Asia / Pacific

Rumen Radev, Bulgaria's Prime Minister, said that the country will veto the latest European Union sanctions package against Russia. This is because they may negatively impact its economy. Also, because their government does not agree with the sanctions against a Russian Bishop. The EU's sanctions list was expanded on Monday by adding a total of?34 people and 47 entities that are linked to Russia’s military and industrial complex. It also includes a shadow fleet?of?oil-and-gas tankers?and others who have been involved in political interference. This includes a Russian Orthodox bishop. Radev said that the operation of Lukoil, the Russian oil company,...

The Russian 'anti-monopoly' watchdog asked for an explanation on Thursday from a major petrol retailer in Moscow after they raised prices by 19% for 95-octane fuel in the past week. FAS, the watchdog sent the request?to Neftmagistral a company that runs about 100 petrol stations in the Moscow area and the capital. The price hike was a result of Ukrainian drone attacks against a Moscow oil refining facility, which supplies fuel to the Moscow region. Neftmagistral declined to comment on the regulator's request. On Thursday, the price of 95-octane gasoline at Neftmagistral was around 95 roubles per litre ($1.30), up...

Aramco chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan stated on Thursday that the Iran War had disrupted energy supplies through the 'Strait of Hormuz. Rumayyan is the governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF. Rumayyan spoke at the FII PRIORITY Europe'summit', held in Rome by the 'Saudi non profit institute Future Investing Initiative, which has the backing of PIF. FII organizes Riyadh’s annual flagship summit. Known to some as “Davos in the Desert”, this event brings together world leaders and bankers, along with business executives. Rumayyan stated that PIF has invested EUR98 billion ($112,86 billion) in Europe and Britain from 2017 to 2025...

Sources say that Aramco invited banks to bid for Project Yellowstone last month. One source estimated that the sulphur stake sale could generate up to $7 billion. Sources said that Aramco also considers the sale of oil terminals and real estate, as well as power plants. By Hadeel Al Sayegh, Federico Maccioni and ?Yousef Saba DUBAI, 17 June - Saudi Aramco, the world's largest crude exporter, is "considering" the sale of its sulphur business, according to three sources familiar with the matter. This strategy extends a strategy that taps into its infrastructure assets in order to raise tens and tens...

Donald 'Trump' said on Wednesday, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use "softer touches" in his fight against Hezbollah militants. This is the latest public rebuke from the U.S. President to his partner in war on Iran. Trump said to reporters at the end of the G7 summit on Wednesday that Netanyahu is a good person, but he gets a bit 'excited' sometimes. According to U.S. officials and Israelis, the Israeli leader convinced Trump to go to war with Iran and participated in attacks launched on 28 February. Netanyahu 'insisted that Israel was not bound by any U.S.Iran agreement...

U.S. president Donald?Trump stated on Wednesday that a?girls' school in Iran was not attacked deliberately in February. He cited?an investigation of the incident. First reported that an initial internal U.S. Military investigation indicated U.S. Forces were most likely responsible for the deadly strike in Minab, southern Iran. Since then, the Pentagon has elevated its investigation but hasn't acknowledged any preliminary results. According to Iranian officials, the strike on February 28th, the first day in the conflict, resulted in the deaths of more than?175 teachers and children. Trump said, "That is under investigation" at a press event held on the sidelines...

Sources say that Aramco invited banks to bid for Project Yellowstone last month. Sources estimate that the sulphur stake sale could generate up to $7 billion. Sources claim that Aramco also considers the sale of oil terminals and real estate, as well as power plants. By Hadeel Al Sayegh, Federico Maccioni and ?Yousef Saba DUBAI, 17 June - Saudi Aramco is considering selling a stake in the sulphur business, according to three sources familiar with the matter. This would be part of its strategy of tapping into its infrastructure assets for tens and tens billions of dollars. Aramco is the...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, made his comments at the end of a G7 summit in France on Wednesday. He said he didn't want an economic disaster that could have resulted from a prolonged war in the Middle East. "The one thing I did not want to see was an economic catastrophe. Trump said to reporters at the resort on Evian-les-Bains' lake that if you had kept going with this, "that could have happened." The?U.S. The?U.S. The conflict, which began on February 28, with U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, and has since spiraled out of control, has caused energy prices to...

