Heavy rains are once again pounding South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, no doubt causing serious concern among mining companies in neighboring Zambia and DRCongo who rely heavily on the KZN’s Port of Durban to export copper and cobalt, mostly to China. Massive floods last month forced the port to close for weeks causing widespread disruption to the global cobalt mineral/metal supply chain. (NEWS24)
Saudi Arabia held firm to the top spot of China’s leading oil suppliers with purchases up 38% last month. Malaysian oil exports to China jumped by 84% but analysts suspect that a lot of that crude is Iranian oil that is laundered in Southeast Asia to avoid U.S. sanctions. Angolan imports fell 10% due in part to heavier buying of discounted Iranian oil, say analysts. (REUTERS)