Crude Oil

Investor optimism about robust earnings growth and excitement over AI helped offset concerns over another flare-up of Middle East tensions, which boosted oil prices. MSCI's All-World Index?has?risen?2.3% this week. It is the highest in three months. On Friday, it was stable. Shares in drugmakers?and technology companies?lifted Europe's STOXX600 by 0.2% for the day, and 1.6% over the course of the week. Investors are now focused on the U.S. Payrolls Report due later that day. This could be crucial for interest rate outlook. Forecasts predict a gain of 80,000 jobs in July, following a gain of 57,000 in June. The unemployment...

What's important in the U.S. and international markets today by Mike Dolan Editor-at-Large of?Finance and Markets The markets remained in a holding pattern over the weekend as all eyes were on the July U.S. Employment Report and the latest agreement to end the Iran conflict. Below, I'll go into more detail. Check out my column about why the absence of full G7 firepower during the joint U.S. and Japanese currency intervention is important. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast where we talk about the latest Iran deal, and gold's largest one-day gain since six months. Subscribe to the Morning Bid...

The major stock indexes were mixed on Wednesday. SpaceX shares and Advanced Micro Devices declined, and U.S. oil prices eased as signs of progress towards a peace agreement with Iran emerged. Two?regional? officials and a senior Iranian source said that a proposed agreement between Iran, Oman and the United States to end the five-month war between Iran and America would give Tehran control of ships entering the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. This is one of the largest concessions to Iran yet. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Futures dropped 55 cents or 0.73% to $75.22 per barrel. Brent crude futures...

Enverus, an analytics firm, said that the volatility of oil prices has tempered investor confidence and led to a four-fold decline in dealmaking in the U.S. Upstream Oil and Gas Sector in the second quarter this year. "Crude price volatility linked to the Iran conflict, and a softer gas outlook, likely widened bid-ask and complicated valuations. This pushed the announced?value down to its lowest quarterly total in years," Andrew Dittmar said, principal analyst at Enverus Intelligence. The Bureau of Land Management, in a record-breaking lease sale in May, made the most money, earning around $4 billion from the sale of...

India's Oil and Natural Gas 'Corp (ONGC) hopes to sign agreements soon with Venezuela 'to operate two oil 'blocks under the South 'American nation's 'new petroleum 'law', its finance chief'said 'on Wednesday. ONGC Videsh (ONGC Videsh is the overseas investment arm of the state-run ONGC) holds a stake of 40% in the San Cristobal oil field, and along with other Indian firms, a stake 18% in the Carabobo-1 Project. "Now, we are able to work freely on Venezuelan projects." We had restricted our operations in Venezuela because of sanctions-related risks," said finance director Anupam agarwal on a?analyst's call following the...

What is important in the U.S. and international markets today by Mike Dolan Editor-at-Large of Finance and Markets After all the 'doubts and hand-wringing the S&P 500 & Dow Jones have returned to record highs. They surged on Tuesday amid the falling oil prices & bumper earnings season. SpaceX's shares dropped despite exceeding?revenue estimates in its first quarterly earnings report. Below, I'll delve deeper into that. Check out my midweek column where I discuss the possibility of an AI "jobsmageddon", and more. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast where we talk about yesterday's outstanding earnings reports. Subscribe to the Morning...

Investors waited to see whether the U.S. - Iran war was ending and if the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened. Brent crude futures rose?26 cents or 0.33% to $79.62 per barrel at 0110 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Futures rose by 0.16% or 12 cents to $75.90 per barrel. Qatar announced on Tuesday that mediators are making progress to end the conflict, which is driving down oil prices. However, Tehran has denied U.S. president Donald Trump's claim that talks have already begun. Brent closed below $80 per barrel on Tuesday for the first time since last July 13. The...

European stocks rose alongside U.S. Futures on Tuesday. However, a'rebound in the oil price underscored market scepticism about the U.S. - Iran war being resolved quickly by diplomacy. The yen has weakened, but still held onto most of its gains following last week's joint intervention by Washington and Tokyo to support the currency. Majed al Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatar Foreign Ministry, said that diplomatic efforts were being made to end the U.S. - Iran war. However an attack near Strait of Hormuz raised doubts about the conflict's conclusion. Brent futures increased 1.5% to $85.05 per barrel, after falling 7%...

