Iraq Prime Minister Zaidi told reporters on his visit to Berlin on Sept. 15 that Baghdad intends to export crude to Germany and is considering pipeline construction to enable deliveries. The government is seeking to diversify oil sales beyond its traditional Asian markets; Iraq currently ships via pipelines to Turkey and Syria and is planning routes via the Mediterranean to France. Zaidi said Iraq aims to double production to about 9–10 mln bpd, with roughly half destined for Europe, and invited

CITIC Securities says it is positive on the sustainability and growth of the PCB/CCL upcycle. Near term, the sector should benefit from AI-driven product iteration and volume plus price rises in traditional end markets, with H2 2026 earnings expected to be robust. Over the medium-to-long term, the firm sees continued upside from PCB process and material upgrades—notably ASICs, IC substrates, mSAP and PTFE—that could deliver above-market growth, and remains constructive on sector investment opportunities.

ECB President Lagarde said the US controls roughly 75% of global AI compute while Europe accounts for about 5%. If Europe moves to narrow that gap, required investment would go beyond chips and software to large-scale data centers, grid expansion, substations and supporting electrical infrastructure. Such a physical‑infrastructure build would raise demand for industrial metals—notably copper, aluminium and silver—making them potential indirect beneficiaries.