Asia

As Kyiv continues its campaign against the 'Russian energy infrastructure, authorities in three Russian regions have reported deaths and injuries caused by Ukrainian drones and rocket strikes. Mikhail Yevrayev, the governor of 'Yaroslavl Region,' 250 km (155 miles) east from Moscow, where an oil refinery has been repeatedly attacked, said one man was killed and four others injured. He claimed that 19 drones had been?downed in the area, but did not specify which targets they were aimed at. Russian media reported that there were casualties in the Volga River region of Saratov after a drone attack on the city of...

The operator of Kazakhstan's Kashagan Oilfield announced?on Thursday? that an international arbitral tribunal has issued a restraining order prohibiting Kazakhstan from enforcing an environmental fine. The Kazakh Justice Ministry announced on Tuesday that Kashagan's operator must pay a fine of $4.90 billion ($2.3 trillion tenge) by July 20, 2012. The country is involved in arbitration with oil companies that work on its oilfields. It accuses them of environmental violations and corrupt practices. The North Caspian Operating Company, Kashagan’s operator, stated in a statement: "The Arbitral Tribunal has issued a Restraining Order which prohibits the Republic to take any measures to...

International Energy Agency warns that the full implementation of China’s rare earth export restriction could put $6.5 trillion in downstream production outside of the country at risk. China, the world's largest producer?of?rare Earths, increased export controls in?October of last year, to include additional materials, and introduced new licensing requirements. However, they agreed to postpone implementation for one year. Rare earths is a grouping of 17 metals that are used in small amounts but essential for products such as cars, aircrafts, electronics and weapons systems. The IEA's Global Critical Minerals outlook report stated that if the controls are fully implemented, an...

Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Ukraine, said that Serbia would send Ukraine more humanitarian assistance but had not signed a regional agreement calling for more pressure to be put on Russia and for continued security aid for Ukraine. Vucic had earlier met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and taken part in the regional Southeastern Europe - Ukraine summit. It was the first time in more than a decade that a Serbian president visited the Ukrainian capital. Vucic had also participated in the regional Southeastern Europe-Ukraine summit last year. Belgrade has had a long history of close relations with Moscow. It has refused...

Officials at the company said that 'Sinopec' is undertaking a major restructuring within its own organization, establishing new business units, and moving hundreds of staff in order to re-establish profits amid a slumping Chinese demand for oil, petrochemicals, and other products. Sinopec, a state-owned company, has lagged behind its peers PetroChina Ltd and CNOOC Ltd in recent years. These companies benefit from a greater focus on oil production. Sinopec's reorganisation, which began in early this year, is aimed at focusing more on the needs of customers and efficiency. Chairman Hou Qijun was a geologist, and former general director at Chinese...

Chinese investors who are interested in CXMT’s $8.6billion IPO believe that the chipmaker’s value will increase ten-fold following its Shanghai debut, thanks to an AI-driven upcycle and Beijing’s ambition to become technologically independent. CXMT or ChangXin Memory Technologies will be Asia's largest share sale this year. It comes at a time when Beijing wants to be independent in the semiconductor industry amid a fierce tech rivalry between the U.S. Wu Zhou, a Shenzhen Deyuan Investment fund manager, has said he'll bid on new CXMT share, betting China's leading memory chipmaker can one day overtake global giants such as South Korea's...

China's fuel -oil demand will take a long time to recover after imports reached a monthly record low as refiners opted for lower cost crude following the U.S. -Iran War. Prices are expected to be capped by the lackluster appetite of one of Asia's largest importers of high sulphur fuel oils (HSFO), even though this market has strengthened after Washington and Tehran intensified their attacks in the Middle East disrupting Gulf oil supplies that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. LSEG data show that the Asian refiners’ margin for 380 centistoke HSFO rose to a discount of less than $2...

World Leaks, a ransomware group, has released on the dark Web a large cache of files relating to India's largest nuclear plant. These include purported blueprints for parts of its facilities as well as supplier details. The information was labelled by World Leaks as being from Reliance Group. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and is the largest among India's seven nuclear plants. It's also the center of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious plans to increase the country's capacity for?atomic energy?. Reliance Group of Indian businessman Anil Ambani, one of the plants' contractors,...

