Energy:
1. Trump urges oil giants to lower retail oil prices now.
2. The South African government announced a 52-cent/liter reduction in gasoline prices in August.
3. Kuwait's crude oil production rose to its highest level since the start of the Middle East war in July.
4. Market news: The Iran war left Belgium completely reliant on Russian liquefied natural gas in July.
5. Sources say Kazakhstan's oil and gas condensate production fell 14% in July compared to June due to export disruptions from the Caspian Pipeline Alliance.
6. Gazprom's daily natural gas shipments to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline in July averaged 48.8 million cubic meters, a 5.2% decrease compared to the same period last year.
7. A notice indicates that India will raise the windfall tax on gasoline exports from 2.5 rupees per liter to 3.5 rupees per liter, effective August 3. India will also raise the export tax on diesel to 24 rupees per liter.
8. Ship tracking data shows that six empty Saudi-flagged supertankers recently changed course in the Gulf of Aden, heading towards southern Africa. One of them is destined for Gibraltar. On August 3, these six tankers were sailing in formation in international waters near the coast of Somalia.
9. Sources say that Russia's Lukoil Volgograd refinery has suspended refining operations following a drone attack on July 31.
10. According to EIA data, crude oil inventories in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve decreased by approximately 2.85 million barrels last week to 304.8 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983.
11. The head of Iraq's National Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) stated that Iraq sold 35.5 million barrels of crude oil from southern ports and 7 million barrels from the Ceyhan terminal in July.
12. Shipping data shows that Venezuelan oil exports fell slightly to 1.16 million barrels per day in July; exports to the US increased to approximately 786,000 barrels per day; exports to Europe fell to approximately 82,200 barrels per day; and exports to India fell to approximately 178,000 barrels per day in July.
Agriculture/Mining:
1. Thai and Indonesian leaders spoke at a meeting in Jakarta. Thailand plans to import 100,000 tons of urea annually from Indonesia, aiming to become a reliable rice supplier to Indonesia.
2. Traders said Indian palm oil imports surged 50% month-on-month in July to 733,000 tons, a five-month high.
3. A Reuters survey: Malaysian palm oil stocks are expected to reach a five-month high in July due to increased production.
4. According to Reuters: Sources say Trump is expected to attend a roundtable meeting of mining executives at the State Department on Friday.
5. Ukrainian Prime Minister: The government has temporarily adjusted the minimum export prices for certain agricultural products to prevent disruptions to grain and oilseed exports during the stabilization period. Situation in Iran:
1. US and Iranian officials say Iran and Oman are close to reaching a navigation agreement in the Strait of Hormuz.
2. Senior Iranian official: The US will not be allowed to open non-Iranian shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.
3. US President Trump: Negotiations with Iran are currently underway. This is Iran's last chance.
