As Washington races to build a rare earth supply chain that can survive the Pentagon’s 2027 ban on Chinese-origin materials, REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) has locked in long-term supply from one of the largest known heavy rare earth deposits in the world. The company announced last Thursday that it has signed a definitive 15-year offtake agreement with Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML) covering 15% of Phase 1 production from the Tanbreez project in southern Greenland, a massive heavy rare earth deposit containing Dysprosium and Terbium, the…

Two weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump paid a visit to Beijing for a high-level summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with a view to stabilizing bilateral trade, securing new business deals, and seeking China's diplomatic leverage to help manage the conflict in Iran. Trump traveled with a delegation of high-level American CEOs to encourage China to open its markets to U.S. tech companies, and managed to secure several multibillion-dollar deals. The summit yielded a modest tactical detente and improved diplomatic normalcy between the two rival…

Global oil inventories are fast approaching a critical point, with Asia the first facing “minimum operational levels” and Europe close behind. This is the latest in a growing series of warnings from industry experts about the state of oil supply and the prospects of a severe shortage. It seems the world is running out of time to avert a much bigger crisis than we already have. Asia is already struggling with supply, Jeff Currie, Senior Advisor at the Carlyle Group, told CNBC this week. Speaking on the sidelines of an industry event…

A Russian tanker carrying 270,000 barrels of diesel fuel, which is under US and EU sanctions, spent weeks trying to reach crisis-hit Cuba, which is also under US sanctions, as well as amid what's essentially become a full energy blockade, but has failed to reach the island nation and turned southward toward Brazil. The exiled Russian outlet, The Insider, has detailed the following based on maritime tracking data: The Russian-flagged tanker Universal (IMO: 9384306), which had been drifting for almost a month in the Sargasso Sea approaching…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending May 22. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 9.1 million barrels. US crude inventories have risen by 22 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May 22, 9.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 365.1 million barrels—the…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending May 22. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 9.1 million barrels. US crude inventories have risen by 22 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May 22, 9.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 365.1 million barrels—the…

Floating solar farms could be significantly more efficient than solar farms on land thanks to the natural cooling effects of seawater, according to new findings from a comparative study conducted by researchers from the National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) in Taiwan. The floating solar panels used in the study produced 12 percent more energy than the on-land models, with potentially huge implications for global energy security and decarbonization pathways. The study, published this month in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy,…

The sudden halt of liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows from the Middle East has prompted Asian buyers to seek long-term solutions to secure supply from sources not needing the blocked Strait of Hormuz. As Qatar’s LNG shipments are under force majeure until at least mid-August and full LNG export capacity may not be restored for another five years, LNG customers are looking to sign long-term supply deals with exporters outside of conflict areas. Thailand, the top LNG importer in Southeast Asia, is now looking to boost its U.S. gas supply to…

China just expanded its national emissions trading scheme to cover steel production. The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism entered its definitive phase in January, putting a financial penalty on emissions-intensive steel. Simandou, the world's largest untapped deposit of high-grade iron ore, shipped its first cargoes to China in late 2025. The market for lower-grade ore is contracting. The market for ore that can feed cleaner steelmaking is growing. BHP just canceled the project that would have positioned it for the second market. Instead,…

With Election Day fast approaching, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government is hoping that shows of support from the United States and European Union will give it a boost at the polls. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio paid a brief visit to Yerevan on May 26, during which he signed a Charter on Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership together with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan. The two also inked a framework agreement concerning the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, envisioned as a key cog in the…

Germany’s day-ahead electricity prices soared by 29% on Wednesday as a heatwave across Europe boosted cooling demand while low wind speeds reduced wind power generation. The lower wind speeds and the resulting lower power output from wind turbines are raising the need to fire up natural gas and coal-fired power production, which is more expensive than wind power generation. An early heatwave is sweeping through northwest Europe with unusually high temperatures these days, lifting demand for air conditioning. Forecasts for Thursday’s…

