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India's palm oil imports in August surged 16% to a 13-month high, ahead of the festive season
Five dealers report that India's palm-oil imports rose to a record high in August, largely due to the competitive price of soyoil, which encouraged refiners and retailers to increase purchases before the festive season. India's increasing imports of palm oil, the largest buyer of vegetable oil in the world, is expected to support Malaysian palm futures and help Indonesia reduce their inventories. According to dealers, palm oil imports increased 16% to 993,00 metric tons in August, marking the highest level since July 2024. Dealer estimates show that soyoil imports fell 28% in August, month-on-month, to 355,000 tonnes, the lowest in six months. Meanwhile, sunflower oil imports rose 27%, to 255,000 tons, a seven-month-high. They said that India imported 6,000 tonnes of canola oil in August for the first time since nearly five years. Dealers estimate that the increase in palm oil and soybean oil imports boosted India's total edible oils imports by 3.6% in August to 1.6 millions tons, compared to a month ago. This was the highest level for 13 months. They said that the import figures do not include duty-free shipments from Nepal. Rajesh Patel of GGN Research, a trader in edible oils, stated that refiners have increased their palm oil purchases during the past two month period, because the tropical oil was still cheaper than soyoil. In India, the demand for edible oils, especially palm oil, increases during festival seasons due to an increase in sweets and fried food consumption. A Mumbai-based dealer at a global trading house said that India's palm and soy oil imports will likely remain over 900,000 metric tons in September. Soyoil imports should also exceed 450,000 metric tons. India imports mainly palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. It also imports sunflower oil and soyoil from Argentina, Brazil and Ukraine. GGN Research estimates that Nepal imported 95,000 tonnes of edible oil in August, compared to 86,000 tonnes in July.
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Gazprom and CNPC Sign Agreement to Increase Gas Supplies to China, RIA Reports
Russia's RIA reported that Gazprom, the Russian energy company, and China National Petroleum Corporation have signed an agreement to increase the annual gas supply to China through the Power of Siberia Pipeline as well as the Far Eastern Route. Reports last month indicated that China wanted to purchase more Russian gas via an existing pipeline, as the talks between two countries failed to progress. The agreements were signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to China. He is scheduled to attend on Wednesday a military display on Tiananmen square to mark the official end of World War Two following Japan's surrender. RIA, citing Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that Gazprom has agreed with CNPC to increase their supply to 44 billion cubic meters (bcm), from 38 bcm, a year. The two parties have also agreed to raise gas supplies through the Far Eastern route from 10 to 12 BCM. Miller said that a legal binding memorandum had been signed to construct the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline from Russia to China, and the Soyuz Vostok Transit Gas Pipeline through Mongolia. Miller added that Gazprom and CNPC signed a memorandum today on strategic cooperation. This marks a new phase in the work we do with CNPC for new projects. (Reporting and editing by Guy Faulconbridge in Melbourne, Lidia Kelly reported from Melbourne)
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Reliance is leading the rise in India's benchmark stock prices ahead of the tax council meeting
India's equity benchmarks rose Tuesday in a rally that was led by Reliance Industries. Investors were also looking ahead to the GST Council meeting this week. As of 10:17 a.m. IST, the NSE Nifty rose 0.41% and the BSE Sensex grew 0.41%. The gains are on top of Monday's gains, when benchmark indexes rose 0.8%. Sentiment was buoyed by the better-than expected GDP data, and expectations for GST rate reductions. The GST council is scheduled to meet September 3-4 and plans to reduce consumption tax on at least 175 products, ranging from consumer electronics to hybrid cars, by 10 percentage points. All 16 major sectors saw gains. Small-caps and midcaps both rose by 0.7%. Reliance Industries gained 2.2% after Morgan Stanley increased its price target. The company said that it stands to benefit the most from China’s drive to curb overcapacity and price wars within energy and solar supply chain. Reliance led the Energy and Oil and Gas indexes by about 1.2%. Siddhartha Khemme, Motilal Oswal Financial Services' head of wealth management research, said that the domestic macro-background and demand environment are still positive, but tariffs of 50% could limit gains. He added that "despite the tariff worries, markets are resilient due to expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut in September and optimism about GST reforms." Sugar stocks like Balrampur Chini and Triveni Engineering as well as Shree Renuka, Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Dalmia Bharat Sugar have risen between 4% to 13% since the government permitted unrestricted production of ethanol from sugarcane products from 2025/26. Phoenix Mills rose 4% following Motilal's upgrade of the stock from "buy" to "buy", citing new mall launches as growth prospects. Puravankara's unit gained 3% following a 309 million rupee ($309m) order to redevelop a housing society.
