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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.
Drivers line up to refuel at a petrol station in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Photo: EPA
China energy security

China’s crude imports are rising again. What will that mean for oil prices?

China’s plunging oil imports prevented a bigger price spike after the Iran war broke out, but its crude purchases are now ticking up again.

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Banking & finance

How will Hong Kong’s new 5-year plan court global capital?

Gold in Hong Kong

Exchange Fund may buy more gold to support Hong Kong’s trading hub ambitions

Gold in Hong Kong

Gold rebounds after Fed rate rise as banks back long-term demand outlook

Investment banks say central bank purchases and demand from China and India should support bullion prices.

Gold prices have soared over the past couple of years amid rising geopolitical tensions and concerns over US debt levels. Photo: Shutterstock
John Lee policy address 2026

Hong Kong targets gold trading, FPS-UnionPay link to boost yuan use

‘We will consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre,’ John Lee says.

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong to woo finance and tech firms with new tax breaks

Chief Executive John Lee says Hong Kong aims to attract more commodity traders to set up or expand their businesses in city.

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China energy security

China’s oil demand could falter as Saudi pipeline shutdown raises costs

Supply relatively insulated in short term, but refiners could cut run rates amid rising crude prices, freight costs, analysts say.

A Vantor satellite image shows damage to a facility of the Saudi Arabia East-West pipeline after a strike on September 11. Photo: Handout via Reuters
US-China relations

J.D. Vance group courted Brazil opposition candidate for anti-China deal: report

Senator’s logo appears on a plan to trade rare earths and position against Beijing in exchange for support on his presidential bid.

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China consumption

Gold jewellery loses its lustre as Chinese switch focus to bars and coins

High prices and decline in marriages cited as reasons for one-third drop in jewellery sales in first half of year.

US-Venezuela conflict

Opinion | Trump’s Venezuela oil deal: why China can wait and watch

Beijing’s response reflects a calculation that the deal’s fragility will soon show. Energy dominance is not seized by executive order – it is earned through capital, technology and time.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
London Metal Exchange

Copper rally sets record LME price as US tariff fears fuel supply ‘scramble’

Inventories of the metal are diverging across major exchanges as AI infrastructure build-up spurs demand and potential trade restrictions keep prices elevated.

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A worker prepares copper rod products for transport at a workshop in China’s Jiangsu province earlier this year. Photo: Xinhua
Energy

Oil prices near US$100 a barrel as Saudi oil facility attack raises supply risk

Geopolitical tensions and strikes on energy infrastructure are tightening supply expectations, threatening to push oil higher and curb China’s appetite for imports.

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Banking & finance

Can China bring in more bullion as central banks shift gold reserves from US?

Geopolitical tensions and US dollar concerns have seen Shanghai and Hong Kong step up efforts to build gold storage infrastructure.

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China food security

A potential food crisis threatens the world, but impact on China may be limited

El Nino fears and disruptions to Ukraine’s grain exports are driving up global crop prices, but China’s robust supplies temper the impact.

A harvester operates in a corn field in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua
US Federal Reserve

Bullish chorus grows: Wall Street backs gold despite US job growth, hawkish Fed

Record buying spree by central banks offsets Fed tightening fears, pushing gold towards US$5,000 by year-end, investment banks forecast.

Gold is back in favour among investors even as expectations mount for higher US interest rates, which traditionally weigh on the metal. Photo: Reuters
Gold in Hong Kong

How Hong Kong can cash in as reserve managers rethink where to store gold

City in race to lure bullion custody as geopolitical risks intensify scrutiny of gold storage, Goldman Sachs report says.

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Investing

Why younger investors worldwide are stashing physical gold despite price swings

Gen Z buyers are driving demand for bullion, spurred by geopolitical tensions, inflation and the appeal of owning gold outright.

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US-Venezuela conflict

‘Direct hit’: China dealt blow as US-backed firm takes over Venezuelan oilfields

Venezuela was the biggest recipient of China’s lending to Latin America, and Beijing is unlikely to recover debts, one analyst says.

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An oil refining plant of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela in Anzoategui state, Venezuela. Photo: AFP
China trade

China discovers major copper and gold deposit in Anhui province

Ministry of Natural Resources says Chating deposit could contain more than 1 million tonnes of copper and 200 tonnes of gold.

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Indonesia

Orangutan rescued from Borneo fire battles respiratory illness

Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain forest and land fires across six provinces in Borneo and Sumatra.

China-Africa relations

Truce in DR Congo offers US mining foothold while Chinese firms dominate output

Washington could secure access to crucial eastern coltan deposits, though analysts say Beijing’s entrenched infrastructure leaves American investors trailing.

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Miners work a coltan mining site in Rubaya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to UN estimates, Rubaya alone accounts for more than 15 per cent of the world’s tantalum supply. Photo: Xinhua
China food security

China must ‘take all necessary measures’ to secure autumn harvest: Li Qiang

During an inspection tour in northeastern China, Premier Li says advanced tech can protect crop yield.

Villagers work in rice paddies at a farm in Anhui province on May 18. Photo: Getty Images
China’s Communist Party

In Focus | Why China’s mineral hubs and border regions face heaviest anti-corruption toll

China’s past CCDI annual plenums stress intensifying efforts to combat corruption where ‘power, funds and resources are concentrated’.

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China's economic recovery

China’s steel sector must avoid US rust belt’s fate: party journal

Trade barriers, oversupply and falling export prices are squeezing steel producers as the Qiushi Journal warns against letting the industry contract.

US Federal Reserve

US Treasury bond buy-back reinforces gold debasement trade ahead of Jackson Hole

Treasury buy-backs bolster gold’s rally as investors await US Federal Reserve’s annual meeting at Jackson Hole.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outside the White House in Washington on August 20. Photo: EPA
Indonesia

Indonesia takes on Malaysia in battle over palm oil pricing

Palm oil is just the start. Indonesia’s new trade exchange also aims to oversee nickel and coal export volumes, prices and taxes.

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Workers transfer palm fruits to a truck before being processed into crude palm oil at a palm plantation in Pekanbaru, Indonesia. Photo: AFP
China exports

China’s strategic mineral shipments rebound to US but slump for Japan

July customs data shows Beijing easing supplies of rare earth magnets to the US while export curbs deepen Japan’s material shortages.

US-China trade war

Money and ‘a lot of noise’: how the US’ critical-minerals sector vies with China

State-backed funding is driving American efforts to build domestic supply, but industry trends and price gaps are still seen as hurdles to reducing reliance on China.

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