UBS analysts expect copper prices to rise next year due to reduced supply amid ongoing mine disruptions.
In addition, the rise will be supported by high long-term demand associated with the transition to clean energy and increased investment in this area, the bank said in a statement.
UBS raised its copper price forecast for the end of the first quarter of 2026 by $750 to $11,500 per ton. Expectations for June and September were raised by $1,000 to $12,000 and $12,500 per ton, respectively. Experts also set a target level for December next year at $13,000 per ton.
Analysts now believe that the copper deficit in the global market this year will be about 230,000 tons, compared to the previously expected 53,000 tons, and in 2026 – 407,000 tons, compared to 87,000 tons. In their opinion, declining inventories and ongoing supply risks will keep the market tight.
Disruptions at mines this year, including production problems at Freeport-McMoRan’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia, slower recovery of production in Chile, and recurring protests in Peru, highlight structural supply constraints that are likely to persist until 2026, the bank said in a statement.
Freeport-McMoRan said it plans to resume production at the Grasberg copper and gold mine by July after operations were suspended two months ago due to a fatal accident.
UBS lowered its forecast for refined copper production growth to 1.2% in 2025 and 2.2% next year, citing deteriorating ore quality and operational problems. Analysts expect global demand for the metal to increase by 2.8% both this year and next due to the development of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles, investments in power grids, and data centers.
The bank’s experts believe that any price decline will be short-lived and recommend maintaining long positions in copper.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center released a video dedicated to global copper production and leading producing countries – https://youtube.com/shorts/_h8iU50z8C0?si=a-XkgGEfeUxseQNa
Moldova’s National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) has introduced two new routes through its gas transmission system (GTS) for gas transit from Greece to Ukraine, the regulator said.
“These products (supply services) are designed to facilitate natural gas flows from Greece to Ukraine through the Trans-Balkan infrastructure, contributing to the strengthening of regional energy security, diversify supply sources, and make efficient use of transport capacity, in accordance with the request of Vestmoldtransgaz LLC (Moldova’s GTS operator) and a joint initiative by the natural gas transmission system operators of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine,” the ANRE said in a statement.
The regulator specified that this refers to “two new special capacity products – Route 2 and Route 3, which will be available from December 2025 to April 2026.”
The new services will be offered monthly through parallel auctions on the RBP platform using a single price algorithm, with discounts applied to the tariffs of transit country operators. “The introduction of these products will increase gas transit volumes through Moldova’s transmission system and indirectly create the conditions for optimizing natural gas transportation tariffs in the future,” the statement said.
The regulator recalled that in May this year, a monthly service product called “Route 1” was introduced, designed for use at interconnection points on the Trans-Balkan pipeline connecting the natural gas transportation systems of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine.
As reported, in May this year, gas transmission system operators in Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine developed a scheme for the supply of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Greece to Ukraine via the “Vertical Gas Corridor,” agreeing on a single tariff for gas transit with a 25% discount. The aim of the project is to ensure gas injection into Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities in preparation for the heating season.
In July, Moldovan Energy Minister Dorin Jungiatu reported that the Moldovan state-owned company Energocom had successfully tested the delivery of LNG from the US via the Vertical Gas Corridor, pumping regasified fuel from a port in Greece to Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities.
In early November, pipeline company ICGB, the independent operator of the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector (IGB), together with the gas transmission system operators of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine, signed an agreement to launch two new routes for the delivery of natural gas from Greece to Ukraine. The gas transmission system operators of these countries proposed to make these routes available from December 2025 to April 2026.
According to ICGB, route 2 starts at the Amphitrite interconnection point on the DESFA network, passes through the Greek-Bulgarian interconnector (IGB) and then along the Trans-Balkan corridor: Amphitrite – Komotini (IGB) – Stara Zagora – Negru Voda 1/Kardam – Isaccea 1/Orlovca – Câșcavii – Grebeni.
Route 3 starts at the IGB interconnection point with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and follows the same route: Komotini (IGB entry from TAP) – Stara Zagora – Negru Voda 1/Cardam – Isaccea 1/Orlovca – Câșcav – Grebeni.
The design capacity of the “Vertical Gas Corridor” in the Greece-Bulgaria direction is 3 billion cubic meters per year. The gas pipeline operator does not rule out increasing its capacity to 5 billion cubic meters, depending on market interest.
Sense Bank has started cooperation with Export Credit Agency (ECA), which opened an opportunity for exporters to get loans under the insurance coverage of the agency without providing collateral, the press service of the bank said.
According to the information, the new model of interaction provides ESA insurance of risks on export credits, which allows financing foreign trade contracts even in the absence of sufficient collateral on the part of the client. Insurance coverage reduces non-repayment risks for the bank and makes financing available to more Ukrainian exporters.
Sense Bank notes that such support is key in wartime conditions, when businesses face limited access to liquidity and external markets. Export credit insurance provides repayment guarantees, allowing companies to fulfill contracts and maintain their position in international markets.
“Sense Bank continues to expand the range of financial instruments to support Ukrainian businesses. Cooperation with ESA is a strategic investment in the country’s economic sustainability,” said Andrey Sokolov, member of the bank’s Board of Directors.
Ruslan Gashev, Head of the ESA Board, emphasized that the agency is committed to empowering Ukrainian companies despite difficult circumstances. “Even in the most difficult conditions Ukrainian business demonstrates strength. Together with Sense Bank we create opportunities for it to grow – providing trust, financial protection and access to new markets without unnecessary barriers,” he said.