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SMG Swiss Market Place, an online property portal, announces its intention to flotation
SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, an online platform for real estate and auto sales, announced on Tuesday its intention to float. This is a sign that the European IPO market has been reviving after a long period of stagnation. TX Group owns 30.7% of SMG. TX Group stated that the timing of its planned IPO is dependent on market conditions. Further information will be provided in due time. The company did not specify how many shares will be offered in the floatation, but stated that it has no intention of selling any of its stock. TX Group said that it was confident in SMG Swiss Marketplace Group's long-term prospects, both in terms of cash flow and the development of value. It will not be selling any shares in the planned IPO. It usually takes four weeks after such an announcement before the company's stock can be publicly traded. Capital markets experts predict that SMG shares will attract interest. The company's valuation is estimated to be between 4 and 5 billion Swiss Francs ($4,99 to $6,24 billion), at least 20% being sold to external investors. The company has a number of property websites in Switzerland including Immoscout24 and homegate.ch, as well Autoscout24 which is for car buyers.
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MONDAY BID EUROPE - Nestle in a sticky situation similar to euro zone inflation
Ankur Banerjee gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets Nestle, the maker of Kitkats and a major player in the data world, will be the focus of investors' attention after it abruptly fired its CEO. According to economist estimates, euro zone inflation was likely stable at 2.0% in August. Last week, data from Germany, France Italy and Spain showed that inflation was close to the European Central Bank target. Market watchers expect the ECB to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 2% during its policy meeting in July, and they also expect that it will do so this month. Discussions about further reductions are expected to resume in autumn. NESTLE UPHEAVALL Nestle fired Laurent Freixe a year and a half after he became CEO because he failed to disclose a romantic relationship involving a subordinate. This dismissal came one year after the abrupt departure of Mark Schneider, and two-and-ahalf months after Paul Bulcke, the longtime chair, announced that he would retire in 2026. It was one of the most turbulent times in the history. Nestle stock has dropped more than 17% in the last 12 months, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index is up 5%. Beware of fireworks when the market opens. WAGE WAGERS FOR RATE-CUTTING The broader market was also struggling to find direction, as investors prepared for the U.S. employment report due on Friday. This will have an impact on the Federal Reserve’s policy in the near future. Investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates by 25 basis points at its meeting in September. Investors have been wary of President Donald Trump's relentless attacks on the Fed. His efforts to fire Lisa Cook, the Governor at the Federal Reserve Bank, raised the possibility that he would make more dovish appointments. The comments of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have stoked concerns about the Fed’s credibility and independence. "The Fed should have independence." Bessent stated in an interview that the Fed is independent but that he also believes they have made many mistakes. Gold has broken above $3,500 per ounce, a new record. The dollar is still under pressure from rate-cut bets. Metal is up 33% after rising 27% in the previous year. The following are the key developments that may influence Tuesday's markets: Euro zone inflation data for august
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Equinor’s Barents Sea Wildcat Fails to Deliver
Equinor and its partners have drilled a dry well in the Deimos prospect in the Barents Sea.The wildcat well 7117/4-1 was drilled in production license 1238, 135 kilometers west of the Snøhvit field and 260 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest.Equinor is the operator of the production license with 55% stake, with partners Vår Energi 25% and Petoro 20% holding working interests.This well is the first one drilled in the production license, which was awarded on March 15, 2024, as part of the awards in predefined areas 2023.The well was drilled by the COSL’ COSLProspector semi-submersible drilling rig.COSLProspector is a 4,921-ft rig, capable of operating in water depths up to 1500 meters and drilling depths to 7500 meters.The unit is designed for North Sea/Norwegian Sea and worldwide use in harsh environments.