Four sources familiar with this matter claim that Shandong Yulong Petrochemical in China, the country's newest refiner which began operations less than two year ago, has shut down one of its two crude units since last week to perform maintenance. Two of the sources said that the shutdown of the crude oil unit producing 200,000 barrels per day is expected to take a little over a month. The company has also closed a reforming unit that produces aromatics typically from heavy naphtha. This was for a similar period. The two people said that Yulong's other crude oil unit, which produces...

According to LSEG and market sources, Russia's seaborne exports of oil products fell 15% a month on a monthly basis to about 3.3 mt in the first 15 days of June. This was due to?unplanned maintenance?following repeated ukranian drone attacks. Shipping data shows that the number of diesel loadings at the Baltic port Primorsk - Russia's main outlet for ultra-low sulphur fuel (ULSD) – dropped by 18% to 520,000 tonnes in the first half of June compared with the same period last year. Ukraine has intensified drone strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure, with the number of oil refining facilities targeted...

Indian shares closed higher 'on Tuesday. They advanced for a third consecutive session as a preliminary U.S. - Iran peace deal cooled down oil prices & improved risk appetite. The Nifty?50 increased 0.57%, to?23989.15. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex rose 0.71%, to 76 808.48. This represents gains of 3.6% and 4% respectively in just three sessions. The small-cap and middle-cap indexes each rose 0.4%. Brent crude dropped about 2%, to $81.6 per barrel. This was a good thing for India, which imports oil. The?moderation in oil prices, to around $82 per barrel, along with India's stable macro-fundamentals, steady interest rates, and...

Sources say that the Indian miner IREL has been in contact with Rosneft to source samples of rare earth minerals from Tomtor. This is the Siberian deposit purchased by Rosneft last year. New Delhi wants to secure supplies dominated by China. Source: The talks take place via government channels. Samples will be processed in Russia and then shipped to India. The source who was familiar with the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential, stated that India would like to examine the mineral composition of the deposit prior to considering a deeper engagement. IREL, a...

A Mozambique executive said that the new law, which requires the state to have a 15% share in all mining ventures, could discourage foreign investment. The'southern African nation' is among the world's leading producers of graphite. This material is used to make batteries for electric cars and energy storage. Mozambique claims it has amended its mining law to "strengthen its management of strategic resource in defence of?national interests", but the Chamber of Mines of the country fears that it may upset?investors. Geert Kok, vice-president of the industry group, said at a mining conference held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, "We regret...

Gold prices remained stable on Thursday, despite a hawkish Federal Reserve policy and a stronger Dollar. The U.S. Iran ceasefire agreement, which reduced inflation fears and sent oil prices lower, also helped to keep gold at a reasonable level. At 10:30 am, spot gold was down by 0.3% to $4,246.55 an ounce. ET (1430 GMT). Last week, prices reached their lowest level since November 2025. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 2.7% to $4.264.30. The Fed's hawkish tilt yesterday was most important. The dollar is at new record highs, and this keeps gold under pressure, according to Peter Grant, senior metals analyst...

Riccardo Orcel - a former senior banker of the Russian state-backed VTB Group, and brother to UniCredit's CEO Andrea Orcel – helped broker a deal for UniCredit to sell its Russia business. His involvement, which was previously unknown, provides insight into the way Italy's second largest bank negotiated a deal with Russia. He drew on the expertise of the former VTB executive - who was one of the most well-known Western bankers working in Moscow. Riccardo orcel left VTB in the past, and it is now subject to Western sanctions. In a press release, the bank stated that "UniCredit?confirmed" that...

Gold prices rose on Thursday, as a lower oil price following the?U.S. Iran ceasefire agreement countered pressures from a stronger US dollar and hawkish Federal Reserve language. Gold spot was up 0.2% to $4,264.67 an ounce by 0913 GMT following a 1.7% drop on Wednesday. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 2.2% to $4285.00. Oil prices dropped after the U.S. signed an interim deal with Iran that would 'end their conflict,' reopen Strait of Hormuz, and lift U.S. sanctions against Tehran oil. This boosted the outlook for oil supplies. Han Tan, Bybit's chief market analyst, says that gold is on the rise,...

