China

PetroChina, a major oil company in China, announced on Monday that it will close its Yunnan Petrochemical Plant from November 15th, 2025 to January 15th, 2026 for maintenance. It said that the overhaul covered about 23,000 tasks, with a broad scope and considerable depth. During the maintenance period, operational and supply adjustments will take place. According to a July report by the company, this refinery in Southwestern China produces mainly China VI standard gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for Southwestern China as well as Southeast Asia. The report stated that since its launch in 2017, the company has processed 83,000,000...

Customs data released on Friday showed that China's imports of coal in October were down 10% from the previous year, due to a holiday which reduced the number working days during the month. Imports will be supported in 2025 by the winter restocking of products during the last two months. Imports in October fell from 46.25 to 41.74 millions metric tons, a drop of almost ten percent. Imports in September reached 46 million metric tonnes, a record high for nine months. Feng Dongbin is vice-general manager of Fenwei Digital Information Technology. He said that imports decreased sequentially, and also from...

India's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Indian companies had received licenses to import rare earth magnets. This signals a relaxation of Beijing's export controls. China has become more powerful in its trade wars with the U.S. because of rare earths. Rare earths are a grouping of 17 elements which play an important role in planes, cars and weapons. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Indian foreign ministry, announced the licensing decision at a press briefing. He did not give details about the companies who received approval or the number of licenses granted. China is the only country that has a...

Covestro, a German chemicals company, lowered its core profit forecast for the full year on Thursday because of soft demand. However, it said that its financial stability will be assured as ADNOC's $17 billion acquisition by Abu Dhabi is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Covestro's earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortization are now expected to range between 800 and 700 million euros. This is a drop from the two previous cuts it made this year. The previous estimate was that the EBITDA would range between 700 million and 1.1 billion euro. The company's products, including foam chemicals...

Wall Street's major indexes hit new record highs Monday, as the excitement surrounding a possible U.S. China trade deal set a tone for a busy week of high-profile earnings from technology companies and a widely anticipated interest rate reduction. On Thursday, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping (the Chinese counterpart) will meet to discuss the future of the U.S.-China relationship. A framework This could stop the tougher U.S. Tariffs and China's export restrictions on rare earths. It would also ease market anxiety about a possible trade war, and send Wall Street's VIX "fear gauge", to a month-low. During his weekend TV...

Reliance Industries, owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Amani, is hurrying to ship its battery component orders out of China before new export restrictions are implemented, according to two people who were briefed about the issue. This comes as global concerns grow over how Beijing plans to enforce its expanding export control regime. One source said that a team from Reliance had travelled to China in order to accelerate the work. Reliance, as well as the Ministry of Commerce of China, did not respond when asked for comment. Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, the people refused to be...

Petrobras, the state-run Brazilian oil company, reported record exports in the third quarter of 814,000 barrels per day, thanks to a surge in production and the start of 11 new wells, the firm announced on Friday. This was a 36% rise in oil exports over the same period last year. China received 53% of the company's shipments during the period. This is an increase of 14 percentage points compared to a year earlier. Asia, excluding China received 19%, an increase of 5 percentages. The share of Petrobras oil exported to the United States fell to 3%, and the share to...

Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister, will make his first official trip to Asia this Friday. He is hoping to strengthen trade and security links at a moment when North America struggles to reduce its dependence on the U.S. Canadian officials have said that Carney's trip could include a meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping in an effort to restore a relationship previously strained by a trade war. Donald Trump, President of the United States Termination of trade talks Canada responded to a political ad in Ontario that featured Ronald Reagan, the Republican icon who said tariffs caused economic...

Reliance Industries, owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Amani, is hurrying to ship its battery component orders out of China before new export restrictions are implemented, according to two people who were briefed about the issue. This comes as global concerns grow over how Beijing plans to enforce its expanding export control regime. One source said that a team from Reliance had travelled to China in order to accelerate the work. Reliance, as well as the Ministry of Commerce of China, did not respond when asked for a comment. Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, the people refused to...

Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister, will make his first official trip to Asia this Friday. He is hoping to strengthen trade and security links at a moment when North America struggles to reduce its dependence on the U.S. Canadian officials have said that Carney may also meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his week-long visit, as part of a possible attempt to restore a relationship previously strained by a trade war. Analysts say Carney will need to make it clear to Asian leaders that Canada is not as closely aligned to the U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened...

The week will be dominated by renewed trade tensions, talks between Washington and Beijing, and decisions made by the central banks of the United States, Canada, and Europe. Meanwhile, Argentina's voters go to the polls. Dhara Ranasinghe, Alden B. Bentley, Lewis Krauskopf, and Rodrigo Campos in New York and Kevin Buckland, in Tokyo, give you all the information about what to expect in world markets this week. 1/ A MIDTERM DRAMA The mid-term elections in Argentina on Sunday will be a crucial moment for the biggest reform story of emerging markets. Right-wing president Javier Milei wants to consolidate his minority...

Angola’s first major copper mining project, Tetelo will begin production on October 29. This is part of Angola’s effort to diversify its economy into minerals that are clean and renewable. Shining Star Icarus is the owner of this $250 million mine, which is a partnership between China’s Shining Star International Group with Angola’s Sociedade Mineireira de Cobre de Angola. It is expected to produce 25, 000 metric tons per year of copper concentrate in its first two years. "I'm honored to announce the Tetelo Mine, which will be inaugurated in a few short days," Mines minister Diamantino azevedo said at...

