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Sinopec China opens high-end PVA factory, aims to import substitution
Sinopec, a Chinese oil company, announced on Monday that it has opened a polyvinyl ethanol (PVA), resin plant in Chongqing. This will help China reduce its dependency on imported materials. The 50,000-metric-ton-per-year plant, operated by Sinopec Chongqing SVW Chemical Co, raises the site's total PVA capacity to 210,000 tons a year, ?Sinopec said in a statement. PVA is an?water-soluble biodegradable polymer that's used in a wide range of products, from face masks to high-value applications such as photovoltaics, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. The company stated that the expansion will make the Chongqing site the largest single-site production facility for 'high-end PVA' and its total PVA capability to the fourth-largest in the world. The company stated that China has relied on imports of high-end PVA for optical films and pharmaceutical applications. The new plant, however, can produce products in large quantities that are comparable to international standards, thus helping to close a 'domestic gap' and strengthening the resiliency of China's industrial supply chain. Chongqing SVW Chemical exports 70 different products to over 40 countries. Sinopec stated that more than 80% of China's PVA exported to Europe's premium market is produced at this?plant. It also added that it was the only domestic PVA manufacturer to enter the U.S. marketplace. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Sam Li, Lewis Jackson)
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Sarawak, Malaysia is grappling with a rise in crocodile incidents
One indigenous village in Malaysia's Sarawak State lived by a?unspoken rule. Leave the crocodile alone and it will leave you alone. This taboo was broken by the head of the community, Daniel?Muking. His son, who died in a crocodile-attacked attack on May 20, 2024, had been found dead. He said, "It ate my child so I'm entitled to kill it." Sarawak, on Borneo Island, has experienced a 'rise in crocodile sightings over the past few years due to the increase in reptiles?in its rivers. According to a study, the crocodile's population reached over 25,000 by 2024. In 1980s it was nearly extinct due to overexploitation. Between 2023 and 2025 there were?22 deaths caused by crocodiles, of which five have occurred this year. Len Talif Salleh, deputy Minister of Natural Resources in Sarawak, said that authorities must balance wildlife protection with the safety and security of riverside communities. As part of its efforts to?manage the crocodile populations, the Sarawak government issued hunting licenses and launched a mobile phone app for the public. The?Sarawak Forestry Corporation stated that crocodile attacks are down compared to the 20-year period prior. Abang Arabi AbangAimran, the general manager of the corporation, stated that crocodiles are more likely to appear near human settlements, because they can easily find food there. Authorities worked with licensed hunters and local communities in order to remove crocodiles from rivers close to human settlements. Families like Daniel's have finally found closure, after the crocodile they identified as killing their son was finally?hunted. Daniel replied, "I would also like to eat the flesh of that animal if possible." (Reporting and writing by Mandy Leong Huey Mu, Hasnoor Hassain and Danial Azhar. Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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Nickel exports to Indonesia are now more open
Nickel fell on Monday and lagged other base metals as Indonesia resumed exports of rare-earth minerals, which eased?near term supply concerns. The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange has fallen 1.56% to $16,980 per metric ton as of 0330 GMT, while the most traded nickel contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange has dropped 1.91%, to 129.520 yuan (19,179.34 dollars) per ton. Indonesia's rare-earth tests delayed the export of nickel pig iron, mixed hydroxide precipitate as well as bauxite and copper cathodes. Dudung Abdurachman, the Chief of Staff to the President, said that the testing ban only applied when rare earths were the main product. He added that over a hundred vessels that had been delayed could now sail. He added that the State Surveyor will be issuing 85 reports previously delayed. The clarification has reportedly quelled fears that nickel shipments from Indonesia will be disrupted for a long time. However, officials are still working on finalising concentration limits and testing methods. Other data showed that weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing data increased pressure on metals demand by the world's biggest consumer. The private RatingDog Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 50.9 from 51.7 in the previous month, below analysts' consensus of 51.5. This was the slowest growth in four months. The growth in new orders has slowed down to its lowest level since January. Manufacturers have also cut their purchasing activity for the first time since November. A survey released by the government on Friday revealed that factory activity had unexpectedly decreased in July. This has added to concerns over weak domestic demand and a slowing economy. On the?LME copper rose 0.23%. Aluminium fell 0.09%. Zinc climbed 0.70%. Lead was barely changed. It dropped only?0.03%. Tin also moved down by 0.12%. Other base metals traded on the SHFE rose by 0.13%, while aluminium fell 0.40%. Zinc grew 1.02%. Lead dropped 1.25%. Tin gained 0.36%.
