Category: 3. Business

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NEW YORK (AP) — Eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries say they will boost production by 548,000 barrels per day in August in a move that could further reduce gas prices this year.

The group that includes Saudi Arabia and Russia made the decision at a virtual meeting Saturday. They cited a “steady global economic outlook” and low oil inventories.

Oil prices spiked sharply last month during the bloody, 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran but then tumbled back down as the U.S. helped broker a peace deal after dropping bombs on three of Iran’s key nuclear sites.

Saudi Arabia holds significant influence in OPEC+ as the dominant member of the OPEC producers’ cartel, and Russia is the leading non-OPEC member in the 22-country alliance.

Along with Saudi Arabia and Russia, the group that met Saturday is made up of Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.

A statement said the new measures were in accordance with a December decision to put off increasing production at that time, but gradually increase it by 2.2 million barrels per day over an 18-month period starting in April and ending in fall 2026. The delayed ramp up reflected weaker-than-expected demand and competing production from non-allied countries.

Hyper-competition in China’s electric vehicle sector is spilling over to its biggest market in Asia, Thailand, as smaller players struggle to compete with dominant BYD (002594.SZ), putting ambitious local production plans at risk.

Neta, among the earliest Chinese EV brands to enter Thailand in 2022, is an example of a struggling automaker finding it difficult to meet the requirements of a demanding government incentive programme meant to boost Thai EV production.

Under the scheme, carmakers are exempt from import duties, but were obligated to match import volumes with domestic production in 2024.

Citing slowing sales and tightening credit conditions, carmakers asked the government to adjust the scheme and the 2024 production shortfall was rolled over into this year.

Neta has said that it cannot produce the required number of cars locally and the government has withheld some payments to the EV maker, said Excise Department official Panupong Sriket, who received a complaint filed last month by 18 Neta dealers in Thailand seeking to recover over 200 million baht ($6.17 million) of allegedly unpaid debt.

The complaint, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, also detailed missed payments by Neta related to promised support for building showrooms and after-sales service.

“I stopped ordering more cars in September because I sensed something was wrong,” said Neta dealership owner Saravut Khunpitiluck. “I’m currently suing them.”

Neta’s parent company, Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile, entered bankruptcy proceedings in China last month, according to state media.

Neta and its Chinese parent did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Market share decline

Neta’s share of Thailand’s EV market peaked at around 12% of EV sales in 2023 when the industry was growing, according to Counterpoint Research data, with BYD having a 49% share that year.

In Thailand, a regional auto production and export hub, Chinese brands dominate the EV market with a combined share of more than 70%.

The number of Chinese EV brands has doubled in the last year to 18, placing pressure on those that lack the reach of BYD, which has taken over from Tesla (TSLA.O) as the world’s biggest EV maker.

In the first five months of this year, new registration of Neta cars — a proxy for sales — slumped 48.5% from the prior year and its share of EV registrations was down to 4%, according to government data.

“Neta’s downturn in Thailand reflects the fragility of second-tier Chinese EV brands both at home and abroad,” said Abhik Mukherjee, an automotive analyst at Counterpoint Research.

“Intense price competition and the scale advantages of dominant players have made survival increasingly difficult for smaller companies, particularly in export markets, where margins are slim and robust after-sales support is essential.”

In Thailand, Neta’s biggest international market, it sells three models, with the cheapest Neta V-II Lite priced at 549,000 baht ($16,924) before discounts, compared to market leader BYD’s entry-level Dolphin model that is priced at 569,900 baht.

Thailand’s domestic auto market has become increasingly competitive amid a sluggish economy.

“Some Chinese brands have slashed prices by more than 20%,” said Rujipun Assarut, assistant managing director of KResearch, a unit of Thai lender Kasikornbank. “Pricing has become the main strategy to stimulate buying.”

China’s EV overcapacity and price war have pushed automakers to expand abroad, but markets like Thailand are now mirroring the same hyper-competitive pressures, exposing smaller firms to similar risks.

‘No confidence’

Three years ago, Thailand unveiled an ambitious plan to transform its car industry, long dominated by Japanese majors like Toyota (7203.T) and Honda (7267.T), to ensure at least 30% of its total auto production was EVs by 2030.

The country, which exports about half of its auto output, has drawn more than $3 billion in investments from a clutch of Chinese EV makers, including Neta, who were partly lured to Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy by the government incentive scheme.

“Neta’s case should give the Thai policymakers pause,” said Ben Kiatkwankul, partner at Bangkok-based government affairs advisory firm, Maverick Consulting Group.

