Asia

Four sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that India's Reliance industries Ltd, the operator of the largest refinery in the world, will'receive' sanctions-compliant Russian crude oil between February and March, after a one month pause. Reliance received its last shipment of Russian crude in December, after it secured a U.S. concession allowing it to extend the deadline for ending business with Rosneft (a Russian oil company sanctioned by the U.S. government) beyond November 21. Sources said that Reliance, like other Indian refiners will purchase Russian oil from non sanctioned sellers. They did not elaborate on how many cargoes...

Saudi Arabia's National Infrastructure Fund and Humain - the artificial intelligence company of the Kingdom - announced on Wednesday that they had reached a financing deal of up to $1.2 billion. The agreement is intended to'support the expansion' of AI and digital technology in the country. According to a press release, the agreement sets out non-binding terms of financing for the development up to 250 Megawatts of AI data centre capacity to support Humain’s customers. It was announced in Davos, Switzerland. As part of an 'overall effort' to diversify economic activity and income sources away from hydrocarbons, the world's largest...

The latest trade war and foreign policy salvos from Donald Trump are upsetting the global markets. But the question is if these ructions escalate or disappear, like they did in the past 12 months. It is more likely that the latter scenario, but it is clear that investors struggle to accurately price the fundamental shifts of the geopolitical plates. The changes that have already occurred in 2026 will be truly astounding. The Trump administration removed Venezuela's leader, and it appears that he is now the de facto ruler of the Latin American nation. The threat of an American response is...

The Finance Ministry announced on Monday that Russia had a budgetary deficit of 5.6 trillion roubles, or 2.6% of GDP, by 2025. This is the largest deficit in terms of percentage of GDP since 2020 and in roubles since 2006. In 2024, Russia's fiscal deficit was equal to 1.7% of its GDP. The?government increased the deficit target in 2025 from the initial?1.2 trillion Rubbles or 0.5% GDP due to the shrinking energy revenue and a strong Rouble. Budget revenues were 37.28 trillion rubles, down 7.5% on the original target. This was due to the 24% drop in oil and gas...

Economy Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim said Saudi Arabia will hand over the scope of some Vision 2030 Projects to the private sector, as it adjusts timetables to avoid economic "overheating". Ibrahim stated in an interview conducted in Davos in Switzerland that the government was "agile" when managing its ambitious pipeline of development projects. He said some projects were rescoping, but maintained momentum in its Vision 2030 goals for economic transformation. Ibrahim stated on Monday that the private sector was ready and eager to participate. He added: "Recently some whole scopes of project were given to private sector with regulatory support and...

The U.S. must intervene more aggressively to stop a Syrian offensive which has gained key territory from Kurdish militants in the past few days, according to the leader of 'the main kurdish forces. Officials and security sources reported that government troops launched an offensive Saturday in territory controlled by semi-autonomous Kurdish authority for the past decade. They captured towns on both side of the Euphrates as well as the largest oilfield as well as a gas field. Sipan Hamo, commander of the People's Protection Units(YPG), said that a meeting held on Saturday between U.S. envoy Tom Barrack (and Kurdish officials)...

Trade data revealed that India's Russian imports in December fell to the lowest level since?two? years, as Western sanctions pushed refining companies to look for alternatives. This boosted OPEC?s?share?of imports?to an 11-month peak. The lower imports of Russian crude oil at a discounted price will likely hit the profits of refiners and consumers in the third largest oil consuming and importing nation in the world and force them to look for suppliers in the Middle East and the U.S. The data shows that tighter U.S. sanctions and European Union sanctions have slowed Russian oil exports to India. Imports dropped by...

OPEC's monthly?data on Wednesday showed that Russian oil production dropped by 0.7% to 9.129?million bbls per day. Russia has'managed' to keep its oil production largely steady, and this, along with natural gas, accounts for about a quarter (or more) of the federal budget tax revenues, despite drone attacks by Ukraine against energy infrastructure, as well as lower crude prices. Russia is a part of OPEC+, a group of leading oil producers that decided earlier this month to maintain its?production steady. The oil price dropped by more than 18% in 2025, the steepest drop since 2020. According to OPEC, the Russian...

