South-East Asia

On Monday, the Asian share markets fell as supply concerns caused oil to spike again. Investors braced themselves for interest rate hikes this week in both Japan and the United States. Brent oil prices rose 3% after new attacks on Saudi Arabia, and on ships in the Gulf. This came as nerves were tested following an attack on Saudi Arabia's oil pipelines and the Houthis' advance into Yemen. The meeting between Iran and Gulf Arab States, which was scheduled to take place in Oman on Monday, for the purpose of discussing a deal about opening the Strait of Hormuz has...

On Friday, global bond yields reached new highs while sharemarkets fell. Soaring oil prices exacerbated inflation risk and investors were scrambling to factor in further policy 'tightening' from central banks around the world. Brent crude futures hit a four-month record of $109.97 per barrel on Friday. Oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz was restricted as Iran and the U.S. traded blows, while the Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, took control of Yemen's Mocha port, threatening Saudi Arabian oil exports to the Red Sea. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said that the Houthi advance has gravely threatened maritime traffic...

Singapore, Asia's main fuel trading hub, has seen its oil product stockpiles rise to a two-month high, according to government data released Thursday. The increase in stocks of light and middle distillates was also noted. Enterprise Singapore reported that the combined onshore oil products inventories stood at 40.47 millions barrels for the week ending September 9. This compares to 39.04million barrels one week earlier. Multiple?trade sources this week said that September exports to Asia are expected to remain robust for diesel and jet-fuel, but may slow down for gasoline because of margin concerns. Diesel was the major concern in some...

A researcher from the state-owned oil company Sinopec stated on Thursday that the penetration rate of electric vehicles in China is expected to rise, but at a slower pace towards the end of the decade. Continued growth in this sector will reduce oil demand from the largest crude oil importer in the world. Fairy Wang, vice president of Sinopec’s Economics and Development Research Institute, said at the APPEC Conference in Singapore that EVs are expected to displace 56?metric tonnes, or approximately 1.2 million barrels a day?of oil demand?in China. She said that "it is equivalent to about 15% of China's...

Aster Chemicals & 'Energy, Singapore's energy company, has run its naphtha cracker between?75% and 80% over the last five months. The company plans to increase utilisation rates even further. Andre Khor told the APPEC Conference that Aster will continue to ramp up and start supplying petrochemicals. Aster, a joint venture of Indonesia's ?Chandra Asri and trading major Glencore, operates a 1.1-million-metric-ton-per-year ?steam cracker on ?Singapore's Bukom Island. He added that the naphtha cracker resumed its operations in September's first week after being shut down for maintenance in August. Khor said the company is using naphtha ?from its 237,000-barrel-per-day refinery and...

Brent crude prices soared above $100 per barrel on Wednesday as the escalating conflict engulfing the Middle East fueled fears of energy-driven inflation and sent global stock markets tumbling in advance of a number major central bank decisions. Brent crude futures rose by as much as 3%, reaching a session-high of $100.95. This was the first time the price has surpassed the symbolic level since July 24. After Iran claimed it had fired ballistic missiles on a U.S. military base in Jordan, and both sides claimed they had attacked vessels, oil supply concerns from the region were raised. The latest...

The yen soared and stocks fell on Tuesday after an attack on oil facilities in the Gulf drove crude to near $100 per barrel. Copper prices also hit record highs. Brent crude futures reached their highest level in six weeks, close to $99 per barrel, after Yemeni Houthis, who are backed by Iran, attacked energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and other cities. This highlights the danger of the conflict spreading across the region, and complicating fuel supply on world markets. Diesel prices have risen to record levels and gasoline prices are also higher than they were before the war. Even...

The yen surged Tuesday while Asian markets struggled to find direction due to a mix of regional economic data, and new 'Iranian' threats in the Persian Gulf. The Nikkei 225 index fluctuated between gains, losses and a slight gain of 0.2%. Meanwhile, the yen rose as high as 0.6% at 153.51, reaching its highest level since February 18. The KOSPI, MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan, was up 1.2%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% on Monday after the U.S. holiday. Westpac analysts stated that while U.S. Labor Day was a quieter week in terms of trading volume, the weekend...

