Commodities

Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, said on the 22nd that oil prices are becoming an increasingly important indicator as the ECB makes its monetary policy decisions. Speaking at an event in London, Nagel noted that while oil prices are "never the only indicator" for policy decisions, "their importance has certainly grown over the past four years," adding that "it is clear that the ECB Governing Council must keep a close eye on oil prices and take them into account when making policy decisions." The backdrop is that inflation has been running above target due to soaring energy prices. He also said he is not particularly concerned about labor market developments.

Green Fuel Forward, the sustainable aviation fuel demand initiative launched by GenZero and the World Economic Forum in May 2025, announced an expanded partnership structure and new members at Green Markets Day during New York Climate Week, marking its shift from building market awareness to facilitating corporate participation in sustainable aviation fuel and SAF certificate transactions across Asia. The Center for Green Market Activation and the Singapore Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company joined the initiative's Steering Committee alongside founding member GenZero, while Amazon, Bain & Company, and Temasek Trust joined as new members, bringing total membership to 48; Temasek Trust also joined as a catalytic contributor providing funding to offset procurement costs. The World Economic Forum will hand over the secretariat function to the Steering Committee as the initiative moves toward more structured procurement of SAF certificates. Green Fuel Forward said it will work with industry, policymakers, and standards bodies to establish a trusted framework for corporate engagement in Asia-Pacific, where SAF supply remains constrained by its premium over conventional jet fuel and still-developing production capacity.

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has completed its previously announced sale of a 50% non-operated working interest in the Na Kika platform and associated fields in the Gulf of America, along with its 100% owned Coulomb tieback, receiving approximately $840 million in cash proceeds after adjustments between the July 1, 2025 effective date and closing. The assets were acquired by a subsidiary of Talos Energy and an affiliate of Ridgewood Energy. The total consideration announced at signing was $1.7 billion before customary adjustments and certain contingent payments, and Shell will receive uncapped upside-linked payments through 2027 plus overriding royalty interests on production from new Na Kika tiebacks, subject to conditions. For 2025, Shell's entitlement share of production from these assets was 37,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and the company said Na Kika and Coulomb will not be meaningful contributors to production by 2030. BP, as operator of Na Kika, holds the remaining 50% working interest, and Shell Trading US Company will retain offtake rights through negotiated agreements with the buyers.

Lode Gold Resources Inc. has submitted all necessary discharge documents to release the company from its senior secured debt obligations, a move that will free the Fremont Gold Mine from its pledge as security and leave Lode Gold and its subsidiaries with no outstanding loan obligations. With the discharge documents signed and submitted, the company said it can now focus fully on advancing the Fremont Gold Mine through its next phase of technical development, resource expansion and corporate growth. Over the next six months, Lode Gold plans to develop a preliminary mine plan for the Fremont Gold Mine, with the objective of establishing the technical foundation for environmental studies and permitting work. The company described the completion of the loan repayment as an important milestone that allows it to direct its financial and technical resources toward its flagship asset, and said it is now pursuing technical studies to evaluate optimized mine plans. The Fremont Gold Mine is a brownfield project in Mariposa, California, with 43,000 m drilled, 10,000 underground channel samples, 14 adits and 2 shafts, and a 2023 PEA based on 1.16 Moz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 Mt Indicated and 2.02 MOz at 2.22 g/t Au within 28 Mt Inferred.

Mogotes Metals Inc. has outlined exploration plans for the next 12 months across its Filo Sur project in Argentina and Chile, its Beskauga project in Kazakhstan and its Copper Cliff project in Montana, USA. At Filo Sur, the company plans up to 20,000 metres of drilling in the 2026-2027 season, more than three times the 6,208 metres drilled in 2025-2026, with drilling targeted to restart in November 2026 subject to weather and site access. At Beskauga in Pavlodar Province, Kazakhstan, drilling has started and the company plans to continue up to 50,000 metres until winter weather sets in, with first assay results expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 and a preliminary economic assessment targeted within 12 months, to be followed by a pre-feasibility study. At Copper Cliff in Montana, Mogotes plans 8,000 to 9,000 metres of drilling with the earliest possible start in November 2026, pending permits, under an option to enter a joint venture with Kennecott Exploration Company, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, where Mogotes may earn a 51% interest by funding US$16 million of exploration expenditure over three years. The company also released an updated corporate presentation ahead of the Precious Metals Summit Beaver Creek in Colorado, and clarified that insiders purchased an aggregate of 5,503,323 common shares pursuant to its August 27, 2026 placement, a related party transaction under MI 61-101.

