Crude Oil

Global equity markets rose on Thursday with Japanese shares reaching a new record high. Wall Street tech gains, positive earnings, hopes of a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, and the expectation of U.S. interest rate cuts all contributed to the rise. The markets largely shrugged off the latest tariffs by U.S. president Donald Trump, including a 25% additional tariff on U.S. imported goods from India due to purchases of Russian oil as well as a 100% threat on chips. Eddie Kennedy, Marlborough's head of discretionary funds and bespoke fund management, said: "It is surprising that the market continues to melt up...

The oil price rose by 1% on Friday, ending a five-day decline, as the U.S. remained the world's largest oil consumer. However, uncertainty over the macroeconomic effects of U.S. Tariffs limited gains. Brent crude futures increased 62 cents or 0.9% to $67.51 per barrel at 0342 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude rose 68 cents or 1.1% to $65.03 per barrel. After Donald Trump's comments about the progress of talks with Moscow, both benchmarks fell about 1% on Wednesday to their lowest levels in eight weeks. A White House official stated on Wednesday that Trump could meet Russian President...

Wall Street indexes rose on Wednesday, boosted by a slew of positive corporate earnings. U.S. Yields also increased, but European shares ended flat, ending a two-day streak of gains. The U.S. president Donald Trump issued a executive order that imposed an additional 25% tariff for goods coming from India. He claimed the country had imported Russian oil. The oil prices sawsawed up and down as Trump's comments about progress in negotiations with Moscow caused uncertainty over whether the U.S. will impose new sanctions against Russia. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 0.65% to 932. Apple shares rose after...

Wall Street indexes rose Wednesday on the back of a largely positive corporate earnings report. U.S. yields were also up, but European shares ended flat, ending a two-day streak of gains. U.S. president Donald Trump has issued an executive directive imposing a 25% additional tariff on Indian goods, claiming that the country imported Russian oil. The oil prices fell after U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio said that a decision would be made later Wednesday about possible sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 0.72%, to 939.4. Wall Street saw the Dow...

Four industry sources say that Indian refiners await government instructions on whether they should continue to buy Russian oil, after the United States imposed new 25% tariffs on Indian products over New Delhi’s energy ties to Russia. The new duties are meant to penalise India for its Russian Oil imports. They come on top existing tariffs Washington levied in order to correct its trade deficit with South Asia. India called the latest U.S. actions "unfair, unreasonable and unjustified." An official of a private refinery company said, "We haven't heard anything from the government so we won't stop Russian oil imports."...

Markets and the Russian rouble held their breath Wednesday, as they awaited President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin meeting with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Witkoff had "useful" and "constructive" talks with Putin, a Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov stated, two days ahead of the deadline set by Donald Trump to have Russia agree to peace in Ukraine, or face new sanctions. LSEG compiled data based on OTC quotes that showed the rouble at 80 per dollar. The yuan was down 0.2% at the Moscow Stock Exchange. The main Russian stock market index fell by 0.15%. Analysts at T-Bank said that the market...

Steve Mallia, a Toronto-based telescope accessory manufacturer, was thriving up until March 2017, when the Trump Administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on orders bound for the U.S. that did not meet the local content requirements under the U.S. Mexico-Canada Agreement. The tariffs, which were imposed shortly after Donald Trump became president of the United States in January, prevented Mallia’s StarField Optics, from competing on its main market as many components used in their products came from China. When we began to sell in the U.S. business was very good. Mallia stated that they were profitable. "As the tariff began...

The dollar was unable to gain any ground on Wednesday due to growing Federal Reserve expectations of rate cuts. Investors were looking at weak U.S. economic data and warnings from corporations about the impact of tariffs. The EUROSTOXX futures are up 0.5%, indicating that European stocks will open higher. Novo Nordisk, a maker of wegovy, reported a second-quarter growth in sales of 18%. This was below the initial expectations by analysts. Nasdaq and S&P futures both rose 0.4% after a dip. After the bell, shares of AI chip maker Advanced Micro Devices fell 6.6% on disappointing data center revenue. Analysts...

