Asia / Pacific

Saudi Arabian crude oil sales to China will likely remain at record lows this month as the high 'prices' in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran continue to impact demand. Market participants closely monitor the allocations as a measure of Chinese demand. They indicate that refiners are reluctant to import barrels at high prices after run cuts, and because they have exhausted their domestic stocks. Saudi Aramco will ship 12 million barrels to China customers for July loading. This is about 387.096 barrels a day. Sources'requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with the media....

Hengli Petrochemical in China, which was sanctioned by the U.S. because it allegedly purchased Iranian oil, bought at least 2 million barrels of West African crude and is seeking more mainstream supply. Six people have said that Hengli is seeking to buy oil from sources not sanctioned by Washington. The company was penalised in April for buying Iranian oil and denied doing so. Hengli, a privately owned refinery that operates in Dalian (northeast China) and produces 400,000 barrels per day, inquired recently about purchasing cargoes from West Africa and non-Iranian Middle Eastern oil?for deliveries starting June, according to multiple sources....

Global trade doesn't cool in the shadow of tariffs, wars on trade, real wars, and energy shocks. It's heating. How durable is it when the price, and not volume, is what's stoking up the flames? Recent trade data, from the U.S., China and other major economies, shows that cross-border commerce has grown at a faster rate than economists expected. In many cases the price increases were the primary cause of increased activity and surprising export figures. This reflects the spike in inflation caused by the Iran War, particularly on the oil and energy markets. This was especially true in the...

Global trade is not cooling in the shadow of tariffs and trade wars. It's heating. How durable is it when the price and not the volume is what's stoking up the flames? Recent trade data from the U.S., China and other major economies show that cross border commerce is growing at a faster rate than economists expected. In many cases the "increased activity" and the "surprisingly strong headline export numbers" were primarily driven by "higher prices". These reflect the spike in inflation caused by the Iran War, particularly on the oil and energy markets. This was especially true in the...

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) is offering fuel on-demand for the first since the start of the Iran War, according to four sources who are familiar with the matter. Separately KPC is 'offering 4,000,000 barrels of?crude? via tender. A fifth source who has direct knowledge of the issue said that the oil is being offered to Asian buyers. Three sources confirmed that the state firm had offered at least 90,000 metric tons (670,500 bar) of 10ppm gasoil, and a 55,000-60,000 tonne (489,500-534,500 barrels) of naphtha via private negotiations for a June loading. It was not possible to determine immediately if any...

After a flat start, Indian?shares rose on Wednesday, led by Reliance Industries. This was after Meta Platforms announced its first AI-enabled?data centre partnering in India. As of 9:57 a.m. IST, the benchmark?Nifty 50 index rose 0.59% to 23,379.4 while the BSE Sensex increased 0.7% to 74436.6. Reliance rose 2.1% following a Meta announcement that the company would lease a datacenter the Mukesh Ambani?led?company, will build in India. 11 of the 16 largest sectors saw gains. The broader small and mid-caps were flat. The heavyweight financials and the private banks each gained 0.6%. As renewed Middle East hostilities, and expectations of...

Jio BlackRock Asset Management will launch its first exchange traded funds in India by August. The company hopes to emulate 'BlackRock’s' global success in passive investment in a market that is still developing. In the year following its launch, the joint venture between MukeshAmbani's Jio Financial Services (JFS) and the largest asset manager in world has managed to amass about 180 billion rupees in assets. This was achieved by establishing a solid base of cash, debt index and active equity funds. The plan is to begin with equity-focused ETFs. BlackRock manages approximately $5.1 trillion worth of ETF assets worldwide, which...

India's economy was doing well a few months back. India's economy was humming along nicely a few months ago. India is now counting the costs of the Iran War, which, according to economists, will continue to rise if the deadlock in the U.S.-Iran conflict?remains unresolved' and if oil supplies are blocked. India is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world. It ships about 90% of its crude oil. This makes its economy one of the most exposed to war-related disruptions and war-related wars. India announced a series of measures on Friday to limit the impact of the...

