Crude Oil

Asian shares fell from record highs Thursday, as oil prices 'extended their gains due to renewed shipping problems?in Gulf. This underscored fragile risk sentiment in the face of a 'peace deal that eludes both the U.S. European stocks are preparing for a weaker opening, with panregional futures down 1,1%. Wall Street futures fell 0.5% in Asia. Overnight, S&P 500 rose 1%, and Nasdaq rose 1.6%, to set new record-closing heights. This was helped by the strong start of earnings season, which has eased consumer concerns over the U.S. economy despite the rising cost of energy due to the "Iran War"....

Rae Wee gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. When you're always looking over your shoulder, it's difficult to?pop the champagne. Asian stocks took the lead on Wall Street to reach all-time highs, but investors were not spared much in 'the Middle East War as the standoff between Iran & U.S. continued. In Asia, there were some good news. SK Hynix set a record quarterly profit. South Korea's economic growth was the fastest in six years. And Japan's manufacturing sector expanded at its highest pace in four years. The big question is whether...

Asian shares followed Wall Street higher Thursday, led by record highs in Japan,?South Korea, and Taiwan as investors shrugged?higher?oil prices due to more shipping woes from the Gulf, and focused instead on strong corporate earnings. The S&P 500 rose 1% overnight and the Nasdaq jumped 1,6% to close on new records. This was helped by a good start to the earnings season, which has eased consumer concerns in the U.S. despite the rising cost of energy due to the Iran War. This was despite the fact that oil prices had risen for the fourth consecutive day. Iran captured two container...

Tax deadlines in the U.S. are April 15th. This date is often met with both anticipation and dread. The filing process can be a chore, but the possibility of a windfall refund is also exciting. This year's refund may be much larger than normal, and the timing could not be more perfect. Goldman Sachs economists estimate that tax refunds will be 17% higher this year than last, which would mean a windfall of $50 billion for consumers by the end May compared to the same time last year. The fuel price spike that followed the Iran War two months ago...

Tax deadlines in the U.S., such as April 15, are often met with both anticipation and dread -- the "administrative grind" of filing and the possibility of a windfall refund. This year's refund may be much larger than usual and could not come at a better time. Goldman Sachs economists estimate that tax refunds will be 17% higher this year than they were last year. This means consumers could receive $50 billion more by the end of the month compared to last year. The increase in fuel prices following the Iran War two months ago should provide a much-needed boost...

Kevin Warsh believes that the Federal Reserve will be successful if no one talks about inflation. The Fed nominee is unlikely to be able to please President Obama anytime soon in order for him achieve this goal. Trump reiterated his position on interest rates just over an hour before Warsh's confirmation hearing began in the?Congress. He told CNBC that he would not be happy if the Fed Chair?didn't lower borrowing costs as soon as she took office. Warsh was grilled by the Senate Banking Committee for more than two hours. He defended Fed independence and insisted that Trump never asked...

Ankur Banerjee gives us a look at what the day will bring for the European and global market. An indefinite ceasefire in the Middle East, which may or may not be agreed upon by all parties, but is expected by the markets?will likely keep April's risk momentum intact. This will allow investors to concentrate primarily on corporate earnings and economic statistics. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, appeared to announce unilaterally a ceasefire agreement extension hours before it was set to expire. However, it is unclear whether Iran or the U.S. ally Israel have or would accept the new arrangement. Trump...

U.S. crude prices rose early on Wednesday despite Washington's announcement that it would extend the ceasefire indefinitely with?Iran. This was due to uncertainty surrounding?peace negotiations?and the?Strait of Hormuz remaining effectively closed. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures rose as high as $90.70 a barrel, and were trading up 59 cents or 0.7% at $90.26 at 2215 GMT. The benchmark contract rose 2.8% Tuesday. U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would "indefinitely" extend the ceasefire agreement with Iran hours before its expiration date, in order to allow both countries to continue their peace talks and end the war which has...

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Tuesday, following their global counterparts. Crude prices also rose amid concern over the latest developments in the Iran War. The?three major U.S. indexes all extended their losses towards the end of the session, after Iran refused to participate in a?second round?of negotiations. It said it would only do so if the United States abandoned its policy of threats and pressure. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced that he would extend the ceasefire until a proposal from Iran is received. Iran's action follows the U.S. force's seizure by the Iranian flagged container ship Touska to...