ACG Acquisition said its updated technical report for the Gediktepe mining operation in Türkiye raised the project's estimated net present value to $1.2 billion at consensus commodity prices and $1.4 billion at spot prices, with estimated net asset value per share of about £34 and approximately £43 respectively. The company raised its expected average production over the next five years to more than 36,000 metric tons of copper equivalent annually, up from an original plan of roughly 20,000 metric tons, and now expects average annual revenue of about $450 million over that period versus roughly $130 million in recent years. ACG acquired Gediktepe for $120 million in September 2024 and is investing a further $200 million in the asset, of which $146 million has been invested, including a flotation plant, while about $60 million is being allocated to a SART plant scheduled to begin production in the third quarter of 2027. For the first half of 2026, ACG reported $90 million in revenue, about $50 million in EBITDA and $30 million in cash flow, and management is targeting a lower-cost refinancing of its $200 million Nordic bond, which began with a 14.7% coupon, possibly at the January call date or earlier. The company also announced an agreement to acquire a license about 70 kilometers from Gediktepe for just under $8 million, payable in two tranches, which could extend heap-leach production by six to seven years.

Teekay Tankers stock fell 2.9% through 10:55 a.m. ET, giving back part of a September rally that had lifted shares as much as 14% through Friday's close. The maritime services provider, which gets 87% of its revenue from its tanker business, had climbed as charter rates spiked: StreetInsider.com reported the cost of chartering a Very Large Crude Carrier supertanker passed $1 million per day, up 5 times from what chartering a supertanker cost before the Iran war began Feb. 28. The Baltic Dirty Tanker Index closed just below 2,000 before the war, hit 2,421 at the beginning of September, and has more than doubled this month to 5,092, a spike StreetInsider attributes to a near-shutdown of Hormuz traffic. Today's decline follows a Reuters report that Iran offered over the weekend to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States Navy lifts its blockade of Iranian shipping, which would let oil move again and make tankers easier and cheaper to charter. The article notes this is not the first time rumors that the Iran war is about to end have pushed oil stocks lower, and that if the rumors prove false, charter rates and Teekay stock could go right back up.

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq notching its first record close since June 2 as a tech rally and falling Treasury yields lifted all three major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%, or 366.19 points, to 52,048.83, the S&P 500 gained 1.5% to 7,764.70, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.3% to 27,122.09. The rally was led by a 12% surge in Intel Corporation's stock, while Advanced Micro Devices shares jumped 10% as the chipmaker's market cap hit $1 trillion. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped below the 5% level after days, and U.S. crude prices fell 4,5% to settle at $95.78 per barrel, an 11-day low, after topping $100 last week amid escalating Middle East tensions. The moves follow a volatile week in which the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a quarter percentage point for the first time in over three years, and no major economic data was released on Monday.

Bridge Green Upcycle and Hartree Partners have signed an eight-year commercial agreement for the purchase and marketing of lithium carbonate produced from recycled batteries, valued between $500m and $1bn at current market conditions. Under the deal, Hartree gains exclusive rights to market approximately 10,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate across all grades from Bridge Green's facilities, with an option to renew for an additional seven years. Hartree has also made an equity investment in Bridge Green as part of the company's bridge financing round, intended to support its planned expansion of battery recycling and critical mineral refining operations. Hartree battery and critical minerals head Landon Berns said critical minerals are a key pillar of Hartree's growth strategy, while Bridge Green founder and CEO Balki Iyer called the agreement a defining milestone toward a circular supply chain. Initial volumes of lithium carbonate for Hartree are anticipated in 2028, and Bridge Green's upcoming Series A funding round is expected to finance integrated refining facilities in India and the US.

