Commodities (Crude Oil & Copper) & Macro Outlook

On May 18, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued new capacity replacement guidelines for the steel industry. The new rules raise minimum replacement ratios to 1.5:1 for blast furnaces and steel furnaces nationwide, with merger and acquisition (M&A) replacement ratios set at

According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, sources close to negotiations said on May 18 that the U.S. accepted lifting oil sanctions on Iran in its new text and proposed suspending relevant sanctions by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) before reaching a final

According to Jin10 Futures, on May 18, BR rubber futures main contract br2606 surged to 16,195 points, up 695 points or 4.48%. The rally was driven by rising Brent crude oil prices following escalating Middle East geopolitical tensions, including an Israeli airstrike on Gaza that killed Hamas

According to ChainCatcher and crypto analyst Omkar Godbole, macroeconomic headwinds are currently weighing on risk appetite despite regulatory advances. Last Friday (May 16), the U.S. Treasury market volatility index (MOVE) surged 14.7% to 79.87—its highest level since April 7. Meanwhile, the U.S. d

According to IEA chief Fatih Birol at the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Paris, commercial oil inventories are rapidly declining. Birol stated that storage levels could be depleted within weeks, reiterating concerns he raised the previous week.

According to Nikkei, Brazil's foreign minister recently announced that Brazil is prepared to increase crude oil exports to Japan.

On May 18, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare launched distribution of 50 million medical gloves from national reserves to address healthcare supply shortages caused by Middle East tensions and resulting naphtha supply

According to Jin10 Futures, as of May 18, Western Australia FOB alumina was quoted at $310/ton with shipping costs of $34.45/ton. After converting to the domestic port reference price using an exchange rate of approximately 6.83 yuan/dollar, the equivalent domestic selling price is around 2,739.75 y

Upcomers has integrated cTrader into its trading infrastructure as proprietary trading firms compete increasingly on platform capabilities, execution quality, and trader experience. The partnership expands Upcomers' multi-asset offering across forex, CFDs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, while

Gate News: According to the latest Gate TradFi data, COCOA (Cocoa) has dropped by 4% in a short period. Current volatility is significantly higher than recent averages, indicating increased market activity.

According to market reports, approximately 23 oil tankers have been spotted near Iran's Kharg Island over the past month since the U.S. Navy began blockading Iranian ports and seizing vessels. This represents the largest fleet concentration recorded in the area's

According to Jin10 Futures and Mu Lian Research, this week (May 18-24), a total of 3.35 million cubic meters of New Zealand softwood logs are expected to arrive at 13 ports, down 36% week-over-week or 1.88 million cubic meters from the previous week. The

According to ING, on May 18, the bank's interest rate strategists said there are no signs of reversing the upward trend in global bond yields. The strategists cited rising oil prices and unresolved Iran conflict as key drivers, adding that markets are increasingly pricing in more persistent

According to Jin10 Futures, stainless steel futures extended weakness on May 18 as mills significantly slashed benchmark prices. Qingshan Steel cut cold and hot rolled coil prices by 300 yuan/ton, with key quotations adjusted to 14,700 yuan/ton (Qingshan cold-rolled Indonesia), 14,800 yuan/ton

According to Jin10 data, European natural gas prices surged past 50 euros per megawatt-hour on May 18, with the Dutch benchmark TTF near-month contract climbing 2.4% to 51.36 euros during morning trading. Analysts at the Dutch bank attributed the rally to expectations that Middle East tensions

According to Jin10 Futures, on May 18 midday session, China's energy, chemical, and shipping-related futures led the market, with low-sulfur fuel oil (LU) and SC crude oil surging over 6%. Meanwhile, precious metals, agricultural products, and base metals retreated more

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently called on the Group of Seven (G-7) and other countries to strengthen sanctions against Iran, citing ongoing disruption to global energy trade. Bessent urged "all G-7 members, all allies, and the rest of the world" to enforce sanctions regimes to

According to China's Ministry of Natural Resources, Tibet's Luobusha Mine has discovered 738,300 tons of chromium ore resources today, marking a breakthrough in deep and peripheral exploration at the mining

According to Enterprise Singapore data released on May 18, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose 24.5% year-over-year in April, led by electronics and pharmaceuticals. Electronics exports jumped 66.7%, driven by stronger shipments of chips, disk media products, and personal computers, while non-

According to Jin10 Futures, on May 18, fuel oil futures warehouse inventories decreased by 6,370 metric tons compared to the previous trading day, falling to 47,160 tons. Most other energy and chemical commodities tracked by Shanghai Energy Exchange remained flat, including pulp at 207,875 tons ware