Crude Oil

The oil prices increased on Wednesday as they extended the gains of the previous day. This was after the U.S. shot a drone from Iran and armed Iranian boats approached a U.S. flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. This rekindled fears of an escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. Brent crude futures was?up 65 cents or 1.0% at $67.98 a barrel at 0111 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $63.90 a barrel, an increase of 69 cents or 1.1%. Both benchmarks rose by nearly 2% Tuesday. U.S. Military said that on Tuesday, an Iranian drone "aggressively approached"...

Marathon Petroleum announced a fourth-quarter profit that was above Wall Street expectations?on Tuesday?, as a 44% increase in refining profits underscored a stronger operational performance. On Tuesday, shares of the top refiner in the country were up 2.6% to $181.56. Fuel manufacturers made unexpected profits in 2018 as margins rebounded after a multi-year low in 2024, when earnings were at their lowest since the pandemic. BOOST STRONG REFINING MARKES Maria Khoury said, "We took advantage of a favorable refining environment, while executing our turnarounds on schedule and safely," during a conference call on Tuesday. The quarter's refining margin reached $18.65...

MSCI's global equity gauge rose on Tuesday, while Wall Street's major indexes fell as investors awaited high-profile earnings announcements. In contrast, precious metal prices rose, regaining ground lost after a two-day slide. The U.S. Dollar edged lower?and the Australian Dollar was the star performer. It rallied broadly after joining Japan as the only developed world economy to increase interest rates. Commodities and the dollar have been wildly fluctuating since U.S. president Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the new head of the Federal Reserve on Friday. Warsh, who will be pressured by Trump to lower interest rates, is also keen to...

Two sources in the refining industry said that Indian refiners were not told by the government to stop purchasing Russian oil. They would require a period of wind-down to complete any purchases already in progress. The U.S. president?Donald? Trump announced on Monday a trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which included the halting of oil purchases by India from Russia. However, there were no details as to how or when these purchases would cease. Sources said that while India has slowed its Russian oil purchases refineries have already reserved cargoes for February loading and arrival in March. They...

The mood was lifted by the resurgence of gold and Asian stocks on Tuesday, as the trade tone cooled down after the wild swings seen in the metals market. A?deal reducing U.S. Tariffs against India also helped. Meanwhile, the Australian Dollar rose 'after an interest rate increase. The central bank of Australia joined Japan in tightening policy. It said that above-target inflation, coupled with a tight labour markets, justified the unanimous decision to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points. The markets had anticipated this move but are now trying to price in the follow-up for May, which was...

The oil prices dropped on Tuesday for the second consecutive day as market participants assessed the likelihood of a deescalation of tensions between Iran and the United States. A stronger dollar also added to downward pressure. Brent crude futures fell 39 cents, or 0.5%, at $65.91 per barrel at 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was down 31 cents or 0.5% at $61.83 a barrel. The oil prices dropped more than 4% after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that Iran is "seriously speaking" with Washington. This signaled a de-escalation in tensions? with the OPEC country. Officials from both sides...

The oil prices remained stable on Tuesday, as participants in the market weighed the likelihood of a deescalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran. A stronger dollar limited the potential for price increases. Brent crude futures?were?up six cents or 0.1% at $66.36 a barrel?at 0102 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 0.2% at $62.24 a barrel. Oil prices dropped more than 4% Monday, after U.S. president Donald Trump stated that Iran is "seriously speaking" with Washington. This signaled a deescalation in tensions between the OPEC country and Washington. Officials from both sides said on Monday that Iran...