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The price of iron ore rises on the back of a recovery in demand after China's military display
Iron ore futures prices rose on Tuesday, after hitting a low of one week in the previous session. This was aided by the hope that demand would recover after the conclusion of China's military parade. As of 0149 GMT, the benchmark October iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was trading at $102 per metric ton. As of 2100 GMT, the most traded January iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was unchanged at 770.5 Yuan ($107.72). Analysts at Zijin Tianfeng Futures say that ore demand will likely rebound as the impact on hot metal production is only temporary. They are referring to China’s military parade to commemorate World War II's end on September 3. In the short term, however, the price of the main steelmaking ingredient is likely to be impacted by the fall in hot metal production, which is a measure of iron ore consumption. This indicator, which measures the demand for the material, will decline by almost 2% this week, as opposed to a previous weekly decline of only 0.3%. Iron ore consumption has been stable, supported by a high hot metal production, which is much higher than it was a year ago despite recent softening. Coking coal, coke and other steelmaking components fell by 0.49% and 0.222% respectively. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a decline in most steel benchmarks. Rebar fell 0.29%, while hot-rolled coils dropped 0.3% and wire rod fell 0.28%. Stainless steel rose 0.89%. Jianhua Wang of consultancy Mysteel said that steel prices would continue to fall in September. She cited weak fundamentals as well as a persistent increase in inventories.
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Colombian capital outflows increase in the first half
Data from the central bank showed that Colombians' capital outflows increased 69% in the first half 2025 compared to the same period last year, as they sent more money abroad. According to data, around $7.43 billion has left the country during the period. Nearly 70% of these funds represent new financial assets that have been created outside the country. Direct investments were made in overseas projects. The foreign direct investment in Colombia has increased by just 1.5% annually to $6.58 billion. Nearly one third of the money went to mining and petroleum, followed by manufacturing, transportation, communications, and electricity. Imports increased, resulting in a 42% increase in the current account deficit. (Reporting and editing by Brendan O'Boyle; Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra)
The imports of crude oil from Asia in August rose, but was it due to demand or price? Russell
Asia's crude oil imports rebounded in august as China and India, two heavyweight buyers, bought more crude from Middle East exporters.
According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG Oil Research, the world's largest importing region experienced arrivals of 27,18 million barrels a day (bpd), up from 24,91 million bpd during July. This is also higher than the 26,39 million bpd for the same month 2024.
The 2.27 million bpd rise from July may look impressive, but it is worth noting that the month of July was Asia's weakest imports in a year. August's arrivals also were slightly lower than the 27.98 bpd LSEG recorded in June.
Market participants are wondering if the increase in imports in August is due to a stronger demand in Asia or if other factors are at play.
By stepping back from the volatility of month to month, it is clear that Asia's crude oil imports are modestly higher in 2025.
The imports for the period January to August were 27,02 million bpd. This is 510,000 more bpd than the 26,51 million bpd total of 2024.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) August monthly report forecasted a higher growth in oil demand.
OPEC predicts that Asia's oil consumption will grow by 710,000 bpd by 2025. This growth is primarily due to an increase of 200,000 bpd for China, Asia's largest crude importer.
Price Moves
Both of these countries are price sensitive buyers. They tend to increase imports when crude prices fall, but reduce them when they go up.
The bulk of the cargoes arriving in August would have been purchased between May and mid-June when oil prices were at their lowest level so far this year.
Brent crude futures fell to a low of $58.50 per barrel, a record four-year low on May 5. They recovered to levels of the mid-60s by June's middle.
The price at this level likely encouraged Chinese refiners and Indian refiners, particularly as the refinery maintenance season also ended, to increase purchases.
Brent oil reached a six-month peak of $81.40 per barrel on June 23, after a brief conflict between Israel, Iran, and the U.S. in late June.
The price of oil has dropped to $68.40 per barrel in Asian trading on Tuesday. However, due to the steep increase in June, Asian buyers like China and India may reduce imports in anticipation of September cargoes.
In August, Asia's imports increased as a result of the voluntary production cuts that eight members of OPEC+, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, had made.
In August, Asia's imports of oil from the two OPEC+ countries grew. Arrivals from Saudi Arabia reached 5.20 million bpd, up from 4.77 in July, and the highest since March. Imports from Russia increased to 3.48 million bpd, from 3.39 in July.
Imports to Asia from Middle East countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, and Oman increased from July levels.
Asia's crude imports are slightly higher than last year but still fall short of OPEC demand predictions.
There is also a trend that China and India are importing more, and the tightness in supply caused by the production cuts of OPEC+ has begun to ease.
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(source: Reuters)