Crude Oil

The U.S. Trade Deficit widened in march as a boom in artificial intelligence investments pulled in imports. This more than offset an increase in exports which was partly boosted by crude?oil shipments?amid Middle East conflict. The Commerce Department's report on Tuesday confirmed the fact that the trade deficit was a drag in the economy during the first quarter. Imports of goods are expected to increase, due in part to the AI spending spree. The increase in imports can be offset by the rise in petroleum exports. This is because economists expect that the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran will...

The global stock market rose on Tuesday as a result of a string of strong earnings. Meanwhile, the oil price remained above $100 per barrel due to the'simmering hostilities' between the U.S.A. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. The yen was also on traders' minds after it briefly rose in the previous session, fueling speculation about another round of Tokyo intervention. The STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% in Europe. This was boosted by Anheuser-Busch shares, which surpassed expectations with their first-quarter results. Also, Unicredit, an Italian lender, reported record profits for the quarter. U.S. and Iran launched dueling maritime...

The global stock market rose on Tuesday as investors took heart from a series of robust earnings. Meanwhile, simmering hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz between the U.S.A. and Iran kept oil prices well above $100 per barrel. The yen was also on traders' minds after it briefly jumped during the previous session. This fueled speculation about another round of Tokyo intervention. The STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% in Europe. This was boosted by Anheuser-Busch shares, which surpassed expectations with their first-quarter results. Also, Unicredit, an Italian lender, reported record quarterly profits. On Monday, the U.S. launched new attacks on...

Rae Wee gives us a look at what the European and global markets will be like tomorrow. The operation "Project Freedom", led by U.S. president Donald Trump, hasn't started off well. The U.S. flagged Alliance Fairfax, operated by Maersk, may have left the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. Military assets. The U.S. also claimed to have destroyed six small Iranian boats. An oil port in United Arab Emirates that hosts a large U.S. base was also set on fire by Iranian missiles. Seoul's Foreign Ministry said, however, that the authorities would investigate the cause of the fire...

Oil prices rose 6% and stocks fell on Monday as Iran intensified its military campaign, attacking several ships in Strait of Hormuz?and?setting a UAE port of oil ablaze. Brent futures rose by $6.27 or 5.8% to $114.44 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), however, rose $4.48 or 4.4% to $106.42. The move came after U.S. president Donald Trump announced over the weekend that U.S. Navy forces would open the strait, leading to the biggest escalation of the war since the ceasefire was declared. Since two months, the Strait of Hormuz has been seriously disrupted. It is through this...

According to Xinhua, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on 'Saturday that it had issued a?injunction against U.S. sanctions imposed upon?five Chinese refining companies accused of allegedly buying Iranian oil. The Ministry named the five refineries as Hengli Petrochemical Refinery (Dalian), and so-called 'teapots' Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical, and Shandong Shengxing Chemical. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions in April on Hengli Petrochemical accusing the company of purchasing?billions in dollars of Iranian oil. This was an increase in Washington's ongoing effort to 'curb Tehran's revenue from oil. The Trump administration,?last year, imposed?sanctions against the...

Imperial Oil, a Canadian oil company, missed Friday's analysts' expectations for the?first quarter profit. Weaker crude realizations and unplanned outages at its facilities lowered?refinery?throughput. The geopolitical tensions that have been brewing in the Middle East have tightened the global oil supply. This has led to higher fuel prices. However, the gains are not enough for the weaker realisations and reduced downstream volumes. Imerial Oil refinery's quarterly?throughput dropped to 384,000 barrels a day (bpd), from 397,000 bpd?a year ago, and capacity utilization decreased to 88% from 90%, primarily due to unplanned outages and disruptions to synthetic crude feedstock. Early trading saw...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Investors in Asia are once again made to feel foolish by the U.S., who come in and buy stock like drunken sailors. Surging oil prices don't matter when tech earnings look so bright. Caterpillar, a company from the old economy, has also embraced AI. The demand for Caterpillar's power equipment in data centers helped it to surpass Street forecasts by almost 10% and increase its share price. Apple's results were also better than expected, but not as much as they have been in the...

