Latest News
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China's CNAF invests in private Chinese SAF factory
China National Aviation Fuel Company announced on Monday that it had agreed to purchase a stake in a sustainable biofuel plant owned by Henan Junheng Industry Group Biotech Co. This is CNAF’s second investment in a "green" jet-fuel maker that is privately controlled. CNAF, China's largest distributor of aviation fuel, is a major player in the world. CNAF announced that the agreement was signed on WeChat, but provided no financial details. Junheng, a company based in Central China, is one of China’s first commercial SAF refiners. It converts used cooking oil into low-carbon fuel. China is the largest UCO producer in the world. Junheng plans to expand its 400,000-metric-ton-per-year SAF factory in Puyang (Henan Province) to one million tpy by June 2026. According to a Jiaao filing, CNAF acquired a 10% stake in a SAF plant located in east China, controlled by Zhejiang Jiaao. The purchase price was 261 million yuan, or about $36,35 million. China, which is the second largest aviation fuel market in the world, has not yet announced a national mandate regarding the use of SAF. Last September, a pilot program was launched for the first time to use SAF on a dozen domestic flights departing Beijing, Chengdu Zhengzhou, and Ningbo airports. In March, the scheme was extended to include all flights leaving these airports.
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After the Ukrainian attack, Budapest has said that Russian oil flow to Hungary has been halted.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto stated on Monday that the Russian crude oil flow to Hungary was halted following an attack by Ukraine on a transformer on the Druzhba Pipeline. The Druzhba Pipeline, which transports Russian crude oil through Belarus and Ukraine and Hungary to Slovakia, is the main route by which Hungary imports its crude oil. Szijjarto posted on Facebook that he spoke to Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Pavel Sorokin, who informed him that experts are working to restore transformer station. However, it is unclear when deliveries will be resumed. Szijjarto said, "This latest attack on our energy security is outrageous & unacceptable." He didn't give any information about the time or location of the attack. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces, as well as the Hungarian Oil Company MOL, have not responded to immediate requests for comment. Slovnaft, the refinery in Slovakia that receives Russian crude via the same pipeline, did not respond to requests for comment. Hungary, unlike many other European Union nations, has maintained close business and political ties with Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Szijjarto declared last year that Druzhba would remain Hungary's pipeline Primary route for crude oil imports. The suspension of oil delivery on Monday follows a temporary stop last week. Ukraine's military has said On August 13, its drones struck the Uniecha pumping station located in Russia's Bryansk Region. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens, with additional reporting by Yuliia Dvorakova and Vera Dvorakova from Gdansk)
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Gulf shares fluctuate on Fed rate cuts uncertainty
Gulf stocks had a mixed start to the trading session on Monday, as investors grew cautious in anticipation of this week's Jackson Hole Symposium for clues about the next U.S. Federal Reserve policy move. The U.S. released data on July retail sales on Friday. Although the results were as expected, a weaker consumer sentiment and a softer factory production suggested that tariffs are weighing down on certain parts of the U.S. economy. This clouded the Fed's interest rate path. The traders are pricing in an 85% probability of a 25 basis-point rate cut on September 17 and further easing at year's end. The U.S. monetary policy changes have a major impact on Gulf markets where the majority of currencies are pegged with the dollar. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell by 0.3% on Wednesday, ending two sessions of gains. Most constituents were lower. Saudi National Bank, by assets the largest lender in Saudi Arabia, fell 1.2%, while Al Nahdi Medical dropped 1.6%. Sumou Real Estate's share price rose by 1.7% following the award of a contract for infrastructure development in Jeddah. The benchmark index in Qatar fell 0.5% due to declines among blue chips. Qatar Islamic Bank slipped 1%, and Industries Qatar dropped 1.1%. The benchmark Abu Dhabi index rose 0.1%, aided by gains of 1.3% in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank as well as 1.6% in Lulu Retail. Dubai's benchmark index rose 0.3%, boosted by shares in real estate, financial and industrial companies. Emaar Properties rose 1.7%, while toll operator Salik increased 1.9%.
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Mumbai's streets are flooded by heavy rains in India
Mumbai, India's financial hub, was pounded by heavy rains on Monday. Flights were disrupted, roads were flooded and schools closed. The weather department reported that some parts of Mumbai had received more than 140 millimeters (5 inches) of rainfall since Monday morning. This caused traffic jams, as cars became stuck on the flooded roads. In a district in the south of the city, three people were injured late Sunday night when the staircase collapsed of a two storey building. Weather officials warned that heavy rain would fall on Monday and Tuesday. They issued a red warning for Mumbai and the surrounding area, and asked residents to remain at home. NDTV reported that at least nine incoming Mumbai flights aborted their landing. It wasn't immediately clear if the flights were diverted. In the Himalayan mountains of India, torrential rains have killed dozens and flooded villages over the past two weeks.