Yemen's Houthi group fired missiles on Saudi Arabia, accusing it of bombing a Saudi airport that was under their control. This broke a four-year ceasefire in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned movement. This move marks the end of the de-escalation period and is a sign that Iran may now use its Houthi allies in order to shut down the Bab el-Mandeb entrance to the Red Sea. It would be the second 'global /shipping chokepoint disrupted since the Strait of Hormuz. WHO ARE HOUTHIS? Abdul Malik al-Houthi is the leader of Yemen’s Houthis. He is a highly secretive...

Two sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed on Wednesday that China's Zhenhua Oil had booked to load 2 million barrels in Saudi crude for August. This is a sign that a new?joint venture? refinery between China and Saudi Arabia will soon begin operations. The crude will be supplied to the newly built 300,000-barrel-per-day Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co (HAPCO) refinery in northeastern China's Liaoning province, the sources said. HAPCO was formed by Saudi Aramco, Norinco Group (a Chinese state-owned conglomerate) and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group. HAPCO has delayed its start-up to September or even October due to disruptions in Middle...

Malaysia announced on Wednesday that higher global energy prices have boosted its petroleum revenue enough to cover part of the rising costs for 'fuel subsidies. This has eased pressure on the government's finances. The government said that it may spend as much as 40 billion ringgits ($9.83 billion), far more than the 15 billion ringgits initially allocated?in the budget for 2026, on fuel subsidies in 2019. This is due to higher energy prices related to the Middle East conflict. * Each $1 change in crude oil prices is estimated to affect federal petroleum revenues by?about 300 million ringgit, not including...

Americans could soon see gas prices above $4 per gallon as renewed hostilities have led to a rise in energy prices by paralyzing the Strait of Hormuz. This is a vital route for global oil supplies. GasBuddy's fuel price tracking service showed that the national average gasoline price on Tuesday was $3.84 per gallon. This is up 9.8 cents compared to a week earlier. Prices of gasoline are up by 22.2% on an annual basis. The high price of gasoline has become a political headache to President Donald Trump, and the Republican Party. They will be soon campaigning for their...

Sources say that China plans to launch its second Lithium futures contract by the end of the year. The move is part of a drive to increase hedging options for 'its vast electric vehicle battery supply chain' and to gain a greater global price control over battery metal. Two sources familiar with the matter said that the Guangzhou Futures Exchange was working on the launch a futures contract for lithium hydroxide, which would complement the existing lithium hedge tool and challenge rival bourses. One source said that the new futures on lithium could be launched in October. Another said they...

Nickel reached a three-week peak on Thursday as concerns over traffic disruptions?throughout the Strait of Hormuz sparked fears of sulphur shortages and threatened a key raw material for production. The benchmark three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.57%, to $17.235 per metric ton at 0700 GMT. The price had risen by up to 3.14% in the previous session. This was the largest increase since May, and the highest since June 23. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded nickel contract was up 3.01% to 132,940 Yuan ($19641.85) per ton. "Sulphur?tightness?expectations are fermenting once again." This is mainly due to...

In an attempt to protect the future of steel production, the UK government announced in a statement on Thursday that it had 'nationalised' British Steel, which was previously owned by Chinese investors. British Steel's public ownership is necessary for the UK to safeguard its national interests, according to the government. "British Steel" is a part of the fabric and strength of Britain. The decision today secures the future for steelmaking in Britain, protects "skilled" jobs and safeguards an important national capability," said Keir starmer, the outgoing prime minister. In April 2025, the 'government' took over the operational control of British...

Chinese President Xi Jinping will outline an ambitious vision of China's role as a global AI governance leader at a forum this Friday. Huawei is showcasing its most advanced AI computing cluster yet, in a move to create a domestic alternative to U.S. tech. Xi's first-time attendance at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, or WAIC, underscores Beijing’s view that AI is both a key driver of global economic growth and a technology of strategic importance in the global competition. Huawei's Atlas 950 SuperPoD AI computing system, a large-scale AI computer system with a high performance will be unveiled at the...

