The world's two biggest economies are seeking to avoid further escalating a damaging tit-for-tat tariff war

The world may be underestimating the difficulty of loosening China’s stranglehold on critical minerals.

The rules-based international trade system is in danger, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday, amid spiralling debt, heavy tariffs and financial insecurity for emerging nations.

Beijing this month announced sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry

Russian oil is a main irritant for US President Donald Trump in prolonged trade talks with India.

China’s total domination of rare earths production could soon be challenged, a leading miner said Wednesday after the United States struck a breakthrough minerals deal with Australia.

For Bangladesh, supply disruptions of rare earths could raise global component prices

At one point Wednesday it hit a low of $4,000

The imminent investigation would consider whether US trading partners are underpaying for drugs

China’s President Xi Jinping won’t exactly be quaking in his boots after reading the terms of a critical minerals pact signed by his US and Australian counterparts on Monday.

Goldman Sachs flagged mounting risks to global supply chains of rare earths and other critical minerals, emphasising China’s dominance in mining and refining, and outlining challenges for nations seeking to build independent supply chains.

Australia is among the world's top five producers of lithium, cobalt and manganese

Spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,340.99 per ounce,

China’s exports of rare earth magnets fell in September, reigniting fears that the world’s top supplier could wield its dominance over a component key for US defence firms and makers of items from cars to smartphones as leverage in trade talks.

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so.

Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India

Gross domestic product in the July-September quarter expanded 4.8 percent year-on-year

Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $4,259.34 per ounce

The head of the World Trade Organization said she is urging the US and China to de-escalate trade tensions, warning that a decoupling by the world’s two largest economies could reduce global economic output by 7 percent over the longer term.

Soaring gold prices led Indian buyers to choose coins and bars over jewellery during the Dhanteras festival on Saturday, fuelled by hopes that the precious metal’s glittering rally would continue, industry officials told Reuters.