Last December, after a sharp sales contraction, Thailand’s Board of Investment gave EV makers an extension to the initial local production timeline to avoid oversupply and a worsening price war.

Under the original scheme, local EV production in 2024 was required to match each vehicle imported between February 2022 to December 2023 or the automaker would incur hefty fines.

Car manufacturers avoided those fines with the extension carrying over unmet production into this year, but at a higher ratio of 1.5 times imports.

Thailand’s Board of Investment said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday that Neta’s issues were related to the financial situation of its parent firm and did not affect the Thai EV industry in the long term.

“The Thai government remains committed to the automotive sector and continues to promote policies supporting the EV industry and related technologies,” it said.

Siamnat Panassorn, vice president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, said Neta’s issues were company-specific and did not reflect flaws in Thai policies or the market.

But external shocks, including geopolitical tensions and the spectre of higher tariffs, have added to the pressure felt by the sector, he said.

For Thai Neta dealers like Chatdanai Komrutai, the crisis is deepening. The brand’s car owners have taken to social media in droves to share maintenance issues and limited after-sales support, and a consumer watchdog agency is inspecting some of those complaints.

“Selling cars is difficult right now,” Chatdanai said. “There’s no confidence.”

Vietnam’s economy grew at a faster pace in the second quarter of this year, led by strong exports, in an encouraging sign just days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would place lower-than-threatened 20% tariffs on many Vietnamese products.

Concerns over the Southeast Asian manufacturing hub’s outlook had been growing in the run-up to the trade deal announced on Wednesday, particularly as the United States is Vietnam’s biggest export market.

Gross domestic product growth in the April–June quarter accelerated to 7.96% year-on-year, up from 6.93% in the first quarter, government data showed on Saturday. It was just short of Hanoi’s full-year growth target of at least 8%.

“Economic performance in the first half of this year was positive and close to our target amid global and regional economic uncertainties,” the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

Exports were a bright spot in the last quarter, rising 18.0% to $116.93 billion from a year earlier, while imports were up 18.8% at $112.52 billion, translating into a trade surplus of $4.41 billion, NSO data showed.

Industrial production in the period rose 10.3%, while June consumer prices rose 3.57%.

Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States and Vietnam reached a trade deal, under which Vietnamese goods would face a 20% tariff, with trans-shipments from third countries through Vietnam also facing a 40% levy. Vietnam could import U.S. products with a zero percent tariff.

The tariff rates were lower than an initial 46% rate threatened by Trump in April.

Vietnam hailed the deal as a boost for business and said negotiators were working to finalise details, as business groups awaited clarity on the finer points to assess the impact of the new tariffs.

The United States is the largest export market for Vietnam, a regional manufacturing hub housing several multinational companies such as Samsung Electronics and Foxconn. The United States recorded a trade deficit of $123 billion with Vietnam last year, one of its highest globally.

Vietnam is also home to several Chinese companies, which analysts said are likely the main targets for the 40% tariff on trans-shipments. China is Vietnam’s largest two-way trading partner, on which it relies heavily for components and materials for its manufacturing industries.

Fitch Solutions said in a note on Friday that Vietnam’s exports and investment will remain strong for the rest of the year and signalled upside risks for its 2025 GDP growth forecast of 6.4%.

“With the new 20% tariff, we think the government will speed up industrial upgrading and shift exports from low-margin goods to higher value-added products such as semiconductors,” Fitch noted.

Dominic Scriven, founder and chairman of investment firm Dragon Capital, said the trade deal is “net-positive” and the potential GDP hit is less severe than feared.

“With external trade risk now moderating, attention can return to the country’s core growth engine, the domestic and private sector economy,” he added.

The use of trifluridine/tipiracil (Lonsurf) led to a numerical but not statistically significant improvement in disease-free survival (DFS) compared with placebo following curative resection in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) who were positive for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), according to data from the phase 3 ALTAIR trial (NCT04457297).

Findings presented at the 2025 ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress revealed that in the overall population, patients treated with trifluridine/tipiracil (n = 122) achieved a median DFS of 9.30 months (7.92-10.84) compared with 5.55 months (95% CI, 4.17-7.33) in those given placebo (n = 121; HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.60-1.05; P = .107). In the trifluridine/tipiracil arm, the 12- and 24-month DFS rates were 31.8% (95% CI, 23.6%-40.2%) and 16.9% (95% CI, 10.4%-24.8%), respectively. These respective rates were 26.8% (95% CI, 19.16%-35%) and 14.5% (95% CI, 7.85%-23.1%) in the placebo arm.

