Asia

Indonesia has reopened the airports that were closed due to volcanic ash, including the main airport in Jakarta, but eight people are still missing, including five journalists who had reported on the volcano. Officials said that further?eruptions Tuesday could also cause additional disruption. Since its first eruption on Friday night, ash from Anak Krakatau has covered Jakarta and certain surrounding areas. Eight airports were closed for safety, which affected more than 340,000 passengers. In a press release, Dudy Purwagandhi, the Transport Minister, said that Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta resumed its operations on Tuesday, after the wind cleared away all of...

Indonesia's Finance Minister said that the sovereign wealth fund INA or an agency within his ministry would take control next week of the company operating a $7.3 billion high-speed rail funded by China. Indonesia's first bullet train, covering 142 km (88 miles) from Jakarta to the city of Bandung in 2023. This was eight years after the contract was awarded jointly by Indonesian and Chinese companies. The Belt and Road Initiative, also known as "Whoosh", has faced a number of?problems including ballooning costs. Indonesia and China began talks in 2025 to restructure?project debt. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the Finance Minister of...

Executives and analysts expect Indian steel prices to increase 'further' in the upcoming?weeks due to a pickup in demand for infrastructure?and?automotives following the monsoon. Meanwhile, higher coking coal prices will raise production costs at mills. While higher prices may help mills recover from margins squeezed due to rising coking coal costs but input costs for infrastructure, construction, and auto companies are increasing as demand increases. Government data revealed that mills in India, which is the second largest producer of crude steel after China, reduced prices for products like hot-rolled coils (HRCs) by 280 rupees per metric ton. According to commodities...

APK-Inform, a consultancy, reported on Monday that Ukraine's weekly wheat, barley, and corn exports increased by 80% between August 27 and September 2. This equates to?433,700?metric tons. The volume of corn exports increased by 212%, to 184.100 tons. Exports of wheat also increased by 40%, to 243,000 tonnes. Since late July, Ukrainian grain exports have dropped sharply after Russian missiles and drones attacked Ukrainian Black Sea ports near Odesa. APK-Inform data showed that in early July, when ports operated as usual, Ukraine exported approximately 760,000 tons per week. Ukraine redirected grain shipments after the closure of its seaports to ports...

North Korea and Russia officially opened their 'first road bridge' on Monday. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, this'structure spans a river called Tumen. Both sides hailed it as a milestone in their strategic relationship. The bridge is near the "Friendship Bridge", an existing rail bridge that was built in 1959, after the Korean War. Direct rail and air links already exist between Moscow and Pyongyang. The Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, said that the bridge would spur development in various spheres between the two nations - including tourism and new jobs. Mishustin was quoted by TASS as...

Air 'Tanzania announced on Friday that it will re-start flights between?Dar es salaam, and Moscow on the 7th of September. This comes after announcing a suspension for a limited time starting on September 4. The airline announced on Facebook that the decision was made after a 'routine risk assessment of the operating conditions along the route.' It did not provide any?details as to why the decision was taken to resume flights. Flightradar24's data shows that Moscow airports were among the most disrupted in recent weeks due to drone attacks. On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned insurance companies and airlines...

?Ukraine has urged ICAO to ask its member countries to ban all operations in russian airspace. This comes a day after the President Volodymyr?Zelenskiy?warned he it was "becoming totally unsafe". Top Ukrainian officials announced on Tuesday that the country will intensify its retaliation for Russia's increased strikes against Kyiv. The city has been on continuous alert since seven days, and it has also suffered attacks on civilian infrastructure. Ukraine will only target Russian military installations and not threaten civil aircraft,?Zelenskiy said, but he stressed that "the growing number of Ukrainian drones" in Russian skies should be taken into consideration. Mykola...

Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said on Wednesday that digital assets and the maritime industry as well as airlines could be targets of the Trump administration's plan to squeeze Iran’s economy. Bessent warned that "everyone" should not support Tehran when asked about Russian support of Iran during a Fox News interview following the G20 gathering in North Carolina. "My message to everyone is to'stay away. We 'all want this war to end. The fastest way to make it end is to have no one?support this regime", he said to "Fox & Friends", one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin threw...