As oil prices dropped and investors shifted to tech stocks due to positive earnings, the Asian stock markets recovered on Friday. Japan also stabilized its currency with the first yen buying intervention in over two years. Apple's 'upbeat sales outlook' and beating of forecasts 'amplified the cheer, but it warned about chip supply constraints. In extended trading, its shares rose 2.7%. This was on top of gains of 10% for both Caterpillar (which beat expectations) and Alphabet (which also exceeded expectations). S&P 500 rose more than 10% in April on the back of expectations for rising profits, while Nasdaq soared...

Residents of Tuapse, a Russian port city, were told not to drink the tap water on Thursday. Schools remained closed as officials dealt with the aftermath following the third Ukrainian drone strike against its oil refinery in the last month. Since Tuesday, the area has been under a state of?emergency? after an attack caused a massive fire to break out at the facility. This cut off production, and released slicks o oil into the water off the Black Sea Coast. The fire was out by Thursday morning. However, oil-stained beaches, polluted waterways and air in Tuapse show just how painful...

The Trump administration wants to lend up to 92.5 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to energy companies to help calm down oil markets which have risen due to the war against Iran. In March, the U.S. agreed to lend 172 million barrels of oil from the SPR. This was part of a larger agreement?with over 30 countries that are members of the International Energy Agency. The agreement also included the release?of about 400 million 'barrels? to relieve the markets. Fatih Birol is the head of IEA and he has stated that the 'war has caused the...

Oil prices rose Thursday after a report that the U.S. was considering military action against Iran to break the deadlock of negotiations to end the conflict. This increased concerns about more supply disruptions for already curtailed Middle East Exports. Brent crude futures, for June, rose by $5.27 or 4.5% to $123.30 per barrel at 0347 GMT, after rising 6.1% the previous session. The June contract expires Thursday. It has been increasing for nine days. The more active contract, the July contract, was trading at $113.10 up $2.66 or 2.4% after rising 5.8% the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures...

Anna Szymanski is the Editor-in Charge of Open Interest. Prices of oil jumped by 5% after Iran claimed it had stopped a U.S. ship from entering the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S., however, denied Iranian claims that it was hit by missiles. This came after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. was going to begin helping ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. The yen briefly rose?against?the dollar, as traders waited for more buying by Japan's Ministry of Finance following a suspected intervention last Thursday. Below, I'll go into more detail. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast. Subscribe to...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Strait?watching is back for a new week. Everyone is a shipping expert today and the Strait of Hormuz is where it's at. So President Trump surprised us this morning when he announced the launch of Project Freedom, which will help around 900'ships trapped in the Strait escape past the Iranians. The U.S. Central Command issued a short media release that said it would support merchant vessels in their quest to transit freely through this vital international trade corridor. CentCom has stated that this will...

Oil prices rose on Friday as efforts to resolve Iran conflict have hit a deadlock, with Tehran blocking the 'Strait of Hormuz while the U.S. Navy is blocking 'exports of Iranian crude. Brent crude futures rose $1.19 or 1.08% to $111.59 per barrel at 0149 GMT. West Texas Intermediate futures gained 39 cents or 0.37% to $105.46. Brent's June contract which expired on Friday, hit $126.41 per barrel, its highest price since March 2022. Since the U.S. and Israel's attack on Iran at the end of February, oil prices have been rising. This was due to the closing of the...

What's important in the U.S. and international markets today by Mike Dolan, Editor at Large,?Finance and Markets Today is the culmination of an eventful week, which includes the announcement of the interest rate by the Federal Reserve and the earnings reports of four U.S. Mega-caps. Unsurprisingly, the'red-hot' stock markets have cooled down in anticipation, including in?the supercharged chip and tech space. This tech retreat was partly triggered by an article stating that OpenAI missed its internal growth targets, putting into question the apparent boundless optimism about AI demand. Below, I will go into more detail. Check out my most recent...