Kali Metals has signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Japan's JX Advanced Metals covering the Southern Lachlan Project in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Under the agreement, JX Advanced Metals will fund up to $498,746, or A$700,000, of exploration activities during an initial phase ending 31 March 2027. The project spans approximately 1,413 square kilometres east of Albury-Wodonga and is considered to have potential for lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites as well as tin and tungsten mineralisation. Kali Metals will remain the operator and manage the exploration programme during the initial exploration and due diligence period, overseen by a joint Exploration Committee, and is entitled to charge a management fee for that role. At the conclusion of the exploration phase, JX Advanced Metals will have an option to negotiate terms for either a farm-in or joint venture agreement, with a negotiation deadline of 30 June 2027. Managing director Paul Adams said the funding will allow Kali to advance exploration across its large and prospective project area, calling JX Advanced Metals' support as a potential long-term partner an exciting opportunity for the company and its shareholders.

At least 16 trucking, delivery and transportation companies entered bankruptcy proceedings between late August and Sept. 21, according to federal court filings and carrier records reviewed by FreightWaves. The filings include Chapter 11 cases involving Globemaster Incorporated, Xoco Transport, Jett Transport & Materials, CLJ Transporting, Mill Creek Logistics-Illinois, RP Hay Hauling, Truckload LLC and Pacer Transport, while several smaller carriers filed Chapter 7 cases that typically involve liquidation rather than reorganization. Among the largest, Hidalgo, Texas-based Xoco Transport filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 16 with more than 40 tractors, 65 drivers and 70 trailers, and Bolingbrook, Illinois-based Globemaster filed on Sept. 15 reporting assets of between $500,000 and $1 million against liabilities of $1 million to $10 million. Pacer Transport, based in Arnaudville, Louisiana, filed Sept. 4 with less than $50,000 in assets and between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities, one of the widest asset-to-liability disparities among the recent filings. The geographically widespread cases come as carriers continue navigating a freight environment marked by rising diesel fuel prices and other elevated operating costs, with financial pressure surfacing across general freight, last-mile, agricultural and specialized trucking.

Bounty Oil & Gas has agreed to acquire PetroQuest Liberia Deep Water, giving the Australian company access to negotiations for a production sharing contract covering Block LB-32 offshore Liberia. PetroQuest holds a letter of engagement from the National Oil Company of Liberia granting the exclusive right to negotiate with the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority, though Block LB-32 is not currently covered by a granted licence or an executed PSC. The acquisition is conditional on due diligence, shareholder and regulatory approvals, a capital raising of at least $2.13m, or A$3m, and either execution of the PSC or confirmation of a satisfactory route towards its grant, with all conditions to be satisfied or waived by 31 December 2026 unless the parties agree another date. Bounty has also received firm commitments for a placement of around A$3.55m, cornerstoned by Tribeca Investment Partners, L1 Capital Global Opportunities Master Fund and S3 Consortium, also known as Stocks Digital. Under the terms, Bounty will pay A$1.5m in cash and issue more than 863 million ordinary shares, plus 86.3 million shares linked to a previous exclusivity fee, while vendors may receive up to one billion performance shares tied to an independent report confirming at least 800 million barrels of P50 prospective resources and a geological chance of success of at least 30%, and to a binding farm-out agreement. Block LB-32 covers 2,322km² in Liberia's Harper Basin in water depths of roughly 1,500m to 4,200m, with about 656km² of 3D seismic data and 753 line-kilometres of 2D seismic data, and Bounty plans to license the data from TGS before completing its technical review.

Saudi Arabia has restarted its East-West Pipeline nine days after a drone attack damaged it, with Reuters reporting the kingdom may load crude at Yanbu on the Red Sea as early as Tuesday. The pipeline carries about 4 million barrels a day across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea, roughly 4% of global consumption, and every barrel bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. Aramco is currently pumping at what Reuters sources called a low rate, and a security source said full restoration could take weeks. Brent crude dropped to its lowest price since September 8 on the news, while U.S. gas sits around $4.48 versus $3.18 a year ago and diesel is at a record $6.51 versus $3.70. Tankers are already steaming to Port Said and Sidi Kerir for ship-to-ship transfers.

Inomin Mines Inc. has staked a new mineral claim covering approximately 1,128 hectares adjacent to its Beaver-Lynx polymetallic project. The claim covers most of a 5-kilometre-long magnetic feature identified by airborne magnetic surveying, which the company says likely represents another large, high-priority target for nickel and other critical minerals. Upon receipt of government approval, the claim will become subject to the Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement dated April 25, 2025 between Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. and the Company, with the Beaver-Lynx Management Committee to determine whether to include it in the project; if not included, Inomin will own the property exclusively. The 28,000-hectare Beaver-Lynx project is located approximately 50 kilometres north of Williams Lake and adjacent to Trekor Metals Ltd.'s Gibraltar mine, Canada's second largest open-pit copper operation. Separately, Inomin updated monthly compensation to $10,000 for its President & CEO and $3,600 for its Corporate Secretary, and increased its accounting services fee from $2,500 to $4,000 per month.