Copper prices rose on Monday as a result of the optimism that the U.S. Government shutdown will end soon, and data indicating a reduction in deflation in China's top metal consumer. By 1015 GMT, the benchmark three-month price of copper at the London Metal Exchange was up 1% to $10.822 per ton. LME copper is up 23% this year. It reached a record high of $11,200 in October. The U.S. Senate moved on Sunday to pass a bill aimed at reopening federal government. "The prospect of U.S. government opening again, that sends a bit of a cheery sign and a...

The price of copper rose on Monday, after data released by China's top consumer in October showed a easing of deflation. This boosted confidence that the economy is recovering. Consumer prices also turned positive while factory gate prices declined. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract closed the day trading at 86480 yuan (12,140.95 USD) per ton, up by 0.62%. As of 0720 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper increased by 0.78%, to $10,800 per ton. According to the National Bureau of Statistics' (NBS) data published on Sunday the producer price index fell by 2.1% in October compared...

Marubeni Corp, a Japanese company, announced on Monday that it would invest in an Australian mineral sands development project run by RZ Resources. This follows in the footsteps JX Advanced Metals of Japan who struck a similar agreement with RZ Resources earlier this year. Marubeni has agreed to pay A$15m ($9.75m) towards options that will grant it up 5% of the equity in RZ's Copi Mineral Sands Mine Project in New South Wales, as well as certain marketing rights if the feasibility of the project is confirmed. RZ, the owner of the Copi project, as well as a mineral separation...

The price of copper rose on Monday, after data released by China's top consumer in October showed a easing of deflation. This boosted confidence that the economy is recovering. Consumer prices also turned positive while factory gate prices declined. As of 0255 GMT, the most traded copper contract at Shanghai Futures Exchange had risen 0.7% to 86,550 Yuan ($12150.78) per tonne. The benchmark copper for three months also rose 0.7%, to $10,798.5 per ton. According to the National Bureau of Statistics' (NBS) published data on Sunday, the producer price index fell by 2.1% in October compared with the previous year....

The price of copper rose on Friday as a result of signs that trade tensions are easing between Washington and Beijing. This is despite the fact that China, which is the world's largest metal consumer, has reduced its imports. Benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6% to $10,739 per metric ton at 1041 GMT. The 21-day moving-average at $10 776 was a strong resistance. Metal used for power and construction is down 4% from its record high of 11,200 dollars on October 29, when fears about a tighter supply globally pushed the metal to that level. Dan...

China has approved the registration of palladium and platinum futures and options. This is a major step towards the start of derivatives trading for the metals that are used by automakers. China Securities Regulatory Commission announced on Friday it will supervise the Guangzhou Futures Exchange in order to ensure a smooth and successful launch of palladium and platinum futures and options. The regulator has not disclosed a launch date. The Guangzhou bourse announced its plans in July of last year. It was founded in 2021, and it focuses mainly on green energy products. Industry insiders claim that the exchange has...

The physical gold demand in India was subdued in this week's trading as the volatile price levels discouraged buyers and led dealers to offer steep discounts in order to attract them. In China, demand also cooled due to new tax regulations. Indian dealers are offering a discount The discount is now up to $14 per kilogram over the official domestic price, including 6% import duties and 3% sales taxes, compared to last week's up to $12. A New Delhi jeweller said that investment demand was the main driver of the market last month. But now, even investors are waiting for...

Dalian iron ore contracts fell on Friday, logging a loss for the week as weakened steel demand and production reductions in China's top consumer pushed prices down. The January contract for iron ore most traded on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange(DCE) dropped 1.87%, to 760.5 Yuan ($106.77) per metric ton. The contract closed the week at a 3.95% loss. As of 0712 GMT, the benchmark December iron ore contract on Singapore Exchange was down by 2.46% to $101.35 per ton. The contract has fallen 4.51% this week. Analysts from ANZ said that in order to control deflation in China, the country...

Customs data released on Friday showed that China's exports of rare earths increased by 9% from September. This was the first increase month-over-month after three consecutive months of declines. Data from the General Administration of Customs revealed that China, the largest exporter of rare earths, sold 4,343.5 tons of rare Earths in October. Data was aggregated so it wasn't clear which countries and products had higher imports for October. On November 20, a complete breakdown of the data will be released. China announced on October 9 a major expansion of its export controls for rare earths, which were first implemented...

China's imports of iron ore in October were above 100 million tonnes for the fifth consecutive month. This was due to robust shipments, boosted by rising prices and a resilient demand by the world's biggest consumer. The General Administration of Customs reported on Friday that China imported 111.3 millions metric tons of this key ingredient for steelmaking last month. The volume in October was higher than the 103.84 millions tons recorded in the same month of 2024. It was also the second highest total for the year so far, despite the fall of 4.32% since the record high monthly in...

China's imports of copper dropped in October according to official data released on Friday. Consumers were hesitant to restock due high prices for this metal, which is used in construction and power. According to the General Administration of Customs, copper imports fell to 438,000 tons from 485,000 tons one month earlier. This represents a 9.7% decline. Imports of unwrought copper, as well as copper products, into China, which is the world's biggest consumer, include anodes and refined metals, alloys, and semi-finished products. The London Metal Exchange benchmark copper for three months rose by 6.03% in the last month. Late October,...

The U.S. rare-earths company MP Materials reported on Thursday that its third-quarter losses widened due to the suspension of sales to Chinese clients as part an agreement with the U.S. Government, even though the results exceeded Wall Street's expectations. After-hours, shares fell 7.4% to $48,40. The company has shifted its focus from relying on foreign sales, to becoming a major U.S. miner of rare earths. It also focuses on manufacturing magnets from these materials that are widely used in the automotive and electronics industries. MP is the owner of the only U.S. mine for rare earths and has plans to...