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Azerbaijani oil exports through BTC pipeline fell 5.9% year-on-year amid contamination
Azerbaijani statistics showed that Azerbaijan exported 16.2 million tons of oil via the Baku, Tbilisi, and Ceyhan pipelines between January and July, a 5.9% decline from the previous year. The route had been contaminated with contaminated oil. BP operates the Azeri Chirag and Guneshli Oilfields. The BTC pipeline runs through Georgia into Turkey. Exports are down because of a gradual decline in Azerbaijani oil reserves. Last month, organic chloride was detected in Azeri BTC cargoes. This pushed the price differential to its lowest level in four years and delayed loading. Oilfields use organic chloride to increase extraction and it must be removed from crude before it enters pipelines. Although the extent of contamination and its effect on customers is still unclear, oil loadings out of Ceyhan have been disrupted for a few days. According to Kpler's data, the Azeri BTC loads from Ceyhan in July totaled 423,000 barrels a day (bpd), which is below the 561,000 scheduled bpd on the loading program. According to Azerbaijan’s Statistics Committee, the total amount of oil transported through Azerbaijan in the first seven month of this year was 21.6 million tonnes, 75.0% of which went through the BTC. Data showed that the volume of transit crude oil imported from other countries, such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through the BTC dropped to 2.645 millions tons from 3.214 millions tons during the same period in 2024. (Reporting and editing by Kirby Donovan; Nailia Bagirova)
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Take Five: Jackson Hole to Anchorage
Stock-market bulls are not facing any major obstacles at the moment, but the events following the U.S./Russia Summit in Alaska, the central bank party in Wyoming, and the result of Bolivia's elections may cause them to be cautious. This week's predictions come from Rocky Swift, Suzanne McGee, and Rodrigo Campos of New York; and Dhara Ranasinghe, and Naomi Rovnick of London. 1/ THE BEGINNING OR THE END? After Donald Trump's Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and European leaders later on Monday, it is the turn of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet the U.S. president to discuss a possible peace agreement. Trump might try to press Kyiv to accept a settlement that is favorable to Moscow. Zelenskiy had already rejected the outline Putin's proposal, which included Ukraine giving up the remainder of the eastern Donetsk Region, where it controls only a quarter. Markets will hesitate to price in a war's end until at least a ceasefire is agreed. Europe is unlikely to accept Russia even if the peace in Ukraine returns. Investors are likely to continue to favor defence stocks for the time being. JACKSON HOLE IN ONE The summer is officially here on the financial markets. The Q2 earnings have been released, and the next batch of economic data won't be available until early September. Many money managers and traders will head to the beach for a vacation. Jackson Hole is the only thing that should worry you. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chair, will be among those attending this annual central bankers' gathering. The conference is taking place at a time when stocks are nearing record highs and Trump continues to fire pot shots at Powell. Jackson Hole could be disruptive. Powell's hint that there won't be a rate cut in September could cause the markets to sell off. A tone too upbeat from the Fed chairman may also fuel euphoria. Steve Sosnick is a strategist at IBKR. He says that bull markets can die from euphoria. STAGFLATION NATION While global stocks have been rallying, everything from the weak U.S. employment data to the troubles at the top of Federal Reserve has given a reason to bet against U.S. interest rate cuts. This means that it is not profitable to be a bear. BofA surveyed global investors and found that 60% believe U.S. stagflation will be the dominant market regime in three months. Strategists at Societe Generale believe that the benchmark S&P 500 index has outperformed a basket of stocks which perform well in stagflationary conditions, where inflation increases and growth slows. The business surveys that will be released next week, which are able to reveal economic trends before official data is released, may provide more information about whether U.S. Tariffs are pushing the largest economy in the world towards stagflation. SocGen expects Fed rate reductions to create a bubble in the stock market that could last until next year. OUTLIER 4 The Bank of Japan, in contrast to other central banks that are lowering rates in order to provide a "soft landing" for their economies, is attempting to increase borrowing costs. Next Friday's data on inflation will be closely scrutinized for any indication of when the BOJ will begin its long-promised tightening cycle. The BOJ has been aiming for a 2% increase since the beginning of 2013. The BOJ was the only bank to have pursued quantitative easing harder and longer than any other. The long road to normalisation was complicated by the uncertainty surrounding U.S. Tariffs and the concern about whether Japan saw the right type of price increase. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda justified the slower rate increases because the underlying inflation, which is based on wages and domestic demand, is still below central bank target. Pick Me Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, was the frontrunner in Sunday's Bolivian presidential election. The elections kick off a series of national and regional votes in Latin America, which will continue until late next year when Brazil elects a new president (or keeps the incumbent). Investors want to know if the "pink wave" of 2022 will bring more right-wing governments to power. Bonds in Bolivia rose ahead of the Bolivian elections on the hope that a political shift could help the economy recover from its brink. Local elections in Argentina are viewed as a measure of the popularity for President Javier Milei’s radical economic reform. Chile elects a new president in November. Next year, Colombia will elect its congress in March followed by a presidential election in May. Peru will hold a presidential vote in April, and Brazil in October 2026.
