Commodities

9 May 2025
Gold prices are at record highs amid economic concerns over U.S. tariffs.
Malaysia is working to develop phytomining, a method to extract metals from plants, to support the country's broader industrial ambitions. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Sabah Parks and Getty Images) 
Commodities

A plant that can 'mine' nickel? Malaysia sets 2026 harvest date

The process is called phytomining, which can also draw cobalt from soil

8 May 2025
Chief Commercial Officer Christian Freitag says Vulcan Energy is working with BASF in the next phase of lithium production in the Upper Rhine Rift Valley. (Photo by Jens Kastner)
Commodities

Under China's shadow, Germany aims to build EU lithium supply chain

Vulcan Energy to begin production of EV battery material to cut Chinese dependence

6 May 2025
Michael Holz poses in the commercial core of Singleton, a town in Australia's Hunter Valley. (Photo by Steven Borowiec)
Australia election

Australia election highlights burning questions over energy future

Hunter Valley still relies on jobs in coal as leaders scramble for alternatives

1 May 2025
The two countries signed the accord in Washington after months of sometimes fraught negotiations.
Ukraine war

US, Ukraine say they sign deal for joint investment fund

Draft said it would give US preferential access to natural resources

1 May 2025
Thailand’s rubber industry has taken a beating from the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs. (Photo by Kosuke Inoue)
Trump tariffs

Thai rubber prices take hit as Trump tariffs sap auto demand

Top producer's trade talks with US key to international prices

1 May 2025
Workers sort beans at the Kawisari coffee plantation in the East Java town of Blitar, Indonesia. An aging agricultural workforce is a factor behind the declining productivity of coffee plantations. (Photo by Belinda Yohana)
Commodities

Indonesia risks becoming a net coffee importer as harvests fall

Rising popularity of local coffee shops boosts consumption at home

29 April 2025
A farmer looks at soybeans in Paraguay during April. China in recent years has reduced reliance on U.S. beans while buying more from countries such as Brazil.
Trade war

Brazilian soybeans pour into China's Zhoushan port in April: report

Beijing accelerates shift away from US farm products in response to Trump tariff war

29 April 2025
The U.S. accounted for nearly 80% of Japan's corn imports last year. (Photo by Kenji Asada)
Trump tariffs

Japan weighs importing more US corn in tariff negotiations

Offsetting falling American exports to China seen as effective bargaining chip

26 April 2025
Lumps of mixed hydroxide precipitate containing nickel. Demand for the metal is expected to slow as non-nickel-based EV batteries become more popular and China's economy ails. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
Commodities

Slowing nickel demand dents Indonesia's EV battery ambitions

LG Energy Solution exit and China's economic woes cloud industry outlook

25 April 2025
Average retail prices for Japanese rice are more than double those of last year, according to government data. (Photo by Yutaka Miyaguchi)
Food & Beverage

Japan's rice importers to lift purchases twentyfold led by US grain

Imports to swell as Tokyo weighs buying even more from America amid tariff talks

25 April 2025
More than half of U.S. soybean exports went to China in 2023.
Trade war

Japan weighs buying more US soybeans as part of tariff deal

American farmers in a bind after China slashes purchases

25 April 2025
A worker picks up a handful of rare-earth concentrate that has been left to dry in the sun before it is packed in Australia.
Commodities

Australia's Albanese proposes critical minerals strategic reserve

Government says stockpiles and off-take deals would address market volatility

24 April 2025
Dump trucks at a nickel mine in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, operated by Vale Indonesia. Many industry executives are opposed to a government decision to increase royalties on minerals.
Commodities

Indonesia defends higher mineral royalties from industry criticism

Officials say new regime will give 'optimum benefits' to region's largest economy

24 April 2025
Japan's steelmakers have reduced capacity to support prices in recent years but may be forced to make additional cuts. (Photo by Sae Kamae)
Materials

Steel cheaper than water in Japan as distributors drive down prices

Cutthroat competition among myriad wholesalers raises calls for consolidation

24 April 2025
Gold jewelry on display in a shop in Lhokseumawe in Indonesia's Aceh province. Gold miners in the country, Southeast Asia's largest producer of the bullion, are expected to post higher profits this year following similar earnings boosts in 2024.
Commodities