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Oil prices fall on hope of Iran agreement, but yen rises after intervention
Oil prices fell and stocks wobbled Monday, as 'hopes for a Middle East peace deal grew. The yen also jumped after the U.S. confirmed a joint intervention by Japan and the U.S. to support the 'frail currency. Brent crude futures fell more than 4%, to $83,88, after U.S. president?Donald?Trump announced that talks with Iran would take place on Monday. He had previously called off an imminent strike on Iran in order to reach a settlement to reopen Strait of Hormuz, and to resolve the impasse regarding Tehran's nuke capabilities. S&P futures increased by 0.5%, while Nasdaq Futures gained 0.8%. European futures rose 0.7%. Asian stocks struggled to start the week, however, after a turbulent month that saw wild swings in July due to concerns over the AI trade. Investors were worried about the massive investment and whether or not it would provide returns "quickly" enough. Japan's Nikkei fell by nearly 2% while South Korea's KOSPI dropped over 4%. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell about 1%. YEN BEAR COWER FOLLOWING JOINT INTERVENTION The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 156.47 US dollars after an abrupt move earlier in day alerted traders for another round of intervention. Japan and the U.S. have conducted coordinated yen buying intervention and will not hesitate to take additional action, Japan’s finance ministry announced on Monday. This confirms a rare bilateral measure to stop the yen’s slide to new 40-year-lows. Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said that the United States will?consider in the coming months increasing the size of Federal Reserve's temporary dollar liquidity repurchase facility. He called the tool "important backstop". Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at StoneX, said that Besent's remarks?carry a?greater weight than the actual intervention. It feels like the Japanese yen is at its lowest level for the year. "The term 'joint interventions' is rarely used in these markets, but it carries a great deal of weight." Trump had said that the United States would help Japan support the yen in a show of friendship and as a way to boost the global economy. "They are experiencing a weakening of the yen and wanted some help." "We're always here for Japan," Trump stated. Tokyo's unilateral intervention between late April to early May only caused a?brief yen recovery, while the Bank of Japan rate hike in the month of June provided little support, underlining the challenges facing policymakers due to rising oil prices and an interest rate differential with other major economies. Before the latest round of interventions, the yen was rooted at a 40-year low of 163.99 dollars per yen, and net short positions were around $12.5 billion, the highest level in the past two years. The billions spent by Japan and the joint moves made by the two countries have shown that they are determined to strengthen the yen. This is what Nick Twidale, ATFX Global's chief market strategist said. The fundamentals will have to change for these changes to be sustainable. Once the market feels that these actions are complete, they will begin to challenge them. Bessent's repeated calls for the BOJ to increase interest rates and his actions have brought monetary policy into sharp focus. On Monday, the 2-year JGB yield briefly reached 1.545%, its highest level since 1995 as markets priced in an early rate increase. The drop in oil prices also led to a decrease in the yields on U.S. Treasury bonds. The 30-year bond yield fell 3.7 basis point to 5.238%. This is a slight decrease from the 19-year high that was reached last week. Investors were confused by the Iran War and the Federal Reserve's policy outlook in July, which caused the yield to jump 372 basis point. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee, Singapore; Editing and proofreading by Muralikumar Anantharaman
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Gold prices rise as oil prices fall after Trump delays Iran attack
Gold prices rose on Monday as oil prices dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump held back on announcing new attacks against Iran, hoping for a quick deal. This helped ease concerns about inflation and rising interest rates. As of 0210 GMT, spot gold was up 0.4% to $4,055.76 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures increased 0.9% to $4054.00. After authorities intervened on the foreign exchange markets to support the yen and make dollar-priced gold more affordable for overseas purchasers, the U.S. Dollar was under pressure. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that gold has had a positive but cautious start to the week. Trump confirmed that he would be holding a?meeting with Iran on Monday, but refused to give a timeframe for a?agreement. Oil prices dropped more than 5%. Since the beginning of the U.S. - Iran conflict, gold has been under pressure as a rise in inflation caused by war could lead central banks to increase interest rates. While bullion has traditionally been viewed as an inflation hedge, its appeal is diminished in an environment of high interest rates because it doesn't yield any interest. Three U.S. Federal Reserve representatives who dissented last week at the policy meeting in favor of a rate increase expressed concern on Friday that inflation would remain above the Fed's target of 2% without an immediate rise in short-term borrowing costs. Participants in the market will also be focusing on a number of U.S. job reports that are due this week. These include the ADP Employment Report, weekly claims for unemployment and the non-farm payrolls. "A sustained rise would require a drop in oil prices, a weaker dollar or a change in Fed expectations towards a more dovish position. Waterer said that the downside could be a renewed Middle East escalation that would push oil prices higher or a strong NFP report that reinforces the September rate-hike chances. Spot silver rose 0.9% to $58.13, while platinum increased 0.5% to 1,649.35 and palladium climbed 1.7% to $2,294.92.