Copper prices fell on Wednesday, despite disappointing economic data from China's top metals consumer. However, supply concerns due to mine disruptions and the Middle East conflict helped to limit losses. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.2%, to $13,610 per metric ton at 0945 GMT. It had reached a three week high in the previous session. Official data revealed that the GDP growth of China, the second largest economy in world, has slowed to a low of 3.5 years, due to weak domestic demand. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank,...

Data showed that China's primary aluminum output reached a record monthly high in June. This was because consumers shifted to China after the Middle East supply was affected by the U.S.-Iran war. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in June, the world's biggest aluminium producer produced 3,98 million metric tonnes of primary aluminum, an increase of 4.7% compared to a year ago. This was higher than the previous high of 3,89 million metric tons recorded in May. The data revealed that the output during the first half of 2026 increased 3.8% from a year ago to 23,19...

On Tuesday, copper 'prices' rose to their highest level in three weeks due to signs of a firmer China demand and shortages. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4% by 0930 GMT to $13,601 per metric ton, its highest level since June 23. Ewa Mnthey, commodities analyst at ING, said that copper is being supported by a combination of strong Chinese data and tighter physical market conditions. Exports from the top metals consumer, China, surged in June. This was their best performance for four months. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose by...

China's exports of unwrought aluminum and products?reached a new record in June, according to data from the official customs released on Tuesday, as?war?disruption?to supplies and shipments from the Gulf region?continued. The data revealed that export volume rose above 700,000 metric tons for the very first time in June. Shipments increased 12.5% from the 632,000 tons in May, and 45.4% over 489,000 tons from a year earlier. Exports of unwrought aluminum and products rose by 16.3% in the first half of 2026 compared to a year ago, reaching 3.4 millions tons. The June shipments are a continuation of the previous acceleration...

The price of copper in London fell slightly on Tuesday, amid the latest escalation of the Middle East conflict. However, this was offset by concerns over a possible supply chain crisis. Benchmark 'three-month' copper prices on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.18% to $13,516 per metric tonne by 0300 GMT. After an increase in LME copper prices overnight, the most-traded contract for copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by 0.64%. It now stands at 103950 yuan a ton. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, and Iran announced that they would both blockade the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. has renewed...

Northern Minerals announced?on?Tuesday that Australian Treasurer, Jim?Chalmers, has ordered three 'offshore 'investment firms - including Hong Kong Ying Tak - to refrain from exercising voting rights within the rare earths developer. Foreign Investment Review Board of Australia (FIRB) has said that Hong Kong Ying Tak and?British Virgin Islands registered Real International Resources as well as Hong Kong registered?Qogir Trading & Service have failed to comply to earlier government 'orders to reduce stakes in Northern Minerals. In May, Treasurer Chalmers?ordered offshore shareholders to divest by July?2 their?holdings over concerns that Chinese-linked groups were seeking control of rare-earths mining company. Ying Tak's...

India's trade minister said that the talks between India and America are "progressing well" and New Delhi does not see any obstacles to a successful conclusion of a deal. The framework agreement is complete. The framework deal will be signed when the time is right, said Rajesh Agrawal, trade secretary, at a June press conference, as he presented monthly data on exports and imports. In February, both sides agreed on a?18% tariff on Indian goods as a trade-off for New Delhi to lower its trade barriers and buy more American goods. The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling invalidating President Donald Trump’s...

The dollar was weaker on Monday, but gains were limited as tensions between the U.S.A. and Iran escalated and oil prices increased, further causing inflationary fears. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange was 0.1% higher, at $13,501 per metric ton of official rings. The lower dollar makes metals priced in dollars cheaper for holders of currencies other than the U.S. dollar, which could increase demand. After renewed military strikes by the United States and Iran, concerns about energy shipments via the Strait of Hormuz were reignited. The focus was also on falling copper inventories. The copper stocks...