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Oil prices recovered modestly on Tuesday after Brent crude and WTI fell more than 2% in the previous session. Brent futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $92.44 a barrel by 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 37 cents, or 0.4%, to $85.38. The rebound followed Monday’s sharp pullback, which ended six consecutive sessions of gains across the two benchmark crude contracts.

Alibaba Group has priced an HK$80 billion share placement to fund artificial intelligence investment and expand its AI infrastructure. The Chinese technology group will issue 710 million new ordinary shares at HK$112.70 each. The deal is worth about US$10.2 billion at current exchange rates. Alibaba expects the transaction to close on Aug. 26, subject to customary conditions.

Trial carries commercial cargo to Europe
The captain and navigation officers completed specialized training for operations in polar waters before the departure. An experienced polar navigator who has served aboard South Korea’s Araon icebreaking research vessel joined as chief officer. Preparations also covered insurance, emergency procedures and administrative requirements for the voyage. Authorities completed consultations with relevant countries and organizations before departure. A 24-hour communication system will keep the ship connected during the Arctic passage.
The voyage marks South Korea’s first trial of the Northern Sea Route with a container ship. Korean shipping companies previously operated other vessel types on Arctic routes, including bulk carriers and tankers. However, this is the first such Korean Arctic operation since 2016. The ship is transporting actual commercial cargo rather than conducting an empty demonstration voyage. The trial covers technical, environmental and commercial data linked to container transport through Arctic waters.

Japan’s imports and exports both reached record monthly highs in July 2026, as energy costs and semiconductor demand lifted the value of trade. Imports rose 27.8% from a year earlier to about 12.15 trillion yen. Exports increased 23.2% to roughly 11.51 trillion yen. The Ministry of Finance figures showed imports grew faster than exports, leaving Japan with a trade deficit of 634.5 billion yen for the month.

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher Wednesday as long-term Treasury yields fell sharply. The S&P 500 rose 16.22 points, or 0.21%, to 7,707.98, ending a three-session losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 119.65 points, or 0.22%, to close at 53,463.05. The Nasdaq Composite added 41.38 points, or 0.16%, finishing at 26,331.09. Falling government bond yields helped major indexes recover after several sessions of pressure from rising borrowing costs. Bond prices climbed after the U.S. Treasury Department announced larger liquidity support buybacks for longer-dated government debt. Starting September 9, the maximum purchase size will increase from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation. The change covers nominal coupon securities in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year maturity sectors. The increased amounts will remain in effect through November 4. The department said strong volumes of high-quality offers supported the decision to increase liquidity operations in those sectors.

Eco-friendly vehicles provided the strongest lift to South Korea’s auto exports during the month. Their export value increased 25.5% from a year earlier to US$2.59 billion. Electric and hydrogen vehicle exports rose 31.9% to US$940 million. Hybrid exports advanced 22.2% to US$1.65 billion. By contrast, exports of internal combustion engine vehicles fell 3.1% to US$3.65 billion. Eco-friendly models accounted for about 41.5% of the country’s total automobile export value in July.
North America remained the largest regional destination, with exports rising 18.0% to US$3.25 billion. Shipments to the European Union increased 23.5% to US$880 million. Middle East exports rose 12.7% to US$430 million, marking their first year-on-year increase in eight months. Exports to Asia fell 27.1%, while shipments to Central and South America declined 7.4%. The regional data showed the strongest gains in North America, the European Union and the Middle East.

Refinery interruptions have removed additional fuel production from an already constrained international market. An attack struck a refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan region, adding to reduced Russian refining activity. Saudi Arabia’s Jazan refinery has also remained offline since July 27 following an earlier attack. The disruptions affect regions that normally supply significant volumes of refined petroleum products to international buyers. Global refinery runs had already fallen substantially below year-earlier levels during June as several major refining centers operated with reduced throughput.

Denmark’s annual consumer price inflation eased to 1.7% in July from 1.9% in June, official data showed. Statistics Denmark said the consumer price index rose 1.3% from June. Core inflation was 2.3%, unchanged from the previous month. Restaurants and hotels made the largest overall contribution to July inflation. Higher holiday home rental prices were the main driver inside that category.

Gold advanced for a third consecutive session on Tuesday as bullion extended its rebound from last week. Spot gold gained 1% to $4,432.74 an ounce by 0217 GMT, reaching its highest level since June 5. U.S. gold futures climbed 1.7% to $4,492.60. The move pushed prices above the seven-week peak recorded last week and continued a recovery that accelerated after weaker U.S. employment data.

The estimated loss equals roughly €180 billion and is close to the European Commission’s current growth forecast for the bloc. In May, the Commission projected EU gross domestic product would rise 1.1% this year. The comparison shows the scale of the weather-related damage estimated in the bank’s analysis.