East Asia

Imports into the busiest U.S. port at Los Angeles fell 9% on an annual basis in May. This gives insight on how many shipments have been canceled or put to hold since President Donald Trump slapped 145% tariffs on goods from China. Los Angeles is America's No. 1 port for seaborne imports. Los Angeles is the No. 1 port of entry for these imports. Toys, furniture, and auto parts are important to domestic businesses from Walmart to Ford. In May, the data began to reflect the new 145% tariffs. The port of Los Angeles handled 355,950 20 foot shipping containers...

Data from Descartes Datamyne shows that imports to the United States from some of its busiest seaports fell sharply in May after President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs were imposed on many Chinese goods. Overnight, the world's largest economies announced a framework for a trade agreement that would set tariffs against China at 30%. The final approval is still pending. This rate will be added to the 25% tariffs that were imposed by Trump during his first term. The total China rate will then reach 55%. China is the largest supplier of goods to the United States that arrive via sea....

Blueberry bushes as tall as two meters stretch to the horizon in Peru's Pisco Desert before giving way to dunes. Genetic innovations have allowed varieties such as Eureka Sunset to grow in this type of arid terrain, some 250 km (155 miles south of Lima). Since more than a century, the healthy berries are being shipped north to U.S. grocery shelves. But there's a new competitor in town: China. The United States is fighting a trade war with other countries, and Peruvian growers are seeking new markets to sell their products. Their best customer, America, has been increasing the tariffs...

Singapore's Koh Brothers Eco Engineering announced on Tuesday that its unit had secured a S$999.7 million contract ($776.77million) from Changi Airport Group for the construction of intraterminal tunnels in the airport's new fifth terminal. Koh Brothers' Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering Contractor will execute the contract via an integrated joint venture, with Penta-Ocean Construction a Japanese company. The joint venture is 30% owned by the company that provides engineering services. Changi Airport in Singapore, the fourth busiest airport in the world by international passenger numbers, began building a new terminal in May to capitalize on the growing air travel...

Brazilian rail operator Rumo has terminated a 2024 deal to sell a part of the terminal at Latin America’s largest port, to U.S. commodities traders Bunge and to a subsidiary from Japan’s Zen-Noh Group. Rumo stated in a filing with the Securities Commission that the conditions of the agreement for a 50% stake in the XXXIX Terminal, located in Santos Port, had not been fully met before the deadline. It did not give any further details. The parts were Announcement of the Deal Rumo reported that the agreement would be worth 600 million reais ($107.44 millions) in May 2024. Bunge...

The largest energy storage system in Italy, based on batteries from electric vehicles, was inaugurated at Rome's Fiumicino Airport on Tuesday to reduce carbon emissions. The two companies released a joint statement stating that the system, called "Pioneer", was developed by Italian utility Enel in conjunction with airport operator ADR. It is the largest system of its kind to be found in Europe. The solar farm Enel built in Fiumicino, Italy in January will use this to store the energy. Storage systems are needed by Italy as it expands its renewable energy projects. This will allow the country to have...

Hong Kong's leader stated on Tuesday that China had recently removed its top representative from the city. He was known for his strict policies regarding national security. China surprised the world by announcing late Friday night that Zheng Yanxiong - the director of the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong, Beijing's main representation office in the city, with a powerful influence over local affairs – had been "removed". Zhou Ji was appointed to replace him. He is a senior officer at the Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office of the State Council. Zheng played a major role in the crackdown against...

A senior executive from the Chinese operator of Darwin Port said that the U.S. firm Cerberus was interested in buying the lease. This comes amid an Australian government push to return the port to Australian ownership. Terry O'Connor is the Australia non-executive Director of Landbridge, a Chinese company that operates Darwin Port. He said a Cerberus executive had met with Peter Dummett, Chief Executive Officer at Darwin Port, a fortnight earlier and expressed an interest. However, he hadn't yet spoken to Landbridge's Board. Cerberus has not responded to our request for comment. Landbridge previously stated that the port was not...