In Ukraine, more IT professionals are closing their fops than opening new ones: -7.5 thousand entrepreneurs since the beginning of the year. In general, IT fops are among the longest-lived: the median life span of those who worked in computer programming and closed this year is almost 4 years. The oldest entrepreneur among those who closed this year worked for 34 years.
18,605 new sole proprietorships in computer programming appeared this year, which means that the number of newcomers to the field remained almost unchanged. Instead, existing businesses are closing more and more actively: 26,158 IT entrepreneurs have closed their operations. Overall, losses in the industry tripled over the year: 7,553 FOPs in just ten months of this year.
Traditionally, the largest number of new IT fops was registered in Kyiv (3737), Lviv (2015), Dnipro (1740), Kharkiv (1557), and Kyiv regions (1338). At the same time, only two regions maintained a positive balance – when more opened than closed -: Volyn (+19 fops) and Ternopil (+12).
Men predominate among new IT entrepreneurs – 57% of registrations, while women account for 43%. And in no region does the number of women entrepreneurs exceed the number of men – this is currently an atypical situation for Ukrainian businesses, which are mostly started by women.
The median life of an IT fop that closed in 2025 is 4 years. One in six IT fops ceases operations within the first year, and another third operate for one to four years. The oldest entrepreneur to close this year had been operating since 1991.
However, the closure of fops does not necessarily indicate a crisis in the industry, but rather a change in the way IT professionals are employed. Thus, according to DOU, 57% of IT professionals work as freelancers this year. Comparatively, a year ago, the number was 70%, and in 2022 it was 87%.
At the same time, according to Gini, the number of vacancies in the IT sector has only increased over the past year. Thus, while 72,396 job offers for IT professionals were posted in 10 months of last year, the same period this year has already seen an 11% increase in such offers: 80 297.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/it-foponomics-2025
Engineering and construction company Rauta will launch sandwich panels, ventilated facades, and roofing materials made from “green” steel on the Ukrainian market next year, Rauta Director Andriy Ozeychuk announced during a panel discussion at the 5th Ukrainian Construction Congress in Kyiv on Friday.
“In 2026, Rauta will launch sandwich panels, ventilated facades, and roofing materials made from ‘green’ steel, which is produced using hydrogen, electricity, and biogas instead of fossil fuels. The residual product of this production process is not carbon dioxide, but water,” he said, citing an example of the company’s implementation of ESG principles (Environmental, Social, Governance – environmental, social and corporate responsibility).
According to him, the use of “green” steel, in particular, will significantly reduce the amount of embodied carbon and increase the number of points when certifying a building according to the LEED and BREEAM environmental systems.
Rauta systematically implements key ESG principles in its activities, because a transparent corporate culture and reputation are important to the company’s customers. “The projects implemented by our company always incorporate solutions that comply with ESG principles. For example, the Energy series’ airtight technology and sandwich panels reduce operational carbon and increase the sustainability of the facility,” says Ozeychuk.
In 2022, Rauta was the first in Ukraine to introduce Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for building envelopes. The company is also actively involved in social projects: it partners with architectural competitions, provides grants for training young architects at InLab and Plus Minus schools, has set up a training stand in a specialized energy conservation auditorium at KNUSA, and has launched an educational project on sustainable design.
The expert noted that the advantage of steel solutions for the customer is the speed of project implementation and the ability to create large-span spaces. If necessary, steel frames can be relatively easily relocated or 100% recycled as scrap metal, which significantly increases their value for the customer compared to reinforced concrete solutions.
Ozeychuk stated that European construction customers implementing projects in Ukraine are not only willing to pay for steel solutions, but also often insist on the use of more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient materials.
“This is due to a more conscious attitude towards ecology and construction experience in the EU, where the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is in force, which sets requirements for improving the energy efficiency of existing and new buildings, which directly affects the criteria for selecting materials. Unfortunately, Ukrainian construction customers mainly look at low prices rather than environmental or quality characteristics,” he said.
According to his forecast, if Ukraine implements the European Directive, the demand for materials with better thermal and environmental characteristics will increase. “This will increase competition between Ukrainian and European manufacturers and force the former to invest in modern production processes to improve the environmental friendliness and energy efficiency of their products,” Ozeychuk believes.
Rauta is a leader in the Ukrainian steel construction market and a member of the European Construction Industry Association. The company provides design, manufacturing, and installation solutions in accordance with current EU standards. The company is licensed to perform construction work with medium and significant consequences (CC2, CC3). According to the Unified State Register, Andriy Ozeychuk owns 100% of the company’s authorized capital.
US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) investing in Bitcoin have faced an outflow of $3.5 billion in investor funds since the beginning of this month, according to Bloomberg calculations. The record outflow in a single month was set in February this year and amounted to $3.6 billion. With one week left in November, this record could be broken.
In particular, investors withdrew $2.2 billion from the largest Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, managed by BlackRock.
The price of Bitcoin fell 2.6% on Monday to $85,700. Since the beginning of the year, the cryptocurrency has fallen in price by about 7%.
Citi Research analysts note that the outflow of funds from ETFs exacerbates the negative dynamics of the cryptocurrency, while the inflow of funds accelerates its growth. According to their calculations, an outflow of $1 billion from funds investing in Bitcoin leads to a 3.4% decline in the value of Bitcoin itself, and vice versa.
