Asia / Pacific

Whitehaven Coal, a miner in Australia, reported a larger-than-expected 29% drop in its annual profit, due to lower coal prices. This sent the company's shares down more than 4%, even though it announced a share-buyback program. The average achieved coal prices fell by 6%, to A$202 a metric ton in the year ending June 30. This is due to a combination of cyclical weakness as well as the stronger Australian dollar. The underlying net profit after taxes was?A$227 ($160.69) million, lower than A$319 (or A$247.56 million) a year ago and Visible Alpha's estimate. Revenue dropped 7% to A$5.4 Billion. The...

Defense ministry of the United Arab?Emirates said Tuesday?that they detected two ballistic?missiles launched from?Iran. This is the first?such?incident?reported?since a strike on the Fujairah Port on May 4. One missile was said to have fallen in territorial waters while the other one fell outside. Iran has not yet responded to the report. The missile launch comes as the 60-day window of U.S.-Iranian talks ended?on?Monday without a breakthrough. This has raised fears of a re-escalation of the conflict, which has caused shipping to be disrupted through the Strait of Hormuz ever since?February. The defense ministry said that it was "fully prepared to...

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow on ?Tuesday with Myanmar's junta chief-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, ?discussing a wide range of issues including prospective energy deals. Min Aung Hlaing's first visit to a non-neighboring country since becoming Myanmar president in April is Russia. This shows the deepening of ties between the two countries in response to the pressures from the West. After the meeting, Putin called Min Aung Hlaing a friend of Russia, and said that the two countries are cooperating in a variety of sectors including energy, defence, and even space exploration. Putin said that Russia and Myanmar...

The price of oil rose on Tuesday, as the prospect of a deal to end the Middle East conflict seemed further out of reach. Iran said it would adopt a more aggressive stance while the U.S. refused to extend a ceasefire. This increased concerns about the energy supply. A senior Iranian official said on Monday that Iran would adopt a "fully offensive' military posture as efforts to negotiate an end to the U.S. war have stalled. Washington has also ruled out the extension of a temporary ceasefire. The progress made towards peace talks, and the resumption of oil-tanker traffic in...

In its most recent tender, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. sold at least 14,000,000 barrels of'spot crude' to Asian refiners for premiums. ADNOC had issued its eighth tender?since? the start of June, as the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates continued to try and move crude produced within the Strait of Hormuz despite persistent shipping delays. ADNOC has now sold more than 108 million barrels of crude oil through eight different tenders. Sources said that Japanese refiner Cosmo Oil purchased 2 million barrels on Upper Zakum crude at a price premium of $10.50 per barrel over Dubai's benchmark...

The flow of money into emerging markets has not been affected by war, tariffs or AI fluctuations. Instead, reforms, local capital markets that are deeper and a diversification away from U.S. investments have reshaped the asset class. Investor demand has not been deterred by global shocks, which once caused sharp sell-offs in developing economies. Emerging market debt is at its highest level for more than a decade and governments are issuing record amounts of bond. The improvement of policy, the strengthening of foreign exchange reserves and the growth in domestic investor pool have all helped to cushion countries against shocks....

Ukraine announced on Saturday that its long-range attacks had 'hit a Russian airfield and a rocket centre, which Kyiv claims supports a nascent Starlink satellite internet network in Russia. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that Flamingo missiles had struck the rocket center, located about 900 kilometers (560 miles), from Ukraine's borders, as part Kyiv’s campaign to pressurize Moscow to end its four-year long war by targeting deep within Russia. "It's important to reduce Russia's military potential." In a blog post, he stated that peace is needed in Russia and it must be visible through damage to'specific facilities. He...

SK Group Chairman, Chey 'Tae-won, has appealed a South Korean court ruling? ordering him to?pay 944 billion won ($668.52 mln) in a divorce settlement record, according to the Yonhap News Agency, citing his attorneys. The Seoul High Court ruled late in July that Chey'should' make the cash payment in order to divide marital assets while retaining his shares of SK Inc., the holding firm of South Korea’s second largest conglomerate. The Supreme Court ruled that the alleged 'funds' from Roh Taewoo, the former president of South Korea, were not protected contributions by law. Chey’s appeal could prolong a closely-watched case,...

