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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.
Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest lithium producer, abruptly suspended exports of raw lithium minerals and concentrates, moving its 2027 deadline forward. Other African nations are also finding ways to assert greater control over their raw resources. Photo: EPA-EFE
China-Africa relations

China’s supply chain meets the wall of African resource nationalism

As resource-rich nations introduce export bans and other limits, analyst says investment may not automatically follow.

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Iran

Why the Iran war marks a turning point for Gulf-Asia trade

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China stock market

Which Chinese stocks can help investors withstand Middle East war shocks?

War and conflict

Opinion | US-Israeli war on Iran makes a mockery of global governance rules

Inevitably, the world will be split between those committed to peace and harmony, and those who want to fight to secure dominance.

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US President Donald Trump gestures during a visit to Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, US, on March 11. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks fall further as US and Iran dig in heels amid escalating war

Stopping Iran from having nuclear weapons and threatening the Middle East is of ‘far greater interest and importance to me’, Trump says.

US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | Iran war disruption just one of many threats to global markets

The danger from the Iran war cannot be assessed in isolation. Rather, it is one of several major vulnerabilities that could trigger a much sharper sell-off.

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Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks fall as oil once again trades over US$100

Brent crude rises as much as 10.5 per cent to US$101.6 a barrel even after Western nations take steps to mitigate oil prices.

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An electronic board shows stock indices in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters
US, Israel war on Iran

Iran warns of US$200 oil as countries reach for emergency reserves

US president declares ‘we won’ the war as chaos in the Strait of Hormuz sends shock waves through energy markets.

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Germany

Germany, Japan to unblock oil reserves as G7 stands ‘ready’ to act

The latest announcement came as G7 leaders were set to discuss the widespread economic fallout from the US-Israeli war with Iran.

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Japan

Japan to release oil reserves as early as Monday

It will release 15 days’ worth of private reserves and a month’s worth of national reserves.

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A woman walks past a petrol station in Tokyo. Photo: AFP
2026 Trump-Xi summit

Exclusive | Could China’s rare earth supplies dictate how long US strikes on Iran go on?

The American military’s dependence on Chinese sources gives Beijing leverage in the lead-up to Trump’s trip, sources say.

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China accounted for 71 per cent of US rare earth element imports from 2021 to 2024, according to the US Geological Survey. Photo: Reuters
China trade

China’s oil-import surge seen shielding economy with 120-day buffer

Crude volumes rose sharply in January and February as Beijing amassed reserves, pre-empting Mideast risks, and analysts say it provides a strong buffer for global supply disruptions.

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Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks rebound after oil falls as Trump says Iran war could end soon

US objectives in Iran are ‘pretty well complete’ but the war could continue if Tehran attempted to stop global oil supplies, Trump says.

China energy security

China vows to stabilise oil and gas output in new 5-year plan amid global risks

Amid Mideast instability and US$100 oil, China is mapping out strategic production bases, underpinning long-term energy security.

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A truck is loaded with coal in China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: AFP
War and conflict

Opinion | Superpower contest puts Iran, Panama, Venezuela and Greenland on one map

When one crisis touches canal access, another hits crude and a third touches the Strait of Hormuz, it is hard to call these a coincidence.

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, speak at a press conference on US military action in Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington on March 2. Photo: AFP
India

India’s 30-day Russian oil waiver comes with a steep US price tag

Washington has granted New Delhi a brief waiver for stranded Russian crude – but expects it to ramp up American oil purchases in return.

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Energy

Oil above US$100 may persist as Goldman warns rally not over

Investors brace for prolonged disruption after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, sending crude to levels unseen since the 2022 energy shock.

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Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Why Hong Kong could be the next global hub for gold trading

If commodity pricing becomes the next frontier of US-China financial competition, Hong Kong could find itself at the heart of that evolution.

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Gold bars weighing 1,000 grams each are displayed at the Austrian Gold and Silver Refinery in Vienna on February 3. Photo: AFP
China trade

Iran war fallout grows as China struggles to import vital fertiliser chemical

Supplies of sulphur – a key fertiliser ingredient – are tightening in China just as the spring planting season begins.

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China's economic recovery

Stagflation risk emerges amid Mideast oil crisis, clouds China’s economic battle

While rising energy costs from war in Iran may briefly aid China’s deflation battle, analysts warn how oil price spike could threaten nation’s fragile economic rebound.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Global stock sell-off slams Wall Street as oil prices leap on Iran war woes

The Dow ended down 403 points, after plunging over 1,200 earlier in the day.

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A display featuring Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | US war on Iran isn’t likely to go as planned

US war planners have overlooked viewing their adversary through realpolitik in the past. They now face a far more organised opponent.

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US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 2, in Arlington, Virginia, the US. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
China energy security

Why the Iran war will accelerate China’s push to become an ‘energy powerhouse’

The conflict does not pose an immediate threat to China’s oil supply, but will spur on the country’s energy security drive, analysts say.

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Middle East

Asia’s main oil artery is all but blocked. What happens now?

Oil has surged by the most in four years. Tankers are fleeing the Gulf and up to 10 million barrels a day may be stripped from global supply.

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Mainland China

China’s copper crash: from investment fad to scrap in a month

A brief speculative frenzy amid skyrocketing gold and silver prices leaves some retail investors holding shiny kilogram bars they can’t sell.

Copper bars were priced at a premium of as much as 200 per cent above the spot price of copper in January in China. Photo: Shutterstock
China trade

US-Indonesia deal threatens China’s ‘entrenched position’ in nickel market: analysts

A new deal gives America unrestricted access to Indonesia’s nickel – and challenges China’s ‘preferential’ position in the market, analysts say.

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A worker conducts a tapping process at a nickel processing plant in Sorowako, Indonesia. A new US-Indonesia trade deal could complicate China’s position in the Indonesian nickel industry. Photo: EPA
US-China trade war

Critical minerals rivalry expands to copper, silver

The US and China are intensifying efforts to secure copper and silver supply chains amid surging industrial demand which has driven up prices of the metals, delivering big returns for investors in 2025.

Gold in Hong Kong

Investment gold retailers move into vacant Hong Kong high-street shops

‘We see overwhelming demand for investment gold coins and bars,’ retailer San Gold Coins’ Sophia Chen says.

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