Shipping data: At least five very large crude carriers (VLCCs) loaded with crude oil from Saudi Arabia have sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Saudi Arabia drastically cut crude oil prices, with the largest drop in at least 26 years.
Odaily Odaily reports that Saudi Arabia has cut its official selling prices for key crude oil grades to Asian customers in August, the largest reduction in at least 26 years, as surging global supply intensifies competition for buyers. According to a price list, Saudi Aramco lowered the price of its Arab Light crude oil exports to Asia by $11 per barrel in August, representing a discount of $1.50 per barrel to the regional benchmark price. This reduction is larger than the $8 per barrel expected in institutional surveys. Middle Eastern crude oil prices have recently declined. After resuming exports from the Rastanura port on the Persian Gulf, Saudi Aramco had increased its crude oil shipments to approximately 90% of pre-war levels. Before the war, Rastanula was Saudi Arabia's main port of call for crude oil exports. Due to the war's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Aramco diverted most of its crude oil to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. Previously, the OPEC+ oil-producing group had agreed to continue a small production increase in August. Now, with the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait will be able to utilize their higher quotas. (Jinshi)
The National Development and Reform Commission disclosed five key work plans for the artificial intelligence industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, emphasizing the strengthening of key technologies such as models, computing power, and data.
According to Mars Finance, at a press conference held by the Shanghai Municipal Government on July 7, Wang Ruomeng, Deputy Director of the Innovation and High-Tech Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, disclosed the working plan for my country's artificial intelligence industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period: First, accelerate independent innovation. Strengthen research on key technologies such as models, computing power, and data; increase basic research; generate more original achievements; and contribute Chinese wisdom to the global development of artificial intelligence. Second, strengthen application-driven development. Focus on areas with significant economic contributions, high strategic value, and good social benefits; open up a number of high-value scenarios; and create a number of benchmark applications. At the same time, pay attention to the impact of artificial intelligence on employment, promote the creation of new jobs and empowerment of traditional jobs through artificial intelligence, and prioritize its application in "dangerous, dirty, tiring, and heavy" scenarios. Third, deepen ecological collaboration. Continuously promote deep adaptation of software and hardware, common prosperity of open and closed sources, integration of industry, academia, research, and application, and differentiated regional development to significantly improve the efficiency of ecological collaboration. Fourth, adhere to openness and win-win cooperation. Extensively carry out international cooperation in artificial intelligence, promote open-source and inclusive technology, support the Global South in strengthening artificial intelligence capacity building, and actively participate in international governance in the field of artificial intelligence. Fifth, ensure safety and controllability. We must coordinate development and security, accelerate legislation in the field of artificial intelligence, improve the system of rules and regulations, prevent risks such as data misuse, deepfakes, and privacy breaches, and ensure that the development of artificial intelligence is for human use and under human control. (Cailian Press)
Hao Lishun, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Revenue of large-scale robot companies exceeded 90 billion yuan in the first five months of this year, with an average annual growth rate of over 20% in the past five years.
According to Mars Finance, at a press conference for the 2026 World Robot Conference, Hao Lishun, Deputy Director of the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that from January to May this year, the operating revenue of my country's large-scale robot enterprises exceeded 90 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.9%, with an average annual growth rate of over 20% in the past five years. The supporting capabilities for key components have significantly improved, the intelligence level of complete robot products has continued to rise, and the layout in cutting-edge areas such as humanoid robots is accelerating. The technological foundation, including operating systems and simulation platforms, is being built at a faster pace. High-value application scenarios are constantly being enriched, cultivating more new human-machine collaborative positions. The industry's development is gradually shifting from competition based on single-product technology and market size to the integration of supply chain collaboration and development ecosystem. (Reporter Li Mingming, Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily)
Anthropic plans to acquire Australian data center computing resources.
According to Mars Finance, Australian sources indicate that artificial intelligence company Anthropic plans to secure at least 1.4 million kilowatts of data center computing power in Australia, with a total investment potentially reaching $15 billion. Australian media, citing a confidential tender document, reports that Anthropic plans to activate at least 1 million kilowatts of computing power by the end of next year at the latest. The report states that the AI company's baseline plan is to find long-term partners to jointly build a data center campus with a total capacity of 1.4 million kilowatts. Anthropic is about six weeks away from making a final investment decision, and this large deal may be broken down into four to five smaller cooperation agreements. (Cailian Press)
The US-Iran peace agreement has released a large amount of crude oil supply, reigniting concerns about a global supply glut.
Odaily Odaily reports that with the US-Iran peace agreement releasing a large supply, oil prices have fallen across the board, with demand unable to absorb the impact, reigniting discussions about a crude oil oversupply. This is a stunning reversal; less than three months ago, major global physical crude oil benchmark prices hit record highs; and just weeks ago, senior industry executives were warning that global inventories had fallen to extremely low levels due to the Iranian crisis. In addition to the immediate impact of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, analysts from institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have warned this week of the risk of a supply glut next year. "The overwhelming sentiment in the market right now is bearish," said Kit Haynes, head of oil research at energy consultancy Energy Aspects. Even before the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, suppliers in the Persian Gulf were already increasing shipments. In the weeks following the agreement, more than 60 million barrels of crude oil stranded due to the outbreak of war flooded the market. (Jinshi)
Trezor Customer Data Exposed in Shipping Partner Breach
The hardware wallet manufacturer says its devices and backups are untouched, but the leak hands attackers valuable customer data.