The gold and Asian stock markets were both on the rise on Tuesday, as the trade tone remained calmer after the wild swings on metals markets. Factory activity. Japan's Nikkei gained 2.5% on Tuesday to recover Monday's losses, while South Korea's KOSPI climbed 4%. Futures pointed to a recovery for Hong Kong, while S&P futures rose 0.3% as traders awaited a busy week of earnings. Investors are looking forward to the central bank meeting that will take place in Australia on Tuesday. A strong jobs market, and a surprising hot reading of fourth-quarter inflation have led investors to bet on...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said Monday that Mexico will stop sending oil into Cuba. He is stepping up his pressure campaign against this Caribbean nation. Trump said to reporters in the White House's?Oval Office that Mexico would halt sending oil. He did not explain why he thought this was the case. The Mexican authorities didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Mexico is Cuba's largest oil supplier, despite the fact that it suffers from frequent energy shortages. Cuba imports refined fuels to meet its electricity, gasoline and aviation fuel needs. U.S. economic sanctions and U.S. government sanctions have...

Two sources familiar with the operational data say that oil production at Kazakhstan's Tengiz giant field has increased in recent days. It reached nearly 20% of its capacity on Sunday, following a complete outage in January. Tengiz, the oil refinery that accounts for almost 40% of Kazakhstan's production, was closed on 18 January after an electrical fire. This cut down on the nation's overall oil supply, at a time where exports had already been constrained due to disruptions along its main pipeline route. Sources said that oil output at Tengiz increased to 23,000 metric tonnes (183,000 barrels), up from 14,900...

The oil prices dropped by more than 4% Monday following a?U.S. Donald Trump stated that Iran was "seriously speaking" with Washington. This signaled a 'de-escalation' of tensions between Washington and an OPEC country. A stronger dollar also weighed down on oil prices. Brent crude futures fell $3.34 or 4.8% to $65.98 per barrel at 1113 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell $3.37 or 5.2% to $61.84 per a barrel. Brent and WTI both fell in February after their largest monthly gain since 2022. This was due to the waning of fears that a military attack on Iran would be...

Three sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed that the United States has informed Delhi that it can resume these 'purchases' soon to help replace Russian oil imports. India promised to cut its Russian crude oil purchases following Washington's tariff hikes on this activity. India is also on track to reduce its Russian oil imports in the coming months by several hundred thousands barrels per day, according to sources who declined to identify themselves. In March 2025, President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on countries that bought Venezuelan oil. His administration also intensified its campaign against Venezuelan president...

Four trade sources reported?on Tuesday that the independent Chinese refiner Chambroad Petrochemical had purchased one Canadian crude cargo for May delivery. This follows a decrease in Venezuelan crude supply to China. According to sources, the refiner is one of the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude oil. It also imports Canadian oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline for its bitumen manufacturing. Chambroad bought Canadian Cold Lake Crude exported?from TMX for a discount of close to $5 per barril compared to the July ICE Brent contract, according to two people. The crude was to be delivered to the eastern Shandong Province in...

Two factors are largely outside the control of OPEC+, and are likely to influence the price of crude in the next few weeks. First, we need to know if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to launch a shooting conflict with Iran. If he does, will both sides be able keep oil cargoes flowing and production infrastructure intact? Second, China, as the world's largest crude importer, will decide whether to reduce its recent strong imports, in light of January's 16% increase in Brent benchmark futures. It was only logical that the eight members with production quotas of OPEC+, given the uncertainty...

Chinese independent refiners have purchased discounted Iranian heavy oil to replace Venezuelan shipments which were halted after the U.S. Two people familiar with the matter said that last month, the U.S. claimed control over the OPEC producer. They said that the withdrawal of Iranian crude oil from storage makes up for the fall in Venezuelan supplies to the world’s largest crude buyer. Venezuelan shipments into China have dropped sharply since the middle of December after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an embargo on ships sanctioned, as part of a larger campaign against President Nicolas Maduro that culminated with his capture...

Global shares dropped on Monday as investors rushed to sell precious metals to offset any losses. This was just before a week filled with corporate earnings and central bank meetings, along with major economic data. Silver is on track to suffer its worst two-day loss since the 1980s. It fell another 7%, adding to Friday's 30 percent drop. Dealers say that pressure on several?silver?futures funds from China contributed to the crash late last week. The CME raised margins for a variety of futures contracts including silver and gold on Monday. The oil prices fell by more than 4% after President...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Metals markets are like a packed theatre where someone is shouting "fire" at the audience. Everyone and their mother was piling in gold and silver, including retail investors, leveraged funds, CTAs, and algos. When silver drops?30% within a single session, everyone is running for the exits. CME responded by increasing margins by 2 to 4 percentage points on certain metals contracts, indicating that some investors have difficulty meeting margin requirements. Dealers say that Chinese investors had trouble in liquidating their positions. The selling spread...

