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.
A roll of copper pipe moves through a facility of Zhejiang Hailiang in Diankou Town of Zhuji, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on April 7, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
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

Indonesia

How far should Indonesia go to appease Trump on tariffs?

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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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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Ancient China’s cooking oil revolution and how it brought us stir-fry

When vegetable fats, especially sesame oil, replaced tallow and lard 1,500 years ago in China, people were able to ‘fry everything’, and did.

The advent of vegetable oils in ancient China sparked a stir-fry revolution. Photo: Shutterstock
Pacific nations

Another tiny Pacific nation courts China for deep-sea mining riches

With a seabed rich in cobalt, nickel and copper, Kiribati is seeking new partners after a previous deal with a Canadian company fell through.

China trade

‘Just drink it’: Malaysia banks on healthier palm oil to revive Chinese market

China’s imports of Malaysian palm oil have declined for years, with shipments of 1.39 million tonnes last year, 21 per cent less than in 2022.

Australia

Trump dashed its hopes for tariff relief, but Australia says it won’t hit back

Australian PM Anthony Albanese called US tariffs ‘entirely unjustified’, but said imposing duties on US imports would only hurt consumers.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gestures during a press conference in Sydney on Wednesday. Photo: AAP Image via AP
Donald Trump

Trump halts doubled tariffs on Canada metals, Ontario pauses electricity hike

The originally planned 25 per cent duties on steel and aluminium products on all US trading partners will still go ahead.

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Trucks prepare to cross the US-Canada border at the Ambassador Bridge in Ontario. Photo: AFP
Two Sessions 2025

Why China’s energy supply is ‘secure’ amid Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ push

China has taken necessary steps to ensure ‘we are not dependent on any single nation or route’ for energy needs, top legislature deputy says.

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Indonesia

‘Those days are gone’: age of cheap palm oil ends amid Indonesia’s biofuel push

Jakarta’s push to use more palm oil for biodiesel production coincides with a slowdown in plantation growth in both Indonesia and Malaysia.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s electric dream? A race to EV supremacy

Government incentives are driving a surge in sales, but will they be enough to shift consumer habits in Southeast Asia’s largest auto market?

Visitors admire two-wheeled EVs at a motor show in Indonesia last month. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Emas or gelap? Prabowo’s golden dream and Indonesia’s ‘dark’ realities collide

With a shrinking middle class, falling commodity prices and youth unemployment on the rise, experts warn of an economic paradox in the making.

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Illustration: Huy Truong
China trade

Will pending US deals with Canada, Mexico signal broad trade push against China?

Safeguarding their volatile trade relationships with the US and avoiding tariffs could take precedence for US neighbours over deals with China, according to analysts.

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Canada

Canada to extend mineral exploration tax credit for 2 more years

Extension aims to support mining sector’s efforts to raise capital as Canada seeks alternative capital sources to reduce reliance on China.

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