The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance announced commitments from its members to purchase sustainable aviation fuel certificates tied to Infinium Energy's Project Atlas, a Texas-based eSAF facility expected to produce approximately 100,000 metric tons of SAF annually. AVEVA, Bain & Company, Google, McKinsey and others backed the procurement, which SABA said is the first-ever application of its approach to drive new production of high-integrity SAF by focusing on projects moving toward final investment decision. Infinium submitted its winning proposal jointly with American Airlines, which will take physical delivery of the fuel and oversee logistics, and contracted volumes are expected to support greenhouse gas abatement of over 212,000 mtCO2e, equivalent to the emissions of over 3,500 JFK to LAX commercial flights. To date, SABA has aggregated $500 million in demand for SAFc from over 35 member companies, and with the binding multi-year offtake agreements in hand, Infinium said it is well positioned to advance to final investment decision and secure financing to build the facility. Infinium also plans to sell RFNBO compliant eSAF from the facility into European regulatory markets.

JPMorgan has abandoned its baseline forecast for oil prices, with head of commodities strategy Natasha Kaneva telling clients in a Sept. 17 note that "we simply don't know how to model the endgame" of the Iran conflict. The bank had forecast in mid-July that Brent crude would average $86 per barrel in the third quarter of 2026, assuming no long-lasting damage to energy production. JPMorgan said three economic redlines it believed the Trump administration would not cross have now been breached: $100 per barrel of crude, a national average gasoline price near $5 per gallon, and a 10-year Treasury yield near 5%. As of Monday afternoon, Brent traded at $95 per barrel, the national average gasoline price stood at $4.48 per gallon according to AAA, and 10-year Treasury yields were about to breach 5% for the first time under Trump. Kaneva, writing with analysts Lyuba Savinova and Artem Fakhretdinov, also flagged a "more concerning" spike in diesel, which hit $6.51 per gallon on Monday, far above its previous $5 record set in June 2022, as Republican lawmakers push President Donald Trump to ban diesel exports. JPMorgan now sees September fair value for Brent at $90, warning there is no shortage of risk for the market to price.

The TISCO Economic and Strategic Analysis Center, or TISCO ESU, has raised its forecast for Thailand's economic growth in 2026 to 2.1%, up from its previous estimate of around 1.8%, supported by oil prices that have not risen as much as feared and by hopes for government economic stimulus measures. However, Methas Rattanasorn, head of economic research at TISCO ESU, sees Thailand's economy slowing in the fourth quarter to growth of just 1.2%, the lowest level of the year, partly due to the high base in the same quarter a year earlier. The overall picture for 2027 still carries the risk of continued slowdown unless the government accelerates budget disbursement, increases the size of stimulus funds, and attracts foreign investment. On global market investment, Komson Prapanpol, head of the TISCO Economic and Strategic Analysis Center, assesses that the yield on 10-year US government bonds has passed its peak and will hold steady at 5% through the end of the year. If the bond yield holds at that level, the S&P 500 still has slight upside and could end 2026 at around 7,800 to 8,000 points. He also assesses that the risk of an AI bubble remains significantly lower than during the 2000 dot-com crisis and the 2008 subprime crisis. Meanwhile, Thanathat Srisawat, head of investment strategy, recommends that investors increase their weighting in commodity assets to 5% to 15% to reduce overall portfolio risk and increase the chance of generating returns, particularly oil futures or oil ETFs such as USO, as well as copper and agricultural products. He also advises avoiding global bond indices weighted by debt burden, which could increase holdings of bonds from countries with high fiscal risk.

