Asia

Investors closely watched the 'high-stakes' meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, hoping to see any hints of a breakthrough relating to the iran war. Trump will encourage China to persuade Iran to reach a settlement with Washington in order to end the war. Analysts doubt that Xi would be willing to pressure Tehran or to end its support for the military given Iran's importance to Beijing as a counterweight to U.S. As efforts to resolve the conflict continue to stall,?governments have been forced to implement relief measures to help consumers. Xi stated that trade talks 'with...

Two industry sources reported that the Russian Perm oil refinery halted all processing following a drone attack by Ukraine on May '7, which caused a fire and damaged equipment. Dmitry Makhonin, the local governor, said that on Friday Ukrainian drones had attacked industrial facilities in Perm Region. This is located around 1,460 km (908 miles) east of Moscow. He did not name the facility. Ukraine is targeting Russia's infrastructure to cut off its funds and reduce its military capability. Sources?stated that three primary crude distillation units were urgently stopped?after strikes. They said that some secondary units had also been stopped....

PV OIL, the trading arm of Vietnam’s state oil firm, has written to the U.S. Navy urging it to allow an Iraqi crude oil tanker to pass through its blockade in the Middle East Gulf and supply a Vietnamese refinery with critical supplies. The US military has extended its shipping ban on Iran to include contraband cargoes, but has stated that other oil exports are allowed to pass through. Ship tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform revealed on Tuesday that the?Maltese flagged Agio Fanourios I, carrying 2 million barrels of crude, left the Strait of Hormuz and was sailing into...

Bipartisan 'groups of U.S. Senators on Monday urged Donald Trump to stick to the trade remedies proposed by his administration for rebuilding U.S. -shipbuilding, and not make concessions to Chinese Xi Jinping when he meets with him. In a letter to Trump, Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin and Mark Kelly from Wisconsin, along with Republicans Tim Scott and Todd Young from Indiana, said that China's decades long effort to "decimate American Shipbuilding" required the fullest use of U.S. Trade Measures. Trump and Xi met in South Korea last October. They agreed to halt tit for tat fees?on the other ship for...

U.S. Justice Department?said Tuesday that a grand jury had indicted two?foreigners and a shoreside supervisor in the collision in March 2024 of?the cargo ship Dali?that sank Baltimore's Francis?Key?Bridge, and killed six construction workers. Justice Department stated that the collision resulted in at least $5 billion of damage, as well as significant environmental damage. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that a loose wire in an electrical system was the cause of a breaker opening unexpectedly, which led to a series of events leading to two blackouts on board and loss of steering and propulsion. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd based in...

Three traders reported that the premiums for Russia's Urals oil have fallen in India as refiners reduced purchases amid weak margins. Russian Urals crude for delivery to Indian ports in?June trades at a premium between $2-4 per barrel compared to Brent. This is down from $6-7 per barrel for cargoes delivered in May, traders reported. Since early March, the price of Urals in Indian ports has been higher than that of Brent. This is because the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran caused oil to be diverted through the Strait 'of Hormuz. The traders say that Urals prices will not...

Adani Ports, an Indian company, announced on Tuesday that it will expand its European presence?by building off-shore capabilities with the United States. Oceaneering International has committed $1.36 billion to capital expenditures through fiscal year 2031. The largest private port operator in the country said that it aims to generate marine revenues of?60 trillion rupees ($627.43 millions) through its expansion. In order to support the expansion plan, Astra Offshore will build a fleet 200 vessels equipped with offshore specialised capabilities. Adani Ports is implementing a'strategy' to increase its global presence and tap into the rising demand for offshore logistics in Europe....

A witness at Incheon Airport said that Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in South Korea on Tuesday to hold trade talks with an American delegation before a summit between leaders of the largest economies this week. Li Chenggang was also a member of the delegation. He is China's chief trade negotiator. He Lifeng will meet U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent for talks on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump & Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled from Thursday through Friday in Beijing. Koo Yun Cheol, South Korean Finance Minister, told a briefing that Bessent will...