Indonesian gold miners eye shinier 2025 as prices shatter new records

Analyst projects $3,700 per ounce by year-end, but output unlikely to keep pace

23 April 2025
China's curbs on rare earth exports is shaking global supply chains.
Tech Asia

How China's rare-earth curbs complicate West's diversification push

Demand for non-China magnets is surging but upping capacity is no easy feat

23 April 2025
Gold, viewed as a safe-haven in times of economic uncertainty, has risen nearly 33% so far this year.
Commodities

Gold hits $3,500 as Trump's attacks on Fed chief rattle traders

Economic uncertainty to support demand despite likely pullback, analyst says

22 April 2025
Spot demand for gold as a safe haven among Chinese buyers pushed up prices to new highs in April.
Commodities

China buyers lift 'stateless' gold to new highs amid US tensions

Trade friction drives investors away from traditional safe haven Treasurys

22 April 2025
A view of the MP Materials rare-earth mine in Mountain Pass, California. China's Shenghe accounted for approximately 80% of the U.S. company's consolidated revenue for the year ended December.
Trade war

U.S. miner halts rare-earth exports to China due to tariff war

Importer Shenghe admits shipments 'temporarily stopped,' says it has diversified

21 April 2025
 Hoa Phat's plant in the central province of Quang Ngai produces hot-rolled steel coils. The company is trying to increase capacity. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
Materials

Vietnam's Hoa Phat plans $540m investment to supply steel for new railway

Factory aims to help support the country's expanding infrastructure drive

18 April 2025
The number of active oil rigs in the U.S. has fallen amid a drop in crude prices. (Photo by Ryosuke Hanafusa)
Energy

Drop in oil prices looms over U.S. tariff talks with Japan

Trade partners may face pressure to buy fossil fuel as Trump seeks to drill more

18 April 2025
A BHP open-cut iron ore mine in Australia: The mining company reported record iron ore production for the nine months to March 31.
Commodities

BHP warns of potential hit from China slowdown when tariffs bite

Australian miner reports record copper and iron ore production over 9 months

17 April 2025
BHP Group aims to start producing potassium carbonate at its Jansen mine in Saskatchewan next year. (BHP)
Commodities

BHP banks on $10bn Canadian potash mine to diversify from iron ore

Fertilizer ingredient offers bright prospects for Australian miner as China steel output cools

16 April 2025
A machine operates at a Chinese mine containing rare earth minerals. The nation is a top global producer of 30 of the 50 minerals considered critical by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Trump tariffs

Trump orders tariff probe on all U.S. critical mineral imports

Administration cites national security amid worries about overreliance on China

16 April 2025
The international price of Arabica beans, mainly used in cafes, broke the $9-per-kilogram threshold in February.
Commodities

Coffee prices haven't peaked yet, forecaster says

U.N. economist expects consumers to feel weather-driven increase by next year

16 April 2025
Rice farmers protest against falling prices in Bangkok in March. (Photo by Kosuke Inoue)
Agriculture

Southeast Asian rice farmers struggle against Indian exports

Oversupply drags down Thai and Vietnamese export prices more than 30%

10 April 2025
Nonferrous metals, banks and oil and coal products were the sectors most hit by the announcement of U.S. tariffs. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita)
Trump tariffs

Japanese commodity stocks hit hardest by Trump tariffs

Global recession fears expected to dampen demand for copper, oil and gas

8 April 2025
An employee of New Hope Liuhe moves a sack of pig feed inside a plant in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in China's Sichuan province.
Markets

Chinese agriculture stocks jump, bucking tariff war sell-off

Brokerage calls sector 'rare beneficiary' as investors hunt for winners

7 April 2025
Trays of food ready sit ready for Muslims in Karachi waiting to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, when sugar consumption is particularly high. 
Commodities

Pakistanis hit by 30% jump in sugar price during Ramadan

Mill owners prioritize exports, squeezing local supplies, experts say

4 April 2025