Good morning, wonderful people. We have a relatively brief issue to bring you this morning as all eyes are fixed on the continued escalation of violence in Palestine and Israel — let’s jump right in.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has established a new investment company — the National Automotive and Mobility Investment company, dubbed Tasaru — focused on boosting electric vehicle manufacturing and developing local supply chain capabilities for the automotive and mobility industry in the country.

^^ We have everything on this story and more in the news well, below.

PSA- Jordan’s Public Security Directorate has closed The King Hussein Bridge to passengers and cargo, Jordan News Agency (Petra) reports. However, the closure does not affect travel via the Sheikh Hussein border crossing or the southern crossing.

Iraq has completed nearly 80% of the Grand Faw Port and plans to begin its operations by 2025, Zawya quotes Nassir Al Assadi, an adviser to Iraq’s Prime Minister for transport affairs, as saying. The Transport Ministry is also preparing a strategy to initiate trial operations at the Southern Port before its full-scale launch, Al Assadi said. South Korean-based Daewoo E&C is handling the construction of Faw Port's infrastructure through a USD 2.6 bn contract awarded by the Transport Ministry almost four years ago.

DATA POINT- August saw a 10.3% m-o-m increase in the number of vessels calling at Qatar’s ports, according to monthly statistics published by Qatar’s Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) (pdf). Net tonnage grew 22.1% in the same period, PSA’s data showed.

MARKET WATCH-

The geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have caused oil prices to rise, but there is less of a worry about near-term supplies due to plentiful cargo flows from Russia and from exporters other than the Persian Gulf region, according to S&P Global. Brent and WTI crude futures surged more than USD 3.50 per barrel on Monday amid fears that the Hamas-Israel clashes could spread beyond Gaza, Reuters writes. With the uncertainty caused by the conflict, oil markets are now pricing in a risk premium, with reports of Iran’s involvement likely to boost prices, which would tighten a market with already-tight supply, the ING analysts said. While Israel produces little crude oil, markets are worried that if the conflict escalates, the Middle East supply could worsen and create a deficit for the rest of the year, the outlet adds.

Russian exports-by-sea of crude oil fell last week after hitting a 13-week peak, Bloomberg reports. Russian ports saw 3.23 mn barrels per day (bbl / d) shipped between 1-8 October, dropping almost 490k bbl / d from the previous seven days, smoothing out the four-week average to 3.26 mn bbl / d. The decrease came off the back of record-high shipments from the Arctic port of Murmansk in the previous week. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced in August that Moscow would extend export restrictions at 300k bbl / d until the end of the year. Russia has lifted its ban on most diesel exports via ports, removing the bulk of restrictions imposed on 21 September.

Meanwhile, Russia restarted seaborne diesel exports after lifting a ban that disrupted global fuel markets, Bloomberg reports. Transneft PJSC, the country’s pipeline operator, resumed loading oil products earlier this week. At least two tankers carrying ultra-low sulfur diesel have departed from Primorsk since the ban was lifted on 6 October. The ban was lifted two weeks after it was implemented in a bid to curb increasing domestic automotive fuel prices.

While the ban on seaborne exports has been lifted, there are still restrictions in place: Exports must be transported via pipelines to Russian ports, and manufacturers are required to retain half of their diesel production in the country. Russia has also implemented a diesel export limit for fuel manufacturers dictating that their volumes for October should not surpass the average of their international shipments over the previous eight months. Rail shipments also remain prohibited to restore stocks for the domestic market and to curb an increase in wholesale prices.

The Baltic Exchange's primary maritime freight index peaked to its highest point in a year yesterday, prompted by increased rates for capesize vessels, Reuters reports. The overall index, which considers rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax ships, rose 3.2% to almost 2k points. The capesize index gained 5.3% to 3.5k, its highest level since 25 May 2022. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels increased by USD 1.45k to USD 28.9k. The panamax index ended seven days of declines, increasing by 0.9%. The average daily earnings for panamax vessels rose by USD 124 to USD 14.3k. The supramax index witnessed a slight dip of 0.1% to 1.2k, marking an 11-day decline streak within this index.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

A Saudi-Turkish Summit kicked off on Sunday in Istanbul, Turkey and will wrap tomorrow. Organized by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly in coordination with the Turkish Commerce Ministry, the summit will be attended by Turkish exporters and 70 members of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. The participants will also include representatives from an array of sectors including food, non-ferrous metals, textiles, ready-made garments, chemicals, and furniture.

The Supply Chain and Logistics Conference 2023 will take place on 22-23 October at the Four Seasons in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The conference will bring together supply chain decision makers to discuss ways that Saudi Arabia can strengthen its economy and make itself a global logistics center and hub connecting three continents in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The GCC-Türkiye Economic Forum is set to take place on 11-13 November in Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey. The event will cover trade, investment and finance, energy, infrastructure, transportation and logistics, industry, tourism, agriculture and food, and sports sectors.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.