“A [forest plot] analysis showed that patients with stage IV disease or microsatellite stable [MSS] status derived significant benefit from trifluridine/tipiracil,” lead study author Masahito Kotaka, MD, PhD, of Sano Hospital in Hyogo, Japan, said in a presentation of the data.

ALTAIR Overview

ALTAIR was part of the CIRCULATE Japan trial schema, and it included patients from the GALAXY (UMIN000039205) and VEGA trials who underwent curative resection for CRC and tested positive for ctDNA after surgery. Patients needed to be at least 20 years of age with no radiographic evidence of disease, and they received standard perioperative therapy. ctDNA monitoring was done using the Signatera assay.

Patients who tested positive for ctDNA were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive trifluridine/tipiracil or placebo for 6 cycles.

DFS served as the primary end point of ALTAIR. Secondary end points included ctDNA clearance rate, overall survival, safety, treatment completion rate, and quality of life (QOL).

Baseline characteristics were well balanced between the 2 arms. In the overall population of ALTAIR (n = 243), most patients were under 70 years of age (64%), male (58%), had left-sided tumors (71%), were ctDNA positive at 1 month following surgery (53%), had BRAF wild-type disease (96%), had RAS wild-type disease (61%), and had MSS disease (98%).

Disease stage at baseline comprised stage I (4.1%), stage II (24%), stage III (45%), and stage IV (27%). Thirty-six percent of patients received neoadjuvant therapy, and 46% underwent adjuvant treatment. Twenty-four percent of patients enrolled during the minimal residual disease window, defined as 2 to 10 weeks after surgery and prior to the start of adjuvant therapy; patients also enrolled while receiving adjuvant therapy (14%) and during surveillance (63%).

Additional DFS and ctDNA Data

In patients with stage IV disease, the median DFS was 9.76 months (95% CI, 7.62-11.76) in the trifluridine/tipiracil arm (n = 34) vs 3.96 months (95% CI, 3.71-7.98) for those in the placebo group (n = 32; HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.32-0.87; P = .012). In those with stage I to III disease, the median DFS was 9.27 months (95% CI, 7.62-10.97) and 6.05 months (95% CI, 4.63-9.23) for trifluridine/tipiracil (n = 88) and placebo (n = 89), respectively (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.61-1.2; P = .375).

In the overall population, the rates of conversion to ctDNA negativity were 17.2% (95% CI, 11.0%-25.1%) in the trifluridine/tipiracil arm vs 12.4% (95% CI, 7.1%-19.6%) in the placebo group (odds ratio, 1.469; 95% CI, 0.718-3.008; P = .367). Conversion to ctDNA negativity was defined as a negative test at the first post-treatment assessment.

Safety and QOL Data

Any-grade adverse effects (AEs) occurred in 98.4% of patients in the trifluridine/tipiracil arm vs 57.0% of patients in the placebo group. The rates of grade 3 or higher AEs were 73.0% and 3.3%, respectively. Serious AEs and AEs leading to study discontinuation occurred in 4.9% and 6.6% of patients in the trifluridine/tipiracil arm, respectively. These rates were both 0% in the placebo arm. No patients in either group experienced AEs leading to death.

Any-grade AEs of note consisted of decreased neutrophil count (trifluridine/tipiracil, 74.6%; placebo, 4.1%), decreased white blood cell count (63.9%; 3.3%), decreased platelet count (12.3%; 3.3%), and decreased lymphocyte count (8.2%; 0.8%). In the trifluridine/tipiracil arm, the rates of these AEs occurring at grade 3 or higher were 56.6%, 17.2%, 1.6%, and 4.1%, respectively. None of these AE were reported at grade 3 or higher in the placebo arm.

AEs led to dose skipping in 95.1% of patients in the trifluridine/tipiracil arm vs 11.6% of patients in the placebo group. The rates of AEs leading to dose reductions were 37.7% and 0.8%, respectively. The median treatment duration was 174 days (range, 8-251) in the trifluridine/tipiracil arm vs 150 days (range, 40-187) in the control arm.

Regarding QOL, Kotaka noted that EORTC QLQ-C30 scores dropped during treatment, and a significant decrease in global health status occurred at week 8 in the trifluridine/tipiracil group (P = .028). No significant differences were reported between the arms following treatment from week 24 and beyond.

Disclosures: Kotaka reported receiving honoraria from Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Eli Lilly.

Reference

Kotaka M, Bando H, Watanabe J, et al. Association of ctDNA clearance with disease-free survival, safety, and quality of life from ctDNA-directed therapy: Findings from the ALTAIR study. Presented at: 2025 ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress; July 2-5, 2025; Barcelona, Spain. Abstract 3O.