Stella Qiu gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Stock investors aren't too worried about the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs on economic data and corporate earnings. The data showed that the U.S. services sector slowed down in July, as the employment rate continued to decline and input costs rose by the highest level in almost three years. This, combined with Friday's brutal jobs report, rekindled fears of stagflation and put the Federal Reserve into a difficult position. The impact of tariffs on U.S. earnings is becoming more evident, even though the results...

Wall Street indexes declined on Tuesday, as investors considered tariff concerns and weaker-than-expected U.S. data. Equities in Europe and Asia made gains. The U.S. service sector activity was flat in July, with no change in orders or employment and little improvement in the labor market. This is a sign of the uncertainty surrounding the tariff policy of President Donald Trump. U.S. Treasury rates were mostly higher but lost some gains following data showing a slowdown in the services sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.14% to 42,111.74. The S&P 500 lost 0.49% at 6,299.19. And the Nasdaq Composite fell...

Wall Street indexes declined on Tuesday due to weaker-than-expected U.S. data. Equities in Europe, however, made gains. The U.S. service sector activity was flat in July, with no change in orders or employment and little improvement in the jobs market. This is a sign of the uncertainty surrounding the effects of Trump's tariff policies on businesses. The U.S. Treasury yields recovered ground after the disappointing data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 67.10, or 0.15% to 44,106.54. The S&P 500 declined 23.05, or 0.36% to 6,306.89. And the Nasdaq Composite was down 89.87, or 0.43% to 20,963.73. Investors increased their...

After three days of declining oil prices, Tuesday's price was little changed. The market was still concerned about oversupply after OPEC+ decided to increase output by a large amount in September. However, the possibility of further Russian supply disruptions helped the market. Brent crude futures remained unchanged at $68.76 per barrel at 0036 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell 2 cents or 0.03% to $66.27 per barrel. Both contracts dropped by more than 1 percent in the session before, settling at their lowest levels in a full week. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its...

Wall Street indexes fell on Tuesday as U.S. economic figures were weaker than expected, while stocks in Europe and Asia rose. The U.S. service sector activity was flat in July, with no change in orders or employment. Input costs rose by the highest amount in almost three years. This highlights the uncertainty surrounding the impact of Trump’s tariff policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 40.08 points or 0.09% to 44,133.14. The S&P 500 declined 0.71 points or 0.01% to 6,329.23. And the Nasdaq Composite rose by 39.72 points or 0.19% to 21,093.99. Investors raised their bets that the Federal...

Investors raised their bets that the Federal Reserve will act to support the world's biggest economy. Global stocks rose again on Tuesday. U.S. stocks rallied Monday, boosted by generally positive earnings reports. Bets on a Fed rate cut in September increased after Friday's disappointing jobs report. The oil prices fell after OPEC+ increased their output, and gold was hovering near a week-high. Rodrigo Catril is a senior currency strategist with National Australia Bank. He said that there are signs of weakness within the U.S. The STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% to start the day in Europe. This is the second...

It would have been a bold prediction a couple of months back to claim that OPEC+ could bring back 2,5 million barrels of crude oil production per day and keep the price of oil at $70 a barrel. This is what happened, as the eight producers of the group rolled back their voluntary reductions of 2.2 million bpd by September and allowed a separate rise for the United Arab Emirates. Eight OPEC+ member countries met virtually on Sunday and agreed to increase output by 547,000 bpd in September. This is an addition to the 548,000 bpd increases for August, the...

Asian stocks fell on Thursday due to weaker than expected Chinese data and a drop in copper prices. The yen, however, firmed up after the Bank of Japan increased its inflation forecast and kept rates unchanged. The revised forecast indicated cautious optimism that Japan’s trade agreement with the U.S. will help the economy avoid a sharp downturn, and set the BOJ's interest rate hike later in the year. The yen rose 0.6% to 148.62 dollars per yen immediately after the central banks unanimously maintained short-term rates at 0.5%. The Japanese stock market showed no reaction to this decision, with the...

