East Asia

U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Wednesday that the Trump administration expected Japan to stop importing Russian oil. Bessent, who spoke on X after the meeting on Wednesday, said: "Minister Kato & I discussed important issues pertaining the U.S. - Japan economic relationship as well as the Administration's expectations that Japan cease importing Russian Energy." Bessent met with Kato on the sidelines this week of the G7, G20 and annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund. When asked if Japan had been urged to stop buying Russian energy from Bessent, Kato replied that Japan...

An executive revealed on Wednesday that engine developer Horse Powertrain has been working with Chinese automakers Leapmotor and Chery to develop vehicle projects in order to access global markets outside of China. Horse is a joint-venture between Renault and Geely, who each own 45%. Saudi Aramco, the oil producer, owns the other 10%. "We are working with a number of different automakers around the world," Wang Ruiping told reporters in the office of Horse's Ningbo subsidiary. He named three Chinese automakers as partners, but didn't elaborate. Leapmotor makes electric vehicles, but Zhu Jiangming, the CEO of the company, said last...

India's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that an Indian-backed refinery in Mongolia will begin operating in 2028. The Mongolian authorities want Indian companies to also explore for oil and natural gas in the country. The announcement came during the visit of Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa to India. Mongolia's first refinery will be built using a $1.7 billion Indian credit line. It has the capacity to process 1,5 million metric tonnes of crude oil per year, or 30,000 barrels a day. P. Kumaran is a senior official in the Indian Foreign Ministry. He said that refinery equipment will be manufactured in India,...

Customs data released on Monday showed that China's imports of coal rose to their highest level in nine months, as domestic coal prices increased, making imported coal more affordable. However, shipments were still below the levels seen a year ago. China's General Administration of Customs reported that the country imported 46 million metric tonnes of coal last month. The decline in prices on the international market was responsible for the lower total of last month compared to September, when it was a record high. This record was broken in November. September 2024 is now the second highest month ever. The...

Sources with knowledge of this matter stated on Friday that Saudi Arabia's crude exports to China will fall to 40 million barrels in November as refiners switch to cheaper spot supplies from other Middle East producers. This would be a drop from the 51 million barrels expected to be exported by the top oil exporter in October. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, left its official November price for its flagship Arab Light crude in Asia unchanged, despite market expectations that it would increase. This was a day after OPEC+ had agreed to a modest rise in oil production. Data...

Saudi Aramco announced on Thursday that it had acquired a 22,5% stake in the joint venture for refining and petrochemicals Petro Rabigh, from Japan's Sumitomo Chemical. The acquisition is part of the turnaround plan for this loss-making venture. This agreement increases Aramco’s stake in Petro Rabigh from about 40% to 60%. It is part of an effort to improve the performance at the joint-venture, which has suffered significant losses over recent years due to a difficult global market for petrochemicals. According to calculations, Petro Rabigh's last full-year profit was in 2021. Since then, the company has accrued net losses totaling...

Taiwan's Economy Minister said on Wednesday, that private refiners would be willing to stop purchasing Russian naphtha if the EU asked them. This comes after a group non-governmental organizations criticized the island's continuing business with Russia. Taiwan, along with the United States, major Western allies, and other countries, put broad sanctions against Russia in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine, but it did not ban explicitly imports, which are a major source of hard currency for Russia. A group of NGOs, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air(CREA), criticised Taiwan for its continued imports Russian naphtha last...

Sources in the trade said that traders offering Russian oil are now asking Indian refiners to make payments in Chinese Yuan. They see recent signs of improved relations between New Delhi, China and Beijing as an opportunity to simplify transactions with Indian buyers. Indian Oil Corp, India's largest refiner and state-controlled company, paid in Chinese currency recently for two or three cargoes worth of Russian oil. Indian Oil has not responded to the request for comment immediately. Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have led to a greater use of alternative currencies such as the...