By America Hernandez PARIS, January '14 - French giant TotalEnergies signed an agreement to sell its 10% non-operated stake in the Nigerian oil asset SPDC (renamed Renaissance JV) to Vaaris. This follows a failed sale to Mauritius based Chappal Energies last year. Total retains a 'full economic interest in the?deal, which includes stakes of three other licenses that produce mainly?gases for Nigeria LNG. The company did not provide any further information on the buyer. The inability of the buyer to pay the $860 million price tag was the reason why Nigerian regulators rejected Total's first deal with Chappal Energies for...

Next week, business and political leaders will be attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos to test their vision of a global economic order based on rules. The expected appearance of U.S. president Donald 'Trump' in the Swiss resort shows the difference between his agenda, and the consensus-driven approach taken by the?the?WEF. This organization has been criticized for years as a talk shop for the rich. His "America First' policy has resulted in trade tariffs as punishment, military interventions in Venezuela, a threat to take over Greenland with force, and the U.S. retreating from international cooperation on climate...

The chief executive of TotalEnergies, a French oil company, said that the company would consider returning to Venezuela. However, it is not a top priority. "People want a quick return to Venezuela, but it's going to take some time to get a clear investment framework in place. TotalEnergies left Venezuela in 2021. Pouyanne pointed to 'the high capital investment needed to produce and transport Venezuelan heavy crude oil, and to manage greenhouse gas emissions. Pouyanne stated that adding 100,000 barrels a day would require an additional $100 billion. The CEO stated, "We will look at it, we'll be sure to...

Next week, business and political leaders will be attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos to test their?vision for a global economic order based on rules. The expected appearance of U.S. president Donald Trump in the Swiss mountain resort highlights the difference between his agenda, and the consensus-driven approach taken by the WEF. It has been criticized for years that the WEF is just a rich people's talking shop. His "America First' policy has resulted in trade tariffs as punishment, military interventions in Venezuela, threats to take over Greenland and a retreat by the U.S. from international cooperation...

Gold reached $4,800 per ounce for the very first time Wednesday due to geopolitical tensions including U.S. president Donald Trump's bid for control of Greenland. By 11:30 am, spot gold had risen 1.6% to $4,838.91 an ounce. ET (1630 GMT), having risen as high as $4,887.82 in earlier sessions. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery climbed 1.7%, to $4.844.20 an ounce. Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, said: "There is a fear that people will miss out on this opportunity. I believe given the geopolitical climate in the world right now it's an ideal storm for higher gold...

Gold reached $4,800 per ounce on Wednesday for the first time as geopolitical tensions, including U.S. president Donald 'Trump's bid to control Greenland, drove demand for safe havens. By 9:30 am, spot gold had risen 2.1% to $4,865 an ounce. ET (1430 GMT), the price of gold had risen to $4,887.82 in earlier sessions. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery climbed almost 2% to $4.856.3 per ounce. Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, said that there is a 'fear' of missing out. Given the geopolitical climate in 'the world' it's an ideal storm for higher prices of gold...

Polish prosecutors announced on Wednesday that European investigators had uncovered a synthetic drugs international network operated from Poland. They have seized over 9.3 tonnes of narcotics as well as arrested more than 100 suspects. Operation 'Synthetic Drugs in More Than 20 Illegal Laboratories' targeted a criminal gang accused of importing chemical pre-cursors from China and India, and manufacturing them in over 20 illegal laboratories for distribution throughout the European Union. The prosecutors said that the 'group' operated a complex supply chain. They imported large quantities of chemicals legally, which were then repackaged to be sent illegally to drug labs in...

Shanghai Copper finished off its lows on Tuesday as investors shrugged off the sluggish market and the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE)'s move to increase margin requirements for certain contracts. After a drop of more than 1%, the most traded copper contract on the?SHFE?closed trading daytime up 0.04% to 101,280 Yuan ($14,544.41) per metric ton. As of 0740 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper at the London Metal Exchange increased by 1.10%. It now stands at $12,894.50 per ton. Red metal prices remained near record highs despite the sluggish demand for spot metals. The?SHFE also increased daily price limits and...