China's Ambassador to Canberra criticised Australia's government's intentions to return Darwin Port back to local ownership. He said that the Chinese company operating the strategically located northern Port should not be penalized. In April, during the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that his government had been working on a scheme to force Darwin Port's Chinese owner to sell it on the grounds of national interest. In 2015, Australia leased the commercial port to Landbridge for 99 years. This move was criticized by Barack Obama, the U.S. President at the time. In the city's northern part, 2,000 U.S. Marines...

China's Ambassador to Canberra criticised Australia's government's plan to return Darwin Port back to local ownership. He said that the Chinese company operating the strategically located northern Port should not be penalized. In April, during the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that his government had been working on a plan for forcing the sale of Darwin Port to its Chinese owner based on national interests. In 2015, Australia leased the commercial port to Landbridge for 99 years. This move was criticized by Barack Obama, the U.S. President at the time. In the city's northern part, 2,000 U.S. Marines...

The Indian government said Thursday that it was within its legal rights to revoke Celebi's authorization to provide aviation services at the ground level in Turkey without prior notice, as it concerned national security. Celebi’s clearance was revoked by India last Thursday amid increasing public anger following Turkey's support of Pakistan in the recent India - Pakistan conflict. Indians are also boycotting Turkish products, including jams, chocolates and coffee. Celebi has asked the Delhi High Court to annul the cancellation, claiming it was made without warning and on the basis of "vague and unexplained" "national security" fears. However, Solicitor-General Tushar...

CK Hutchison announced on Thursday that the family-run MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, owned by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Apponte, is the largest investor in a consortium seeking to purchase 43 ports from a Hong Kong conglomerate. Dominic Lai, Hutchison's co-managing Director, spoke at the annual general meeting of the company after weeks of criticism and scrutiny in China over its proposal to sell a majority of its global ports business worth $22.8 billion to a U.S. investment group led by BlackRock. Lai replied: "Yes. It has been since the beginning." CK Hutchison did not disclose the exact ownership of the investors...

Japan's second-largest shipping company, Mitsui O.S.K. Takeshi Hashimoto, CEO of Lines (MOL), said that the company is continuing to operate as usual in Gulf while closely watching the situation in the area. Hashimoto said on the sidelines the Energy Asia Conference that "we are operating so many container, car carriers, and chemical tankers, so it is very difficult for us reduce or stop the service." He added that although there was no alternative route in the Gulf for shipping, it had been re-routed to the Cape of Good Hope following the attack by the Yemeni Houthis on ships in the...

A person familiar with this matter told me on Monday that Mitsubishi Corp was in negotiations to buy the U.S. Shale Production and Pipeline assets of Aethon Energy Management. The price is estimated at $8 billion. If the deal is struck, the Japanese conglomerate would gain a significant natural gas operation near the U.S. Gulf Coast and the energy export infrastructure being developed there. The source said that talks between Mitsubishi and Aethon were ongoing. She cautioned, however, that no transaction was guaranteed and spoke under condition of anonymity in order to discuss confidential discussions. The assets are operated and...

Uganda forecasts its economic growth will accelerate to about 7% in the coming year, indicating that officials do not plan on large-scale production of energy in the next twelve months. This year, growth was projected at 6.3%. The latest government estimate was that crude production would begin in the middle of the year. However, this date has been pushed back repeatedly due to disagreements between the government of President Yoweri Museeveni and international energy companies and the slow progress of building critical infrastructure. Companies including France's TotalEnergies, China's CNOOC and China's TotalEnergies are developing Uganda's oilfields near the border with...

Two sources have confirmed that U.S. LNG developer Commonwealth LNG, which is planning to build an export facility in Louisiana to provide 1 million metric tonnes per year (mtpa), of LNG, will soon sign a contract with Japan's largest power generator JERA. Commonwealth LNG would be able to commit 8 mtpa under the long-term contract. The company stated publicly that they want to secure contracts for 8 mtpa or more of their 9.5 mtpa capacity LNG export terminal to ensure the project's financial viability. The U.S. exports more LNG than any other country in the world. Based on the projects...

