China’s decision this week to restrict exports of some strategic metals has prompted more companies to re-think their reliance on the world’s No. 2 economy at a time when mounting geopolitical tensions have fed fears that more curbs could be coming.

Global rice prices, now at their highest in 11 years, are set to rally further after India moved to boost payments to farmers, just as El Nino threatens yields in key producers and alternative staples get costlier for poor Asians and Africans.

Global rice prices, now at their highest in 11 years, are set to rally further after India moved to boost payments to farmers, just as El Nino threatens yields in key producers and alternative staples get costlier for poor Asians and Africans.

China’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace in five months in June, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday, as weakening demand weighed on post-pandemic recovery momentum.

Turkey’s annual inflation rate slowed to 38.2 per cent in June, official data showed Wednesday, although economists warned that this may be a low point for the year.

President Vladimir Putin said late on Tuesday that the Russian economy was performing better than expected after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported to him that gross domestic product growth and inflation have been surprisingly positive.

India will break ground next month on its first semiconductor assembly plant and begin producing its first domestically manufactured microchips by the end of 2024, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

China’s export controls on metals used in making semiconductors are “just a start”, an influential Chinese trade policy adviser said on Wednesday, as it ramps up a tech fight with the US days before US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits Beijing.

Euro zone consumers in May cut their inflation expectations again for the following 12 months, although they still saw prices growing faster than the European Central Bank (ECB) would like for years to come, a new ECB poll showed on Wednesday.

Opec+, a group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia that pumps around 40 per cent of the world’s crude, has been cutting oil output since November in the face of flagging prices.

Additional oil output and export cuts made by Saudi Arabia and Russia earlier this week should be enough to help balance the oil market, United Arab Emirates’ energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told reporters on Wednesday.

Chinese smartphones dominated the Russian market in the first half of 2023, exceeding 70 percent of all sales, leading consumer electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado said, up from about 55 percent last year.

Meta Platforms plans to launch a Twitter-rivalling microblogging app called Threads, days after Twitter boss Elon Musk attracted criticism by announcing a temporary cap on how many posts users can read on the social media site.

The European Commission expressed concern on Tuesday over China’s planned curbs on exports of strategic metals widely used in the semiconductor industry and doubt that the move was related to security.

German exports dipped in May after a small rebound in April, official data showed Tuesday, adding to a gloomier outlook for Europe’s biggest economy.

Oil prices ticked higher on Tuesday as markets weighed supply cuts for August by top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia against a weak global economic outlook.

The United Nations is convening this week a global gathering to try to map out the frontiers of artificial intelligence and to harness its potential for empowering humanity.

Oil and gas companies have intensified the hunt for new deposits in a long-term bet on demand, as they reinvest some of the record profits from the fossil fuel price surge driven by the Ukraine war, according to data and industry executives.

Tesla Inc on Sunday said it delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter, topping market estimates as price cuts and US federal credits helped make its electric vehicles more affordable.

Pakistan’s headline inflation eased for the first time in seven months in June, figures released Monday showed, a bright spot for a beleaguered government that must call an election this year.