Oil and gas private equity deal count fell 60% quarter-over-quarter in Q2 to just 16 deals, worth $3.4 billion, as investor confidence was hit amid ongoing price volatility. Of those deals, just three were new platform buyouts, according to PitchBook's Q2 2026 Oil & Gas Report, with the rest secondary buyouts, tuck-ins or carveouts as firms managed existing holdings rather than deploying fresh capital. The largest deal was CPP Investments' $1.2 billion growth investment in Texas-based gas and LNG platform Caturus, while Paris-headquartered Antin Infrastructure Partners took the third-largest spot with its $164.5 million acquisition of Texas-based Sapphire Gas Solutions, bought from Apollo funds through Flagship Fund V. The $39 billion in M&A deal value marked a 20.3% QoQ drop, though on an annualised basis 2026 deal value is tracking 10% ahead of 2025, and the three largest M&A transactions of the quarter all involved companies headquartered in Calgary, Alberta: Shell's $16.4 billion purchase of ARC Resources, GFL Environmental's $4.6 billion acquisition of Secure Energy Services, and Keyera's $3.9 billion buy of Plains Midstream Canada. The report also noted that the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz has drawn OECD government oil inventories down by 163 million barrels to their lowest level since 1990, while the UAE ended its OPEC and OPEC+ membership on May 1 and a widening Red Sea conflict threatens the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline.

The government held an urgent meeting to prepare for flood situations in the Eastern and Central regions after the Meteorological Department issued a warning that flooding will occur in the Eastern region, Chonburi, and related areas this week. The meeting of the committee monitoring and assessing flood and drought situations in the Central region was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, and found that from 23-26 September there will be heavy rainfall, especially in the Eastern, Central, and parts of the lower Northern regions. Paradorn Prisananantakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, revealed that the meeting assigned the National Water Resources Office, the Royal Irrigation Department, and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation to present data along with receiving directives. In the Central region, it is estimated that residual water from last week's rainfall in Kamphaeng Phet, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Sukhothai, and Uthai Thani provinces will cause water flowing into the Chao Phraya River to rise. The Royal Irrigation Department therefore announced it will increase water discharge at the Chao Phraya Dam to 1,500 cubic metres per second, which will affect low-lying areas in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, parts of Ang Thong, and areas along the Tha Chin river basin such as Suphan Buri province, especially Bang Pla Ma and Song Phi Nong districts. Ekniti instructed that water be managed along a fishbone pattern rather than a single vertical direction, by directing water into several retention fields where farmers have already harvested their crops in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, and parts of Lop Buri, in order to reduce the impact on people in low-lying areas, and instructed the Royal Irrigation Department to release water at an appropriate level without creating additional impacts in other areas. Paradorn confirmed based on the latest forecast that this rain mass will be the last large one before more rain arrives in October, with enough of a gap to drain this mass away, and urged people in the affected areas to follow news closely throughout the next week.

ProPetro Holding Corp.'s PROPWR business unit has signed new long-term contracts with a subsidiary of Targa Resources Corp. to commit approximately 230 megawatts of power generation capacity. With these additions, total capacity committed under contract for PROPWR now stands at approximately 510 MW, a figure that also reflects previously announced oil and gas power capacity no longer under contract. The recontracting lets PROPWR redeploy that capacity to Targa and free additional megawatts for potential data center deployments in 2027 and beyond. The behind-the-meter power will support Targa's continued investment in natural gas processing infrastructure in the Permian Basin, with full deployment expected in early 2028. ProPetro Chief Executive Officer Sam Sledge called Targa one of the premier midstream operators in the country and said the awards highlight PROPWR's ability to deliver dependable power at scale.