Bipartisan senators from the United States urged President Donald Trump on 'Monday to stick to the trade remedies proposed by his Administration to rebuild U.S. Shipbuilding and to not 'offer concessions to Chinese President Xi -Jinping. In a letter to President Trump, Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin and Mark Kelly from Arizona as well Republicans Tim Scott and Todd Young sent on Monday said that China's efforts to "decimate American Shipbuilding" over the past decades demanded that U.S. Trade measures be used to their maximum extent. Trump and Xi met in South Korea, in October. They agreed to pause...

Britain announced on Saturday that it would be sending its warship HMS Dragon, to the Middle East to prepare for a possible multinational 'effort to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz once conditions permit. HMS Dragon was an air defence destroyer that was sent to Eastern Mediterranean in March shortly after the Iran War to defend Cyprus. The move to the Middle East comes after France deployed its carrier strike group in the southern Red Sea as part of a joint defensive plan to restore confidence in the trade routes. A spokesperson from the British Ministry of Defence stated...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Friday that it is launching an investigation into a number of crashes involving Avride’s autonomous vehicles. These crashes raised concerns about the?performance?of these vehicles. NHTSA said that the behavior of vehicles may be indicative of excessive assertiveness or insufficient capabilities, which "may also constitute violations of traffic safety". Several of the crashes caused property damage, and there was one minor injury. NHTSA stated that the vehicles failed to avoid vehicles or objects on the road and had performed lane changes. NHTSA stated that Avride operated?some of their AVs on Uber’s platform and offers...

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on Friday that he didn't expect "massive" flight cancellations this summer by airlines due to jet fuel shortages. He said that most airlines do not want to cancel flights in the summer, when they make their biggest revenues. However, some have reduced their traffic slightly. Transavia France has cancelled 2% its flights between May and June, according to a spokesperson on Friday. The French government is working on measures to help airlines, such as deferrals in social security contributions and extended deadlines for tax payments. After announcing that there would be a shortage of...

The soaring sulfur prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are beginning to affect?Indonesia’s huge nickel sector. The Gulf is a major input to the world's biggest producer of battery metal. The sulfur squeeze is a new addition to the Indonesian government’s mix of measures to control its nickel production sector. The explosive growth of the country's production flooded the world market, and prices fell?throughout?2024-2025. This month, the prospect of lower Indonesian production and a corresponding change in market balance lifted London Metal Exchange nickel to its highest levels since two years. WAR AND POLITICS The Iran...

Three industry sources say that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium plans to export around 1.45 million barrels per day of CPC Blend crude oil in June, down from 1.8 million barrels per day expected in May, due to planned maintenance at Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oilfield. Calculations show that June loadings will be 17% lower daily than May. This is a significant drop from the multi-month peak of May. CPC does NOT comment on operational shipment statistics. Sources claim that maintenance on the Kashagan oil field, with a capacity of 0.4 million barrels per day, will begin in early June. It may...

Iraqi officials have approached the IMF to secure financial assistance as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. The'source' said that initial conversations were held last month during the spring meetings in Washington of the IMF and World Bank. Discussions are ongoing about the amount of funding Iraq will need, as well as the structure and terms of any loan. The Middle East has been rocked by the war that began February 28th with the massive U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign on Iran. This led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq's oil exports, which represent...

The Philippines warned on Thursday of power outages of up to seven hours across two of its main grids due to the intense heat and power plant failures. This was the first serious shortage warning in two years. The National Grid Corporation (NGCP) of?the Philippines issued a'red alert' on?Facebook warning of possible outages up to seven-hours in 32 areas of the Visayas grid, in central Philippines. Outages lasting an hour in nine areas of Luzon, which includes the capital Manila, were also warned. Red alerts are the most severe grid strain and indicate that supply cannot meet demand. The red...