Saudi Arabia cut its official'selling prices' (OSPs), for crude oil sold to 'Asia, in July, for a second consecutive month. This was expected, since spot premiums fell on a sluggish demand despite the supply disruptions caused by U.S. - Israeli war against Iran. A document reviewed on Monday by?showed that the July OSP was set at $9.50 per barrel over the average Dubai and Oman quote, which is $6 lower than the OSP in June. The July OSPs of other Saudi grades for Asia fell by $6 per barrel compared to the previous month. The price reduction was in line...

After the war in Iran, companies that have borrowed oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve will receive an 'extra 40 mln barrels - of crude as premiums. Fuel prices have risen since the U.S. and Israel war against Iran began in early February. Wright, however, said that he was not concerned about low stock levels at?the SPR. Wright told Fox Business's "Varney & Company," "I am not concerned because we are not'selling' any barrels of crude oil. We're supplying oil 'to the market 'in the short-term when it is needed, and we trade those barrels." "For every barrel we...

Residents of Gaza and south Lebanon, as well as northern Israel and Kuwait, were all targeted this week, despite a ceasefire allegedly in place in their respective regions, arranged by the United States. Israeli forces are still active in Gaza and Lebanon. Hezbollah's rockets struck northern Israel and Iranian attacks targeted Kuwait's airport. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, commented on Wednesday about the continued violence in the Middle East. He said that ceasefires involved "shooting?in a moderate manner", rather than an end to all fighting. Three truces that his administration has negotiated are meant to stop the "warfare". While the...

Thailand announced on Friday that it would join the U.N. arbitral process selected by Cambodia to settle a 'festering maritime border dispute. After Bangkok unilaterally ended a framework agreement for talks on the disputed maritime belt in 2001, Cambodia has launched this week a mandatory conciliation process pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Both have claimed over 25 years that they own about 26,000 sq km (10,0 miles) of ocean in the Gulf of Thailand. This area is estimated to contain nearly 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gases and large quantities of oil....

The U.S. and Israel war against?Iran has not affected the price of iron ore, but this relative calm hides a shift in the dynamics of the steel raw material. China purchases about three quarters of the global seaborne iron ore and uses it to feed mills that produce just over half of the world's total steel. Iron ore for the United States is largely sourced by Australia and Brazil. Other producers such as South Africa and Guinea contribute a small amount. This trade bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway that connects Iran to Oman has been closed off...

The copper price fell to its lowest level in three weeks as the U.S. and Iran continued their attacks. Funds liquidated positions on concerns about rising interest rates, weaker economic growth worldwide, and softer metals demands. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.8% to $13,407 per metric tonne by 0925 GMT. It had earlier reached $13,378, which was its lowest since May 20. On Thursday, the U.S. traded air strikes with Iran for a second day in a row, undermining an already fragile ceasefire. Copper's decline is driven more by macro-headwinds than fundamentals. "Escalating tensions...

Investors covered their short positions on Thursday and gold prices rose, rebounding from the?a six-month low. However, concerns about higher inflation rates in the U.S. and rising interest rates have limited gains. Gold spot rose 0.6%, to $4.097.01 an ounce at 836 GMT. It had fallen earlier in the session to its lowest level since November 21, U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery were down 0.4% to $4,118. Ross Norman, an independent analyst, said that gold is "clearly" oversold right now. It remains to be determined whether or not this is a real recovery of the metal as such or...

A senior South Korean adviser to the president said that the European Union would give maximum consideration to South Korea’s request for favorable?treatment of their?steelmakers, under the new import regime. The request was made by the South Korean president Lee Jae Myung during a Wednesday meeting in Brussels with Antonio Costa, President of the European Council and Ursula von der Leyen, President of European Commission. Kim Yong Beom, a presidential policy advisor, told a press briefing that Lee had asked the EU to "consider" South Korea's status as a strategic?partner and a?partner in a free trade agreement. Kim said that...

