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.
Workers move sacks of rice for transport from a National Food Authority warehouse in Metro Manila, Philippines. Photo: EPA-EFE
The Philippines

Philippines to slash rice prices in half amid election season

The programme will cost the Marcos government about US$178 million to help the poor, but critics say it is a tool to support government candidates in midterm polls.

China trade

US farmers’ loss is Brazil’s gain as China diversifies soybean imports

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LME

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

China technology

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

As sufficiency improves for China and the countries it shares its agriculture+AI strategy with, regional and global trade could be reshaped.

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Staff at a modern agricultural industrial park checking crop growth through an Internet of Things platform in Dingan county in southern China’s Hainan province on February 27. Photo: Xinhua
Pakistan

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

A landmark deal unlocking vast copper and gold reserves has Pakistan eyeing a transformative economic shift.

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.

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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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Vehicles transfer coal at a port in Chongqing, southwestern China on April 20. Photo: AFP
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.

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.

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.

An employee works at a steel bar manufacturing facility in the western Indian state of Gujarat on April 7. Photo: Reuters
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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A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell on Monday. Photo: AFP
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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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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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.

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
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.

A gold mine run by Chinese nationals at Obuasi, Ghana. The Africa country on Monday said it was banning all foreigners from trading in its local gold market. Photo: Amy Nip
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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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-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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An artist’s impression of the proposed Mozambique LNG project, which has received a boost from a US$4.7 billion loan as the US attempts to curb Chinese influence in Africa. Photo: Mozambique LNG.
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.

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.

Workers direct lorry traffic at the Tenke Fungurume mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2023. African countries, with their vast reserves, are becoming central to China’s new copper strategy. Photo: AFP

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.

Aramco cuts prices for buyers in Asia by more than expected, and offers smaller cuts in the US and Europe. Photo: Reuters
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.

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.

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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Vietnamese factory staff handle apparel at a factory in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday after US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on trading partners. Photo: AFP
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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Traders on the floor at the Opening Bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE
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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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.

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