Asia

Four industry sources have said that the London Metal Exchange is looking at easing its rules to promote Hong Kong as a "metals location". This is in response to China's desire for greater control over global metals markets. Hong Kong became an LME warehouse in July 2025. However, very little metal was deposited since then. Two sources claimed that HKEx executives asked warehouse companies to remove any barriers in order to make Hong Kong a viable storage location. In a consultation paper published in March, the 149-year old LME suggested outside storage for aluminum "on a site-by-site basis". Four sources...

According to data from tanker monitoring and documents of the state-run PDVSA energy company, Venezuelan oil exports dropped slightly last month?to 1.24 million barrels per daily from 1.24 bpd in may?as a result of two deadly quakes causing?minor delay at terminals operated. The vast PDVSA infrastructure was mostly unaffected by the twin earthquakes, which left nearly 2,000 dead and hundreds of buildings damaged according to official statistics. The power issue must be resolved before all the oil refineries, including El 'Palito, can resume operation. Documents show that the main oil terminal for the state-owned company in the eastern part of...

Here are some of the main factors that could affect Swiss stocks on Tuesday: COMPANY STATEMENTS MSC?GROUP Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone in India announced on Tuesday that Switzerland’s MSC Group would acquire a 49% stake in the Vizhinjam Port for $1.4 billion. This, it claimed, was the largest private foreign investment in port infrastructure in India. ECONOMY *June Swiss KOF indicator is due at 0700 GMT. *Swiss May Official Reserves Assets due at 0700 GMT. (Reporting by Zurich newsroom and Gdansk newsroom) |1|For Top News ?in a multimedia Web format on Eikon visit: ?https://bit.ly/2NDFd6g FOR RELATED PRICES, NEWS...

India's Adani?and Special Economic Zone announced?on Tuesday?that switzerland's msc?group will acquire a 49 percent stake in its Vizhinjam?port for $1.4 billion. It said that this is the largest foreign private investment made in domestic port infrastructure. MSC, world's largest container ship?company will invest through its Terminal Investment unit. Adani Ports The partnership is expected to boost cargo volumes and accelerate ramp up at the Kerala based port. Adani Ports said that the investment was part of their strategy to deepen partnerships with global port operators in order to 'drive traffic and accelerate capacity ramp-ups at Vizhinjam. This is one of...

Tropical storms passing through Taiwan caused torrential?rains? that shut down southern Taiwan, forcing more than 5,000,000 people to miss work or school. Japan also issued flood and landslide alerts. The outer bands of Typhoon Mekkhala - now a tropical storm - are bringing heavy rains to some parts of Taiwan. This is especially true in Kaohsiung and Tainan in the south. On Friday, the governments of three Taiwanese regions with more than five million residents ordered all offices and schools to close. Flooding in Tainan caused a section of main north-south rail line to be closed. Japan also experienced heavy...

A typhoon passing through southern Taiwan caused torrential rains, forcing more than 5 million people to miss work or school. Flooding also cut off a section of the main rail line. While Typhoon Mekkhala is currently over the Ryukyu islands in southern Japan, it did not directly landfall on Taiwan. However, its outer bands brought heavy rains to some parts of the island. All three governments, where more than 5 million people reside, have ordered that offices and schools be closed on Friday. The separate high-speed rail line did not report any problems, but a section of Tainan's main north-south...

After a vessel was struck in the Gulf of Oman, the?United Nations Shipping Agency halted an evacuation effort on Thursday, aimed at getting hundreds of stranded vessels and tens of thousands of seafarers through 'the Strait of Hormuz. "I was informed of a ship that had passed through the Strait of?Hormuz today being attacked in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was not evacuated under the IMO framework", Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary General of?the U.N. International Maritime Organization said in a press release. "I've decided to temporarily pause the implementation of this plan in order to confirm that all the necessary...

The prices of Caspian crude oil grades such as Kazakhstan's CPC Blend and Azerbaijan Azeri BTC are falling despite the growing pressure on European barrels, traders said. The difference between Caspian crude oil and Brent has weakened in line with the global trend. As Gulf oil supplies increase, physical cargoes in many regions are now at discounts to Brent. Iran is expected to boost sales after a temporary easing of U.S. sanction. On Wednesday, oil prices fell further, continuing the declines that began earlier in the week. They are now hovering at four-month lows as more tankers, which have been...

