East Asia

The U.S. sanctioned tanker, Rich Starry,?arrived back at the Strait of?Hormuz Wednesday, after leaving the Gulf the previous day,?shipping information showed. It failed to?break a U.S.?blockade?on ships calling at Iranian port. U.S. president Donald Trump announced the ban on Sunday, after the weekend talks between the U.S. government and Iran in Islamabad failed to produce a result. The U.S. Central Command reported on X that "no ships were able to get past the U.S. Blockade during the first 24 hour period." Six vessels complied with the direction of U.S. Forces to turn around and re-enter a port in Iran. On...

Two U.S. officials confirmed on Friday that the U.S. was in the process to seize?the Olina oil tanker near Trinidad in the Caribbean. This is the fifth interdiction of ships in recent weeks, as part of Washington’s efforts in order to control Venezuelan crude exports. According to an industry source who has direct knowledge of the situation, the Olina had sailed previously from Venezuela, and returned to the area. The British maritime risk management company,?Vanguard, said that the vessel's AIS tracker (location) was last active 52days ago in the Venezuelan EEZ to Curacao's northeast. The seizure comes after a long...

According to data and shipping sources, Iran has sent small amounts of crude oil to destinations like Bangladesh and Oman. This is the latest indication that Tehran wants to maintain its output near to its highest level in five years. Iran's main revenue source is oil sales. The country has been trying to find ways to avoid U.S. sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018 on Tehran's nuclear program. Iran is not subject to the output quotas of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It is aiming at maximising production and exports. According to the semiofficial Mehr News...

A senior official revealed that the Africa Finance Corporation, the lead developer of the U.S.-backed Lobito mineral transport corridor, is in discussions with at least 10 African and foreign financiers including Citigroup to raise $3-5 billion for this project. The AFC has begun preparing for the construction of a key transport project, which will combine existing and new railway lines to link copper and cobalt mining areas with?Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito. The project is a part of Washington’s effort to curb Chinese influence and secure access to strategic metals, minerals, and coal in Africa. AFC is currently in discussions...

Three people familiar with the matter said that JPMorgan, two Kuwaiti banks and HSBC are joining forces to form a $6 billion financing consortium for prospective buyers of a stake in Kuwait Oil?Corporation?s crude 'oil pipeline network. KPC is in discussions with potential investors about a stake sale of its crude oil pipelines, estimated at $7 billion. The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has thrown the process into doubt. State energy company said it had suffered "severe material damage" to some of its operating units following drone attacks. The company did not say which units were affected. Two of...

The price of Urals crude in Russia's western ports fell below $100 per barrel late last week. This was a drop from the 14-year high but still at their highest level since mid-2022. Urals were trading above $100 per barrel during most of April, amid a global shortage of energy due to the Iran War. The average Urals prices on a FOB basis (free on board), however, have increased this week at Primorsk, and Novorossiisk The price of a barrel fell to about $90, following the decline in Brent oil prices. This was due to a fragile truce between Iran...

The Iran war has caused the aluminum market to focus on what's not coming through the Strait of Hormuz. There is a?equally important problem: What is not coming in. Gulf Aluminium smelters depend heavily on alumina imports, an intermediate product between bauxite and metal, for their operations. Six smelters are located in the region, but only two refineries produce alumina. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) Al?Taweelah, a plant of Emirates Global Aluminium, was damaged by Iranian missiles. The same reason is causing the smelter to be out of service at the site, and other smelters have reduced their capacity. As shipments...

Three trading sources have told? that spot premiums for Russia’s Far East ESPO blend crude oil delivered to China in Junehave eased due to weak refining margins. Sources said that ESPO Blend cargoes for June delivery were trading at $5 - $6 per barrel over ICE Brent, on a delivered basis, into Chinese ports. This compares to premiums of $8 per barrel in May. The premiums are dependent on the supplier and shipment conditions, but traders have noted a weaker demand. The drop in prices came despite a stronger global demand for Russian crude since early March, after the Iran...

The Iran War has caused the aluminum market to focus on what isn't?coming out of Strait of Hormuz. There is a second, equally important problem: What is not coming?in. Gulf Aluminium Smelters depend heavily on alumina imports, the intermediate between bauxite (bauxite) and metal to maintain their operations. Six smelters are located in the region, but there are only two alumina refining plants. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) Al Taweelah, one of them, was damaged by iranian missiles. The same reason is causing the smelter to be out of service at the site, and other smelters have reduced their capacity. As...

The European Commission revealed on Tuesday that a Chinese company, which was among those selected to build a new subway line in Lisbon, had received unfair foreign subsidies. This forced consortium leader Mota-Engil, to hire a Polish firm instead. The Commission issued a statement saying that the Metropolitano de Lisboa - which commissioned the Violet Line - was authorized to hire a consortium led by?Mota - Engil, provided the Chinese rolling stock maker Portugal CRRC - Tangshan is replaced with the Polish rival PESA. In late 2025, the Commission?began a thorough investigation that?found that the unit CRRC of the Chinese...

The European Commission announced on Tuesday that a Chinese company, which was chosen to build a new Lisbon metro line, received 'unfair' foreign subsidies. This forced the consortium leader Mota-Engil, to hire a Polish firm instead. In a statement, the European Commission stated that the Metropolitano de Lisboa commissioned the 'Violet Line' and was authorized to hire Mota-Engil led consortium provided they replaced the Chinese rolling stock maker CRRC Tangshan by the Polish competitor PESA. In a statement, the Commission said that it began an 'in-depth' investigation in?late 2025. It found that the unit of Chinese state owned CRRC had...

The Iran War is triggering a global crisis on the aluminium market that could have devastating effects in sectors such as construction, packaging and transport. Even if war ended tomorrow, it could take Emirates Global Aluminium up to one year to recover from damage caused by a missile attack on its Al Taweelah Smelter last month. The largest production site outside of China, Aluminium?Bahrain has also been?hit, though the extent of damage is not yet known. Alba and Qatar Aluminium had already reduced production prior to the attack due to power shortages. The Strait of Hormuz is severely restricted, and...

The International Energy Agency reported that Russia's revenue from crude oil and re-fined?products increased in March. They had fallen to their lowest level since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 in February, when prices spiked because of the Iran war. The commodity revenues of Russia are vital to the state budget. They also help support increasing military expenditures. The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA)?said that Russia's crude exports increased by 270,000 barrels a day last month, from February, to 4.6 millions bpd. This was mainly due to higher seaborne shipments because the Druzhba Pipeline remained offline. Following the...

Commodities supercycles have the power to reshape market trends for many years, even decades. We appear to be back in one, as the Iran War has amplified a number of long-term bullish tendencies. Many investors are now asking how to engage in the supercycle, rather than whether they should. Oil recorded its biggest monthly gain ever following the U.S. and Israeli strike on Iran in February. Add to that the substantial gains in copper and gold since mid-2025, and the race to find energy, metals, and minerals to fuel the artificial-intelligence arms race. A commodities supercycle is underway. Commodities supercycles...

Saudi Arabian crude oil sales to China will reach a new record low in?May as the U.S./Iran conflict increases prices and disrupts shipping. Saudi 'Aramco will ship approximately 20 million barrels to its Chinese customers for the month of May. This is equivalent to 645,161 barrels a day. Kpler data and Kpler's analysis show that this would be the lowest level ever recorded and less than half the 45 million barrels shipped by the Kingdom to China every month between January and February. According to sources who weren't authorised to speak with the media, major Chinese refiners Rongsheng Petrochemical and?Sinopec...