Crude Oil

On Wednesday, drones carrying bombs attacked oilfields in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Two fields operated by Norway’s DNO had to stop production. DNO, the oil and gas company that operates the Tawke-Peshkabir fields in the Zakho region, bordering Turkey, has temporarily suspended production following explosions which caused no injuries. Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism agency posted a Facebook message that three drones were used to attack the fields, but no one was injured. Only material damage occurred. DNO stated that "the damage assessment has begun and the company anticipates restarting production as soon as the assessment is complete." Later, another oilfield operated by U.S....

The oil prices rose on Tuesday, driven by the expectation of a strong summer in the two world's largest consumers: the United States and China. However, gains were limited by the caution expressed by analysts about the economy as a whole. Prices have been fluctuating in a narrow range, as the signs of steady demand due to an increase in summer travel in the Northern Hemisphere have been competing with fears that U.S. Tariffs on trading partners would slow economic growth and fuel usage. Brent crude futures were up 13 cents or 0.2% to $68.84 per barrel at 0411 GMT....

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, and Treasury yields dipped as investors digested a slight increase in inflation that was expected, along with a number of positive quarterly results for big banks. After the U.S. consumer price index data showed that U.S. prices rose 0.3% in June, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq opened 0.5% higher, respectively. This was in line with expectations, but it was the biggest gain since January. The data is likely to be the beginning of an increase in inflation caused by tariffs, which has made the Federal Reserve wary about resuming interest rate reductions. However, it...

On Tuesday, shares rose worldwide and the dollar gained as investors entered a week that will be crucial for US earnings data, inflation figures and trade negotiations in a fairly optimistic mood. Oil prices fell after U.S. president Donald Trump set a deadline of 50 days for Russia to stop the war in Ukraine or face energy sanctions. Trump indicated he would be open to discussing tariffs following his threat at the weekend to impose 30% duty on Europe and Mexico starting August 1. Japan is trying to set up high-level discussions with the U.S. on Friday. The market has...

The dollar gained on Tuesday, as the trade talks were still in the spotlight. This week will also see important readings for U.S. bank earnings and inflation. Oil prices fell after U.S. president Donald Trump set a deadline of 50 days for Russia to stop the war in Ukraine or face energy sanctions. As a crucial upper house election approached, Japanese government bond yields reached a multi-decade peak. Trump indicated he would be open to discussing tariffs following his threat at the weekend to impose 30% duty on Europe and Mexico starting August 1. Japan is trying to set up...

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, as investors digested U.S. president Donald Trump's deadline of 50 days for Russia to end its war in Ukraine and avoid sanctions against buyers of their oil. Meanwhile, concerns over Trump's tariffs on trade continued to linger. Brent crude futures dropped 5 cents, to $69.16 per barrel, by 0000 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures were down to $66.69, a 9-cent drop. The two contracts were settled at a lower price than the previous session. Trump announced on Monday new weapons for Ukraine and threatened sanctions against buyers of Russian exports, unless Moscow agreed...

The Russian rouble recovered its losses against the dollar, and climbed against China's Yuan after U.S. president Donald Trump warned that he would impose a "very serious tariff" on Russia in 50 days if a deal was not reached on settling pacifically. According to LSEG's data based upon over-the counter quotes, as of 1605 GMT the rouble had fallen 0.2% at 78.10 against the dollar, after reaching 78.75 earlier in the day. The rouble has gained 45% against the US dollar since the beginning of the year, according to LSEG data based on over-the-counter quotes. Trump announced on Monday new...

MSCI's global index of equity prices edged lower on Monday, while U.S. Treasury rates edged higher. The latest U.S. Tariff threats kept investors on their toes as they awaited inflation readings due later this week and the beginning of the earnings season. After Donald Trump threatened to impose a 30 percent tariff on imports of goods from the European Union, Mexico and Canada starting August 1, the euro briefly fell to its lowest level in almost three weeks. The dollar index remained stable. The threat of tariffs caused European shares to fall on Monday. The EU announced that it would...

