Europe

Calculations and traders' statements show that the differential between Brent and Urals crude eased on Tuesday due to lower prices in India and firmer freight rates to Asia, as well as lower prices of the grade. The export plan for Russia’s western ports was also revised upwards. Three people with knowledge of the situation said that Russia increased its crude oil export plans for Priomorsk and Ust-Luga ports in August by 200,000 barrels a day from the original schedule, after Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted refinery operation and released more crude to be shipped. Due to the ongoing strikes and changing...

Four market sources reported on Monday that the Russian energy company Novatek would reduce its naphtha exports, and may resume shipments to international markets of stable gas condensate due to an inferno at their complex located in Ust-Luga port. The regional governor stated on his Telegram account that debris from a destroyed Ukrainian UAV caused an early morning fire at Novatek’s Ust-Luga Terminal on 24 August. According to market sources, the complex was closed on Sunday. Two sources say that while the full impact of the fire is not yet known, at least one unit of processing was damaged. According...

Ukraine's largest farming union demanded on Monday that the government lift the wartime ban on imports of nitrogen fertilisers into the country’s maritime ports. They warned that the shortages could affect the yields of the key grain crop in the country. Ukraine banned the import of explosive nitrogen fertilisers at seaports when it began its war with Russia. The UAC Farmers' Union said that while nitrogen fertilisers are still available for import via land or river ports, shortages have become worse during a season of high demand. The UAC stated that the key factor is the prohibition on the importation...

Databricks, a company that offers AI agents, will expand its AI agent offering by acquiring machine learning startup Tecton. This is the latest of a series of deals aimed to offer full-scale AI tools for enterprise clients, said its chief executive on Friday. Tecton is backed by Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins and provides software to help companies analyze data and deploy it at scale, with low latency. The financial terms of the Databricks private shares deal were not disclosed. Tecton's last valuation was $900 million, in a private funding round for 2022. It has approximately 90 employees. Databricks announced this...

DHL, the German postal service group, announced on Friday that it will suspend the shipping of standard parcels to businesses in the United States. This follows similar actions by European competitors who were deterred by the looming U.S. duties for low value packages. The U.S. administration of Donald Trump announced last month that it would suspend global "de minimis", which allows minimal paperwork for international shipments below $800, with effect August 29. Postal groups in Scandinavian, Austrian and Belgian countries announced earlier this week that they will halt parcel deliveries to the United States. DHL stated that the new postal...

According to two shipping sources, Turkish port authorities are now formally requesting shipping agents to submit letters stating that the vessels they represent do not have any connection to Israel or carry military or hazardous cargo bound to Israel. This is the second step Turkey has taken to punish Israel for its Gaza war with Hamas. Last year, it cut off trade worth $7 billion annually with Israel. Sources said that the harbour master’s office verbally instructed agents to give written assurances. They added that there was not an official circular regarding the issue. According to one source, the instructions...

According to two shipping sources, Turkish port authorities are now formally requiring shipping agencies to provide letters stating that the vessels they are using are not connected to Israel or carrying any hazardous or military cargo bound for Israel. Sources said that the harbour master’s office verbally instructed agents to give written assurances. They added that there was not an official circular regarding the issue. According to one source, the instructions applied to all ports in Turkey. Second source: The letter of guarantee should state that the vessel owners, managers and operators do not have any ties with Israel and...

The traders said that Russia's gasoline exports to Afghanistan and Turkmenistan dropped in July, even before Moscow restricted the exports to ensure affordable supplies on the domestic market. According to data from traders, Russia's gas exports to Afghanistan dropped to 9,500 tons last month, down from 33,950 tonns in June. Turkmenistan's imports also decreased to 19,800 tonns from 39,700 tonns. The data revealed that Belarus increased its supply to Afghanistan at the same time to counteract the Russian decline. Russia implemented official export restrictions for gasoline producers towards the end of July in order to boost domestic supply during the...

