Taiwan

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...

Saudi Arabian crude oil exports will surge to China in October following a steep drop in prices, according to several sources. A tally of the allocations made to Chinese refiners revealed that Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, will ship 51 million barrels in October. This is about 1.65 millions barrels per day. The October plan is comparable to the 1,43 million bpd allotted in September, and the volume in August was the highest in April 2023. Sources said that the top Asian refiner Sinopec and Hengli Petrochemical were planning to increase Saudi crude exports next month. Aramco didn't immediately...

Trade sources reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's crude supply to China would remain the same in June, after reaching its highest level in over a year the month before. This follows OPEC+'s decision to increase production. Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, will ship 48 million barrels of crude oil to China in June. This is the same amount as May and the highest since at least 2024. Aramco has not responded to the request for comment regarding its June allocations. Sources say that Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned refiner, and private refiners such as Rongsheng Petrochemical, Hengli Petrochemical, and...

Trade sources reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's crude shipments to China, its largest customer, will drop to the lowest level for more than a full year in April. This is partly due to maintenance programs at Sinopec-owned Chinese refineries. Data shows that the OPEC producer, Saudi Arabia, allocated 34 million barrels to its Chinese clients in April, down from 41 millions barrels the previous month. China's drop in demand for Saudi crude oil is despite the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies agreeing to continue with their plan to increase production in April. Sinopec intends...

Three trade sources on Tuesday said that Taiwan's CPC Corp. is looking to export jet fuel in March. This would be the first time in almost three years that it has made such an offer. They added that the state-owned oil company issued a tender for a combined cargo of 150,000 jet fuel barrels and 150,000 jet fuel barrels with 10ppm of sulphur. It was not possible to confirm exact loading details. One source stated that the tender will close on February 19, but it is valid until February 20. A second source said that the rare move was due...

U.S. utilities are signing concrete supply deals with datacenter operators as the artificialintelligence wave triggers a rise in power demand, leading the way for higher profits in the coming quarters. Information centers are anticipated to represent 8% of the power generated in the U.S. by 2030, compared to 3% in 2022, according to a Goldman Sachs report in May. Here are some deals revealed by energies in 2024 and 2025: PPL's Kentucky system, Louisville Gas and Electric Company, signed a power supply arrangement with property designers PowerHouse Data Centers and Poe Companies, who will be developing a 400 megawatts (MW)...

U.S. energies are lastly signing concrete supply deals with datacenter operators as the artificialintelligence wave triggers a rise in power need, paving the way for greater earnings in the coming quarters. Data centers are expected to represent 8% of the power produced in the U.S. by 2030, compared to 3% in 2022, according to a Goldman Sachs report in May. Here are some deals announced by utilities in 2024: Constellation Energy signed a special handle Microsoft to restart among the systems at the 3 Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Under the agreement, the utility will provide 835 megawatts (...

U.S. energies are finally signing concrete supply deals with datacenter operators as the artificialintelligence wave sparks a surge in power demand, leading the way for higher earnings in the coming quarters. Information centers are anticipated to account for 8% of the power created in the U.S. by 2030, compared with 3% in 2022, according to a Goldman Sachs report in May. Here are some deals revealed by energies in 2024: Constellation Energy signed an exclusive deal with Microsoft to reboot among the systems at the 3 Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Under the agreement, the energy will provide 835...

Hurricane Usagi damaged sharply on Friday after bearing down on the Philippines' northern towns, blowing away homes in its course as authorities brace for another storm that might hit the capital Manila over the weekend. Usagi, known locally as Ofel, magnified into an extremely tropical cyclone as it made landfall in the town of Baggao in Cagayan province on Thursday afternoon. Philippine meteorological firm Pag-asa stated that Usagi has because weakened and is now headed towards Taiwan. Usagi is the 15th cyclone to hit the Philippines this year. Authorities are currently bracing for another typhoon, Man-yi, which might strike eastern...

Saudi Arabia's crude oil supply to China is set to fall to about 36.5 million barrels in December, trade sources said on Monday, on weak need from the world's largest importer. This is a 2nd straight month of decline and the most affordable volume given that July, down from about 37.5 million barrels that Chinese refiners are expected to receive in November and about 46 million barrels in October, trade information collected showed. China's state majors Sinopec, PetroChina and Sinochem will be lifting less crude in December while Saudi supply to its joint venture Fujian refinery will rebound as the...

Japanese trading house Itochu on Wednesday published 438.4 billion yen ($ 2.9 billion) in net profit for the six months to endSeptember, up 6% from a year previously, on nonresource products consisting of food and the FamilyMart convenience store chain. Itochu kept its net earnings forecast for the fiscal year the same at 880 billion yen, of which 24% or 213 billion yen is predicted from food, fabrics and the 8th department to where FamilyMart belongs, overtaking the profit's largest factor, the metals and minerals department with a 200 billion yen projection. Over the previous number of years, Japanese trading...

The European Union, rushing to develop a 9 million euro joint getting mechanism for important minerals and energy, is choosing between 8 bidders competing to develop a platform, documents revealed and sources with direct understanding told Reuters. The bloc's reasoning for pooling together buying orders is that it would hand individuals more take advantage of to attain more beneficial deals and rates for crucial minerals necessary for the green shift that sell thin and nontransparent markets frequently controlled by China. The EU aims to sign an agreement by the end of the year and begin establishing areas of the platform...

