Sources said ARAMCO is set to sign a $10 bln loan facility with global banks.

The Kremlin said Putin is continuing preparations for the upcoming BRICS summit and the Russia-Africa summit and will hold multiple bilateral meetings during the events.

At the midday close, China’s main futures contracts were mixed. Asphalt jumped nearly 7%, methanol hit the daily upper limit, and fuel oil, polypropylene and propylene rose more than 5%; the monthly-average polypropylene contract is up nearly 5%. LPG gained about 4% and plastics rose over 3%. On the downside, caustic soda plunged over 5%; apples and red dates fell more than 3%; live hogs dropped nearly 3%. Soybean No.1 and SHFE nickel slipped over 2%, polysilicon fell nearly 2% and SHFE silver declined just over 1%.