China has suspended rare earth shipments to the United States weeks before a crucial trade summit, escalating the bilateral economic stand-off. Meanwhile, Russia’s seaborne crude exports fell to their lowest level since March, and nuclear fuels face long-term uncertainty as European utilities await regulatory clarity on Russian uranium.
Global market
Chinese rare earth firms have halted shipments to the US despite securing export licenses, ahead of the late-September summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump. On alternative trade routes, Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad announced new measures to completely bypass the US naval blockade reimposed in July. Concurrently, Fujairah’s fuel oil inventories dropped 29% in August, driven by a 1.61 million barrel decline in heavy distillates to 3.93 million barrels, while middle distillates rose by 165,000 barrels. To accelerate its green transition, India’s authorities announced that starting July 1, 2027, all new wind and solar projects must install co-located battery storage equal to at least 10% of their total capacity.
Russia & CIS
Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports fell by 12% in August to 3.83 million barrels per day, marking the lowest export volume since March 2026. This comes as Urenco CEO Boris Schucht urged the EU to quickly clarify its stance on Russian uranium imports, warning that utilities cannot make long-term nuclear fuel investments without regulatory certainty. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov confirmed that national oil output has stabilized at 96 million tons per year following transport disruptions on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Additionally, Ukraine withdrew from several CIS energy agreements, officially ending mutual debt settlement pacts for supplied resources with Moscow.
Armenia
German police received a confession letter regarding energy infrastructure sabotage near Jänschwalde, according to Armenian news outlet news.am, sparking domestic concerns over critical asset security. Regional energy routes remain highly fragile as Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad deploys alternative shipping strategies adjacent to Armenia’s southern border. Despite these regional vulnerabilities and Russia’s seaborne crude exports falling to 3.83 million barrels per day, Armenia’s domestic fuel markets remain highly stable. Under EAEU treaties, Armenia continues to secure duty-free Russian natural gas and petroleum at long-term fixed rates, shielding the domestic market from volatile international market price assessments.