Lobito Atlantic Railway's (LAR) CEO said that the company aims to complete by the end this year a loan agreement worth $533 million with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. This deal is crucial for upgrading its Angolan concession. The U.S. Development lender pledged a $533 million loan by 2024 for the upgrade of 1,300 km (800 miles) in railways, and to provide a fast route to haul minerals which are crucial to the global switch to cleaner energy. Angola granted LAR, a consortium of Trafigura Mota-Engil Vecturis SA a 30-year contract in 2022 to operate the rail line and...

Sources in the industry said that new requirements for ship entry and inspection have significantly hindered Russian grain exports through Kavkaz on the Black Sea. These exports accounted almost a quarter (24%) of all seaborne imports during last season. According to a presidential decree issued in July, foreign vessels must have permission from the port authorities to enter Russian ports and receive approval from the FSB security services. One of six sources said that since the beginning of August around 350,000 tons of grain has been shipped through Kavkaz. This compares to 1.5 million to two million tons per month...

A London court heard that lawyers representing Indian businessman Prateek gupta failed to attend a hearing Monday due to funding problems in a longstanding fraud case brought by commodity traders Trafigura regarding nickel cargoes. Trafigura of Geneva, a major industrial metals trader and oil company, sued Gupta for $60 million in fraud in February 2023. It claimed that it was the victim in a $600-million nickel cargo scam masterminded by Gupta. Gupta said that Trafigura employees designed the scheme in the middle of the case, which substituted low-grade materials like scrap with high-grade Nickel. Trafigura, its employees and the company...

The Ivory Coast cocoa grinding fell 31.2% on an annual basis in July, to 39,301 metric tonnes, according to data released by the exporters' association GEPEX. Grinders cited poor bean quality and low quantities of the mid-crop. From the beginning of the season 2024/25 in October to the end of July, the total grind of cocoa beans was 515,055 tonnes, a 4% decrease from the same period the previous season. The director of a San Pedro-based international grinding company said that the "quality of the beans" was the main reason for the dramatic drop in July's grinding this year. They...

In the last six months, 156,000 metric tonnes of aluminium metal have been deposited in London Metal Exchange's warehouses. It's beginning to look as if the stock battle that has characterized LME aluminium trade for more than a year is coming to an end. The volume of metal is decreasing. This has led to a battle between financiers, traders and warehouses. Almost all of the aluminium that was just delivered on LME warrant came from the existing LME offwarrant stock in the same Malaysian facility. The Port Klang stock shuffle had little effect on the overall inventory picture. The total...

In the last six months, 156,000 metric tonnes of aluminium metal have been deposited in London Metal Exchange's warehouses. It's beginning to look as if the stock battle that has characterized LME aluminium trade for more than a year is coming to an end. The volume of metal is decreasing. This has led to a battle between financiers, traders and warehouses. Almost all of the aluminium that was just delivered on LME warrant came from the existing LME offwarrant stock in the same Malaysian facility. The Port Klang stock shuffle had little effect on the overall inventory picture. The total...

A senior official revealed on Wednesday that Uganda was in discussions with credit export agencies and development finance institutions to have 85% a planned rail project funded with debt. This is due to concerns about the already high public debt. In October of last year, Turkey's Yapi Merkezi was awarded the contract for the construction of the 2.7 billion euro ($3.15 billion) rail. Preliminary works have already begun. Perez Wamburu said that some of the potential financiers are the OPEC Fund for International Development (FIDA), the Africa Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and some European export credit companies. Wamburu...

Handelsblatt, citing sources from the company and supervisory boards, reported that DB Cargo, a freight subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, could reduce its workforce by 50% as part of a possible cost-saving measure. The German Business Newspaper reported that consultants have suggested scenarios which would shrink the losses-making segment of Germany’s national railway company by 60% to 80%. According to calculations made by consultants commissioned for Deutsche Bahn, a partial withdrawal from the freight division could lead to the loss of 4,000 jobs. The report quoted sources who said that a decision will be taken by the end July. DB Cargo...

