TOPIC

Commodities

Commodities
Commodity market action from around the world with a focus on the commodities that matter most to investors in Hong Kong and China.
Sheets of copper sit in stacks outside a solvent-extraction plant awaiting shipment. Photo: Getty Images
LME

Why the London Metal Exchange’s Hong Kong warehouses are a big deal

The development marks a pivotal step in strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a strategic commodities hub in Asia, industry leaders say.

China technology

Opinion | How China’s agricultural modernisation is reshaping global food systems

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Pakistan

Pakistan’s mining push: a chance to equal Indonesia’s nickel success?

Malaysia

Malaysia urged to invest in Uganda’s untapped oilfields as its reserves dwindle

Uganda has an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of petroleum reserves. Malaysia’s reserves stood at 2.7 billion barrels as of 2023.

An aerial view of Uganda’s Kingfisher Oil Field run by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation in Kikube. Photo: Xinhua
Climate change

Opinion | China must resist greenwashing its dirty coal habit with green bonds

Can China credibly claim climate leadership while doubling down on its dirtiest fuel?

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Mainland China

China takes steps to boost yuan with overseas gold storage facilities

China to explore the internationalisation of physical delivery for specific products traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

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ETFs

Chinese gold ETFs glow as investors chase metal’s historic rise

The mainland’s 13 gold ETFs bulge by US$9.6 billion, as the metal’s lure as a haven asset grows.

Gold bars weighing 1kg are displayed at the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society in Hong Kong in this February 14, 2013, file photo. Photo: Reuters
India

India targets Chinese shipments with new tariff on steel imports

Effective immediately for 200 days, the tariff marks India’s first major trade policy shift since Donald Trump’s global tariff impositions.

United States

Trump’s Fed feud sparks market turmoil, dollar dips, gold hits record high

Gold soared as investors fled US assets amid fears of Federal Reserve interference.

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US-China trade war

China is weaning itself off US soybeans as decade-long outlook comes into view

The days of China relying on America for soybeans could be numbered as agricultural ministry outlook report for next decade puts onus on self-sufficiency.

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The trade of soybeans is among the most contentious battlefields in the US-China tariff war. Photo: Reuters
Durians in China

China’s durian determination yields golden home-grown bounty in Hainan

Tropical Hainan province has defied sceptics and rewarded investors with China-grown durian, but it ‘simply cannot compete’ with booming imports from Southeast Asia.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
HKEX

LME approves Hong Kong warehouses amid growing China metals trade

Milestone by HKEX-owned London Metal Exchange positions city to develop as a metals hub, CEO says.

Africa

Ghana bans foreigners from local gold trading in major overhaul

Ban takes effect on May 1. Many Chinese nationals have been active in Ghana’s informal gold mining and trading ecosystem.

Indonesia

How far should Indonesia go to appease Trump on tariffs?

Jakarta is weighing trade concessions, but analysts warn the cost may be long-term harm to local industries.

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto gestures as he delivers a speech during an economic gathering on “Strengthening the Resilience of the National Economy” in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 8. Photo: Reuters
China trade

China kicks off hunt for rare quartz, with hi-tech aspirations in mind

The critical mineral, used to produce silicon, is a foundational material for strategic industries like semiconductors and photovoltaics – and now it can be mined in China.

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China is searching for reserves of a rare quartz that is critically important in the production of solar panels. Photo: AFP
China-Africa relations

US$4.7 billion loan for Mozambique gas project steps up contest with China

Lawyer sees contest for share of African markets a bigger motivator for US project financing than national security.

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US-China trade war

Gold slumps as Trump tariffs prompt sell-off, but it remains a safe-haven choice

Spot price climbed 40 per cent in a year, but it has now fallen 5.1% from peak in less than a week.

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China food security

China sees ‘strong agriculture’ in its future with rural modernisation plans

By 2035, China will have ‘basically achieved’ agricultural modernisation, and rural residents will have ‘basically met modern living conditions’, Beijing’s new plan says.

Rural Chinese residents mark the start of spring farming last month in the Tibet autonomous region. Photo: Xinhua
China economy

Opinion | Why China is pivoting to Africa for copper

Once a quiet workhorse of industry, copper has become a geopolitical flashpoint in the race for clean energy dominance.

Oil plunges as trade, oversupply risks increase and Saudis slash prices

Saudi Aramco lowered Arab Light crude to its biggest buyers in Asia more than expected for May, and offered smaller cuts for the US and Europe.

US-China relations

Opinion | Trump’s plan for port fees on Chinese-made ships won’t save US shipyards

Instead, US exporters and smaller ports would face collapse even as higher costs force trade away and erode American economic interests in the long run.

A cargo ship full of containers at Oakland port as trade tensions escalate over US tariffs, in California, US, on March 6. Photo: Reuters
Energy

Will the free-falling oil price reorder the world’s energy landscape?

Brent crude, the global benchmark, tumbled 13 per cent through Thursday and Friday to just over US$66 a barrel.

A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 2, 2025. Photo: AFP
US-China trade war

From Guangdong to LA, tariff superstorm alters course of business expansions

Businesses rethink plans after Trump unleashes whirlwind of tariffs, and analysts say that while trade barriers might be overcome, others must ‘abandon wishful thinking’.

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United States

Dow drops 1,600 as US stocks lead worldwide sell-off from Trump tariffs

Wall Street plunged as Trump’s new tariffs sparked fears of a global recession, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones suffering their worst drops since 2020.

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US-China trade war

China contends ‘key pillar’ agriculture is off-limits in US trade war

Party mouthpiece warns against mutually destructive trade practices, says US and China are ‘natural partners in agriculture’.

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Farmers harvest soybeans in the US state of Illinois. Photo: EPA-EFE
China food security

Beijing bids adieu to ‘basic’ farmland with plan to supercharge soil

When it’s basic farmland vs ‘well-facilitated’ farmland, the latter considerably outperforms in cost and yield.

An aerial drone shot this month shows a farmer plowing a field in China’s Zhejiang province. China is making agriculture advancements more attainable with a new plan. Photo: Xinhua
United States

Opinion | Trump’s Maga ambition may be more audacious than we think

Outrageous? Yes. But a United States of all Americas and including Greenland would be the first truly planetary North-South superpower.

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Science

2,000 tonnes of gold: China says new technology helped find largest deposits

Discovery of two large gold deposits could help China maintain its pace of gold production and prevent a decline in output.

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