U.S. president Donald Trump said that it was dangerous for Britain to get into Business with Beijing On Friday, Prime Minister Keir starmer visited China and lauded its economic benefits. Starmer, the latest Western leader to visit?China as they reel from Trump's unpredictable behavior, is the latest. In a three-hour 'talk' with President Xi Jinping, on Thursday, British Prime Minister David Cameron called for a'more sophisticated relationship, with better market access, lower taxes and investment deals, while also discussing Shakespeare and soccer. Trump responded to questions in Washington about the close ties by saying, "Well it's dangerous for them to...

Analyst and traders say that Russia's naphtha shipments to Asia will fall in January as U.S. sanctions force key buyers such as Taiwan, India, and Venezuela to find new markets. After Washington imposed sanctions against top Russian oil producers the buyers have become more cautious. Sellers are forced to store naphtha in foreign storage or on ships, where it can then be re-exported. Armaan Ashraf is the director of Asia oil and natural gas liquids at FGENexant. He added that this means that premiums for "legitimate barrels" of heavy full range naphtha or?discounts to Russian cargoes would widen. Russia exports...

The dollar took a breather on Wednesday, after a sell-off became a rout. U.S. president?Donald Trump appeared to dismiss recent weakness in the global reserve currency. Meanwhile,?stocks? scaled record highs due to optimism over earnings. The dollar's plunge lifted the euro above $1.20, the highest level since 2021. It also sent the Australian dollar to a 3-year high of 70 cents, lifted gold prices to new heights, and increased commodity prices, which are measured in dollars. The dollar clawed back to 152.76 yen in the Asia session, after which trade settled. Dollar selloffs are the most severe since Trump's tariff...

Stella Qiu gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Donald Trump has done it again. The U.S. president suddenly announced that he would raise tariffs against South Korea from 15% to 25% for failing to implement the trade agreement agreed in July. This?affects? autos, lumber, and pharma. Yet, stocks in South Korea jumped by 2%, to new record highs. South Korea's KOSPI fell over 1% initially, but this only attracted buyers who wanted to gain exposure to Asia’s best-performing markets of 2025. There is a good chance that the tensions will de-escalate, as...

Investors hoped that a barrage?U.S. Mega-cap earnings were a big factor, but uncertainty due to President Donald Trump's tariff moves against South Korea capped broader gains. Trump increased tariffs to 25% on autos, lumber, and pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. from Asia's 4th-largest economy. The Nasdaq Futures rose 0.2%, as investors prepared for the earnings of the Magnificent Seven, including Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla, on Wednesday. Even South Korea's KOSPI reversed earlier losses and was last to gain 0.8%. Silver surged 6.4% to $110.60 per ounce and is not far off the record set just on Monday. Christopher Louney is...

By Anna Szymanski What Mike Dolan, the ROI team and I are looking forward to reading, watching and listening to this weekend. From the Editor Hello Morning Bid readers! Greenland will soon be a "piece of ice", but the Arctic saga of this week is still significant. This week's Arctic saga is a reminder that President Donald Trump will always find a way out, even when it didn't seem possible a few hours ago. It also shows that no deal made with the U.S. should be regarded as final. The major U.S. equity indexes suffered their largest one-day percentage drop...

Tom Westbrook gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The Bank of Japan only did enough to keep the yen stable in the Asia session. They also boosted inflation forecasts, but this didn't deter the market from expecting two rate hikes for the year. Dollar was also under pressure in general as investors may have anticipated that the Greenland drama of the past week will make the U.S. less attractive as an investment destination. The world's net long U.S. positions total $27,6 trillion. This leaves a lot of room to trim. After retracting...