Documents seen by us on Friday show that Niger has requested that Chinese employees who are working on oil projects in the country leave. This could impact dozens of people and strain bilateral relations. Niger, like other West African nations, has tried to gain greater control over natural resources while promoting local employment. Two letters show that the Oil Minister Sahabi Oumarou asked the China National Petroleum Corporation and its refinery SORAZ, to terminate the contracts with expatriates working in Niger since more than four years. A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said that China has "always adhered to principles...

Documents seen by us on Friday show that Niger has requested that Chinese employees who are working on oil projects in the country leave. This could impact dozens of people and strain bilateral relations. Niger, like other West African nations, has tried to gain greater control over natural resources while promoting local employment. Two letters show that the Oil Minister Sahabi Oumarou asked the China National Petroleum Corporation and its refinery SORAZ, to terminate the contracts with expatriates working in Niger since more than four years. In a May 21 letter to SORAZ, Oumarou said that there would be flexibility....

China's increasing natural gas production and pipeline supply is slowing down its liquefied gas imports in this year. This has capped prices in the area, but executives in the industry expect LNG demand to grow from the industrial and power sectors in China in the future. Customs data revealed that imports to the top LNG-importing country in the world fell to 20 millions metric tons over the first four month of this year. This is down from almost 29 million tons for the same period last year. The mild weather conditions and the buyer's resistance to higher prices were the...

If there's a law of unintended effects, then the commodity markets are adapting to the reality and perceived threats of Donald Trump's tariff war. Trump's trade measures and tariffs have forced commodity producers, buyers, and traders to rethink long-established relations, adapt to new realities, and predict what could happen. It is clear that the commodity markets are adapting not only to the actual measures taken by the Trump Administration, but also the potential future actions. This has led to a desire to reduce exposure to the United States. One example is the seaborne crude oil exports from Canada that have...

If there's a law of unintended effects, a good example would be how the commodity markets have adjusted to the reality and perceived threat of the tariff war started by U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump's trade measures and tariffs have forced commodity producers, buyers, and traders to rethink long-established relations, adapt to new realities, and predict what could happen. It is clear that the commodity markets are adapting not only to the actual measures taken by the Trump Administration, but also the potential future actions. This has led to a desire to reduce exposure to the United States. One example...

After an incident on its operations, the Nigerian oil company Renaissance Energy said it had halted the production of crude oil into the Trans Niger pipeline. This is a major oil route that transports crude oil from the onshore oilfields in Nigeria to the Bonny oil export terminal. A group of environmental rights activists said that on Thursday, the pipeline ruptured on May 6, spilling oil into B-Dere Community in Ogoniland. This is the second incident in which the pipeline has been affected in the past two months. Michael Adande said that Renaissance Group Nigeria, the Nigerian oil group which...

Ship tracking data revealed that China is the largest customer of Canadian oil transported on the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline. This shift in crude flow has been caused by the U.S. Trade War, which has affected the flow of crude since the pipeline began operating. China's renewed interest in Canadian crude oil coincides with President Donald Trump’s trade war, which has caused tensions between Washington and Ottawa. The price of Canadian oil also reflects U.S. sanctions against crudes from Venezuela and Russia. Canada's main oil producing province, Alberta, is landlocked and has limited access to ports on the tidewater. The...

Three traders reported that the freight rates for ESPO blend crude shipped from Russia's port of Kozmino into China in April fell to their lowest level since mid-January due to increased availability of tankers. The lower rates will mean that Russian exporters spend less money on freight and get more oil for their money. The freight rates for the route are now around $2-3 million per cargo for April loadings, down from $4-5 million in February and March. This is because more non-sanctioned tanks have entered the ESPO marketplace. Calculations based on data from three trading sources revealed that the...