观看： Market Movers Asia, April 25-29: India stares at a power shortage; Indonesia's palm oil export ban roils markets

This week: Spotlight is on vegetable oil prices after Indonesia announced an indefinite ban on cooking oil exports, China's ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns are impacting supply chains and hurting demand from oil to metals and production plans of major Chinese oil companies is in focus.

But first, Chinese and Indian thermal coal buyers have begun procurement in the wake of rising electricity demand and low stockpiles at power plants. Market participants said this may lead to a surge in prices of low-and mid-calorific value coal.

Coal stockpiles at Indian power plants have been depleting through April. India's federal power ministry has urged all states to increase thermal coal imports to ensure adequate availability at power plants. According to the official data, the stockpiles are sufficient for just over eight days of coal burn at current consumption levels.

In oil, markets will be keeping an eye on policy changes and curbs by Beijing to stem the spread of COVID-19 in China. The global crude oil market has erased gains in recent trading sessions amid concerns of another round of demand destruction following pandemic-related lockdowns in the country.

The recent movement restrictions have hurt logistics as well as demand. Refineries have been cutting their throughput, which could further impact China's appetite for crude imports.

That brings us to the social media question for the week: Will China's prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns lead to a fall in global crude oil prices? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Staying with oil, the focus will be on China's leading oil companies PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC. These companies will release their Q1 operational results and production plans for the rest of the year. Market participants will keep a close eye on production plans of these leading oil majors for cues on the country's crude demand amid increased global uncertainty.

Meanwhile, car and automotive part makers in Shanghai resumed operations, nearly a month after the city went into a lockdown. However, production is expected to recover only gradually. Lockdowns in China have disrupted car production significantly, impacting various industries including steel. Transportation activities are still facing hurdles and disrupting industrial supply chains. This could lead to weaker demand for nonferrous metals such as aluminum and copper in the near-term.

And finally, in agriculture, all eyes will be on vegetable oil prices this week after Indonesia announced an indefinite ban on exports of cooking oil and its raw material with effect from April 28. Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer and exporter of palm oil. Over the last few months, it has announced several measures to delink domestic cooking oil prices from soaring international vegetable oil markets. India, China, the EU, Pakistan and Bangladesh are some of the top buyers of crude palm oil and processed palm oil products like palm olein and palm stearin.

Meanwhile, India's wheat exports are in focus after Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, approved the country as its supplier. The move comes at a crucial time as global supplies remain stretched following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India's export program in 2022-23 is expected to build on its successful season seen last year. In 2022-23, traders expect India to sell around 11-12 million metric tons of wheat, higher than nearly 8 million metric tons imported last year. Markets will be keeping a close eye on India's wheat exports as concerns remain around product quality and the country's logistical capabilities.

Thanks for kicking off your Monday with us. Have a great week ahead!