LME copper next-day spread hit $110, the highest level since 2021.

Aug. 18 — Tianwan nuclear plant unit 7 in Lianyungang, Jiangsu completed initial fuel loading and has entered fueled commissioning, advancing toward reactor criticality, grid connection and commercial operation. Units 7 and 8 under construction are 1.265 GW each with a 60‑year design life; the project targets commercial operation in 2026 and 2027 respectively. Tianwan plans eight units in total; units 1–6 are already operational and have supplied over 500 billion kWh. With all eight online, total capacity will exceed 9 GW, annual output about 70 billion kWh and CO2 emissions would be cut by roughly 57.4 million tonnes per year.

South Korea denied a report that Seoul and Washington had discussed naming semiconductors as Seoul’s first strategic investment in the United States. The presidential office said Tuesday the claim “is not true” and gave no details on any investment talks with Washington. Korea JoongAng had reported Seoul’s planned announcement of a first US investment later this month was uncertain after Washington reportedly sought Korean investment in US memory-chip facilities; the request was said to dominate a closed-door trade meeting on Aug. 13. Attendees told the paper Seoul had initially prioritized energy for its first major US investment and viewed investing in US memory-chip plants as unrealistic given commitments by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix of at least $880 billion to build chips and data centers.