Asian stocks fell on Thursday, after weaker than expected Chinese data and a drop in copper prices. Investors also weighed the impact of a new trade agreement between South Korea & the U.S. Investors weighed the Federal Reserve's decision to keep rates unchanged and megacap tech companies' strong earnings when determining whether or not to buy the dollar. Nasdaq Futures soared 1.2% after Microsoft and Meta Platforms reported earnings that were better than expected. S&P futures rose 0.8% while the U.S. Dollar held steady following a two-month peak. Tony Sycamore is a market analyst with IG Sydney. He said that...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The Asian markets are quietly picking up after the U.S./EU Tariff Party turned out to be a failure. You felt relieved that only half of your house was destroyed. At least they didn't burn down the whole house. The euro has a slight firmer future and the dollar is steady at just below $1.1600. It was not surprising that the euro fell so quickly, given the crowded long euro/short-dollar trade. And it is suspected that speculators are soon going to sell the dollar. In...

The Japanese stock market reached a record high of one year on Wednesday, as the country signed a deal with the United States to lower tariffs on autos. This also revived hopes for an EU-US trade agreement that would boost European stock futures. Donald Trump said late Tuesday that a deal reached with Tokyo would see Japan pay a 15% lower tariff on all shipments to the U.S. The agreement came after the U.S. reached an agreement with the Philippines, where the U.S. will collect a tariff of 19% on imports. Trump said that representatives of the European Union would...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as OPEC, are both more conservative in their growth forecasts. The numbers contained in the monthly report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the broader OPEC+ are less optimistic. The IEA has largely predicted the same thing in its monthly report for July. It forecast that the global crude oil demand would grow by 700,000.00 barrels per day in 2025. This is the lowest growth rate since 2009. OPEC’s July report is a little more optimistic, predicting that oil demand will rise by 1,29 million bpd by 2025. Of this,...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as OPEC, are both more conservative in their growth forecasts. The numbers contained in the monthly report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the wider OPEC+ are less optimistic. The IEA has a similar view. In its monthly report for July, it predicted that the global crude oil demand would grow by 700,000.00 barrels per day in 2025. This is the lowest growth rate since 2009. OPEC’s July report is a little more optimistic, predicting that oil demand will rise by 1,29 million bpd by 2025. Of this, 1.16 million...

The Zambian government announced on Monday that it had signed an agreement paving the way for a crude oil refinery complex and energy facility worth $1.1 billion to be built in Ndola, in the copperbelt region of the country. A government statement stated that the planned facility would process around 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day, supplying enough refined products to meet all of Southern Africa's current fuel needs and possibly allowing future exports to neighboring countries. The statement also added that the project will save millions of dollars in fuel imports annually once it is completed. Construction is...

MSCI's global index of equity prices rose slightly, while U.S. Treasury rates fell and Wall Street stocks were little changed on Friday. Investors digested mixed economic data and waited to hear corporate earnings. They also monitored the latest U.S. trade threats. The University of Michigan released its Surveys of Consumers on Friday, which showed that while U.S. consumers' sentiment improved and their inflation expectations decreased, they still perceived a substantial risk of rising prices. A second report shows that U.S. homebuilding fell to an 11-month-low in June due to high mortgage rates, economic uncertainty and home purchase barriers. This suggests...

Global shares rose on Friday, as strong U.S. corporate earnings and economic data this week helped to ease tariff concerns. The yen was headed for a second consecutive weekly loss in advance of the crucial legislative election that will take place in Japan on Sunday. Stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales and jobless claims suggesting modest improvement in economic activity helped to push the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to close at record highs on Thursday. European and Asian stocks also gained on Friday. European stocks last rose 0.4%, while Asian shares outside Japan were up 0.9%. Wall Street futures also rose...