Gupta claimed in a court filing that a letter from Trafigura sent to Prateek Gupta’s company, warning them not to raise suspicions with Citi regarding nickel cargoes, provided evidence that the commodity traders were aware of fraud. In February 2023, Geneva-based Trafigura sued Indian businessman Gupta claiming it was the victim of $600-million nickel cargo fraud. Gupta had previously claimed in his defense that Trafigura employees were responsible for the scheme at the heart of the case. Gupta’s lawyers added the new letter to an amended defence document filed last week, which was released by court. Trafigura is a major...

Steyr Automotive, Austria's electric truck manufacturer, announced on Tuesday that it has received an order from China's SuperPanther to produce electric trucks in Europe for its sale. Chinese automakers are expanding in Europe. They are betting on their low prices and advanced technology, to penetrate a market that is traditionally dominated only by European and American brands. This expansion has stoked tensions in trade between Brussels and Beijing. There is also a dispute over EU tariffs imposed on EVs made in China to protect European producers. China can avoid tariffs on its models if they are manufactured in Europe. Steyr...

LME data on Thursday showed that the proportion of aluminium stock of Russian origin registered in warehouses at the London Metal Exchange fell to 66% from 69% in may, but the proportion of Indian origin rose to 34%. The LME has prohibited metal produced in Russia from its warehouse system after April 13, 2024 to comply with U.S., British and European sanctions imposed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine 2022. Metal made before this date can still trade. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant The end of June saw little change, with 221,875 tons. A LME...

Documents from the prosecutor's office showed that Italian tax police seized $43.5 million ($51 million) in cash from Rhenus Logistics Group, Rhenus' local unit. This was part of an investigation into allegations of tax fraud and illegal labor practices. Milan prosecutors launched a series formal investigations against Italy's delivery and logistics firms. They targeted the local units for major companies such as FedEx, Amazon, GLS, and DHL. According to a 199 page decree, the investigation accuses Rhenus Logistics Spa, of issuing fake invoices, and bypassing tax and labour laws in order to avoid paying tax and social insurance payments. The...

The operator of the Greek bulk carrier said that the 19-member crew, which was severely damaged by repeated attacks in the Red Sea, likely carried out by Houthi militants are safe. They will arrive at Djibouti on Monday evening. Michael Bodouroglou said that the fate of the Liberian Magic Seas, which is flying the Liberian flag, was uncertain. The vessel could sink, according to Bodouroglou. The first incident of this kind to be reported since mid-April was Sunday's attack off the southwest coast Yemen. The Magic Seas was targeted by gunfire, rocket-propelled missiles, and skiffs for more than four hour....

An attack on a ship in the Red Sea, off the coast of Yemen's southwest coast, was launched by eight small boats using gunfire and grenades. A British maritime agency and a security firm confirmed the incident. The situation continues, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and British maritime security company Ambrey. The attack was not immediately attributed to anyone. This is the first report on the region by the agencies since the middle of April. The tensions in the Middle East are still high due to the conflict in Gaza, the 12-day Israel/Iran war that lasted for...

The Greek parliament voted Thursday to create a committee that will conduct an investigation on a former minister of transport who was in charge of the railways before the country's biggest train accident ever, which occurred in 2023. Kostas Karamanlis is the second official in the conservative government led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis who will face an investigation for the tragedy that killed 57. Many Greeks see the crash as a sign of the neglect shown by the government over the years and the failure to address safety issues. In a secret ballot conducted early on Thursday morning, 154 legislators voted...

According to the CEO of the London Metal Exchange, there is a strong demand for metal delivery before the new warehouses open in Hong Kong next month. This is partly due the tightness of the copper market. The LME approved the construction of three new warehouses in Hong Kong last month, bringing the total up to seven. This is part of its efforts to increase its presence in this city, which is the gateway for the world's largest metals consumer - China. Hong Kong's high costs have led to questions regarding the viability and cost of new storage facilities in...