg reported.
The order also encourages faster permitting for mining and processing projects and a directive for the Interior Department to prioritise mineral production on federal land.