Sources in the trade said that traders offering Russian oil are now asking Indian refiners to make payments in Chinese Yuan. They see recent signs of improved relations between New Delhi, China and Beijing as an opportunity to simplify transactions with Indian buyers. Indian Oil Corp, India's largest refiner and state-controlled company, paid in Chinese currency recently for two or three cargoes worth of Russian oil. Indian Oil has not responded to the request for comment immediately. Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have led to a greater use of alternative currencies such as the...

Sinochem, a Chinese company, is willing to sell its Pirelli shares - but only if they are offered at a premium. This comes after the Italian government announced this week that Sinochem had not violated the rules protecting the autonomy of the tyre manufacturer. Rome is trying to resolve a dispute over governance that has affected Pirelli for years. Sinochem, Pirelli’s largest shareholder, is at odds with Camfin, another investor. Pirelli and Camfin complained that the fact that a Chinese company was its largest shareholder was preventing the tyre manufacturer from expanding in the U.S., because Washington is tightening restrictions...

The tyre maker said that the Italian government determined Sinochem, which is the largest shareholder of Pirelli, had not violated "golden powers" measures in 2023. The historic Italian company is now a Chinese-owned business. Recent months have seen a sensitive issue. Camfin, the second largest shareholder of Pirelli, claimed that this would threaten its plans to expand into the United States. Washington tightens restrictions on Chinese automotive technology, banning software and hardware produced by Chinese-controlled firms in vehicles connected to U.S. roads. A statement from the Italian government said that it had concluded that actions taken by directors who were...

In Australia, the biggest buyouts in 15 years have failed this year. Misaligned valuations and regulatory risks are adding to the challenges of navigating a regulatory environment that is becoming increasingly strict. The ADNOC-led group's decision to withdraw from its bid of $18,7 billion for Santos (Australia's second-largest gas producer) is the latest high-profile deal to fail in Australia in this year. Sources reported that the ADNOC bid, via its investment vehicle XRG was shelved because of disagreements between the parties on potential capital gains taxes relating to a Santos property. Analysts said that the deal would also have had...

The U.S. Judge said on Wednesday that he is ready to approve Rio Tinto’s agreement to pay an amount of $138.75 millions to settle a lawsuit in which investors accused the Anglo Australian mining giant of fraud by hiding problems with the $7 billion underground extension of the Oyu Tolgoi Copper and Gold Mine in Mongolia. Rio Tinto reached a preliminary agreement with the shareholders of Turquoise Hill Resources, which was formerly based in Montreal. The settlement is pending the approval by Manhattan-based U.S. district judge Lewis Liman. Liman said at an hearing on Wednesday that he is ready to...

The copper price rose on Wednesday, thanks to a weaker US dollar and expectations for further interest rate reductions in the U.S. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange increased by 0.9%, to $10.673.50 per metric ton as of 0939 GMT. Copper reached its highest level in 16 months of $11,000 Oct. 9 due to the increased investment into hard assets, and concerns about reduced mine supplies after disruptions occurred in Indonesia, Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Analysts added unexpected production accidents to their estimates of the supply-demand balance for metals used in construction and...

From Monday to Thursday, the elite Central Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party is holding a closed door meeting to discuss, amongst other things, its 15th five-year plan for development. This meeting is known as a Plenum and it's the fourth one since the Party Congress of 2022. What does it all mean? What is a plenum? Central Committee, the largest decision-making body of the party, holds seven plenums in between congresses. The fifth plenum is traditionally used to discuss five-year plans. The party will now be expected to review the 2026-2030 Plan during the Fourth Plenum, which takes place...

Iron ore futures ranged on Wednesday as worries about the worsening Sino US trade dispute and China's low inflation data, its largest consumer, offset optimism regarding remaining strong near-term demand. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that Washington is considering ending some trade relations with China. The U.S., China and other countries began to charge additional port fees for ocean shipping companies on Tuesday. This is another sign of the tensions that exist between the two world's largest economies. These tensions could impact the market sentiment and put pressure on commodity prices. As of 0303 GMT on Wednesday, the most-traded...