The world's shares tipped higher on Friday ahead of U.S. employment data, while the bond market received some much-needed relief after a Federal Reserve official reduced expectations for rate hikes and drove down the dollar. The dollar's decline had run its course, as the normal pre-payrolls patterns?played themselves out. But it left the Japanese yen poised for a weekly increase of nearly 2,5% -- its highest since late July when Japan and the United States?joined forces. The yen has seen its best weekly rise since late July, when Japan and the?U.S. conducted a rare joint effort to stop a downward...

Bond yields fell on Thursday, as Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller's comments signaled a willingness for the Fed to be patient in raising interest rates. Waller said in remarks at a NEXT Newsmaker event that if upcoming data?confirmed?inflation pressures were cooling off, he was inclined to argue for keeping interest rates steady at the next policy meeting of the U.S. central bank. In remarks for a NEXT Newsmaker, Waller said that if upcoming data 'confirmed' a cooling of inflation pressures, he would be inclined to advocate keeping interest rates constant at the next meeting of the U.S. Central Bank. After...

Investors awaited new developments in the U.S. - Iran conflict and the Japanese yen rose sharply against U.S. dollars. The yen's move was not immediately apparent. Over the past month, the currency has retraced approximately half of its gains made following a rare joint action by the U.S. On Wednesday, the yen rose by 0.92% to 158.72 dollars. Treasury yields in the United States have fallen from their multi-year highs. The increase in borrowing costs in major economies has heightened concerns over tighter monetary policies and worsening fiscal conditions. Investors remain focused on Iran a day after U.S. airstrikes on...

The world stock market fell on Wednesday as fresh U.S. strikes on Iran pushed oil prices up to a five-week high, fueling inflation fears and extending the global bond saleoff. The U.S. attacked Iranian military targets near Strait of Hormuz while Tehran claimed it had targeted U.S. resources across the region. This was the largest exchange of fire for weeks. Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to $94.87 per barrel on fears of further disruptions in energy supplies. Kiran Ganesh is a multi-assets strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management. She said that the recent rise in energy prices had put further...

China's aluminum smelters are booming this year. Shanghai's aluminium price has risen to three-month highs. Raw material costs have been historically low, and margins remain strong. Each producer is encouraged to run their plant at full capacity. Indeed, national output has exceeded Beijing's 45-million-metric-ton capacity cap for the past couple of months, as smelters flex their full production ?potential. However, the mandated ceiling remains in place. Chinese producers have embraced this reality and are investing heavily in smelter projects abroad. While Donald Trump claims that the United States needs more aluminum "desperately", the world's biggest producer consolidates its position as...

According to the website of the Singapore Supreme Court, Japan's Mizuho Bank Ltd filed a case against the Singapore Iron Ore Trader Radiant World's 'operating entity'. A court listing revealed that Mizuho Bank is the banking division of Mizuho Financial Group and they are seeking an injunction to stop Radiant World Corporation from doing business. Could not find any other public legal action taken by a Radiant World creditor. Radiant World accounts have been frozen by some banks and trading houses have cut ties with the company over concerns that it had submitted invalid invoices to raise funding. Singapore Police...

London's zinc market is still a hazardous place for bears. Metal that was expected to drop in price this year has risen. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) 3-month zinc reached a new four-year high of $3,858 a metric ton on Tuesday morning. The relentless rally has been accompanied by an abrupt contraction of the LME time spreads. This is particularly worrying for holders of zinc short positions. The premium for cash Metal?over a three-month delivery The price of a ton has dropped to $131, which is a significant drop from last October's record high of $323. The tightening market this...

China's and Indonesian's defence and foreign ministers will meet on Friday. Security, politics, and economic issues are expected to dominate the talks. Jakarta is trying to maintain a balance between its ties with both Beijing and Washington, amid tensions and trade disputes in the South China Sea. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Jakarta for the first two years and meet with his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono. He will also participate in the "2+2 meeting" between the defence ministers of the two countries. Arifianto Sofiyanto (an Indonesian official in the East Asia division of the foreign ministry) told a Thursday...

