Europe’s gas stocks are unusually low, with storage only 5% full at the end of July, 12 percentage points below last year and 16 percentage points under the five-year average. The EU has loosened its refill requirements to as low as 75%, but a tightening supply outlook tied to the war against Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is complicating efforts. At the same time, more U.S. LNG cargoes are flowing to Asia, leaving the bloc’s 90% storage target effectively unattainable, according to Montel.

Oxford Economics forecasts global food prices will rise 11.8% in 2026, with grains, fruit and vegetables, and dairy expected to be hit hardest. After Europe’s heatwave, cereals trade group Coceral cut its combined EU27 and UK grain harvest forecast to 286.6 million tonnes. Germany’s Farmers’ Association has warned the country’s grain output is expected to fall 7% to 41.9 million tonnes after drought and heatwaves.

Infineon reported results for its third fiscal quarter, with revenue rising 13% year on year to 4.2 billion euros. Profit increased 39% to 423 million euros. The company said demand from AI data centres was the main driver of growth.

BP said it has begun marketing its entire oil and gas business in the UK North Sea, a portfolio of five production hubs employing about 1,100 people. In 2025, the assets produced around 117,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, or about 5% of BP’s global oil and gas output. The company said it is seeking to focus capital on higher-value opportunities and believes the business would be better positioned under another owner. Any deal would be subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete by the end of 2026.

Faster deployment of wind, solar and heat pumps allowed the EU to replace 8.8 billion cubic meters of LNG in 2024, around two-thirds of its Qatari LNG imports that year, a study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said. If the bloc meets its existing rollout plans over the next five years—adding 4 million heat pumps, 75GW of solar and 22GW of wind each year—gas demand could fall by around 25% by 2030. The report said the shift would sharply reduce reliance on LNG imports. It added that the trend creates structural downside pressure on gas- and LNG-linked commodity assets.

South Korea’s Kospi sank 10.5% in a single session, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropping more than 12%. In China, memory chipmaker CXMT surged 466% on its STAR Market debut, raising about $8.6 billion. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 4% and Taiwan’s Taiex lost 3.9%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%. Oil prices also weakened, with Brent crude down 0.8% to $85.16 a barrel.

KNDS, Europe’s largest land-warfare equipment manufacturer, has launched a dual listing in Paris and Frankfurt that would value the group at €12bn–€15bn. Germany is set to take a 40% stake, while France is expected to cut its holding to 40%, leaving 20% to be floated. The move strengthens KNDS’s position as a core rival to Rheinmetall. Germany’s decision to cancel the Rheinmetall-led F126 frigate programme in favour of TKMS, alongside criticism from the Monopolies Commission over concentrated defence procurement, has fuelled market concerns about the durability of its orders and margins.

German startup Planet A Foods has launched ChoViva, a chocolate alternative made from sunflower seeds, which has been adopted by multiple mid-sized and large European chocolate manufacturers. The company says ChoViva carries a 73.6% lower carbon footprint than conventional chocolate and does not rely on cocoa beans. The article links the industry’s push toward alternative ingredients to the cocoa crisis spanning 2024–2025 and projections that around 2050, 50% of global cocoa supply could be lost. Planet A Foods produces 10,000 tonnes of ChoViva a year, with partners including manufacturers in Switzerland, Belgium and France’s Abtey.

UN climate negotiations in Bonn deadlocked after oil-exporting countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, along with India, opposed stronger scientific language and resisted a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels. The meeting failed to reach an agreement on climate finance and did not advance enforcement mechanisms for the 1.5°C goal. The stalled outcome undermines near-term expectations of tighter global energy policy, offering support to crude prices and upstream oil and gas firms without triggering immediate supply disruptions or abrupt regulatory shifts.