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Oil prices fall on hope of Iran agreement, but yen surges after intervention
On Monday, oil prices fell and stocks wobbled as hopes for peace in the Middle East increased. Meanwhile, the yen suddenly jumped after the U.S. confirmed a joint intervention by Japan and the U.S. to support the fragile currency. Brent crude futures fell more than 6%, to $82.41, after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that talks with Iran would take place on Monday. He had previously called off an imminent strike on Iran in order to reach a agreement to reopen Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse regarding Tehran's nuke capabilities. S&P futures increased by 0.4%, while Nasdaq's futures gained 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei fell 1%, while South Korea's KOSPI dropped 3.6%. MSCI's broadest?Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell 1% at the opening of trading. The Japanese yen jumped more than 1%, to 155.39 US dollars in a sudden move that alerted traders for another round of intervention. Japan and the U.S. have conducted a 'coordinated' yen buying intervention and won't hesitate to take further actions, the Japanese finance ministry announced on Monday. This is a rare bilateral measure to stop the yen from falling to new 40-year-lows. Masayuki Nakajima, a strategist at Mizuho Bank, said that the goal was unlikely to be to reverse the trend of the dollar/yen because structural forces are still yen-negative. This includes persistent interest rate differentials between the U.S. and Japan. It is hard to argue that the trend of yen depreciation has fundamentally changed. Nakajima stated that in the short term, momentum could shift towards yen appreciation as recent U.S.Japan communications carry a "pointed warning to speculative trader". Trump had said that the United States would help Japan to support the yen in a show of friendship and for the benefit of the global economy. "They had a weakening currency, and they wanted a little help." "We're always there for Japan," Trump said in response to the reporter's question about why the U.S. supports the yen. Nick Twidale is the chief market strategist for?ATFX Global. He said that Trump's comments about it being?basically a "friendship trade" take away credibility from U.S. involvement. Twidale stated, "They are pushing the fundamentals and I expect the market will eventually correct the move after the intervention is over, unless there's a change to the underlying factors." (Reporting from Ankur Banerjee, Singapore; Editing Muralikumar Anantharaman).
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ADNOC will switch the oil price benchmark from Murban to Platts-Dubai.
Abu Dhabi National Oil 'Co announced?on Friday that it will change its benchmark for monthly official sales prices for all of its crude grades from Murban crude to Platts Dubai pricing for the month-to-month from November 1. In a press release, ADNOC said that the change will align ADNOC’s OSPs with the month in which cargoes are loaded. This applies to Abu Dhabi crude grades onshore and off-shore, including Murban Das, Umm Lulu, and Upper Zakum. ADNOC will announce differentials for grades to Dubai prices in the month prior to cargo loading. ADNOC stated that the new pricing mechanism "reinforces ADNOC?s commitment to price transparency for its growing client and investor base." The company said it would continue to "meet its obligations" with regards to the delivery of crude grades from Abu Dhabi, both onshore and offshore. The move comes after the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran disrupted oil imports from the Middle East via the Strait of Hormuz, and caused significant hedging losses for traders who deal in Abu Dhabi oil. Since June, the producer has been consulting with customers on proposed changes to its OSPs. ADNOC also sells its crude cargoes through spot tenders?since June, at differentials from Dubai quotes. SUDDEN CHANGE SAYS A TRADER A crude trader told the media on Friday that this announcement was a sudden one. ADNOC stated that the change in pricing mechanism is unlikely to have an impact on any ADNOC listed instruments, including those issued under ADNOC Murban’s GMTN and Sukuk programs. ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) said that following ADNOC's announcement it would continue?trading Murban crude contract months with open interest?while others without will be stopped from Friday. A spokesperson for ICE did not respond to a question regarding what would 'happen next. IFAD was established to 'turn ADNOC Murban crude into a global benchmark, and give Middle East producers a transparent exchange-based pricing system. ICE is also home to the global Brent contract. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavensn, Kirby Donovan, Kirby Donovan, and Ahmad Ghaddar)
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Russell: The increase in oil production by OPEC+ is not relevant for the time being, but for the future.
