China has placed two US rare earth companies on an export control list, according to Investing.com, marking a fresh escalation in the ongoing critical minerals dispute between Beijing and Washington. The move adds to a series of tit-for-tat restrictions that have unsettled global supply chains for rare earth elements used in defense, electronics and clean energy technology.
Oil prices spiked on fears of a widening Iran conflict before retreating after President Trump suggested the war could end soon, while gold also fell back. Goldman Sachs says the episode is a preview of a new era in which power grids and metals like copper, lithium and aluminum — not just oil — become the source of sudden price shocks.
President Trump has announced new tariffs of up to 200 percent on furniture imports and additional duties on timber and lumber, alongside an expanded US blacklist of Chinese companies that Beijing has called 'malicious'. The move is framed as an effort to revive furniture manufacturing in states like North Carolina, while reports point to rising consumer prices and fresh strain on trading partners already affected by prior tariff rounds.
Global food prices have climbed to their highest level in three years as the Iran conflict disrupts energy, freight and fertilizer flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The FAO warns further increases are likely if the war continues, while soybean futures have rallied on renewed Chinese demand and higher crude oil prices.
US natural gas production averaged a record 118.5 Bcf/d in 2025 while LNG exports jumped 26% to 14.6 Bcf/d, driven by new capacity from Venture Global and Cheniere. Fourth-quarter margin compression hit liquefaction stocks, but contracting activity and tightening global inventories have since revived the sector.
China is shipping more rare-earth products as its export licensing regime loosens following a framework trade deal with the United States and a Trump-Xi summit. Analysts including BMI and researchers at Resources for the Future say Beijing's structural control over mining, processing and magnet production means the underlying dependence of importers has not changed.
Indonesia has cut mining quotas and approved a new export tax, tightening supply from the country that produces more than 60% of the world's nickel and pushing prices to a two-year high. The squeeze coincides with a new US-Indonesia commodities deal that analysts say challenges China's entrenched position in the market.
The World Bank forecasts global commodity prices will rise 16% in 2026, the first annual increase since 2022, as the Middle East conflict drives energy prices up 24% and pushes fertilizer, aluminum and precious metals toward record highs. Agriculture is the sole commodity group expected to fall, as a slump in beverage prices offsets a modest rise in food costs.
A World Bank report shows the war in Iran driving a projected 24% jump in energy prices this year and pushing fertiliser, aluminium, copper and tin toward multi-year or record highs as Strait of Hormuz closures disrupt seaborne trade. The bank warns risks remain tilted toward even higher prices, while separate reports point to rising resin costs and China's first factory-gate price increase in three years.
President Trump said the new baseline US tariff on imports will be 15%, not the 10% announced a day earlier, after the Supreme Court struck down his prior global tariffs. The move, using a rarely-invoked 1974 trade law, creates uncertainty for the UK, Australia, EU and other partners that had negotiated lower rates.
President Trump said the US will raise its new global tariff to 15% from 10%, a day after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that his use of emergency powers to impose earlier tariffs was unconstitutional. The new rate, set under a different legal authority, is lower than many of last year's country-specific duties but higher for some trading partners, while Brussels says the impact on the EU economy will be limited.
Delays in Brazil's coffee harvest are being linked to a renewed rise in US coffee prices, even as reports point to easing supply conditions elsewhere in the global market. Brazil's position as the world's largest coffee producer means slower-than-expected harvesting there is rippling through pricing despite looser supply pressure in other regions.
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