France Maize at 7.3Mt, OPEC Adds 900k bpd, Aluminium Levels, & Rio Tinto $5B

The Commodities Trade Institute Podcast · Oct 14, 2026 · 6m

Severe drought cuts French grain maize harvest projections to a multi-decade low of 7.3 million metric tons as China's expanding domestic crop curbs import demand, while OPEC+ crude production surges by 900,000 barrels per day to 39.07 million bpd despite Strait of Hormuz conflict bottlenecks. In Asia, a 21.5% drop in Chinese September crude imports triggers an unprecedented commercial onshore inventory liquidation even as pre-holiday iron ore buying climbs to 109.82 million tons. Concurrently, London aluminium holds firm near $3,000 per ton despite 3 million tons of Gulf smelting capacity…