Wealthion Macro Bites – Norway’s $2.3 Trillion Wealth Fund Plans to Cut Treasury Holdings by $75B

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund proposed reducing the amount of government bonds in its $2.3T portfolio to boost holdings of riskier debt, with Treasuries the most affected.  Norges Bank Investment Management recommended to the Ministry of Finance that government debt should be cut from 70% of bond holdings to 50%.  Bloomberg estimates the proposed guidelines imply a $75B reduction in U.S. Treasury holdings.

U.S. Asst. Sec. of Energy Audrey Robertson said the U.S. has ample copper reserves but has “lost our way” when it comes to domestic processing and refining of the metal.  Robertson said rebuilding domestic processing and refining capacity will be critical as demand grows from electrification, manufacturing and AI infrastructure, “Copper will play a very significant role.”

Colombia’s new government has repealed 10 resolutions restricting natural resource exploration and extraction, accelerating President Abelardo De La Espriella’s push to revive mining investment and unlock the country’s largely untapped copper potential.  Mining Minister Maria Nohemi Arboleda announced the repeal by decree Thursday at a mining conference in Cartagena.  The measures restricting activity in designated areas under tighter environmental and land-use policies had been established under the previous leftist administration.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pitched his country as Russia’s gateway to Southeast Asia, suggesting the Pacific should become a “highway between our two economies” as he pushed for closer trade, investment and transport links.  Prabowo urged Russian businesses to use Indonesia to tap ASEAN’s market of 680M people.  “For Eurasian businesses, Indonesia is a natural entry point to ASEAN.”  Addressing the plenary session, Russian President Putin said Asia-Pacific “is a powerful center of growth and sets the pace for the development of the entire global economy.”

U.S. bank reserves at the Fed fell to $2.89T during the week ended 9/2, back to the level when the Fed started its Reserve Management Purchases (which have added $350B in Treasury bills to the Fed’s balance sheet).  Back in Nov., Governor Waller stated $2.7T was ample, implying he does not want to see reserves drop below that level.

The WGC reported net central bank gold purchases totaled 23t in July (down from 51t in June).  Net buyers included China (20t), Poland (8t), Czech Republic (2t), Kazakhstan (1t), Malaysia (1t) and Bolivia (1t).  Net sellers included Russia (6t), Turkey (1t), Jordan (1t) and Uzbekistan (1t).  Poland has been the leading ’26 purchaser, acquiring 90t ytd bringing total holdings to 640t (versus 700t target).

Heading into the busy Labor Day travel weekend average U.S. diesel prices hit an all-time high of $5.85/gallon (up from $3.76 just before the Iran conflict) and average unleaded prices hit $4.15 (up from $2.98).

U.S. employment report @ 8:30 am (est. +55k payrolls & 4.1% unemployment rate).