The Japan Meteorological Agency announced on Thursday that no tsunami warning had been issued following an earthquake of magnitude?6.9 which struck the east coast of Japan's northeastern Tohoku area. The agency stated that the epicentre was located off the coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of 50km. No tsunami damage is expected except for "slight changes in sea level". It said that the earthquake in Aomori had an intensity of 6+, which is a situation where "it's impossible to stand or move without crawling" on a Japanese scale from 0-7. Tohoku Electric Power has said that no irregularities have...

The ambitions of the Democratic Republic of Congo in cobalt are?becoming more and more clear. Export restrictions have been used by the world's biggest producer of strategic metals, which are used in everything from stealth bombers to mobile phones, to reduce excesses and raise prices. Kinshasa is trying to shift its focus away from Chinese operators and towards the United States, as it gains more control of its cobalt industry. This rebalancing is accompanied by a renewed effort to integrate the artisanal and smaller-scale mining sector (ASM), a minefield of ethical issues for Western cobalt purchasers, into official sectors. MOVING...

A spokesperson announced on Wednesday that ships have started sailing through the 'Strait of Hormuz' under a new scheme by the U.N.'s shipping agency in order to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict. International Maritime Organization announced on Tuesday that the initiative, which took months to complete, would allow hundreds of ships and 11,000 seafarers stranded at the Gulf of Mexico to pass through Hormuz. A spokesperson for the IMO said that "ships have already started to pass under this plan", refusing to give any details about the vessels that have crossed. LSEG ship-tracking data showed that at least...

The major Gulf stock exchanges rose in the early trading on Wednesday, amid signs of progress in U.S.Iran negotiations. However, there was still uncertainty about?the durability? of the agreement. The two countries that concluded the first round of negotiations on Monday in Switzerland gave contradictory accounts of some key elements of the Framework Agreement signed last week for the end of the war. These included financial incentives to Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel's war in Lebanon. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that Iran agreed to nuclear inspections in "infinity" on Tuesday. Tehran denied this concession...

German federal prosecutors 'have filed charges against a Ukrainian citizen over 'the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, ARD, Sueddeutsche... and Zeit,?German media outlets reported on Wednesday. Federal prosecutors declined comment. The explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that carried Russian gas into Europe was a major flashpoint between Moscow and 'the West. It came just months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. According to ARD, prosecutors accuse a Ukrainian national known as Serhii K - according to German privacy laws - of 'attacks on civil energy infrastructure, causing explosions and destroying structures. The suspect was detained in Italy's Rimini...

Alexei Likhachev, the CEO of Rosatom, said that fuel shortages had prompted a rise in demand for electric vehicles. He predicted that this would lead more drivers to choose battery-powered cars. Fuel restrictions have been imposed across the country due to intensifying Ukrainian strikes against Russian energy infrastructure. Likhachev, a reporter, said: "We have already seen a significant rise in the use of our electric charging stations." He said that between June 21 and 28 the demand for Rosatom's?over 290 stations of charging rose by 40%. Likhachev said that although the current situation is unlikely to lead to an immediate...

Calculations showed that the average daily natural gas supply to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline fell by 3.7% compared to a year earlier to 36.2 million cubic meters in June. The only remaining transit route for Russian gas into Europe is through Turkey after Ukraine decided not to extend the five-year agreement with Moscow that expired in January 2025. According to calculations based on data from the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog, total Russian gas supplies via TurkStream to Europe were?1.09 billion cu?metres in June 2018, down from 1.13 Bcms in 2025. The half-year supply increased by around 5%, to...

Data from market sources and LSEG show that Russia's seaborne gasoil and diesel exports plummeted in June. They fell by 39% from the month before to 1.8 million metric tonnes and 46% from 3.35 mtonnes in the same month a year ago, as waves of drone strikes forced unplanned shut downs at key refineries. According to traders' calculations and estimates, the number of ultra-low-sulphur Diesel shipments from Primorsk - Russia's largest outlet for diesel exports - has fallen by over half since May. The Russian authorities haven't made a definite decision yet about banning diesel exports. However, traders believe that...