Three sources with knowledge of the discussions said that Damascus had agreed to reduce its imports of Russian crude oil as part of ongoing talks with the United States about lifting the last major designation of sanctions on Syria. This would be a significant shift in the energy policy of 'Syria. It has become heavily dependent on Russian oil, despite its political pivot towards the West. Experts say that it would be a way for the U.S. exert new pressure on Russia’s economic influence in the country. According to a Syrian official with direct knowledge of these conversations, an American...

Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, may have hoped for some relief from his to-do lists. The 'Japanese currency' fell for the first time in five days on a tuesday as the dust settled after a rare coordinated intervention by officials from Washington and Tokyo in the foreign exchange market. The yen fell 0.3% against the U.S. Dollar at 157.715 and by the same amount against the euro at 181.45. The yen is still 4% higher against the dollar and euro than it...

The yen gained strength after the U.S. confirmed a joint intervention by Japan and the U.S. to support the currency. Investors watched for further signs of intervention. U.S. President?Donald Trump held off on a new attack against Iran over the weekend. Trump announced on Monday that talks were underway with Iran, warning that this was the "last chance" to get Tehran to agree to a deal that would end the five-month war. Iran, however, denied that negotiations were taking place or were planned. Brent futures for the front-month fell by $6.35 or 7.0% to settle at $83 a barrel. U.S....

Ship?tracking data revealed that U.S. crude oil exports fell to 3,66 million barrels a day in July, the lowest in eight months. A short-lived?peace?deal' between the U.S. & Iran in June temporarily flooded the markets with?Middle Eastern crude and reduced demand for American oil abroad. After the Iran War, which cut Middle Eastern oil supplies and forced Asian and European nations to look to the U.S. for the rest of the year's supply, the U.S. surpassed Saudi Arabia as the top oil exporter. In May, U.S. oil exports reached a record monthly level of 5.7 million barrels per day. Since...

The Asian stock market waited with bated breath for the U.S. employment data, which could be pivotal in determining if Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month. Meanwhile, rising oil prices reminded investors that Middle East tensions are far from being resolved. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was flat for the week and down by 0.4%. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.9%, despite being set to rise by 1.2% on a weekly basis. South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.5%, and was down by 5.0% for the entire week. This is the seventh consecutive week that KOSPI has declined....

According to multiple trade sources and ship tracking information, China's state owned?Sinopec Corp., the world's largest refiner, increased purchases of Far East Russian Oil to compensate for Middle East oil supplies that were reduced by the Iran War. Sinopec has been able to maintain a relatively stable output and export fuel surpluses on a strong margin due to its purchases of Russian oil, which is cheaper than competing grades from Brazil and West Africa. This was despite China's decision in March of limiting the overseas sale of fuel products, as a way of protecting domestic supply during trade disruptions caused...

The Asian stock market soared?on a Wednesday, as Wall Street reached record highs on the back of robust earnings and a renewed interest in tech. Meanwhile, hopes of progress regarding?opening of the Strait of Hormuz drove down oil prices and bonds yields. South Korea's Nikkei added 4.1% to its wild swings. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose by 2.4% while Chinese blue chip stocks gained 0.7%. The rally in tech came despite AMD's setback. AMD fell 8.8% following hours, as its earnings exceeded Street expectations but fell short of the sky-high investor expectations. SpaceX, a satellite company and...

The Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday, as Wall Street reached record highs on the back of strong earnings and a renewed demand for technology. Meanwhile, hopes of progress in opening the Strait of Hormuz had a negative impact on oil prices and bond yields. South Korea's Nikkei added 3.4% to its wild swings, while Japan's Nikkei gained 3.0%. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose by 1.5%. Some tech companies have benefited more than others. Even though AMD's results exceeded expectations, investors appeared to be taking profits. After the bell, shares of the chipmaker fell 9%. SpaceX, a...