Germany is facing a'second sabotage attack on its electricity grid. Local police said on Wednesday that they are investigating a 'attack on a substation near the city of Bergheim in western Germany. The police are investigating an act that was premeditated on the technical infrastructure on Tuesday at 4:00 pm (1800 GMT), but they added that the power supply in the region has not been affected. The spokesperson refused to specify the damage. On Tuesday, conductive devices damaged power lines in Brandenburg's eastern state. Amprion, the electricity grid operator in Germany, said that it was most likely an external interference...

Two industry sources have told? that disruptions in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk are continuing to reduce shipments. Sources said that loadings at Novorossiysk will remain under pressure, after they collapsed in August due to repeated Ukrainian drone strikes, which increased the shortage of tankers available and increased loading delays. The Black Sea region has become a strategic chokepoint in international trade, with a sharp increase in attacks against vessels, ports, and export terminals. This has impacted the global oil supply chain and limited Moscow's options for export. Sources said that oil exports to western Russian ports will fall...

Saudi Arabian state oil producer Saudi Aramco raised the official selling price of liquefied petroleum gas by between 1% and 3% in September, traders reported on Tuesday. This was due to a higher demand for the product on global markets. Algeria's Sonatrach raised LPG prices between 4%-7% for September, according to traders. Saudi Aramco’s September OSPs have increased by $5 per metric tonne to $625. For propane, the price has been reduced by $20 per ton up to $660. Butane is a good alternative. LPG comes in two types: Propane (also known as butane) and propane. Both have different boiling...

According to port officials and terminal data, the U.S. - Iran conflict has largely'shut down' commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz, before U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February triggered a war in the region, was an important route for oil shipments around the world and other international trade. Since then, the security risks have reduced waterway traffic. Aqaba, too, has seen an increase in trade. "If we talk about container trade...we have grown by 5%. And the growth is driven primarily by the 'volumes', the increased volumes towards the greater Levant, and...

Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The summer is officially over. Buckle up! Carry trades are starting to fail as the markets expect a path of rate increases from the Bank of Japan. The?Japanese?currency?traded as much as 1 percent firmer at 152.89. This is its highest since February. Just weeks after it hit a four-decade low, the U.S. government and Japanese authorities intervened to stabilize the currency. The yen was also boosted by data released on Wednesday showing that Japan's economy expanded faster than originally estimated from the previous...

Shiprocket, an Indian logistics company backed by Temasek, reported a smaller first-quarter loss on Monday. This was boosted by its core shipping business. The company's earnings are its first quarterly results since August, when it raised $170 million in an initial public offering. Shiprocket is a logistics platform that offers shipping, fulfillment, payment and other services to online merchants. It competes with Delhivery, Blue Dart Express and others. The company reported a consolidated profit of?137.1 millions rupees ($1.45million) for the three months ended June 30. This is down from a loss of 180.3 millions rupees one year ago. The company...

North Korea and Russia opened their first bridge on Monday in a well-choreographed show of friendship. The structure spans the Tumen River and was hailed by both sides as a milestone for their growing strategic partnership. First trucks with flags trundled over the bridge's 1 km (0.6 miles) of two-lanes as Russian Premier Mikhail Mishustin, and North Korea's premier Pak Thae Song watched via video link. They addressed workers and officials from both nations. The construction of the new bridge began in April 2018 after it was decided to build the bridge during the visit by Vladimir Putin in North...

The Nikkei reported that GLP - Japan has raised 600 billion dollars ($3.76 billion) to create a fund for building logistics centers. This is a result of an influx in overseas capital. GLP Japan is a Japanese subsidiary of Singapore-based logistics firm GLP. The?Tokyo GLP Japan fund's investments, including borrowings, will total 1.7 trillion yen. This makes it the largest real estate fund in the country, according to?Nikkei. The report stated that the majority of investors are from outside Japan. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board allocated 150 billion yen. The funds raised are expected to be used for the...

