Wealthion Macro Bites – Brent Tops $91 on Supply Risk

Brent futures touched a high of $91.42 overnight as the U.S. conducted a ninth straight day of airstrikes on Iranian military targets and communication networks. In response, Iran continued to attack U.S. bases Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq.

During a Shanghai meeting with Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, China Commerce Minister Wang Wentao expressed concerns that Indonesia can provide a stable and transparent policy environment for its minerals sector, following months of uncertainty under President Prabowo Subianto. As Indonesia’s largest trading partner, Wang called for advancing key projects including the “Two Countries, Twin Parks” initiative and expanding industrial and supply-chain cooperation.

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it will end exemptions to its 2015 consumption tax on leading battery technologies by levying a 2% consumption tax on lithium primary batteries and lithium-ion batteries from 9/1/26 with the rate rising to 4% on 9/1/27. Additionally, a 2% tax will be imposed on solar cells beginning 4/1/27, rising to 4% on 4/1/28. The consumption tax will continue to be exempted for products including sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, fuel cells and certain types of advanced solar cells from 9/1/26 to 12/31/28.

Ghanaian Mines Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah announced amendments to Ghana’s 2006 Minerals and Minig Act as part of government efforts to increase local oversight and curb illegal mining. In early-’26, Ghana (Africa’s largest gold producer) introduced a sliding-scale royalty regime linked to spot prices and signaled plans to phase out stability agreements with producers including Newmont, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Zijin and Perseus. Buah stated, “This policy seeks to indigenize mining by strengthening local content through domestic value addition to minerals, improve linkages to manufacturing industry, and deal decisively with the menace of illegal mining.” 

On Friday, the U.S. Marine Minerals Administration published a leasing notice to auction 33 million acres (51,650 sq. miles) of water surrounding American Samoa for potential deep-sea mining. The unilateral move departs from prior administrations observation of rules from the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (U.N. body) which oversees deep international waters and has been debating mining rules for years (with more than 43 countries urging a ban on deep sea mining).

Ghanaian Mines Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah announced amendments to Ghana’s 2006 Minerals and Minig Act as part of government efforts to increase local oversight and curb illegal mining. In early-’26, Ghana (Africa’s largest gold producer) introduced a sliding-scale royalty regime linked to spot prices and signaled plans to phase out stability agreements with producers including Newmont, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Zijin and Perseus. Buah stated, “This policy seeks to indigenize mining by strengthening local content through domestic value addition to minerals, improve linkages to manufacturing industry, and deal decisively with the menace of illegal mining.” 

On Friday, the U.S. Marine Minerals Administration published a leasing notice to auction 33 million acres (51,650 sq. miles) of water surrounding American Samoa for potential deep-sea mining. The unilateral move departs from prior administrations observation of rules from the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (U.N. body) which oversees deep international waters and has been debating mining rules for years (with more than 43 countries urging a ban on deep sea mining).

Under a new proposal, Brazil’s government-owned Nuclear Industries of Brazil (which currently owns a monopoly over Brazil’s nuclear fuel cycle) would solicit bids for joint efforts with private companies for mineral exploration, as well as partnerships to mine, process, industrialize and sell uranium and other nuclear minerals (as long as INB retains at least a 20% stake in each venture).  

June Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) withdrawals totaled 87t, a 36% m/m increase (following the weakest May in 16 years) keeping wholesale physical demand roughly 27% below the 10-year average amid slow jewelry consumption and manufacturers delaying inventory rebuilding. June’s withdrawals brought the H1 total to 598t (-12% y/y).