Awalé Resources Limited has commenced a fully funded 15-month regional exploration program across its 100%-owned ground at the Odienné Gold-Copper Project in Côte d'Ivoire, comprising approximately 71,500 metres of drilling and 15,635 surface geochemical samples at a total budget of about US$8.5 million. The program is backed by the recent PDI Gold financing, supported by Fortuna Mining and Newmont, and allocates roughly US$5.5 million to drilling, US$2.2 million to drill sample analysis, and US$0.7 million to surface geochemistry. Of the 71,500 planned metres, 23,940 metres are auger, 10,000 metres aircore, 15,000 metres reverse circulation, and 22,560 metres diamond drilling, with 15,000 metres of that total held as unallocated discovery contingency — 10,000 metres diamond and 5,000 metres RC — reserved to rapidly follow up new discoveries. Drilling is set to restart at Fremen after the wet season, with approximately 5,960 metres of diamond drilling planned for Q4 including 14 holes to test the scale of the discovery, while assays from seven previously drilled holes remain pending. Work is already underway with 8,509 termitaria and soil samples collected at Seydou and Sama and a 1,440-metre scout aircore program over Anomaly 1 at Seydou, and a further 12,015 surface geochemical samples and 4,400 metres of auger drilling are planned at the GB and Tienko permit applications, subject to grant of permits. Awalé's 100%-owned permits cover approximately 1,542 square kilometres, or about two-thirds of the 2,338 square kilometre Odienné Project package, which also hosts an initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.71 million ounces gold equivalent across the BBM, Charger, and Empire deposits.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are scaling back or reconsidering planned flight schedules as jet fuel prices surge, a move that could leave travelers with fewer flight options and potentially higher fares heading into the holiday season. For American, the latest jump in fuel prices alone is expected to add roughly $1 billion to its fourth-quarter fuel costs compared with the assumptions it made in July, after fourth-quarter fuel prices rose by roughly $1 per gallon from that July level, according to CFO Devon May, who noted that every one-cent change in fuel prices affects quarterly costs by about $10 million. United has already said some flights scheduled for December will no longer operate and warned of additional adjustments in the first quarter of 2027 and beyond if fuel prices remain elevated, while Southwest has roughly halved its planned 2026 capacity growth from an original target of about 2% to 3%, with its CFO saying further reductions could follow. The International Air Transport Association reported the global average jet fuel price rose 7.4% to $194.90/bbl from the week before, and its June outlook noted that airlines could rationalize capacity by trimming less-profitable routes or reducing flight frequencies. Executives from all three carriers said demand has remained resilient despite higher fares, and that combination of strong demand and less available capacity can give airlines more ability to maintain or increase fares.

TSMC spent $15.59 billion on capital expenditure in its June 2026 quarter, its largest quarterly outlay in the past eight quarters and about 42% above the $10.98 billion spent in the prior quarter, as the company raised its 2026 capital budget for a third time this year, from $52 billion to $56 billion in January, to the high end of that range in April, and to $60 billion to $64 billion in July. On the Q2 2026 earnings call, CFO Wendell Huang guided third quarter gross margin down 170 basis points to 66%, citing 3 to 4 percentage points of dilution from the steep ramp of TSMC's 2 nanometer process, even as the June 2026 quarter's gross margin reached 67.72%, its highest in two years and consistent with the 67.7% figure cited by CEO C.C. Wei. Huang said TSMC generated about $24.5 billion in operating cash flow that quarter, enough to cover the $15.59 billion in CapEx and roughly $4.9 billion in dividends without new borrowing. TSMC is trading at 22.46 times forward normalized earnings, close to its 22.41 times two year average and well below the 29.65 times high in that range, after a mid September selloff tied to AI safety warnings from Anthropic's Dario Amodei and OpenAI's Sam Altman rather than anything specific to TSMC. Institutional 13F filings dated June 30, 2026 show a split Street, with Coatue raising its TSMC stake 7.6% to 9.3 million ADRs and Situational Awareness lifting its position to 2.6 million shares, while Lone Pine cut its stake 92.7%, SoftBank cut 71.5%, and Viking Global cut 29%.

The Cabinet meeting approved the Fuel Crisis Response Plan for 2026-2029 and the Fuel Fund Strategic Plan for 2026-2029, as proposed by the Ministry of Energy through the Office of the Fuel Fund, to serve as a framework for managing and stabilizing domestic fuel prices. Mr. Pornchai Jirakulpaisan, Director of the Policy and Planning Bureau at the Office of the Fuel Fund, disclosed that the new plan sets conditions for drawing on the fund to subsidize and compensate prices under three scenarios. Scenario 1 is when diesel and gasoline prices exceed 30 baht per liter and the retail price of LPG exceeds 423 baht per 15-kilogram cylinder, up from 363 baht per cylinder. Scenario 2 is when finished oil prices fluctuate by more than 10 US dollars per barrel within one week, up from 5 US dollars per barrel, and retail prices adjust by more than 2 baht per liter within one week, up from 1 baht per liter. For LPG, the criteria are world market prices changing by more than 35 US dollars per ton within one month and total retail price changes exceeding 1 baht per kilogram within one month, down from two weeks. Scenario 3 is when fuel may become scarce enough to affect the economy and people's quality of life. The plan also adds consideration of using fuel blended with biofuels from domestic agricultural output to reduce dependence on imported crude oil. It clearly separates the fund's accounts into an oil group and an LPG group to avoid cross-group subsidies, and sets a framework focused mainly on compensating diesel and LPG prices if the crisis is prolonged, as well as accumulating money into the fund when world prices fall in order to prepare liquidity.