The decision of the core members to?increase crude oil production quotas in September is easy to dismiss as a meaningless act, given the disruptions caused by the Iran conflict. As long as the Strait of Hormuz is largely closed, and as long as there are no solutions to the threats to the Bab el-Mandeb 'waterway, it will be difficult for the 'oil-exporting groups to deliver what they have committed to. Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait are among the OPEC+ members who have agreed to voluntary cuts in output. Algeria, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Kuwait, Algeria and Oman also agreed. The United Arab Emirates left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in May. This is the final phase of the rollback of the 1.65 million barrels per day supply cut that was originally agreed upon in 2023. The production quotas don't matter for the time being. According to the latest survey, the eight OPEC members with quotas produced 20.276 million bpd, 6.246 millions bpd less than the target. According to OPEC 'data, Russia, as the largest non-OPEC group member, produced 8.928 millions bpd during June. This was almost one million bpd less than its agreed quota. OPEC+’s decision to reverse voluntary production cuts has little weight on the current market. However, it highlights the challenges that oil exporters and -importers face. Three options The crude oil market is currently facing three scenarios, but it is unclear which one is most likely. First, Iran and the United States must reach a deal that will allow them to pass through the Strait of Hormuz unhindered and without interruption. Second, the conflict is sporadic, with periods of escalation, followed by hope for a ceasefire or a deal. These hopes are then dashed, and missiles and drone attacks resume. Third, the ladder of escalation continues. U.S. president Donald Trump orders strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure, and Iran responds by doing the exact same thing against Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, that host U.S. base. Crude oil futures markets appear to be priced primarily for the first option. Brent benchmark contracts fell 6.8% to $83.98 per barrel in early Asian trading on Monday. The price is 34% lower than the peak of $126.41 per barrel that was reached on April 30. It is also only 16% above the $72.48 closing price on February 27, the day prior to the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. Crude oil will likely drop quickly from its current level if the first option is chosen. It is likely that OPEC+ will be able ramp up production fairly quickly, and put more?barrels on the market when other producers also want to maximize exports. A comprehensive peace agreement would also allow Iran to sell its crude oil openly, meaning that only Russian petroleum may be subjected to Western sanctions. If the second option prevails over the next few months, then the OPEC+'s decision to increase output is rendered largely insignificant. The question then becomes how much oil is able to get through the Strait of Hormuz and how effectively the Saudi exports via Red Sea and United Arab Emirates, from the Gulf of Oman, are able to offset the loss of Hormuz volume. This scenario will likely cause crude oil to be volatile, driven by headlines about Trump's tweets on social media. Markets hope that the third scenario will never happen, as it would mean long-term damage to the Middle East's energy infrastructure. This could lead to global economic pain as the world tries to adjust to the loss of up to 20% of its crude oil and liquefied gas supplies. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
Israeli strikes eliminate 15 in Gaza, Cairo holds fresh talks with Hamas
Israeli military strikes eliminated at least 15 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, medics said, as Israeli forces kept up barrages throughout the enclave and blew up houses on its northern edge.
In the central Gaza camp of Nuseirat, an Israeli airstrike killed six people in a house, and another attack killed three in a home in Gaza City, medics stated.
Two kids were killed when a missile hit a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while 4 other individuals were killed in an airstrike in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics informed Reuters.
Residents said the military exploded clusters of houses in the northern Gaza areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, where Israeli forces have actually operated since October this year.
Palestinians say Israel's operations on the northern edge of the enclave are part of a plan to clear individuals out through required evacuations and bombardments to produce a buffer zone - an claims the army rejects.
The military states it has actually eliminated hundreds of Hamas militants there as it fights to stop the faction regrouping almost 14 months because the war in Gaza began. Hamas's armed wing states it has eliminated many Israeli forces in anti-tank rocket and mortar fire attacks, and in ambushes with explosive gadgets considering that the new operation began.
DETAINEES, TALKS
Two Palestinian detainees from Gaza have died in Israeli custody, prisoner advocacy groups said on Sunday, bringing the number of detainees reported killed since the start of the war to 47.
They called the two guys as Mohammad Idris and Muath Rayyan, both in their 30s.
The Israel Jail Service said the cases were not under its jurisdiction and there was no immediate remark from the military which runs detention camps.
Israel has actually denied allegations from Palestinian and global human rights companies that detainees have been mistreated and tortured in its jails and detention camps.
On the other hand, Hamas leaders held talks in Cairo with Egyptian security officials to explore methods to reach a handle Israel that could protect the release of captives in return for Palestinian prisoners.
The check out was the very first considering that the United States revealed on Wednesday it would restore efforts in cooperation with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to work out a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas is looking for an agreement that would end the war while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will only end when Hamas is eliminated.
Israel's military project in Gaza has actually killed more than 44,300 individuals and displaced nearly all of the enclave's. population, Gaza authorities say. Large swathes of Gaza lie in. ruins.
The conflict when Hamas-led militants assaulted southern. Israeli neighborhoods on Oct. 7, 2023, eliminating about 1,200 people. and snatching more than 250 captives, according to Israeli. officials.
(source: Reuters)