Gold prices rose on Thursday, as lower oil costs following the 'U.S.-Iran truce deal' helped bullion recover losses from the previous session caused by Federal Reserve rhetoric that was hawkish. As of 0830 GMT on Thursday, spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,284.67 an ounce after falling 1.7% Wednesday. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 1.8% to $4304.30. Oil prices dropped after the U.S. and Iran signed a temporary agreement to end the Iran War, reopen?Strait of Hormuz and lift U.S. sanctions against Tehran's oil. Han Tan, Chief Market Analyst at Bybit, said that gold is rebounding today after markets quickly moved past...

Metals such as lithium, copper and rare earth elements, which are associated with the energy transition, have been the most consistently bullish commodities in recent years. Iron ore miners want to add their product?to the list. Steel demand in South and Southeast Asia is expected to remain robust and will more than offset the decline in production in China and Western Europe. This was the consensus opinion at this week's industry meeting in Singapore. The optimism of iron ore miners was not shared by those who advocated decarbonising the steel industry. They realised that green steel would be extremely expensive...

The gold price?reversed its course and dropped more than 1%?on Wednesday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rates steady but warned of a rise in borrowing costs this year. This sent the dollar higher. By 2:40 pm EDT (1840 GMT), spot gold had fallen 0.7% to $4,299.89 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures closed 0.6% higher at 4,381.40. Nine out of 19 policymakers at the U.S. Central Bank believe that they will have to increase the policy rate for this year. This is according to the projections made on Wednesday, after the Fed announced their decision to keep...

Kenya is nearing a deal to process its own minerals in the U.S., said its president on the'sidelines of the G7 Summit on Thursday. He called for a wider reset between Africa and the 'West. In recent years, countries across Africa have been pushing to process more minerals produced domestically. This is a move towards keeping more value in Africa. William Ruto, who represented one of the several partner countries at the summit held on the shores Lake Geneva, told an interviewer that the agreement covering rare earths, other strategic minerals and the like was already being worked on and...

As part of its efforts to reduce its dependence on China, the Trump administration is stepping up efforts to secure U.S. supplies chains for essential minerals and semiconductors. Federal grants are being converted into equity stakes within companies. The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $500 million on Wednesday to SandboxAQ, a company backed by Nvidia. This money will be used to develop new materials to make chips. The following companies are linked to the strategic investments push: SANDBOXAQ In exchange for a small stake in the company, the U.S. Commerce Department awarded $500 million to SandboxAQ, a Nvidia-backed company. The...

Investors awaited the U.S. Central Bank's first policy announcement under new Chairman Kevin Warsh as well as further details on the U.S. Iran peace agreement to provide further direction. By 8:20 am EDT (1220 GMT), spot gold had not changed much at $4,325.59 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.2% to $4,345.00. Federal Reserve rate?decisions, policy statements and updated policymaker forecasts will be announced at 2 pm EDT (1800 GMT). Warsh will give a presser half an hour later. He replaced former Fed Chief Jerome Powell in the last month. Kevin Warsh will be the focus of attention, not U.S....

Four sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that C hina's leading copper producers are looking to expand the membership of their smelter team in order to improve their negotiating position with the miners regarding?raw materials supply. A group of 16 large producers who traditionally set the 'floor price' for copper concentrate processing contracts, called The China Smelters Purchase Team invited several potential 'new members to its quarterly meeting in Yantai, Shandong Province on Wednesday. Chinese smelters have begun negotiating with Antofagasta, a Chilean miner, about?concentrate supply deals. Smelters charge treatment and refining fees (TC/RCs), which are paid by miners...

Data showed that the Middle East crude market fell sharply, and even slid into discounts. This was after the United States, Iran, and other countries reached a framework agreement to reopen Strait of Hormuz. The 'Asian refining market led by China is still subdued despite months of?run-cuts.' Hopes for higher supply following the deal have pushed Dubai and Middle East benchmarks to contango, and provided rare arbitrage opportunities in Europe and the United States. Benchmark Dubai’s premium to swaps fell into a 46-cent discount on Tuesday. This is the first contango structure in January. A contango market structure is one...