BlackRock's GIP partnered with Singapore's Temasek, Abu Dhabi's L'IMAD and state oil company ADNOC in order to launch a partnership aimed at $30 billion of investment across the 'Gulf' and Central Asia. The partnership will raise both equity and debt capital for investments in greenfields and brownfields infrastructure assets, including those within the energy, transportation and logistic sectors. The firms did not disclose a timeline for fundraising or equity split between the founding partners. The announcement brings together one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world with some of the most active infrastructure investors from the region. BlackRock...

Three sources familiar with the plan say that Russia will increase 'ESPO Blend oil' loadings at its Far East Kozmino Port to 4.3 million metric tonne a month in May from 4.1 million metric tonne a month earlier. Calculations showed that ESPO loadings at Kozmino would increase by 1.5% per day in May compared with April. The planned amount is equal to 1,04?million barley per day. Since last summer, oil exports from Kozmino?have been increasing, and now stand at?around 1?million barrels per day, due to the increased capacity of the port and pipeline system, traders reported. Transneft, the operator of...

The lifting of?some customs sanctions on Armenia by the Turkish government on Wednesday is a sign that the strained ties between the two nations are finally being normalised. The Turkish government closed its border with Azerbaijan and stopped direct trade in 1993 to support its close ally Azerbaijan during the Nagorno Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since then, the neighbours have not had formal diplomatic relations due to a deep-seated historical 'hostility' stemming from World War One and the Ottomans' mass killing of Armenians. This was considered genocide in Armenia and many other countries. In a statement released on...

The International Energy Agency reported that Russia's crude production fell by 460,000 barrels a day in April compared to the same month last year. This is despite Ukraine increasing drone attacks against energy targets. Since March, Ukraine has launched waves of drone strikes?on Russia’s largest Western oil ports. These attacks have caused massive?fires and also attacked refineries to drain the war economy in Russia. The IEA said that?Russian oil product -exports decreased in April by 340,000 bpd compared to March, reaching 2.2 million bpd. This is the lowest level recorded in the Paris-based organization's archives. The report said that Russia’s...

Iran's top environment official stated on 'Tuesday' that the suspected oil spill in the Gulf near Iran’s Kharg Island was likely caused by a tanker dumping waste water, and not an oil leak. Satellite imagery shows a suspected oil spill that covers dozens of square kilometers of sea near Iran’s main oil hub, Kharg Island. Images from Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites on May 6-8 showed a likely spill, which appeared as a gray and white slick. State media reported that?Iranian vice-president Shina Ansari stated: "Our results of monitoring show that the spill was caused by ballast water discharged from...

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser?warned? on Monday that disruptions to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz could 'delay the return of the market to normal?until?2027. The oil market will take longer to stabilize and rebalance the longer supply disruptions persist, even if they continue for a few weeks longer. Nasser said this to analysts during a conference call discussing the company's results for the first quarter, which were announced on Sunday. These results exceeded expectations. If the current situation persists until mid-June 2027, Nasser said. It has been said that the impact of the Iran War, including the closure...

At a meeting at the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin told Robert Fico, Slovakia's Prime Minister on Saturday that Russia would do all it could to meet Slovakia’s energy needs. Slovakia is one of the few European countries that still buys?Russian oil and gas. The Druzhba Pipeline, built by the Soviets, is used to transport Russian oil into Slovakia. TurkStream is used to deliver natural gas from Russia. Fico arrived at Moscow for the celebrations to mark 'the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during World War Two. In comments broadcast by?national television, Putin said that he would do "everything" to meet...

Sources from the Greek police and coast guard said that they are investigating a 'drone boat' found by fishermen in a cave of the ionian island?Lefkada. The exact route taken by the unmanned surface vessel (USV) made in Ukraine to reach Greek waters was unclear. The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) was found by fishermen late on Thursday. Officials, speaking under condition of anonymity, said preliminary findings indicated that the MAGURA V3 type sea?drone had three detonators. The Greek army was unable to confirm that the ship was?loaded with explosives', according to a source. Divers were on the scene as bomb...