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow on ?Tuesday with Myanmar's junta chief-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, ?discussing a wide range of issues including prospective energy deals. Min Aung Hlaing's first visit to a non-neighboring country since becoming Myanmar president in April is Russia. This shows the deepening of ties between the two countries in response to the pressures from the West. After the meeting, Putin called Min Aung Hlaing a friend of Russia, and said that the two countries are cooperating in a variety of sectors including energy, defence, and even space exploration. Putin said that Russia and Myanmar...

China's coal exports increased to the highest level this year in July, but that strength is based on short-term factors and unlikely to last. According to data released by the government last week, total coal imports in July were up 23% from last year's same month to 43.73 millions metric tons. It was up from 42.78 millions tons in June, and nearly a third higher than the low of 33.1million tons for April this year. After 82 miners were killed in an accident at a mine located in Shanxi Province on May 22, China began imposing safety inspections in mines....

China's coal exports surged in July to their highest level this year. But the increase is based on short-term factors and will not last. According to data released by the government last week, total coal imports rose 23% from July last year to 43.73 millions metric tons. The increase was from 42.78 millions tons in June and nearly a third higher than the lowest level of?this year, which was 33.1 million tonnes from April. This rebound comes after China implemented safety inspections in mines following an accident that left 82 people in Shanxi Province dead on May 22, China's largest...

Gary Nagle, the CEO of Glencore, said that the company had?taken an provision relating to Radiant World. However, he added that Glencore's exposure towards the iron ore trading firm was not significant. We have some existing contracts that still need to be completed. Nagle said on a conference call that they are assessing how to deal with them in a legal manner. However, we have stopped doing any new business. Bloomberg reported that last week, fellow trading houses Vitol and Cargill had stopped doing business Radiant World because they were concerned about the validity of invoices sent to their banks....

Two industry sources claim that Trafigura, a commodity trading house, holds a large share of zinc available on the London Metal Exchange. This is despite the fact that the prices of zinc, which is used to galvanize steel, have reached their highest levels in nearly four years. Available, or on-warrant, LME zinc stocks Just 73,850 tons of refined zinc were consumed in the world last year. This is equivalent to two days' global consumption. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, the world consumed 13.8 million tonnes of refined zinc in 2012. LME data shows that three entities...

Indonesia has resumed the export of minerals which may contain rare earth elements in their byproducts. This follows complaints from metals industries about delays due to mandatory rare earth content inspections. The testing of rare earth elements (REEs) in minerals such as bauxite and alumina has caused delays to the exports. Exporting rare earth elements as primary products is in fact prohibited. In a press briefing, Dudung Abdurachman, chief of staff to the president, said that it does not apply automatically to REEs found in products and derivatives as byproducts or accompanying elements. Dudung Abdurachman, the presidential chief of staff,...

Holcim Group, a Swiss building materials company, announced on Sunday that it intends to sell its Philippines operations to Huaxin Building Materials of China in a deal worth at least $807,000,000. Holcim is selling an initial 68% stake at $527 million. The remainder will be sold in the following three to five year period for a price minimum of $280million. Holcim stated that this would result in an overall valuation $807 million. However, the figure may rise "based upon incremental value creation over?this time period". This sale is Holcim's largest divestment, since the $1 billion deal it made with Huaxin...

Holcim Group, a Swiss building materials company, announced on Sunday that it intends to sell its Philippines business to China’s Huaxin Building Materials. The deal could generate at least $807 million. Holcim is selling a 68% initial stake at $527 million. The remainder will be sold in the next 3 to 5 years for $290 million. Holcim stated that the total valuation would be $807 million. However, this figure could increase "based on incremental values created during?this time period". The money raised will be used for?large acquisitions as well as further investments in Holcim’s existing business. After spinning off their...