Reliance Industries announced a partnership with Britain's Rolls-Royce on Friday to develop and produce an engine for India’s fighter jet programme. The?country is aiming to build its most advanced stealth combat aircraft. The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft prototype is expected to be ready in 2028. It will play an important role in India's air combat strategy. India approved last year a framework to build its most advanced stealth jet fighter and invited interest by defence firms weeks after a conflict with Pakistan, a nuclear-armed neighbor. The country has also approved the model of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a...

India's equity benchmarks fell this week, after two weeks of gains. The lingering unrest in the Middle East and high crude oil prices dampened risk appetite for stocks in the world's third largest crude importer. This week, the Nifty 50? fell 0.8% to 24,366 while the BSE Sensex dropped 0.6% to 78.009.25. They ended Friday with little change. Brent crude prices rose 4.6% this week to $87 a barrel, due to the lack of progress made in peace talks between Iran and the U.S. to end a long-running war in the Middle East. The U.S. said on Thursday that it...

The Industry Ministry in Seoul announced that TerraPower and South Korea’s SK Innovation had signed a preliminary agreement on small modular reactors. This will allow the SK Group affiliate to participate in TerraPower's domestic and international projects. According to the ministry, Bill Gates and Chey Tae Won, Chairman of SK Group, signed the agreement at a Seoul meeting with Industry Minister Kim Jung Kwan. According to the ministry, the deal allows SK Innovation (the parent company of South 'Korea's biggest oil refiner) to participate in developing 'TerraPower's SMR project in the United States as well as overseas. The ministry did...

On Friday morning, fighter jets participating in a NATO air defense mission reportedly'shot down' a drone which had entered the airspace of Latvia - a member state of NATO and European Union. A threat to airspace in the vicinity of Russia was also raised by the armed forces. Finland, a member of the EU and NATO that shares a border in part with Russia, has temporarily restricted aviation and maritime traffic to certain areas within the eastern Gulf. This is a precautionary move against drones. The armed forces of Latvia did not immediately disclose any details about the drone's origin...

Prices of copper fell on Wednesday as a large increase in warehouse stocks pushed supply concerns that had supported prices to the background. By 0300 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.06% to $13,978 per metric tonne. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell by 1.02%, to 106 880 yuan per ton. Ed Meir, Marex consultant, wrote that copper was "tripped" by a surprise increase in inventories at the LME. The LME data on Tuesday and Monday showed total copper stock The number of large parcels delivered to warehouses increased by...

Rusal, the Russian aluminium giant, reported a?first-half adjusted net loss?on a Wednesday. This was due to a?rise in?aluminium?prices?linked to increased global volatility. The largest aluminum producer in the world outside of China posted a net profit of adjusted $196 million during the six months ended June 30. This is a dramatic turnaround from a $194 million loss a year earlier. Revenue increased by 10.9%, to $8.34 Billion. "Aluminium Prices?surged up to four-years highs in just a few months and then 'rapidly returned to their initial point," said Chairman Bernard Zonneveld. In many markets, where Rusal was a reliable and responsible...

China is now a major swing?supplier for aluminium in a Western market reeling from the loss production in the Gulf due to the Iran War. The top aluminium producer in the world has increased exports of metals, alloys and semi-manufactured goods (semis) to help cushion the impact on the global supply chains. China views the timing as fortunate. The national production has reached record levels, despite a slowdown in domestic demand. While China's exports may have temporarily relieved the market, a long-term problem could be lurking. Mind the Tax Gap Tax code is the primary factor that determines the composition...

The fact that China's steel production dropped to its lowest level this year in July supports the idea that the world's second largest economy struggles for growth momentum. As usual, the devil lies in the details. Steel demand is unevenly distributed across the economy. The world's biggest producer of industrial metal saw its steel output fall to 76.93 metric?tons during July. This is a 3.6% drop from the same period in 2025, and it was the lowest July since 2017. China's first seven months of the year saw a production volume of 577.04 millions tons, down by 3.1% compared to...