China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group's Vice General Manager said that the group is preparing three stockpiles containing precious and rare metals as well as "scattered" or low-concentration metals in Earth's crust. Fan Wei, vice-general manager of the state-owned mining company, said, "We plan to do that." He spoke on the sidelines the China Nonferrous Metals Forum as part of the annual LME Week in London. Fan, in his presentation at the forum, said that CNMC would prioritise the development of 14 different types of metals including tantalum and niobium as well as platinum group metals such beryllium and indium. He...

Copper prices dropped on Tuesday as a result of concerns about trade tensions between China and the United States, two of the world's largest economies. These tensions could have an impact on the demand for metals that are dependent on growth. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell 2.6%, to $10544.50 per metric ton as of 1004 GMT. The price of copper, which is used for power and construction, has dropped 4% after concerns about a reduced mine supply following disruptions in Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dan Smith, managing Director at Commodity Market...

Trade ministers and officials of the European Union said that they were seeking to coordinate their response with the United States, and other G7 members to the tighter Chinese controls over the export of rare-earth minerals. China, which is the world's biggest rare earth producer has dramatically increased controls in recent weeks, adding new elements and refining technology, and extra scrutiny to semiconductor users, ahead of scheduled talks between Presidents Donald Trump & Xi Jinping. Maros Sefcovic, European Trade Commissioner, called the measures unjustified. He said EU Ministers who met in Denmark to discuss issues of trade described them as...

Sources say that Chinese rare earth magnet manufacturers have faced tighter controls on export licenses since September. This was even before Beijing's decision last week to increase controls on the minerals critical for magnets. The longer reviews that magnet makers are subjected to raise questions as to whether China, which is the world's largest supplier of magnets, is trying to slow down magnet shipments in violation of its commitment to increase exports under a May trade truce, in order to tighten their grip on products vital to military and commercial technology. Two sources familiar with the issue say that obtaining...

Iron ore futures fell on Tuesday as investors booked profit after focusing back on expectations of growing ore supplies in the remainder of 2025. Meanwhile, steel demand in China, the top consumer, is seasonally slowing. As of 0331 GMT, the most traded January iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange fell by 1.82% to $784 yuan (US$109.90) per metric ton. Earlier in the session, it reached its highest level since 23 September at 809.5 Yuan. As of 0321 GMT the benchmark November iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell 2.08% to $100.55 a ton after reaching its highest level...

Rio Tinto on Tuesday reported softer-than-anticipated third-quarter iron ore shipments and warned it would require a vigorous year-end push to attain the lower end of its annual target, even as copper output races to the top of its forecast. Four cyclones disrupted the schedules Early this year Rio Tinto forecasts its 2025 iron-ore shipment at the lower end its range of 323 million to 338 millions tonnes (Mt). Rio Tinto said that the cyclones had impacted 13 Mt of shipments during the first quarter, and was on track for about half to be recovered. Visible Alpha's consensus estimate for the...

Gold reached a new record high on Monday as investors flocked to safe-haven investments amid renewed U.S. China trade tensions and the expectation of U.S. rate cuts. Silver's rise mirrored that of gold, reaching a new high. As of 10:04 am, spot gold had risen 1.9%, to $4,093.39 an ounce. After hitting a new record of $4,096.35/oz. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery surged 2.8%, to $4113.40. Prices are rising due to concern over the state of the world Gold and silver prices rise when investors become concerned about the economic or political state of the world. Jeffrey Christian, managing...

India's silver prices are significantly higher than global averages, as India is the world's largest consumer of precious metals. This is due to the soaring demand for the metal from investors. Exchange-traded funds with physical backing have suspended new subscriptions after the premium jumped up to 10%. Jewellers struggle to meet the strong demand for silver ahead of Diwali - the Hindu festival when purchases of the metal are traditionally high. Why is there a shortage of silver? The global silver demand has been outpacing supply over the last four years. This is a result of the five-year surplus that...