London Metal Exchange stocks: lead down 900 tonnes, nickel down 300 tonnes, zinc up 1,550 tonnes, copper up 775 tonnes, aluminium down 400 tonnes, tin down 75 tonnes.

Xi Jinping will make a state visit to the United States from Sept. 23 to 25.

Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said some LNG facilities could resume operations within weeks of the Strait of Hormuz reopening, but widespread damage from an Iranian attack will limit output for years. The strike on Ras Laffan, one of the world’s largest LNG hubs, forced Qatar to suspend production earlier this year and knocked about 17 pct of capacity offline; Qatar had been one of the top three global LNG exporters alongside the US and Australia before the conflict. Al-Kaabi said damaged gas-to-liquids facilities are expected to be repaired by Q1 2027, while rebuilding two damaged LNG trains could take up to three years.