The use of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)–guided surveillance led to earlier recurrence detection and an increased use of curative-intent treatment after recurrence compared with standard surveillance in patients with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), according to data from the phase 3 FIND trial (NCT05904665) presented at the 2025 ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress.

Findings demonstrated that in the ctDNA surveillance arm (n = 289) and the control arm (n = 295), the recurrence rates were 8.3% and 10.5% respectively. Among patients who experienced disease recurrence, 50% (95% CI, 31.4%-68.6%) of patients in the ctDNA arm (n = 24) received curative-intent treatment compared with 22.6% (95% CI, 11.4%-39.8%) of patients in the standard surveillance arm (n = 31; relative risk, 2.214; 95% CI, 1.060-4.780; P = .034).

“The FIND trial methodology demonstrates the feasibility of a ctDNA methylation assay with a clinically actionable turnaround time for reporting results to guide surveillance decisions [in nonmetastatic CRC],” lead study author Junjie Peng, MD, said in a presentation of the late-breaking abstract. Peng is chief physician and professor in the Department of Colorectal Surgery at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center in China.

What Investigators Hoped to FIND

Following surgical resection, surveillance is vital to detect recurrence of nonmetastatic CRC and to allow for timely intervention; however, Peng explained that prior data have shown that approximately 20% of patients who experience recurrence detected via surveillance have the opportunity for surgical treatment with curative intent.

To assess the feasibility of ctDNA monitoring as a surveillance tool, the prospective, randomized FIND trial enrolled patients with at least 18 years of age with nonmetastatic CRC who had an ECOG performance status of 0 to 2, were candidates for curative-intent surgery, and had a life expectancy of at least 12 months.

Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 between the two arms. In the control arm, patients underwent surgery and standard surveillance, which comprised physical examination and CEA testing; CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis; and colonoscopy, as per the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines.

In the experimental arm, ctDNA testing occurred within 1 month prior to surgery, then every 3 months for 2 years. If patients in this cohort tested positive for ctDNA, they underwent an immediate CT scan or MRI; if the scan was also positive, a multidisciplinary team (MDT) determined the next course of treatment. If the CT scan or MRI was negative, patients received 2 subsequent scans within the following 6 months. A positive scan would lead to an MDT discussion, and if both subsequent scans were also negative, the patient would return to the ctDNA monitoring protocol. The imaging process was triggered by any positive ctDNA test.

ctDNA testing was conducted using an improved single-tube, methylation-specific assay designed to detect 10 methylation markers with the ability to detect ctDNA down to a 0.01% allele fraction.

The primary end point was the proportion of patients receiving curative-intent therapy. Secondary end points included time to clinical recurrence (TTCR), disease-free survival, overall survival, and health-related quality of life.

Patient Population

Among 795 screened patients, 728 were randomly assigned between the 2 arms. In the 363 patients assigned to the ctDNA group, 74 did not undergo monitoring due to stage IV disease (n = 18), a diagnosis of advanced adenoma (n = 6), a non-CRC diagnosis (n = 9), and no surgery performed (n = 41). Of the 365 patients assigned to standard surveillance, 70 did not undergo postoperative follow-up due to stage IV disease (n = 16), a diagnosis of advanced adenoma (n = 8), a non-CRC diagnosis (n = 7), and no surgery performed (n = 39).

A total of 289 patients in the ctDNA arm and 295 patients in the surveillance arm were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population; 25 patients and 11 patients, respectively, were not included in the per-protocol population due to violations.

In the ITT population, patients ranged in age from 18 to 44 years (ctDNA arm, 6.9%; surveillance arm, 10.5%), 45 to 64 years (59.2%; 52.5%), 65 to 74 years (29.4%; 31.2%), and 75 years and over (4.5%; 5.8%). The majority of patients did not receive neoadjuvant therapy (86.2%; 88.8%) and had rectal tumors (45.7%; 45.4%). TNM stages included stage I (20.4%; 20%), stage II (36%; 36.9%), stage III (39.1%; 39.7%), and PCR (4.5%; 3.4%). A small proportion of patients in both arms had microsatellite instability–high/mismatch repair–deficient disease (7.3%; 7.5%). Notable alterations included BRAF V600E mutations (2.7%; 2%), KRAS mutations (47.5%; 51.6%), and NRAS mutations (3.8%; 5.1%).