Kevin Hassett, White House economist and CNBC interviewee on Monday, said that the federal government could invest in other U.S. companies involved in semiconductors or even other industries. Hassett asked if this deal with Intel was part of a bigger effort by the U.S. Government to acquire equity stakes in industries it supports. He also said that there may be other transactions similar. The National Economic Council Director told CNBC, "I believe this is a special circumstance due to the huge amount of CHIPS Act expenditures that Intel was receiving." "But, the president made it very clear from the beginning...

The Wall Street Journal, citing an official, reported that the Trump administration was considering taking equity stakes into companies receiving funding from the 2022 CHIPS Act, but had no plans to take shares in larger semiconductor firms who are increasing their U.S. investment. This follows remarks made by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday, who said that the government continues to explore the possibility of acquiring a 10% stake at troubled chipmaker Intel. The official informed the Journal that the administration did not plan to acquire equity stakes in firms like TSMC which are increasing their investment. The...

Japanese steel lobby groups have demanded early measures to stop the evasion and avoidance of anti-dumping duties aimed at protecting the domestic industry from unfair imports. This move coincides with record steel exports by China, the largest producer in the world, which have sparked protectionist reactions around the globe. Since January of last year, almost 40 countries have launched anti-dumping investigations. The Japan Iron and Steel Federation and other four industry groups have said that swift action is required as countries like China try to avoid antidumping tariffs by routing their exports through a third country or performing minimal processing...

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan announced on Wednesday that it has opened an anti-dumping probe into hot-dip-galvanized steel imported from China and South Korea. The investigation follows a petition filed on April 28 by Nippon Steel (Kobe Steel) and other domestic manufacturers claiming that weaker demand at home and the shift to cheaper imports forced them to reduce prices. In construction, hot-dip galvanized metal is used for metals that are exposed to the weather. METI stated that Hong Kong and Macau are excluded from the investigation. Japan began its investigation of nickel-based cold-rolled stainless steel sheets...

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, increased tariffs on Indian goods by 25% this week. He cited New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil. The new import tax will take effect 21 days after the 7th of August and raise duties on certain Indian goods up to 50%. This is among the highest tariffs imposed on U.S. trading partners. Some sectors, such as smartphones, pharmaceuticals, and energy, are exempted from reciprocal tariffs. However, others, like gems, jewellery, textiles, and auto components that make up the bulk of Indian exports into the U.S. will be hit. Here are the...

The Japanese trade and finance ministry announced on Tuesday that it has opened an investigation into the anti-dumping of nickel-based stainless steel cold-rolled sheets and strips imported to Japan from China and Taiwan. This move comes after a petition was filed by Nippon Steel, and other domestic producers, on May 12. They claim that they were forced to lower their prices because of a weakening demand in the domestic market, with buyers shifting to cheaper imports. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Finance intend to finish the investigation in a year and then decide if anti-dumping...

The U.S. and China trade deal has been "done", U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Wednesday. Hours earlier, Washington and Beijing had agreed on a framework for resuming a fragile truce in trade and removing Chinese export restrictions of rare earth minerals and critical industrial components. Trump used his social media platform on Monday to share some of the details that emerged from the marathon two-day talks that took place in London. According to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick's words, the talks had "put meat on the bones" for an agreement that was reached in Geneva last month to...

Iron ore futures fell on Thursday as the focus returned to a softening of steel consumption during China's off peak demand season. The daytime trading price of the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was 701 yuan (US$97.60). As of 0701 GMT, the benchmark July iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell 0.8% to $94.7 per ton. Analysts at Galaxy Futures stated that prices of the main steelmaking ingredient will fluctuate due to the seasonal weakness in demand. The iron ore market is not changing fundamentally. "The upward momentum caused by the coal price rally...

Iron ore futures fell on Thursday as the focus returned to a softening of steel consumption during China's off peak demand season. As of 0238 GMT, the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 0.14% lower. It was 701 yuan (US$97.61) per metric ton. As of 0228 GMT, the benchmark July Iron Ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell by 0.69% to $94.8 per ton. Galaxy Futures analysts said that due to the lack of driving forces, the price of the main steelmaking ingredient is expected to fluctuate despite the seasonal weak demand. The iron...

U.S. Treasury Sec. Bessent believes that President Donald Trump will be speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon about trade issues, including a dispute regarding critical minerals. Donald Trump accused China on Friday of violating a bilateral agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers for vital minerals. "What China does is that they hold back products which are essential to the industrial supply chain of India and Europe." Bessent told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that this is not the behavior of a reliable partner. "I'm confident that President Trump and Party Chairperson Xi will have a conversation, which...

Since returning to office in January, Donald Trump has issued numerous tariff threats. These range from a duty on all imports to a targeted tariff on certain sectors or countries. Trump's threats changed over time. This left other nations and business unclear as to what was next. It also created uncertainty for consumers and triggered a recent stock-market selloff. Here's a summary of Trump’s threats and actions in relation to trade. BROAD TARIFFS Trump's vision is based on a gradual roll-out of tariffs that will apply to all U.S. imported goods. Last month, Trump asked his team of economists to...

As major producers around the world prepare for Wednesday's increased tariffs, two major South Korean steelmakers have been evaluating their options to invest in new facilities. They said that the options included investing in operations in the U.S. The U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to increase protection for American producers of steel and aluminum restores global tariffs that are effective at 25% on all metal imports. It also extends these duties to hundreds downstream products, such as nuts and bolts, bulldozers blades and cans. Canada, the largest foreign supplier of aluminium and steel to the U.S.A., Brazil, Mexico, and South...