North Asia

According to traders and LSEG's ship-tracking data, Sibur, Russia’s largest producer and supplier of liquefied gas, delivered a.first cargo to China via the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga. Sibur mainly supplies LPG to Turkey. However, the demand for LPG has declined by?5%-6% per year, according to traders. Algeria and the U.S. also dominate its market. A trader commented that it was becoming increasingly difficult to export additional LPG volumes to Turkey. According to LSEG the large gas?carrier Pacific Moon has arrived in the Chinese port of Quanzhou, located in?the southern Fujian area at the end November. According to industry sources,...

Six sources with knowledge of the situation said that the U.S. was preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan crude oil after the seizure this week of a tanker. This is part and parcel of increasing pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. It was the first time that a Venezuelan oil tanker or cargo had been intercepted by U.S. authorities since 2019. The seizure came at a time when the U.S. is executing a massive military buildup on the southern Caribbean and as 'U.S. Donald Trump is pushing for Maduro to be ousted. Sources said that the latest U.S. actions...

Six sources familiar with this matter told AFP on Thursday that the U.S. was preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan crude oil after the seizure a tanker earlier this week. This is part of an effort to increase pressure?on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. This was the first time that an oil tanker or cargo from Venezuela had been intercepted by U.S. authorities since 2019. The U.S. is executing a massive military buildup in southern Caribbean, and U.S. president Donald Trump is campaigning for Maduro to be ousted. Sources said that the seizure had put shipowners and operators involved in...

Six?sources with knowledge of the situation said that the U.S. was preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan crude oil after the seizure this week of a 'tanker. This will increase pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. This was the first time that an oil tanker or cargo from Venezuela had been intercepted by U.S. authorities, who have imposed sanctions on Venezuela since 2019. The U.S. is executing a massive military buildup in southern Caribbean, and President Donald Trump is campaigning for Maduro to be ousted. Sources said that the seizure had put shipowners and operators involved in transporting Venezuelan...

The Russian Urals crude differentials remained unchanged on Wednesday. Kazakhstan, however, diverted some oil from the Caspian pipeline consortium?pipeline?in December due to a decrease in the route’s capacity. Kaztransoil, the oil pipeline operator in Kazakhstan, announced on Wednesday that the country would divert certain volumes of oil from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium network damaged to other routes such as China. Kazakhstan will increase its oil supplies to Russia and the Baku, Tbilisi, Ceyhan pipeline by 58,000 tonnes this month as compared to initial plans. A source in the industry said that a drone strike by Ukraine on a Black Sea...

A Ukrainian official reported that Ukrainian drones disabled a tanker trading Russian oil on Wednesday as it sailed through Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Black Sea towards the Russian port of Novorossiysk. This is the third drone attack in two weeks against vessels of Russia's "shadow fleet", which Kyiv claims are unregulated ships that help Moscow export large amounts of oil to fund its war?in Ukraine, despite Western sanctions. As the conflict in Ukraine spills over into sea lanes, insurers are reviewing policies daily. An official with the Security Service of Ukraine stated that the Dashan tanker had...

The government of Lithuania announced that on Tuesday, a?state of emergency was declared due to the threat to public safety posed by smuggled s?balloons from Belarus. Lithuania accuses Belarus of allowing smugglers use weather balloons for contraband cigarettes to be transported across the border. This has repeatedly forced Vilnius Airport to stop operations and disrupt air traffic. Vladislav Kondratovic, Interior Minister at a live-streamed government meeting, said: "The state of Emergency is declared not only because of civil aviation disruptions, but also due to national security interests." Kondratovic said that the declaration gives increased operational freedom to military forces, allowing...

Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ukrainian state railway company, said that a railway hub near Kyiv had been attacked by a Russian drone and a missile attack. The depot and rail carriages were damaged. Fastiv was not reported as a casualty in the attack that occurred overnight. In recent weeks, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure and energy sector. Power stations and rail hubs have been targeted. Ukrzaliznytsia announced on Telegram that it had to cancel a number of suburban trains in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv and near the capital. The emergency services did not provide any further details, but...

Analyst Barva Invest stated on Friday that the constant Russian attacks have caused Ukraine's export terminals to reduce grain intake. This has a negative impact on trading. Ukraine is a major corn exporter in the world. It relies on Black Sea Ports near Odesa for 90% of its agricultural products, which are targeted by Russian drones and missiles almost every day. Some ports and terminals have limited the acceptance of goods due to Russian shelling. This has further slowed down the trading activity in the Ukrainian corn markets, which were already struggling with complicated logistics and a lack of supply,"...

Four sources reported on Friday that the ESPO blend crude cargoes from Russia, which loaded in Chinese ports in December, were sold at a discount between $5 and $6 per barrel compared to ICE Brent, marking the lowest differential in history. Discounts in China have widened due to a drop in demand, after state refiners stopped buying as a result of recent Western sanctions. Private players are also more cautious. Traders said that ESPO blend oil cargoes were being sold at discounts between $0.50 and $1 per barrel under ICE Brent, as recently as October. In October, the United States...

Five shipping and insurance sources reported on Thursday that the cost of war insurance for ships sailing into the Black Sea has increased again. Insurers are reviewing policies every day as the conflict in Ukraine spills over onto sea lanes. Black Sea is vital for shipping grain, oil and oil-based products. Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania, as well Russia and Ukraine, share its waters. Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister, said on Wednesday that recent attacks on Russian-linked tankers on the Black Sea threatened the safety and security of everyone in the region. Ships entering Russian or Ukrainian Black Sea terminals...