Foreign ministers of the G7 nations issued a joint statement on Monday, September 21, calling on the Houthi rebels in Yemen to stop attacking commercial vessels and urging Iran to halt arms deliveries to the group, amid concerns over global energy security after the Houthis seized control of key maritime shipping routes. The statement, issued following a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, or UNGA, in New York, said the situation in Yemen constitutes an unacceptable threat to regional stability and security. Kyodo News reported that the Houthis have taken over Yemeni territory along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, a route serving as an alternative shipping lane to the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade corridor that has had to close since war between the United States and Israel and Iran broke out in late February. The ministers stressed the critical need to guarantee maritime safety and security on a permanent basis to prevent chronic disruption to global supply chains. Beyond blockading Saudi shipping, the Iran-backed Houthis have also launched attacks on Saudi territory, fueling growing concern that the regional conflict could widen and compounding turmoil in global energy markets. The ministers condemned in the strongest terms the Houthi attacks in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia, saying the actions of the Houthis and Iran represent a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks deepening the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability. Japan's foreign ministry disclosed that the United States sent Allison Hooker, the State Department's acting undersecretary for political affairs, to represent it at the talks.

A senior Iranian official told Kyodo News that Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States begins preliminary steps to reduce military pressure, part of the Iranian government's stepped-up efforts to revive negotiations with Washington. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has increased crude oil exports through its Gulf coast ports after last week's attacks forced a halt to oil shipments through the East-West Pipeline, which links the eastern oil-producing region to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK will send one Voyager aerial refueling aircraft to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to support national defense missions, after Saudi Arabia faced an increase in attacks from the Houthi group. On the technology front, Alibaba Group announced a major strategic plan to train a new generation of artificial intelligence models with parameter sizes of up to 5 to 10 trillion, along with the launch of the latest-generation Zhenwu V900 AI chip and plans to expand data centers, to drive a comprehensive AI infrastructure strategy spanning models, processing chips, and cloud data centers. Meanwhile, a South Korean appellate court ruled to reduce the prison sentence of Kim Keon-hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, to five years from the seven years handed down by the lower court, in a corruption case that included the selling of posts in state agencies. And Converse, a Nike-owned shoe brand, announced it is removing its controversial advertisement from all channels and issued a formal apology after facing intense criticism that elements of the image evoked the Ku Klux Klan.

Bravo Mining Corp. announced the results of an independent Pre-Feasibility Study for its 100% owned Luanga palladium, platinum, rhodium, gold and nickel deposit in Brazil's Carajás Mineral Province, with the Base Case vertically integrated operation delivering an after-tax net present value of US$1.45 billion at an 8% discount rate and an after-tax internal rate of return of 35.1%, with a post-tax payback of 2.0 years. The Base Case carries pre-production capital expenditures of US$784.9 million and life-of-mine sustaining capital of US$98.2 million, an NPV-to-CAPEX ratio of 1.65x, an average life-of-mine C1 cash cost of US$478 per ounce of 4E PGM and an all-in sustaining cost of US$706 per ounce of 4E PGM. The study declares a maiden Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve of 86.7 million tonnes grading 2.77 grams per tonne palladium equivalent for 7,731 thousand ounces of contained palladium equivalent, a 55% conversion ratio by tonnes from the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource, supporting a 10-year life of mine with average annual payable production of 208.9 thousand ounces of palladium, 150.7 thousand ounces of platinum, 16.1 thousand ounces of rhodium, 18.1 thousand ounces of gold and 9.8 thousand tonnes of nickel. The Base Case envisages a new Bravo-owned smelter within the Barcarena Export Processing Zone, roughly 600 kilometres from the mine, producing a saleable metal alloy, with Bravo Metals authorized by Brazil's National Council for Export Processing Zones to establish the project there. Bravo reported cash and cash equivalents of approximately US$94.1 million as of June 30, 2026, and is targeting an updated Mineral Resource in the first quarter of 2027 while advancing permitting and a Definitive Feasibility Study.