Asia / Pacific

Five sources familiar with the talks claim that Pakistan is negotiating a broader?defence agreement with Kuwait, in exchange for energy investment and cooperation. All sources agreed that the talks are still in a 'early stage' and could be complicated by the heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, according to one source. According to a report on Thursday, there are growing concerns in Islamabad about the possibility that the mutual defence agreement signed with Saudi Arabia last year could drag Pakistan into a war between Iran and the United States. Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country, told Iran that it would...

Seven & i shares rose 3% on Friday in Tokyo after the Japanese retailer announced that it is in talks to buy a stake from Polish convenience store operator Zabka Group. Nikkei reports that the '7-Eleven owner may consider acquiring Zabka share held by funds. The investment is likely to be several hundred billion dollars (several billion yen). The deal would expand Seven & i’s reach beyond its strongholds of Japan and North America to Eastern Europe. This is part of the retailer’s efforts to grow under the leadership Stephen Dacus. Naoshi Matsumoto is an analyst with Yamawa Securities. He...

Chevron is set to sign memorandums with the Iraqi Government on Friday to help advance the?U.S. According to a senior Chevron executive, the oil giant could enter West Qurna 2 oilfields and Nassiriya. The executive stated that the company was also in talks with Iraq about producing technical studies and evaluating potential pipeline routes for transporting crude oil out of the country, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The oilfield agreement and pipeline studies are part a larger push by Iraq's?government to strengthen energy ties with America. The U.S. and Israel war with Iran has made it more urgent to find...

Three sources said that Iran had asked the Houthi movement in Yemen to be ready to shut down the Red Sea Oil Route if?the United States struck Iranian power infrastructure. This poses a powerful new threat to global oil supplies. Two senior Iranian sources, as well as a'regional source' familiar with the issue, said that the idea was discussed within the Islamic Republic leadership and the message had been'sent' to Iran's Houthi ally. Sources said that the Houthis were recently informed of Tehran's request. This was not previously reported. They didn't give any further details about how the message was...

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...

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...

Industry sources say China's fuel demand will take a long time to recover after its imports hit a record low. Refiners reduced production and opted for cheaper crude as a result of the U.S. - Iran war. China's low demand for high-sulphur oil (HSFO), one of Asia’s largest importers, is expected to limit prices. This is despite the fact that the market has strengthened after Washington and Tehran intensified their attacks on the Middle East disrupting Gulf supply through the Strait of Hormuz. LSEG data show that the Asian refiners' margins for 380 centistoke HSFO rose to a discount of...

Two sources with knowledge of the situation said that top Russian energy companies approached Indian refiners to request more gasoline following Ukrainian strikes which knocked out a large portion of Russia's refueling capacity. India is Russia's largest buyer of seaborne crude oil. Moscow's attempt to secure Indian gasoline represents a reversal of their energy relationship and highlights the impact of the Ukrainian attacks. Moscow is experiencing its worst gasoline shortage. One source with knowledge on the subject said that at least one cargo of Indian gas has already been shipped to Russia. More are expected. Nearly 40% of Russia's refinery...

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...

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...

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...

Gold prices climbed on Friday but were set to fall?weekly? as tensions between the U.S. and Iran pushed up oil prices, raising inflation fears and supporting an expectation of higher U.S. rates. Gold spot rose 0.7%, to $3.996.29 an ounce, by 1010 GMT. It had fallen as low as it has been since July 1, earlier in the day. Prices are down by over 3% for the entire week. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery gained 0.2% to $4,000. Fawad Razaqzada is a Forex.com market analyst. He said that when the price drops, some short sellers will profit. If oil...

An official stated on Friday that Zimbabwe's only lithium sulphate facility, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt?, has no capacity to process minerals from other producers. This is ahead of an export ban for concentrates next year. Africa's largest lithium producer will implement a ban in January to encourage miners to process the battery metal at home, creating higher-valued export earnings and more jobs?in its economy. The government told lithium miners to send their concentrates directly to local plants. One of the plants in Zimbabwe, owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and operated by Prospect Lithium -Zimbabwe has not yet been...

India's JSW Steel reported a?profit in the first quarter that was more than twice as high, exceeding analyst estimates. Net profit margins also improved due to a?resilient volume and?firmer domestic prices, which outweighed the?pressure?from higher coal costs. The top steelmaker in the country reported on Friday a net profit of 482.79 million rupees (46.51 billion rupiahs) for the three-month period ended June 30. LSEG data shows that analysts had predicted an average of 31.11 billion rupees. Elara Capital analysts said that prices of flat steel products like hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils rose in India both sequentially and on an annual...

Gold is on track to suffer its largest weekly loss in six weeks on Friday as the escalating U.S. - Iran conflict has pushed up oil prices. This will increase inflationary pressures, and strengthen the case for higher U.S. rates. Gold spot was up 0.6% to $3,993.22 an ounce at 0758 GMT. It had been as low as it has been since July 1, earlier in the day. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery gained 0.1% to $ 3,996.90. The metal is down 3% this week, the biggest drop since June 1. This week's softer U.S. inflation data has not...

Copper and the base metal complex as a whole fell on Friday due to deteriorating risk sentiment from the Middle East conflict. This prompted inflation fears and cast a shadow on the demand outlook. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.01%, to $13,461 per metric ton at 0715 GMT. Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell by 0.73%, to 103 550 yuan (15,284.13) per ton. Copper, also known as "Dr Copper", fluctuated throughout the week. In London, it is expected to end the week with a marginal gain of 0.08%. As a result of the breakdown...

Copper and the wider base metal complex fell on Friday as inflation fears and a deteriorating risk outlook prompted by the Middle East conflict weighed down the demand outlook. The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.88%, to $13,479.5 per metric ton at 0300 GMT. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell by 0.63%, to 103650 yuan (15,299.12 dollars) per ton. Copper, also known as "Dr Copper", fluctuated throughout the week. It is on track to finish the week with a 0.2% increase. The Strait of Hormuz has been affected by the breakdown of peace...

India's statistics secretary announced that the country will launch a headline "Index of Services Production" within months. This index will give investors for the first time a monthly measure of output in India's dominant service sector. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation published trial monthly indices on Tuesday for 19 sub-sectors of formal services, covering approximately 60% of that economy. However, it did not release a composite headline measurement. India does not have an official monthly measure of output in its dominant service sector. In an interview late Thursday, Statistics Secretary Saurabh Garg stated that "we?are hopeful" to be...

India's SBI Funds Management drew bids worth ?3 trillion Indian rupees ($31.14 billion), making the asset manager's $1.03 billion initial public ?offering (IPO) the country's fourth-most-subscribed issue. The $278.5 millions raised by anchor investors, such as BlackRock, sovereign wealth funds in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Norway, is included in the IPO subscription numbers. India's primary stock market made a strong return with the IPO that closed on Thursday. This was after a subdued start to the year. India will see a flurry of public offerings during the second half of the year. Reliance Jio's mega listing and the National Stock...

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...

Gold prices fell on Thursday, as tensions in the Middle East increased inflation fears and uncertainty about U.S. interest rate trends. Gold futures in the U.S. fell 0.4% to $4.037.20 per ounce at 0834 GMT. Spot gold dropped 0.7% to $4.032.19 an ounce. Gold is still influenced by geopolitics and inflation. The continued U.S. attacks against Iran, and the disruptions of the Strait of Hormuz are supporting oil prices and maintaining inflationary risks," says?Niko tzabouras a senior analyst at Jefferies owned Tradu.com. After reimposing its naval blockade, the U.S. launched a second wave of attacks against Iran's missile and coastal...

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...