Gold prices fell on Tuesday due to?higher Treasury rates and oil prices?. Traders were also waiting for the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting in July for clues about the future interest rate outlook. As of 0624 GMT spot gold fell 0.4%, to $4397.42 an ounce. U.S. futures for delivery in December dropped 0.5%, to $4452.90. The yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes extended gains and raised the opportunity costs of holding non-yielding gold. Prices of oil?increased after Iran announced it would adopt a 'fully offensive' military posture following a breakdown in negotiations to end the...

The Combined BHP Ports Unions announced on Tuesday that it was unable to reach an agreement with 'BHP regarding a wage agreement for its Port Hedland operation in Western Australia. Both sides are expected to resume discussions on August 25, The company spent months at the table with unions that represent around 450 maintenance and operators workers to negotiate a new wage deal. BHP has more than 800 employees at the port. The union stated that BHP's proposal "did not adequately address the concerns of those whose hardwork generated this $13 billion profit", adding that the workers would consult their...

The market was digesting a string of disappointing economic reports from China and the U.S., as well as the fact that a truce between Iran and the U.S. had expired with no longer-term agreement. Benchmark 'three-month' copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.39% to $14,102 per metric ton at 0300 GMT. Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract fell 1.19%, to 107 690 yuan (15,971.58) per ton. After copper prices reached a six-month peak on Monday, disappointing economic indicators in China drew attention to the demand outlook. "Weaker-than-expected economic ?data in China weighed on sentiment across the base metals...

Leigh Curyer, the CEO of NexGen Energy, said that it was "talking" and sharing information with BHP about its Rook I project in Saskatchewan. NexGen Energy, a Canadian uranium mining company, has started construction on what will be the largest uranium mine in the world. The company is looking to raise $1 billion of capital over the next nine-month period. The miner will consider financing options such as prepayment agreements with utilities, debt finance, and direct equity in the project. Curyer, when asked if NexGen was in contact with BHP regarding a possible equity partnership in Athabasca Basin, said that...

Gold prices rose on Monday due to a weaker US dollar and the fading expectation of an increase in U.S. Federal Reserve rates. Investors also continued to monitor the geopolitical tensions within Middle East. By 11:56 am EDT (1555 GMT), spot gold had risen 1.2% to $4,426.52 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for delivery in December edged up 1.1% to $4,484.10. Bart Melek is the global head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. He said that gold prices appear to be pricing in a stagflationary climate, with softer unemployment and expectations that Fed will tolerate 'current inflation levels. The US...

Gold prices rose on Monday due to a weaker US dollar and the fading expectation of an increase in U.S. Federal Reserve rates. Investors also continued to watch geopolitical tensions across the Middle East. By 09:25 am EDT (1325 GMT), spot gold had risen 0.28%, to $4387.95 an ounce. ?U.S. Gold futures for delivery in December edged up 0.2% to $4,444.40. Bart Melek is global head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. He said that the gold market seems to be pricing in a stagflationary climate, with softer unemployment and expectations that Fed will 'tolerate current levels of inflation. The...

The London Metal Exchange's inventories, which are at their lowest since February, have led to concerns about copper availability. Prices rose Monday by the most in six months. Benchmark copper prices increased by 1.1% to $14,310 per metric ton in official rings. This was up from a previous high of $13,396. Prices for the metals used in construction and power industries reached an all-time record high of $14,527.5 per metric ton in January. Stocks at LME-approved warehouses Since May, copper exports to the United States have decreased by half to less than 210.000 tons. This is because traders are moving...

Gold prices rose on Monday, as a weaker dollar and diminishing expectations of an increase in U.S. Federal Reserve rates next month boosted bullion. Gold spot rose 0.5%, to $4.398.58 an ounce at 1032 GMT. Prices reached a two-month high in the last week. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery edged up 0.4% to $4,455.50. Gold is now cheaper for those who hold other currencies than the U.S. dollar index. "Softer 'inflation', employment and consumer data reduce the risk of another hike. This strengthens the case that the Fed may end up cutting rates," said Ole Hansen. He is the...