Miners lead ASX 200 gains as rare earths rally continues
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The news: Australian miners extended gains from Monday, as renewed US-China tensions saw investors turn to strategic minerals and safe-haven gold.
The numbers: The mining sectoral index was up 2.3% at 1:00pm AEDT as the benchmark ASX 200 lowered 0.1%.
Rare earths and critical minerals miners Iluka Resources (+12.6%) and Lynas Rare Earths (+6.5%) were among the strongest performers for the second straight session, after China announced it would introduce new export controls on the materials last week.
Uranium miners Deep Yellow (+10.4%), Boss Energy (+7.8%) and Paladin Energy (+7.7%) also rallied, as did gold miners Catalyst Metals (+13.7%), Genesis Minerals (+6.7%) and Westgold Resources (+5.1%).
Iron ore heavyweights Rio Tinto (+2.4%), BHP (+2.3%) and Fortescue (+1.7%) were also higher.
The context: The continued surge in rare earths came after China’s Ministry of Commerce expanded export restrictions on certain rare earth minerals, boosting bets on alternative suppliers.
In retaliation, Trump announced an additional 100% tariff rate on all Chinese exports and threatened to cancel a meeting with Xi in South Korea at the end of October.
What they said: However, Trump has since softened his tone, posting on Truth Social: "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi [Jinping] just had a bad moment. He doesn't want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!"
The source: Bloomberg