Investors?bought? the metal at a bargain price on Thursday as they awaited a crucial U.S. Inflation Report that could influence Federal Reserve policy. Gold spot rose 0.7% by 0741 GMT to $4,103.74 an ounce, after having fallen as low as $4,022.09 per ounce on November 21, earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures for August were down 0.2% to $4,125.10. Matt Simpson, senior analyst at StoneX, said: "With prices hurtling toward $4,000, there's an obvious level of support which could encourage bears to make a quick profit, or tempt battered bulls off the sidelines." The U.S. Dollar Index failed to...

The U.S. and Israel war against Iran has not affected the price of iron ore, but this relative calm hides a shift in the?dynamics? for the steel raw material. China purchases about three quarters of the world's seaborne iron ore. It uses it to feed mills that make just over half the steel produced worldwide. Iron ore is mostly sourced from Australia and Brazil. Other producers such as South Africa and Guinea also contribute a small amount. This trade bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway that connects Iran to Oman has been closed off since February 28, when...

Elliott Investment Management, an activist investor, called on Australia's biggest gold miner Northern Star Resources late on Wednesday to restore shareholder value immediately by re-evaluating its board and conducting a formal strategic assessment. They cited severe underperformance. Elliott Investment Management, an activist investor, announced last week that it had acquired a stake of more than A$1 Billion ($700.80 M) in Northern Star Resources. The investor cited severe underperformance and repeated "operational mistakes", including seven missed outlooks over the past four years and a share value that was vastly below its peers. Elliott's call, which was instrumental in convincing BHP to...

Jim Anderson, the CEO of Coherent, a chipmaker backed by Nvidia in an earnings call early in May, warned about a shortage of Indium Phosphide. A U.S. delegation of businessmen accompanied President Donald Trump to China. Three sources with knowledge of the matter said that Anderson's trip was to highlight the delays in China's licensing for the export of the high-speed optical chip needed in the manufacturing of AI data centres. According to two U.S. officials and a person who was briefed about the talks, the issue was also raised during the Seoul talks between the top 'trade negotiators' of...

Director?general of mines for Ivory Coast, the West African country, said that gold production is expected to increase from 59.33 tonnes in 2025 to 62 metric tonnes in '2026 as existing?mines expand their operations. Seydoucoulibaly predicted that production would increase to 63 tonnes in 2027, and to around 69 tonnes in 2028. There are currently 14 gold mines operating in the world's leading cocoa producer. He said that the number of gold mines in operation will increase to 15 within two years, with the Kone mine coming online, and 17 in three, when the Doropo mine and the?Tanda Mine come...

Amitabh Kumra, a trade official in India, said that India did not have'surplus manufacturing capacity' in textiles and steel as claimed in the Section 301 investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative. Washington has cited structural surplus capacity in Indian industries, from solar panels and petrochemicals, to steel and textiles. It also cites its $42 billion goods trade deficit with the United States by 2025. Kumar, India's Additional Trade Secretary, said that its textile and Steel output should be evaluated in relation to the size of its population, its domestic demand, and its growth needs rather than its absolute production. "Overcapacity"...

On Wednesday, the Russian state auction website showed that they had failed to sell 67.2% of the gold producer Uzhuralzoloto which it had taken 'from its owner' last year. According to the website, the auction was declared null and void because no bidders had been cleared to participate. Also, no deposit had yet been paid for the single bid made by businessman Mikhail Pimulin. The Russian federal property management agency has yet to announce whether or not it will be holding another auction. Last July, a Russian 'court' ruled that the UGC majority stake owned by the businessman Konstantin Strukov...

On Wednesday, gold?fell?to an 11-week low, as oil prices?rose?on renewed hostilities between Iran and the U.S., fueling concerns about inflation. Gold spot was down 1.7% to $4,191.84 an ounce at 0747 GMT after reaching its lowest level since 23 March. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell?1.6%, to $4,215.60. Ilya Spivak is the head of global macro at Tastylive. He said, "We are seeing a readjustment in what central banks will do globally, and that there has been a major shift towards hawkishness." After President Donald Trump claimed that Iran had?shot down a U.S. Apache helo in the Strait of?Hormuz,...