Market sources said Saudi Aramco has instructed LPG buyers to load cargoes from inside the Persian Gulf, the first such move since port infrastructure was damaged ahead of the regional war that began in February.

On Aug. 20 the White House said President Trump signed a memorandum directing U.S. spaceports and related facilities should be capable of supporting more than 1,000 launches and re-entries per year by 2030. The memo instructs agencies to expand and upgrade launch and re-entry infrastructure, open federal launch ranges to commercial users, encourage private investment and public‑private partnerships and joint infrastructure development, and accelerate facility permitting and environmental reviews. NASA is tasked with developing a commercial lunar logistics architecture, exploring commercial robotic Mars landings, and outlining architectures for commercial crewed round‑trip Mars missions.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 opened down 11.8 points (-0.13%) at 9,072.00 on Friday, Aug. 21.