North Asia

Ukraine's deputy premier said that overnight Russian drone attacks damaged vessels with flags of Liberia, Palau, and Slovakia in the ports of Odesa, Ukraine. Russian officials have said that Moscow has intensified its attacks in recent weeks on the southern Odesa region, while Ukrainian officials claim Moscow is attempting to cut Ukraine from the Black Sea and sow chaos among civilians. Oleksiy Kulba, in a Telegram message, said that there were no casualties in Friday's strikes. However, the attacks damaged elevators, civilian warehouses, and caused power outages in the Odesa area. Kuleba also said that drones had damaged a locomotive...

Three traders reported a record discount of $7 to $8 per barrel for Russian ESPO blend crude delivered in Chinese ports in January compared to?ICE Brent, due to the pressure from Western sanctions on this?grade. The deeper discounts have revived interest in buying, especially among China's independent private refiners known as "teapots". Earlier in December, ESPO discount prices at Chinese ports ranged from $5 to $6 per barrel as refiners stayed out of the market following harsh Western sanctions against Russian oil majors Rosneft, and Lukoil. Beijing has issued new import quotas and cheaper barrels to lure private refiners back...

The regional governor said that Russian forces attacked Ukraine's Black Sea Port of Odesa on?Monday evening and damaged port infrastructure and a vessel. This was the second attack in the region within less than 24 hours. Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram that emergency crews are tackling the aftermath after the latest attack, but did not provide any further details. He stated that no injuries were reported. A previous overnight attack on port and energy infrastructure hit Odesa Region, causing a fire in a major Port and disrupting the electricity supply to tens if not thousands of people. Ukraine's Black Sea...

A senior Ukrainian official reported that Russian troops attacked port and energy infrastructure during an overnight attack in Ukraine's Odesa Region. They allegedly caused a fire to break out at a major harbor and disrupted electricity for tens if not hundreds of thousands?of people. Ukraine's Black Sea port is crucial to its export-driven economic system. Their security and functionality has been vital to the country's survival during nearly four years of war since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Oleksiy Kuleba, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, said in a Telegram message that "Russia is attempting to disrupt maritime logistic...

Russian officials reported that Russia had attacked the port of Pivdennyi in southern Ukraine on Saturday. They said this as they intensified'strikes' along the Black Sea coast, including the energy facilities, and the route leading to the Moldovan border. After Moscow threatened to "cut off" fuel and foreign trade supplies to Ukraine, Russia launched a drone and missile attack against a region that is critical for the country's foreign commerce and fuel supply. Ukraine from the Sea Even as the U.S. continues its diplomatic efforts to end the war, airstrikes continue to escalate. U.S. negotiators are set to meet Russian...

Seven people were killed and 15 injured in a Russian missile strike on Friday night, late at night, against port infrastructure around the Black Sea port city of Odesa. Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba's Telegram post said: "Russia attacked port infrastructure in Odesa with ballistic missiles late at night." Oleh Kiper, regional governor of Kuleba-Odesa, said preliminary reports indicated that seven people were killed, and fifteen injured. According to a?source with knowledge of the matter, the attack took place at Pivdennyi - one of the three ports in the region. Odesa is a major exporter of Ukrainian grain,...

Three sources have confirmed that the Russian government has ordered Russian Railways to dispose of a central Moscow skyscraper with 62 floors to help pay down some of the $50 billion debt owed by this railway monopoly. Last month, it was reported that the?government? is discussing ways to support Russia's largest commercial employer. 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. A government meeting held last week...

A Belarusian accused of bombing two trains in Siberia at the order of Ukraine's Intelligence Services was jailed on Thursday for 22 years by a military court. The General Prosecutor announced that Sergei Yeremeyev had been found guilty of committing an act of terrorism, and planting explosives in two freight trains, including one which was traveling through Russia's largest conventional rail?tunnel, at the time. The FSB?said that Yeremeyev admitted his 'guilt' at the time of arrest. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which claimed responsibility for the two attacks, said that it wanted to disrupt rail lines in Siberia, which Russia...

Michael Hoellerer, the former Chief Financial officer of Raiffeisen Bank International, was announced as the new CEO for Austrian lender Raiffeisen Bank International on Wednesday. Hoellerer replaces Johann Strobl who will continue managing the business until then as CEO and will step down from the board of management at the end his mandate in February 2027, according to a bank statement. Strobl has been the CEO of RBI since March 2017. In October, RBI undertook It is reorganizing its board in order to sell off its Russian business to a local buyer, in the hopes that the Russian government will...

The Ukrainian farmers' union UAC reported on Wednesday that some grain export terminals were closed due to the recent Russian attacks on Black Sea ports, energy facilities and other infrastructure. Ukraine is one of the world's largest wheat exporters, exporting about 70% its harvest via Black Sea ports. Ukraine's exports are dominated by food. Russia increased its attacks on the southern Odesa port hub this month. One of the attacks left about a thousand households without electricity. UAC reported in its weekly report on Wednesday that Ukraine exported 359 150 metric tons (measured by weight) of wheat at the end...

Ukraine's Navy accused?Russia on Saturday of attacking a civilian Turkish vessel carrying sunflower oil to Egypt with a drone, just a day after Moscow attacked two Ukrainian ports. The navy released a statement via Telegram stating that the vessel was named the Viva, and it had 11 'Turkish Citizens on board. The navy added that no one was injured and the vessel continued its journey towards?Egypt. The statement accused Russia of violating maritime law. "The strike took place 'in the open sea in Ukraine’s exclusive economic zones, outside of the range of Ukrainian aircraft defence systems," it said. The Navy...

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,...

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...