Wading Into Recurrence Data

Patients in the recurrence population had ages ranging from 18 to 44 years (ctDNA arm, 8.3%; surveillance arm, 16.1%), 45 to 64 years (70.8%; 51.6%), and 65 to 74 years (20.8%; 32.3%). Most did not receive neoadjuvant therapy (87.5%; 87.1%). TNM stages included stage I (8.3%; 6.5%), stage II (33.3%; 25.8%), stage III (58.3%; 61.3%), and PCR (0%; 6.5%). Patients had rectal tumors (58.3%; 38.7%), left-sided tumors (37.5%; 38.7%), and right-sided tumors (4.2%; 22.6%). Most patients had adenocarcinoma (91.7%; 89.7%), with a small proportion of patients presenting with mucinosis adenocarcinoma (4.2%; 10.3%) and signet ring cell carcinoma (4.2%; 0%). BRAF/RAS mutations included BRAF V600E (4.2%; 3.6%), KRAS (58.3%; 50%), and NRAS (8.3%; 3.6%).

The median TTCR was 9 months (interquartile range [IQR]), 4.5-11) in the ctDNA arm vs 12 months (IQR, 11-13) in the control arm (lead time, 3.05 months; 95% CI, 1.43-4.67; P < .001). In the ctDNA group, the lead time rates at no more than 2 months, no more than 4 months, and less than 8 months were 24%, 52%, and 75%, respectively.

Regarding recurrent lesions, 62.5% of patients in the ctDNA group had liver and/or lung lesions only vs 51.6% of patients in the surveillance arm. Eleven of 15 patients in the ctDNA arm and 5 of 16 patients in the surveillance arm with only liver and/or lung lesions received curative-intent treatment. Locoregional recurrence was reported in 4.2% of patients in the ctDNA arm and 9.7% of patients in the surveillance group. The lone patient with locoregional recurrence in the ctDNA received curative-intent treatment vs 1 of 3 patients in the control arm.

Other metastatic sites were reported in 33.3% of patients whose disease recurred in the ctDNA arm vs 38.7% of patients in the surveillance arm. No patients in the ctDNA arm received curative-intent treatment for other metastatic sites vs 1 of 12 patients in the surveillance arm.

Among patients with liver metastases in the ctDNA arm (n = 9) and surveillance arm (n = 7), most had 3 or fewer lesions (88.9%; 42.9%). Notably, 77.8% of patients in the ctDNA arm had a tumor size of 3 cm or less vs 42.9% of patients in the control arm. The rates of patients with unilobar lesions were 88.9% and 42.9%, respectively.

“Our ctDNA-guided surveillance identified earlier recurrences amendable to curative therapy at higher rates than standard surveillance, predominantly [with] localized lung/liver metastases,” Peng concluded.

Disclosures: Study co-author Chunming Ding, PhD, is the founder for Innovation Biomed and has filed patent applications for the assay used during the trail study. The remaining study authors did not have any financial disclosures.

Reference

Peng J, Ding C, Mo S, et al. Dynamic circulating tumor DNA methylation monitoring guiding postoperative surveillance in non-metastatic colorectal cancer: Interim analysis of FIND trial. Presented at: 2025 ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress; July 2-5, 2025; Barcelona, Spain. Abstract LBA1.

July 5 (UPI) — Eight OPEC+ nations on Saturday agreed to increase their crude oil production by 548,000 barrels per day starting in August.

Of the dozen Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, five voted to increase the output: Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates. There are 10 subset members with Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman joining the member nations in boosting production.

OPEC nations not voting to increase output are Iran, Venezuela, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria.

The increase represents half of a percent of the worldwide production.

In April, the group increased production by 411,000 barrels a day. Also, there were changes in November 2023.

The nations said the change was based on “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories.” It also was in accordance with a decision on Dec. 5 to start a gradual and flexible return of the 2.2 million barrels per day starting April 1.

They said the “increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions. This flexibility will allow the group to continue to support oil market stability.”

The two largest oil producers are Saudi Arabia at 9.8 million barrels per day in August and Russia at 9.3 million. Iraq is third at 4.1 million.

The United States, which is not a member of OPEC, produced an average of 13.4 million barrels of crude oil a day in August 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Global Commodity Insights, a research firm, has said it expected supply would outpace demand by 1.25 million barrels a day in the second half of this year. These changes come amid the summer driving season and more oil for air conditioning amid heat waves in many places around the world.

The eight OPEC+ countries will next meet on Aug. 3 to decide on September production levels.

The Saudis have been seeking to boost production to please U.S. President Donald Trump, who has fostered a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia and UAE, The New York Times reported analysts as saying.

On Friday, August West Texas Intermediate oil futures settled at $68.30 per barrel, a decline of 50 cents. It dropped to $57.13 on May 13, which was the lowest since January 2021. The rose to $80.04 on Jan. 15 with it hitting $120.67 in June 2022.

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