The major stock indexes fell slightly on Friday, as U.S. president Donald Trump's announcement that tariffs would be imposed on Canadian imports sparked concerns about trade tensions. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was down against the US dollar. Investors also awaited an announcement by Trump regarding tariffs against the European Union. This move will likely trigger a tit for tat response from Europe and create new market uncertainty. Trump announced late Thursday that the U.S. will impose a tariff of 35% on Canadian imports in one month. He also said he planned to impose tariffs blankets of 15% or 20 %...

The major stock indexes fell slightly on Friday, as U.S. president Donald Trump's announcement that tariffs would be imposed on Canadian imports sparked concerns about trade tensions. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was down against the US dollar. Investors also prepare for a Trump announcement of tariffs against the European Union. This move will likely trigger a titt-for-tat reaction from the EU and create new market uncertainty. Trump announced late Thursday that the U.S. will impose a tariff of 35% on Canadian imports in a month's time and plans to impose tariffs blankets of 15% or 20 % on most other...

Stella Qiu gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. On Friday, the markets were jolted from what appeared to be a dull day in summer when U.S. president Donald Trump went on TV to inject new drama into his simmering wars of trade and to disrupt Wall Street's recent upward trend to record highs. Trump stated that tariff letters would be sent to Canada and Europe "today or tomorrow". He also floated the idea of increasing the tariff rate for other countries who do not receive a tariff letter from 10% to 15%...

Early Friday, oil prices were stable after a 2% decline in the previous session. This was due to President Donald Trump's tariffs that are expected to harm economic growth and a reduction in OPEC demand estimates. Brent crude futures increased 19 cents or 0.28% to $68.83 per barrel at 0037 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude ticked up by 26 cents, or 0.39% to $66.83 per barrel. In its World Oil Outlook 2025, published on Thursday by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the organization cut its predictions for the global oil demand from 2026-2029 due to the slowing...

The Asian stock market was under pressure Wednesday, while the dollar rose to its strongest level against the yen in early April. This is after U.S. Inflation suggested that tariffs were pushing up prices, reducing expectations of Federal Reserve policy ease. The yield on U.S. Treasury bonds reached its highest level in over a month. This lifted the dollar, especially against the yen. Tech shares, however, remained resilient after a 4% rise in the artificial intelligence darling Nvidia over night. Brent crude has remained at $69 per barrel. The data released on Tuesday shows that U.S. consumer price rose by...

On Tuesday, shares rose worldwide and the dollar retained most of its gains from July as investors entered a crucial week that will include U.S. earnings data, inflation figures and trade negotiations in a fairly optimistic mood. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, threatened to impose 30 percent tariffs on Europe and Mexico starting August 1, which is higher than the 20 percent he originally proposed for the EU in April. Trump, however, said that he would be open to more negotiations, despite investor predictions of lower final tariff levels. Japan is also trying to schedule high level talks with the...

China's crude output of steel in June was down 3.9% from last month and 9.2% from a year ago, as steelmakers maintained equipment amid seasonal demand declines. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that the world's biggest steel producer produced 83.18 millions metric tons of raw steel in the last month. This is the lowest monthly level so far this season. Calculations based on data show that the average daily production in June was 2,77 million tonnes, down by 0.7% from May's 2.79 million tonnes. Heavy rains and high temperatures in the east and south regions of the...

Global stocks dropped on Friday as U.S. president Donald Trump escalated his tariff war against Canada. This left Europe in the firing lines, causing a modest investor rush to safe havens such as gold. Bitcoin also hit a record high. The Canadian dollar dropped after Trump sent a late-night letter on Thursday stating that a 35% duty rate would be applied to all imports coming from Canada starting August 1. He also stated that the European Union will receive a similar letter on Friday. The U.S. President, whose global tariff wave has disrupted businesses and policymaking, proposed a 15% or...

