Daily Brief Energy/Materials: Iron Ore, Daido Steel, Nicca Chemical, Nevada King Gold, Panther Metals, Arrow Exploration Corp, Serica Energy, Crude Oil, Gerdau S.A. and more

• Iron ore futures hit a three-week high as shipments fell by 8.3% WoW, but blast furnace shutdowns signal weak demand and limit further upside.
• Managed money participants reduced net long exposure across all futures and options expiries, reflecting a more cautious market stance.
• The DCE-SGX spread has retreated from the upper Bollinger band and slipped below the 9-day MA, indicating softening momentum. 

• Daido Steel (5471 JP) produced FY25 (March year-end) 1H OP [IFRS basis] of ¥18,464mil (+1.1% YoY) on sales of ¥284,499mil (+0.4% YoY).
• Both sales and OP surpassed guidance which called for OP of ¥12,500mil (-31.5% YoY) on sales of ¥275,000mil (-3.0% YoY), thanks primarily to stronger than expected demand for ship engine valves in the open die forging business and despite having incurred about ¥2,300mil of costs related to the Superalloy Manufacturing Process Transformation Project, one of the firm’s ongoing strategic investments in the current MTP.
• The Mid-Term Plan [MTP], which ends in FY26, was revised down to reflect (1) a larger than expected decline in steel product sales volumes, (2) sluggish auto production and weaker than expected industrial machinery-related orders and (3) increasing lack of clarity in the business environment.

• Nicca Chemical is a leading Japanese specialty chemical manufacturer with a dual-pillar business model in Chemicals (surfactants for textiles, paper, etc.) and Cosmetics (professional hair care). The company holds a dominant market share in the domestic textile chemicals sector and is pursuing growth through high-value-added products and overseas expansion, primarily in Asia.
• The company presents an attractive valuation profile, trading at a significant discount to book value and a low P/E ratio. This is complemented by a strong commitment to shareholder returns, evidenced by a robust dividend yield and a remarkable 3-year dividend per share CAGR of over 33%.
• Future growth is expected to be driven by the “INNOVATION25″strategic plan, which focuses on increasing the sales ratio of high-value-added products (Environment, Health, Digital), expanding the cosmetics business, and improving capital efficiency with a focus on raising its price-to-book ratio.

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• Nevada King Gold is a leading gold explorer, focused on the exploration and development of its flagship Atlanta Project in Nevada.
• The Atlanta Project hosts a 1.12Moz resource at an average grade of 1.11 g/t Au, of which 91% is in the Measured and Indicated category.
• Atlanta is aggressively exploring for new resources while progressing towards a PEA.

• 88 Energy Limited 1.08p £12.15m (88E.L) The Australian oil and gas Company advised that on 19 November, its wholly owned subsidiary, Captivate Energy Alaska, Inc., was declared the successful bidder for select acreage in the North Slope Areawide 2025W Oil and Gas Lease Sale.
• The successful bids expand 88 Energy’s operated acreage across two high-potential areas to the east and west of Project Leonis, consistent with the Company’s infrastructure-led and data-driven exploration approach.
• The bid included fourteen new leases secured covering approximately 34,560 acres across two focus areas—South Prudhoe and Kad River East.

• The Canadian focused development and exploration Company raised £656K earlier this month at 60p in a placing and WRAP offer.
• The priority for the use of funds is the Tailings Project at the historic Winston Mine which was operational between 1988 and 1998 in Ontario.
• There is plenty of evidence that there is a significant quantity of valuable minerals in the Tailings which is supported by sample assays showing high grades of gold, gallium, and silver as well as polymetallic zinc and copper.

• Arrow reported 3Q25 production of 4,214 boe/d, broadly in line with our ~4.4 mboe/d expectation.
• The company held US$6.5 mm in cash at end‑September (with no debt), rising to US$8.2 mm by 1 November.
• With only one rig currently in operation, recent drilling success at M‑5 and M‑6, and the imminent contribution from the M‑HZ7 horizontal well, we expect Arrow’s cash position to continue to strengthen.

• Average 3Q25 production was 27.5 mboe/d, comprising 15.4 mboe/d from Bruce, 7.7 mboe/d from Triton, and 4.4 mboe/d from other assets.
• This performance is in line with expectations, given issues at Triton, that are now solved, were previously flagged.
• Production at the Bruce hub is above 20 mboe/d, though output was temporarily curtailed to ~16 mboe/d in October.

• Crude oil futures were moving sideways Thursday as markets entered into a holding pattern amid ongoing talks on the Russia-Ukraine peace deal.
• Front-month Jan26 ICE Brent  futures were trading at  $63.34/b (1930 GMT) versus Wednesday’s settle of $63.13/b, while Jan26 NYMEX WTI  was at  $59.10/b against a previous close of $58.65/b.
• Analysts said that while both Moscow and Kyiv have accepted versions of the US-brokered plan, there are still several key sticking points, particularly regarding Russia’s territorial demands.

• Persistent pricing pressure in Brazil limits margin recovery, while reduced future investments highlight challenges; stronger trade-defense measures will be needed to restore competitiveness.
• North America remains Gerdau’s key earnings driver, supported by tariffs, healthy construction demand, and a resilient balance sheet that underpins credit strength.
• We maintain Neutral, seeing limited spread-compression potential; we find greater value in the 2044s for their yield pickup and see overall valuations close to fair value across the curve.