Sources said that the differential between Russian Urals crude and Brent dated was stable on Wednesday. Kazakhstan also rerouted some oil exports to other destinations than the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which had been attacked by a drone over the weekend. Five industry sources have confirmed that Kazakhstan will divert additional crude oil through the Baku, Tbilisi, and Ceyhan pipelines in December, after the CPC, its main export route suffered damage following a drone attack by Ukraine. According to a source, Kazakh producers could add up to 140,000 tons KEBCO crude oil in December. Ukraine has struck the Druzhba pipeline...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that, in November, the share of copper made in China among all available stocks increased. A favorable price arbitrage encouraged Chinese exports. The percentage of copper stock that is available or on a warrant The data revealed that the percentage of - of Chinese Origin in LME Warehouses had increased to 85% by the end of the last month from 82% at the beginning of October. A LME warrant is an ownership document. The absolute amount of Chinese copper stocks on the LME rose to 130,225 tonnes at the end last month from...

Data released on Monday showed that the cargo volumes handled by Russia's largest commercial employer, state-owned Russian Railways, continued to decline in November. Russian Railways released a statement saying that November cargo volumes fell by 1.5% on an annual basis to 94.2 millions tonnes. Volumes from January to November also dropped by 5.6%, to 1.021 billion tonnes. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. It has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50,8 billion). The railway cargo volume, a key economic indicator of the strength of Russia's export economy, fell to its lowest level in...

VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said in an interview that Russian banks were willing to restructure some Russian Railways' debt, as long as their central bank did not increase the reserve requirements on these loans. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. This company, the largest commercial employer in Russia, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion), according to a report on Nov. 25, VTB is the second largest Russian bank and Russian Railways' largest creditor. The bank's top managers participate in weekly government discussions on how to handle the debt. These meetings are...

VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said in an interview that Russian banks were willing to restructure Russian Railways' debt, as long as their central bank did not increase the reserve requirements on these loans. The Russian government is examining different options to support Russian Railways. This company, which is the largest employer in the country, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion), according to a report on Nov. 25, VTB is the second largest Russian bank and Russian Railways' largest creditor. The bank's top managers participate in weekly government discussions on how to handle the debt. These meetings...

Two people familiar with the situation said that the Russian government is looking at different options to support Russian Railways. The company, the largest employer in the country, has accumulated a debt of 4 trillion roubles ($50.8 billion). The state-owned Russian Railways employs 700,000 workers and has seen its revenues fall amid the sharp slowdown of Russia's wartime economy. Meanwhile, debt costs are on the rise, driven by interest rates that have reached their highest levels in 20 years. Two people, who requested anonymity because the subject was sensitive, said that Moscow had been discussing ways to help the railways...

The giant Russian railcar and tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod said Friday that it would be restructuring its operations in order to reduce costs. A local report had stated the company planned to cut its workforce by 10%. The Uralvagonzavod plant, located in Nizhny Tagil about 1,400 km east of Moscow in Nizhny Tagil, has been sanctioned for its role in providing tanks to Moscow's Ukraine war. The factory is owned by a state-controlled conglomerate that has ties to one of Vladimir Putin's closest allies. It claims publicly to produce T-90M battle tank and modernise T-72B3M. Local news outlet E1 reported on...

Interfax reported Friday that Russian Railways, the state-owned railway company in Russia, plans to cut management positions as it faces lower freight volumes, and a general slowdown of the Russian economy. The Russian industrial giants - from automakers and railways to producers of metals, coal and cement - are suffering due to a weakening demand at home, low cost Chinese imports, rising interest rates, and shrinking markets. Sources say that Russian Railways (which employs 700,000 people) has already asked its central office staff to take 3 unpaid days per month. Other Russian companies such as carmaker Avtovaz and cement maker...

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...

Data from the London Metal Exchange showed that the proportion of aluminium with Russian origin registered in the warehouses of the London Metal Exchange fell to 69% from 89% in the month of April. The percentage of Indian origin increased to 30% from 10%. To comply with U.S., British and European sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the LME has banned all metals produced in Russia from its warehouse system after April 13, 2024. Metal made before April 13, 2024 can still be traded. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant The number of metric...

Russia and North Korea are planning to resume direct passenger trains between Moscow and Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea in this month. This will be the first time that the service has been offered since 2020. Russian Railways announced that it had reached an agreement with the North Korean railways ministry on a two-monthly service to resume between the capitals of the country. The journey, which took eight days, was said to be the longest direct train journey in the entire world, covering over 10,000 km (6 213 miles). Two days later, another service will be launched between Pyongyang,...

A Ukrainian industry source familiar about the issue said Wednesday that an alternative Transbalkan route to import gas for Ukraine was developed, which allows for cheaper imports of Russian-origin natural gas. Source: The route is operational as of June. It could allow Ukraine imports up to 1 billion cubic metres (bcm), including 100 million cubic metres (mcm), in the lucrative period from June to October. Ukraine imports its gas through Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Ukraine, once one of the biggest importers of Russian Gas, has stopped buying it since 2015. In January, Ukraine stopped transiting Russian gas to Europe through...

LME data released on Monday showed that the proportion of aluminium with Russian origin registered in warehouses at the London Metal Exchange increased to 89% from 88%, and the proportion of Indian origin decreased to 10% from 11 %. To comply with U.S., British and European sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the LME has banned all metals produced in Russia from its warehouse system after April 13, 2024. Metal made before April 13, 2024 can still be traded. Stocks of aluminium with Russian origin, or those on warrant The end-of-April figure was 223,900 tons, up from 200...