A senior Reliance Industries official stated on Friday that India must increase its petrochemical capacity to meet the local and global market demand, and to contain China's increasing dominance in the sector. The margins on petrochemicals have been shrinking around the globe as China's capacity growth has created an excess. Some refiners can produce petchems up to 40-50% of the total output, which is more than twice what India typically produces. India's petrochemical consumption for now is only a fraction of global average, but it is expected to increase as the nation's economy grows. Many analysts believe that India's economy...

Investors weighed the latest trade announcements by U.S. president Donald Trump on Thursday. The Brazilian real recovered from its losses after Trump announced a 50% tariff against goods from Brazil. Delta Air Lines, which helped Wall Street stocks rise 12% after forecasting profits for the third quarter and the full year above analyst's estimates, jumped. United Airlines and other travel stocks rose as well, with United Airlines up 15.3%. Trump confirmed late Wednesday that a 50% copper tariff will be implemented, with effect from August 1. The last time U.S. Copper prices rose on the day was late Wednesday. On...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. That's as unclear as mud. According to reports, the U.S. has set August 1 as the deadline by which higher tariffs on certain countries will be implemented if trade agreements are not made or in progress. There's no way to know which countries or deals are covered. Treasury Secretary Bessent said on CNN that President Trump will be sending letters to our trading partners telling them that if they don't make progress, then, on August 1, the tariffs will return to their April 2...

After OPEC+'s decision to increase crude oil production, two questions arise: Who will buy the extra crude and will they export the barrels that they claim to be producing? OPEC+ decided at a weekend gathering to increase production by 548,000 barrels a day (bpd). This is up from the 411,000 bpd that the group approved for May June and July and 138,000 bpd in April. Eight members of the group will boost production - Saudi Arabia (as well as Russia, Kuwait, Oman and Iraq), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan, Algeria, Kuwait, Oman and Russia. The eight countries will have...

The oil price dropped more than 1% Monday, after OPEC+ surprised the markets by increasing output more than anticipated in August. This raised concerns about an oversupply. Brent crude futures dropped 80 cents or 1.2% to $67.50 per barrel at 0010 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $65.68, which is down $1.32 or 2%. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies agreed to increase production in August by 548,000 barrels a day. Tim Evans, of Evans Energy, said in a report that "the increased production clearly represents an aggressive competition for market shares and some...

Stocks fell on Friday, as U.S. president Donald Trump passed his tax-cut bill and focused attention on his July 9 deadline to countries to sign trade agreements with the world's largest economy. Dollar also fell against major currency, with U.S. market already closed for holiday-shortened week. Traders considered the impact on Trump's spending bill that is expected to increase the national debt by an estimated $3.4 trillion. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index fell by 0.8%. This was mainly due to losses in spirits producers such as Pernod Ricard, Remy Cointreau and others after China announced it would begin imposing duties...

As the deadline for U.S. president Donald Trump to reach a trade deal looms next week, most Asian equity markets struggled and European stocks appeared set to open lower, despite Wall Street's overnight record highs. As traders weighed the implications of Trump's expected signing of a sweeping spending bill later that day, the dollar lost some of its gains from Thursday. U.S. S&P futures dipped by 0.3% after the cash index had risen overnight by 0.8% to a new closing high. Wall Street will be closed for Independence Day on Friday. The price of STOXX futures in Europe fell by...

According to shipping documents and data, Venezuela exported 844,000 barrels of crude oil and fuel per day in June. This is an 8% rise from the previous months, as more cargoes were sent to China to offset the loss of U.S. markets and European ones. Washington terminated in late May a grouping of licenses which had authorized partners, such as Chevron and Repsol of the oil company PDVSA to transport Venezuelan crude for U.S. or European refineries. Since then, the state-owned firm has increased its exports to Asia. It sells its crude oil and fuels through little-known middlemen who make...