Germany’s day-ahead electricity prices soared by 29% on Wednesday as a heatwave across Europe boosted cooling demand while low wind speeds reduced wind power generation. The lower wind speeds and the resulting lower power output from wind turbines are raising the need to fire up natural gas and coal-fired power production, which is more expensive than wind power generation. An early heatwave is sweeping through northwest Europe with unusually high temperatures these days, lifting demand for air conditioning. Forecasts for Thursday’s…

For months, China’s reduced appetite for oil and LNG imports has helped ease some of the pressure on already-strained global energy markets. But Beijing’s current strategy appears less about weakening demand and more about caution amid the Iran war and the growing risks surrounding Middle Eastern supply routes. Chinese buyers have been drawing down inventories, slowing refinery activity, and delaying spot purchases while waiting for safer and potentially cheaper cargo opportunities. The problem for global markets is that this balancing…

Japan’s industry ministry will officially switch the benchmark for calculating gasoline price subsidies back to Dubai crude prices from Brent crude, effective June 4, after Dubai crude prices stabilized and the gap between Dubai and Brent has narrowed, allowing for more accurate subsidy calculations. Earlier in the spring, the Japanese government briefly shifted the benchmark to Brent crude in an attempt to limit surging gasoline prices shortly after the Iran war begun. However, oil price volatility has now cooled off considerably, with Dubai…

Aluminum prices in London are up nearly 17% since the onset of the U.S.-Iran conflict, as a growing chorus of top commodity desks, including Mercuria, Goldman, JPMorgan, and others, warn that the market is facing a major supply shock. That disruption, driven firstly by Middle East smelter outages and the Hormuz maritime chokepoint, is now colliding with new concerns that China may be forced to curtail output amid energy-use and emissions inspections, according to Bloomberg.  More color from the report: Chinese authorities are now moving to…

The Russian government has reached the final stages of implementing a comprehensive ban on diesel and aviation fuel (kerosene) exports following a devastating wave of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes that have knocked out a quarter of the nation’s total oil refining capacity, effectively paralyzing critical energy infrastructure across central Russia. Key energy hubs hit in recent weeks include the Ryazan, Moscow, Kirishi and NORSI (Nizhny Novgorod) refineries processing roughly 238,000 tons per day (83 million metric tons per year), accounting…

The Russian government has reached the final stages of implementing a comprehensive ban on diesel and aviation fuel (kerosene) exports following a devastating wave of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes that have knocked out a quarter of the nation’s total oil refining capacity, effectively paralyzing critical energy infrastructure across central Russia. Key energy hubs hit in recent weeks include the Ryazan, Moscow, Kirishi and NORSI (Nizhny Novgorod) refineries processing roughly 238,000 tons per day (83 million metric tons per year), accounting…

The Russian government has reached the final stages of implementing a comprehensive ban on diesel and aviation fuel (kerosene) exports following a devastating wave of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes that have knocked out a quarter of the nation’s total oil refining capacity, effectively paralyzing critical energy infrastructure across central Russia. Key energy hubs hit in recent weeks include the Ryazan, Moscow, Kirishi and NORSI (Nizhny Novgorod) refineries processing roughly 238,000 tons per day (83 million metric tons per year), accounting…

The war in Iran and the accompanying shipping bottleneck are triggering a historic crisis in the aluminum market, with potentially devastating knock-on effects across sectors that depend on the base metal. Aluminum is the third most used metal in the world, behind only iron and steel. Aluminum is prized for its high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and excellent conductivity — properties that make it essential for everything from beverage cans and cooking foil to aerospace components and power grids. Key sectors utilizing aluminum…

TotalEnergies will keep its fuel price caps across all its services stations in France through June amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the French supermajor said on Wednesday. TotalEnergies first announced in March caps on the price of gasoline and diesel it sells at its French stations as international crude oil prices soared after the Iran war began. Since then, the company has extended the price cap policy for April and May, and is now extending it through the end of June. TotalEnergies vows to pass on to customers any declines in international…