The Shanghai Futures Exchange increased margin requirements on certain copper contracts, which led to a drop in the price of copper in China. As of 0330 GMT, the most-traded metric ton?copper contract traded on SHFE fell 0.65%, down to 100,580 Yuan ($14440.15). However, the benchmark three-month?copper? on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.65%, to $12,836.50 per ton. SHFE announced on Tuesday it will increase the margin ratios for certain metals, including copper, silver, gold, and aluminum futures contracts, and expand daily price limits from January 22, 2019. This?move was widely seen as a way to stabilize the market, since copper...

As escalating geopolitical conflicts boosted demand for safe havens, gold reached a new record high of $4,700 per ounce on Tuesday. Silver also broke through $95 an ounce for the first. By 11:34 am, spot gold had gained 1.6% and was at $4,741.96 an ounce. After reaching a record-high of $4,750.49 in the morning ET (16:34 GMT), gold prices fell to $4,741.96 per ounce by 11:34 a.m. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery climbed 3.3%, to $4.747.60/oz. Fawad Rasaqzada is a market analyst for FOREX.com and City Index. He said that gold has surged?deeper in uncharted waters as investors hedged...

As escalating geopolitical tensions increased demand for safe havens, gold reached a new'record high' on Tuesday. Silver also surpassed $95 an ounce for the first. Spot gold rose 1.5%, to $4.737.18 an ounce at 09:49 am. After reaching a record-high of $4,750.49 in the morning ET (14.49 GMT), gold prices fell to $4,737.18 per ounce by 09:49 a.m. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery climbed 3.2%, to $4.742.70/oz. Fawad Rasaqzada is a market analyst for FOREX.com and City Index. He said that gold has surged?deeper than ever before as investors protect themselves against the rising political risks. A softer dollar...

Aditya Virwani, the Managing Director of Embassy Developments in India, announced on Tuesday that it will 'invest $495m to build three luxury residential developments in Mumbai. The 'rise of the wealthy Indians' has led to a rush on high-end houses, luxury cars, watches, and bathroom fittings. Embassy announced that it would launch three new residential projects in Mumbai’s Worli and Juhu districts, as well as the tourist hotspot Alibaug. These three projects will likely generate a combined revenue of approximately $1.32 billion upon completion. Virwani stated that "our strategy is deliberate - We are not pursuing quantity but?building a few...

The price of copper dropped on Tuesday as industrial consumers began to resist paying high prices for inventory levels that are multi-year highs. Benchmark -three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell?0.8%?to $12,868 per metric ton by 1045 GMT. The previous session saw a 1.3% rebound. LME copper prices have risen by 30% in the last six months. Last week they reached a record high of $13,407, driven by speculation on the backs of fears that disruptions at mines would lead to shortages. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank, Copenhagen. He said: "Copper can't run...

Iron ore futures declined for a third straight session on Monday, after an accident at a Chinese steel plant sparked concerns about the demand for this steelmaking ingredient. As of 0250 GMT, the most-traded contract for May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), traded at 786 Yuan ($112.92) per metric ton. The benchmark iron ore for February on the Singapore Exchange fell 0.63% to $104.66 per ton. Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union's subsidiary, which owns the steel plate factory, reported earlier on Monday that an explosion occurred at a factory producing steel plates in China's northern region of...

A source familiar with the situation said that Canada was considering sending a small contingent of troops to Greenland in order to take part in NATO exercises. The first to report the news were CBC News and Globe and Mail. Source: Military officials have "presented" plans for the operation to government, and are "awaiting a decision by Prime Minister Mark Carney," said the source. The source requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue. Carney's office declined to comment. Carney is challenged by the threats of U.S. president Donald Trump to annex Canada. He wants to be on...

A blast at a steel 'plate factory in Inner Mongolia, China's northern region, killed four people and left six others missing on Sunday. CCTV reported that rescue efforts are underway. Inner Mongolia's?Baotou Steel Union?, whose subsidiary owned the factory, said in an earlier stock exchange filing that 84 people were injured by the explosion. The?steelmaker stated that the explosion of a saturated steam and water tank?at Baotou City unit?damaged?parts of?factory equipment and buildings. It was also expected to have an impact on production at the plate-mill and adjacent facilities. The company stated that it was still assessing?the extent of losses....