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company notified customers that two crude grades could be 'loaded outside of the Gulf next month, as the Strait of Hormuz was closed. ADNOC is moving the crude grades Das and Upper Zakum from the terminals on Das Island (and Zirku Island) located in the Gulf, to outside locations for loading. The exports of these terminals are down dramatically as there have been fewer ships willing to cross the strait after the U.S. - Iran?war began in late February. ADNOC informed clients that it would make cargoes available to be loaded outside the Arabian Gulf on...

The markets found their feet in Asian trading on Wednesday, as concerns about the Iran conflict, the health of the AI industry, and corporate earnings eased. Investors also focused more attention on the Federal Reserve decision due later. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside of Japan reversed earlier losses and rose 0.2% as gains in Hong Kong stocks stabilized the index. The Japanese markets were closed on a public holiday. S&P 500 futures rose by 0.2% while Brent crude climbed 0.2% to $111.51 a barrel, as efforts to resolve the Iran conflict reached a deadlock. Kate Moore, Chief Investment Officer...

Oil futures rose Monday - as stalled U.S. - Iran peace talks indicated further disruption of Middle East energy exports. Global stocks also rose to'start a busy tech week with earnings reports and central banks decisions. Benchmark Brent crude futures are?up?just?a little more than 1% to $106.47 per barrel. They had traded at a session high of $108.50 earlier. MSCI's All-World Index rose by around 0.2% while Europe's STOXX 600 gained 0.53%. Markets in Asia rose to near record highs on a wave of AI-fueled optimism. Wall Street futures were largely steady. It's going to be a busy week. "It's...

Chicago wheat reached a ten-month high on Monday, with corn and'soybeans rising as well following gains in crude oil. U.S. - Iran peace?talks stalled causing Gulf shipping to be blocked. Chicago Board of Trade?most-active?Wheat increased 0.8% to reach $6.22 per bushel at 0936 GMT. It reached its highest level since June 2025. Soybeans increased by 0.2%, to $11.81-3/4 bushels. Corn was up by 1.0%, at $4.68-1/4 bushels. Johnny Xiang of Beijing's AgRadar Consulting said that the main influence on prices is the rising crude oil price. The grain markets were supported by the rising?crude prices which rose nearly 3% on...

Trade sources say that the?exports of Northeast Asian jet fuel and spot diesel are expected to recover in May, as refiners take advantage of?record margins?and an improved crude oil supply. Data showed that refiners in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan sold more diesel and jet-fuel cargoes loading during May than in April. However, the volume was still below pre-Iran War levels. This month, the refining margins for Asia reached a record high of $60 per barrel. The increase in exports helped to ease the record spot premiums of diesel and jet fuel that were affecting countries in Asia Pacific, as...

As U.S. and Iran 'peace talks' stalled at the weekend, Gulf shipping was blocked. As of 0112 GMT the most active soybean contract traded on the Chicago Board of Trade had risen 0.28% to $11.81-3/4 per bushel. This was the third straight session that the contract gained. Soyoil rose 0.95%, to 72.01 cents a pound. Johnny Xiang of Beijing's AgRadar Consulting said that prices are mainly influenced by a spillover effect from rising crude oil. The grain markets were supported by the soaring crude oil prices which rose almost 2% on Monday, and also the closure of the Strait of...

Analysts and refinery sources say that Asian refining output is expected to fall in April and may as 'crude imports have hit a decade-low and the Iran War forces refiners into processing lighter grades. This will reduce diesel and jet fuel production by at least 1 million barrels a day. The Strait of Hormuz closure has had the greatest impact on Asia. This region, which accounts for 37% of global refinery output, and normally sources two thirds of its?crude? from the Middle East. Run cuts at refiners have exacerbated the tight fuel supply in the area and kept prices high....

The global oil market has been predicting that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed for a short time, and the disruption of crude and refined product supply will also be brief. This expectation is reflected in the price of crude oil futures. Although they have increased sharply since February 28, the prices are still far below the highs achieved in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The paper crude market, in effect, has believed U.S. president Donald Trump's social media posts that have been made since the bombing began, that the?conflict?will be over soon and Iran...