Natural resources in short
Globally, natural resource value is led by Russia ($75 trillion), the U.S. ($45 trillion), and Saudi Arabia ($34 trillion), with the value being a combination of oil, gas, coal, timber, and minerals. The World Bank tracks natural resource depletion and rents as a percentage of a country’s Gross National Income (GNI). The U.S. has the largest proven coal reserves and significant natural gas, oil, and metal reserves, while Russia holds the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves and significant gold and oil reserves.
Palm slips as weak rival oils, crude oil rates weigh
Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses for a third straight session on Tuesday, as weakness in rival edible oils and OPEC+ plans to boost output weighed on the market, though the contract was still on track for a quarterly gain. The benchmark palm oil contract for December delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 38 ringgit, or 0.87 percent, to 4,347 ringgit ($1,031.81) a metric ton at the midday break. The contract has so far gained 9.06 percent this quarter. The palm oil market was pressured by weakness in rival oilseeds. The bearish sentiment across the vegetable oil complex has persisted as crude oil prices fell sharply overnight following news of OPEC+ plans to raise production, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said. “Dalian palm olein also showed selling pressure ahead of China’s National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday from October 1 to 8,” the trader added.
OPEC+ mulls speeding up oil output hikes again
OPEC+ may speed up production increases in November from the 137,000 barrels per day hike it made for October at its meeting on Sunday as its leader Saudi Arabia pushes to regain market share, sources said.
The group has made no final decision yet and member Russia could oppose a larger increase because it is unable to raise output owing to Western sanctions and is worried about weakening seasonal demand.
Eight members of OPEC+ could agree to raise production in November by 274,000-411,000 bpd, or two or three times higher than the October increase, two of the three sources said. OPEC+ pumps about half of the world’s oil.
Gazprom’s gas production steady
Russia’s state controlled gas giant Gazprom reported a slight increase in gas production in the first half of 2025 as increased exports to China and Turkey helped offset the impact of the halt to Russian gas flows via Ukraine at the start of the year.
In its latest operational update filed with Russian authorities on Monday, Gazprom said that it produced 209.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas between January and June this year, an increase of less than 1 percent compared with the same period of 2024.
Of the total output, the company delivered 185 Bcm of gas to domestic and overseas customers during the first six months, compared with 186.7 Bcm in the first half of 2024. The balance was pumped into underground storage in Russia or consumed for the company’s own energy needs, Gazprom said.
Dairy farmers threaten to raise milk rate by rs. 50 per liter
Dairy farmers in Karachi have called for an immediate increase of Rs50 per litre in milk prices, warning of severe financial losses and the risk of livestock starvation following recent floods.
Leaders of the Dairy Farmers Association, speaking at the Karachi Press Club, said the floods had dealt a heavy blow to the dairy sector. They noted that the cost of nearly all inputs used in milk production had risen by about 30 percent, making it increasingly difficult for farmers to sustain operations.
The association claimed that dairy farmers are currently facing losses of around Rs3 billion daily from milk supply operations. Karachi, they said, is home to over one million cattle and buffalo, producing five million litres of milk each day for the city.
With milk currently selling at Rs220 per litre, the farmers argued that the proposed increase to Rs270 per litre was necessary to keep the sector afloat.
France’s orano: 1,500 tons uranium stockpiled at seized Niger site
French nuclear group Orano (ORAN.PA), opens new tab has said 1,500 metric tons of uranium are stockpiled at its expropriated SOMAIR mine in northern Niger, and that it will seek compensation and pursue criminal charges if the material is seized or sold without authorisation.
A source at the mine said Niger had not yet sold any uranium athough “potential buyers include Iranians, Russians and Turkey”.
Orano launched arbitration at the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of International Disputes in January after Niger’s military government blocked operations at SOMAIR before moving to nationalise it.
India’s met coal demand will disappoint miners of Australia
Optimism that India’s demand for metallurgical coal will sustain Australia’s export industry ignores growing trends in that key market.
Both BHP and Whitehaven Coal continued to be bullish on the prospects for long-term met coal demand from India in their recent results. However, the landscape is changing in India, where growing energy security concerns are leading to India diversifying away from Australian met coal, boosting domestic coal production and developing met coal-free steelmaking.
India’s aim is clear: greater energy security through reduced reliance on coal imports from Australia.
In August, Russia’s steel output down 4.6pc
Russia’s steel production fell by 4.6 percent in August 2025 year-on-year to 5.5m tons, the World Steel Association (WSA) reported. Steel production in January-August period lost 4.8 percent to 46.1m tons. China’s production reached 77.4m tons in August, down by 0.7 percent year-on-year, while India’s output amounted to 14.1m tons, up by 13.2 percent, according to the report. Steel production in Japan decreased by 3.4 percent in the reporting period to 6.6m tons while output in the US added 3.2 percent to 7.2m tons. Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries produced 6.7m tons of steel this August, which is 4.9 percent lower than in the same period last year.