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Data shows that LNG cargoes from the Arctic LNG 2 project sanctioned travel east
According to Kpler's and LSEG's ship tracking data, four liquefied gas (LNG), tankers, carrying cargoes from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Plant, sanctioned for Moscow's conflict in Ukraine, are heading east towards Asia. Kpler data shows that the tanker Christophe De Margerie is currently traveling along the Northern Sea Route, after having been loaded at Arctic LNG 2 in August. Kpler data shows that the tanker is currently located off the coast of Russia's northeast. The data revealed that the LNG tankers Voskhod & Zarya which had loaded on July 16 & 29 and were idling at Arctic LNG 2 since then, started moving eastwards on August 15. The Iris tanker, which had been heading west on 26 June after being loaded at the Arctic LNG 2 Project, made a U turn in early July. It is now sailing east. As part of an overall goal to reduce Russia's oil revenues, the four LNG tankers will be subject to U.S. sanction. Doing business with or trading with sanctioned companies can result in fines and penalties. Previously, the owners of the four tankers and their ship or commercial managers could not be contacted when they loaded cargoes for the Arctic LNG 2 Project this year. Arctic LNG 2, owned by Novatek, a 60 percent-owned Russian company, was to be one of Russia's largest LNG facilities, producing 19.8 million tons of LNG per year. The sanctions have hampered its prospects and the company has had difficulty selling LNG produced by the project. According to Kpler, eight cargoes were loaded onto LNG vessels last year. Some vessels discharged the fuel at two facilities. The first is located near the Arctic port Murmansk and the second is on the Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka, in Russia's east.
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Firefly Aerospace to launch rockets in Japan for Asia
Firefly Aerospace, the U.S. rocket manufacturer expanding its satellite launch services worldwide, is looking at the option of launching its Alpha rocket in Japan. A Japanese company that operates a spaceport on the northern island of Hokkaido confirmed this Monday. Firefly's Texas-based competitor to Elon Musk’s market leader SpaceX is planning an Alpha launch for Sweden. SpaceX made its Nasdaq debut this month. Space Cotan (the operator of Hokkaido Spaceport, located approximately 820 km 510 mi northeast of Tokyo) and Firefly have signed a preliminary contract to examine the feasibility of launching Alpha, a small-lift rocket, from the spaceport. Adam Oakes said that launching Alpha from Japan would allow Firefly to better serve the satellite industry in Asia, and provide a more reliable orbital launch vehicle for U.S. ally nations. Space Cotan's spokesperson Ryota Ito said that a feasibility study will be carried out to evaluate the regulatory hurdles and timeframe, as well as investments, for a launchpad for Alpha on Hokkaido. Ito said that the plan would need a Space Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) to be signed between Washington and Tokyo, which would allow American launches of rockets in Japan. Last year, the governments began negotiations, but they have yet to reach an agreement. The signing of a U.S.-Sweden TSA in June cleared the way for Firefly to launch from the Arctic. Firefly's Alpha flights have failed four times since 2021, the latest in April. Private rockets have only recently been developed. Most Japanese satellite operators are dependent on foreign rockets such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Rocket Lab’s Electron. Virgin Orbit, a U.S.-based company, had originally planned to launch from Japan's Oita Airport in the southwest. However, the plan was abandoned after Virgin Orbit went bankrupt. Sierra Space, based in Colorado, has a plan to land their spaceplane at Oita after 2027. Last month, Taiwanese company TiSpace attempted what was likely the first foreign launch on Hokkaido. However, the suborbital mission failed in less than a minute. The Japanese government aims to launch 30 Japanese rockets per year by early 2030s. It also subventions domestic companies such as Space One, backed by Toyota and Interstellar Technologies. (Reporting and editing by Kate Mayberry; Kantaro Kommiya)
Azerbaijani oil exports through BTC pipeline fell 5.9% year-on-year amid contamination
Azerbaijani statistics showed that Azerbaijan exported 16.2 million tons of oil via the Baku, Tbilisi, and Ceyhan pipelines in January-July, a drop of 5.9% compared to a year ago. The route had been contaminated with tainted crude oil.
BP operates the Azeri Chirag and Guneshli Oilfields. The BTC pipeline runs through Georgia into Turkey.
Exports are down because of a gradual decline in Azerbaijani oil reserves.
Last month, organic chloride was detected in Azeri BTC cargoes. This pushed the price differentials down to their lowest level in four years and delayed loading.
Oilfields use organic chloride to increase extraction and it must be removed from crude before it enters pipelines. Although the extent of contamination and its effect on customers is still unclear, oil loadings out of Ceyhan have been disrupted for a few days.
BTC Co, a pipeline company operated by BP and BTC Co, said on Monday that "while things are stabilising at the Ceyhan Terminal, BTC Co is continuing to load crude at Ceyhan, with a program of sampling in order to ensure quality."
According to Kpler's data, the Azeri BTC loads from Ceyhan in July totaled 423,000 barrels a day (bpd), which is below the 561,000 scheduled bpd on the loading program.
According to Azerbaijan’s Statistics Committee, the total amount of oil transported through Azerbaijan in the first seven month of this year was 21.6 million tonnes, 75.0% of which went through the BTC.
Data showed that the volume of transit crude oil imported from other countries, such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through the BTC dropped to 2.645 millions tons from 3.214 millions tons during the same period in 2024. (Reporting and editing by Kirby Donovan; Nailia Bagirova)
(source: Reuters)