A drone attack overnight?caused?minor damage and??temporarily???closed? a logistics complex operated by Russian online retailer Ozon, according to the company on Thursday. Ukraine has been 'attacking' several Ozon facilities in the city of Ufa since Saturday as it continues its campaign against Russia by targeting ecommerce giants who are?key employers in an?expanding?sector. The company stated that no fire broke out at the Ufa Complex in Bashkortostan Region, but the complex sustained minor damages. The area is temporarily closed as it undergoes an inspection. The company said that a second Ozon facility in the southwest city of Orenburg had been evacuated due...

Ukraine's grain sales have plummeted?this week after Russian attacks effectively shut down its Black Sea ports.?Rail and river routes are unable to compensate for the lost capacity. Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railway operator, said that grain exports have been reduced by 60% compared to the same period in August last year. It said that the volume consisted of 170,000 tons delivered to Ukraine's Danube port and 343,200 tonnes transported to the western border crossings. After Russian attacks effectively blocked Ukraine's Black Sea port, which handled?90% grain exports, shipments have been rerouted via Danube ports, and border crossings to European countries. These...

A Russian regional official stated that self-driving vehicles and drones could be used to transport goods between China and Russia's Far East. The brisk trade across the border has prompted a search for?new forms of cargo transportation?to avoid congestion. The Amur region of Russia, which?shares? a long border between China and Russia, is developing trial programmes with Chinese authorities in partnership, said the deputy chairman of the regional government, Pavel Puzanov. He was speaking at a business conference in Kazan. China is providing a lifeline for Russia's economy after it was sanctioned following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in...

Sinograin, a Chinese company, announced on Friday that it will auction 360,000 metric tonnes of imported soybeans on August 19. Industry experts believe that the state stockpiler is clearing out space for incoming U.S. soyabeans, as evidenced by its fourth sale since July. According to a?notice from the National Grain Trade Centre, a?sale is scheduled for 1:30 pm (0530 GMT) on Wednesday. It will include soybeans produced between 2022 and 2025. After a 'May summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, China agreed to purchase 25 million tons of U.S. soya beans annually until 2028. Two traders in 'Asia' said...

On Tuesday, Latvia announced that a tunnel was discovered 'under the border of Belarus. It also announced plans to combat the networks which it claims are helping an increasing number of migrants cross the border 'illegally. Last month, Latvian soldiers fired a warning shot and used teargas to deter migrants from entering the country through Belarus. Belarus shares a 173 km (107 mile) border with Latvia. Interior Minister Janis Dombrava said at a press conference held jointly with Prime Minister Andris Kubergs that "the protection of Latvia's east border will be enhanced, through closer cooperation between Border Guard, State Police...

Alexander Gusev said that a drone attack killed a person and injured two others overnight in the Voronezh region of 'Russia. Gusev, a Telegram user, said that Russia's air defense units destroyed 15 drones in the area of Voronezh. "A drone crashed caused fires in two warehouses of a large company. The fire at one warehouse has been contained within an area of 16 square meters. At the other, a fire covering 20,000 square metres is currently being put out. "Emergency Services are on the scene," said?the governor. He didn't identify the company that was affected. On?Tuesday?, Russian online retailer...

According to a Monday letter published by the 'Russian Central Bank,' creditors are advised to assist businesses that have been affected by Ukrainian drone attacks on warehousing and logistics centres. Ukraine has?attacked at least 20 warehouses owned by Russian ecommerce retailer Wildberries since July 18. In a letter, the regulator stated that "small and medium-sized businesses who have suffered due to terrorist attacks on warehouses, manufacturing plants, retail, offices, and other premises can apply for restructured loans." Sberbank, VTB and Wildberries Bank, which is owned by the retailer, have all announced that they are ready to help?businesses. Sergei Melamed, senior...

Sinograin, China's state stockpiler, sold 67% of its 501,000 metric tons of soybeans at a second auction held in recent weeks on Wednesday. The company is trying to make space for U.S. cargoes. Sources said that soybeans from the 2022-2025 crop sold on average at a price of 4,013.5 Yuan ($594.84) a ton. Deliveries are scheduled between October and December. Sinograin's?previous Friday auction -- the largest since January -- sold about half?the 504,000 metric tons of imported soybeans?at a price of 4,033 Yuan per ton. Traders have said that they expect the stockpiler state to continue auctions in the next...