Estonia released images of a Russian-flagged LNG carrier in the Baltic Sea this spring with machine guns and sandbags, indicating a more aggressive stance from Moscow to 'protect its civilian fleet. Surveillance images show machine gun positions fortified on the roof of the Marshal Vasilevskiy civilian vessel, which has its home port in Kaliningrad. Yoruk isik, a geopolitical expert who runs the Bosphorus Observer consulting, described it as "a crazy step" by civilian vessels operating in the Baltic. Isik said that "this is a hostile act by Russia" to send a signal to EU and NATO nations, saying it would...

Three 'trade sources' told us on Wednesday that the price differentials between Russia Urals crude delivered to India in August had?fallen to its lowest level since late February amid a plethora of?supply? and increasing competition. The discount for August Urals cargoes shipped to Indian ports under the DES system had widened from $4 to $7 per barrel compared to the benchmark Brent dated 10 days ago. The price of Russia's flagship grade in India is at its lowest level since the Iran war began, as Middle Eastern producers resume their shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after the interim peace...

Two trading sources reported that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium will 'export around 1.6 million barrels per day of CPC blend crude in July. This is down from the 1.7 million barrels per day planned for June, after drone damage caused a Russian gas plant to reduce production. The Russian Orenburg?gas plant normally receives gas from Kazakhstan's Karachaganak oil and gas condensate fields, which export?oil through the CPC pipeline. Karachaganak had to cut production after the Orenburg gas plant was attacked. Calculations show that daily?CPC blend oil?loadings are expected to decline by 6% from June in July. Karachaganak's production is now...

Estonia released photos of a Russian flagged liquefied gas carrier with machine guns and sandbags in the Baltic Sea in spring. This indicates a more confrontational approach by Moscow to protect its civilian fleet. Surveillance images show machine gun positions fortified on the?the?bridge roof of a civilian vessel, the Marshal Vasilevskiy. Its home port is Kaliningrad. Yoruk isik, a geopolitical expert who runs the Bosphorus Observer consulting, described it as "a crazy step" by civilian vessels operating in the Baltic. Isik said that "this is a hostile act by Russia" to send a signal to EU and NATO nations, saying...

Oil tankers behave as if the Strait of Hormuz was reopening, even though the waterway is only partially navigable. The signals are clear, from ship tracking data to the freight rates: Owners and charterers have moved early to position their vessels for a possible return to Gulf exports. The gap between expectations and reality is still wide. This leaves the global oil transportation system on a fragile "middle ground" between crisis and recovery. Signs of Recovery Real-time vessel movement is the most obvious?evidence? of adjustment. The number of tanker transits in Hormuz has begun to increase. During the conflict they...

Alice Weidel, leader of the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), said that Germany should stop a boycott against Russian oil and gas in order to boost its flagging economy. She was describing the ambitions of her party to become the next national government. Weidel stated that the AfD could win two important federal state elections in the next few months. He described them as a milestone to securing a?post? of German chancellor by the time the 2020 national elections are due. The success of Made in Germany was due to the cheap energy that Russia provided. Weidel stated that...

Iraq's Oil -Ministry announced on Friday that OPEC had 'begun slowly restoring Iraq’s prewar production allocations'. This'move', it claimed, would'strengthen Iraq's output 'capacity' and support the recovery of its oil industry. Baghdad, according to a state-run news agency, supports a reevaluation of OPEC's production quotas in order to reflect the conditions of member?states, including Iraqi economic and security circumstances. The statement said that Iraq's Prime minister Ali?Faleh Al-Zaidi has not spoken about the possibility of Iraq quitting OPEC. Sources with knowledge said that Iraq, OPEC’s second largest producer - after Saudi Arabia - and one of the five founding'members', had...

Data showed that after an interim agreement to end the Iran War, the Fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz began to increase. Analysts say, however, it will be some time before they return to their pre-conflict level and bring relief to the market. Before the U.S. launched their war with Israel on February 28, a third or more of the global urea trade -- the most commonly used fertiliser in the world -- and almost half of the seaborne sulphur -- a critical input -- typically passed through the strait. But the near-closure of the crucial waterway during most...