Asian markets were volatile on Tuesday as investors assessed whether the strong earnings of U.S. corporations would help AI-related stocks to rise in the region. Oil prices also rose after the attacks on shipping along the Strait of Hormuz. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell 0.1% as volatile South Korean stocks fluctuated between gains and losses. The last gain was 1.2%. Japan's Nikkei225 slid 0.2% higher, while S&P500 e-minis futures were up 0.3%. Societe Generale's analysts stated in a report that "the AI trade has matured". Investors are increasingly focused on?the sustainability? of margins after 2026, they stated....

On Monday, oil prices fell and stocks wobbled as hopes for peace in the Middle East increased. Meanwhile, the yen suddenly jumped after the U.S. confirmed a joint intervention by Japan and the U.S. to support the fragile currency. Brent crude futures fell more than 6%, to $82.41, after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that talks with Iran would take place on Monday. He had previously called off an imminent strike on Iran in order to reach a agreement to reopen Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse regarding Tehran's nuke capabilities. S&P futures increased by 0.4%, while Nasdaq's futures...

Abu Dhabi National Oil 'Co announced?on Friday that it will change its benchmark for monthly official sales prices for all of its crude grades from Murban crude to Platts Dubai pricing for the month-to-month from November 1. In a press release, ADNOC said that the change will align ADNOC’s OSPs with the month in which cargoes are loaded. This applies to Abu Dhabi crude grades onshore and off-shore, including Murban Das, Umm Lulu, and Upper Zakum. ADNOC will announce differentials for grades to Dubai prices in the month prior to cargo loading. ADNOC stated that the new pricing mechanism "reinforces...

India is emerging as a haven for those who are escaping the wreckage of Asia's AI stock boom. Indian stocks' lack of direct AI exposure, whether to creators or large language models or semiconductors and chip manufacturers, dampened foreign investors enthusiasm for the country's shares for most of 2025 and 2026. Instead, money flooded into South Korea's and Taiwan's tech saturated markets. This summer, the trend has changed. Since mid-June equities have fallen in South Korea and Taiwan, reflecting growing concerns about the durability and profitability of massive AI capital investments. India's benchmark index is up 5%, as investors have...

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. has bid 55,000 metric tonnes of full-range naphthalene?on a spot-tender basis. The company stated that the offer was made on a delivery basis based on a ship. The company 'tender for Asian markets' stated in its offer that the "product must be intended to East of Suez, and cannot be resold, or delivered elsewhere, without the seller’s written consent. This consent shall not be unreasonable. KPC offered?naphtha free-onboard?before the U.S. war with Iran started. The first time since February, it resumed offering cargo in June. The company stated that the cargo would be delivered by a tanker...

On Thursday, the U.S. government’s?long term borrowing costs reached their highest level since 2007. Global shares also tried to recover after Microsoft’s?earnings reduced some AI concerns. The yield on 30-year Treasury bonds hit a high of 5,244% in New York trading the day before, after the Federal Reserve held interest rates at the same level as the previous day, even though Chair Kevin Warsh gave mixed messages about monetary policy and inflation expectations. The Fed's next moves were difficult to predict, and Warsh's decision not to provide any forward guidance made it even more difficult. Investors are frightened by the...

Asian stocks were volatile on Thursday, after a week filled with?market turmoil sparked by AI fears. A divided Federal Reserve remained steadfast on interest rates and left the bond markets unsure of their next move. Brent 'futures' fell below $90 a barrel after a day of turbulence sparked by AI jitters. The Federal Reserve, divided, remained steadfast on rates and left bond markets uncertain about the next move. Investors were confused by the Fed's split decision on whether it would raise rates to combat inflation. The yields on U.S. Treasuries with longer maturities rose to their highest level in 19...

What's important in the U.S. and international markets today by Mike Dolan Editor-at-Large of?Finance and Markets As a stark example of how difficult it is for Big 'Tech to impress the markets, South Korean chip maker SK Hynix fell again on Wednesday morning after a six-fold increase in quarterly profits?missed expectations. This is a warning before the?release of U.S. megacaps earnings later today. The markets will first digest Kevin Warsh's comments and the Federal Reserve Chair's policy announcement as he speaks on the podium today. Below, I'll go into more detail. Check out my midweek column where I discuss hyperscalers'...