Wall Street stocks followed their global counterparts down on Tuesday, and crude prices continued to rise as optimism faded over peace negotiations and the expiration of the U.S. Iran ceasefire loomed. The three main?U.S. The three major?U.S. Iran has not yet decided whether it will send a delegation for peace talks in Islamabad at the eleventh hour after U.S. troops seized an Iranian oil tanker on international waters as part of President Donald Trump's ban. Chuck Carlson is chief executive officer of Horizon Investment Services, based in Hammond, Indiana. "What's going on in the Middle East will be the primary...

The fluid ?catalytic cracker of Venezuela's ?second-largest refinery, ?the 310,000-barrel-per-day ?Cardon, was restarting on Monday after a power outage affected the entire refinery last week, two workers from the facility said. One source said that workers were also restarting Cardon’s naphtha refinery on Monday. This would result in a total crude processing capacity of 237,000 bpd at Cardon, and its linked Amuay refining facility, or about 25% of combined installed capacity. PDVSA's state-owned energy company is prone to blackouts and other outages, which limit its fuel production for domestic distribution. The company has been granted U.S. licenses to import the...

Stock futures and oil prices fell Monday, as rising tensions in the Middle East slowed shipping into and out of Gulf. However, traders held out hope for a solution and Asia's equity markets soared to record highs. Brent crude futures rose?about 6 percent to $95.36 per barrel. S&P 500 Futures dropped around 0.6%, and European Futures fell by 1.2%. Equity benchmarks in Seoul and Taipei, as well as Tokyo, shrugged off the risks and advanced, with Taiwan shares reaching a new record high, and the others not far behind. Iran has reinstated its de facto closing of the Strait of...

The oil prices continued to rise 'on Thursday, despite the fact that 'peace talks' between Iran and the United States had stalled and both countries maintained their restrictions on trade flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures were up $1.37 or 1.3% to $103.28 per barrel at 0410 GMT after Wednesday's settlement above $100 was the first in over two weeks. West Texas Intermediate futures also rose $1.52 or 1.6% to $94.48. The benchmarks for both closed Wednesday more than $3 higher after larger-than expected?gasoline stock withdrawals in the U.S. and the failure of the Iran peace talks....

U.S. president Donald Trump dismissed Monday his top energy official's view that gasoline prices won't drop until 2027. He said Americans can expect lower costs once the Iran War ends. Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy Secretary, told CNN on Sunday that gasoline prices below $3 per gallon could happen this year but that it might not be until next year. "I don't think he is right on that." Trump said to a reporter for The Hill that he was "totally wrong" and added that the prices would be expected to drop as soon as this conflict ended. Wright, who was...

Two EU diplomats have said that the?European Union?will expand the criteria?of their Iran sanctions to include the individuals responsible for?blocking?the Strait?of Hormuz.?The Strait?of Hormuz has been?largely closed for nearly two months, upsetting global energy and commodity markets. After U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran began on 28 February, Tehran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz. This cut off roughly one-fifth the world's supply of oil and liquefied gas. After Iran briefly opened the strait on Friday, more than a dozen oil tankers passed through it. However, the ceasefire agreement is now in jeopardy after the United States seizes an...

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...

The oil prices fell by 13% after Iran's Foreign Minister said that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to all commercial vessels for the remainder of the ceasefire period. U.S. president Donald Trump also said Iran had agreed not to close the strait ever again. Brent crude futures dropped $12.87 or 12.95 percent to $86.52 per barrel at 10:50 am EDT (1450 GMT) after hitting a session's low of $86.09. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures fell $13.50 or 14.26% to $81.19 per barrel after reaching $80.56. Both contracts traded at their lowest since March 10 and were set...

Early Friday morning, oil prices dropped on the optimism that the Middle East conflict could be coming to an end. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect after the inauguration of the ceasefire. Moreover, 'President Donald Trump' said the U.S. may hold talks with Iran over the weekend. Brent crude futures fell $1.34 or 1.35% to $98.05 per barrel at 0021 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures declined $1.65 or 1.74% to $93.40 per barrel, reducing gains from the previous day. Trump addressed a major sticking point in talks to end the Iran War, which has...

Per Jansson, Riksbank's deputy governor, said that the central bank of Sweden must be alert to the potential effects on inflation caused by the war in the Middle East, particularly the rising energy prices. Jansson stated that the war caused considerable uncertainty but that it was very different than the situation in 2022 when inflation started to soar. He cited lower inflationary pressures and weaker demand, as well as a stronger Swedish krona. Jansson summarized a speech by saying, "This means that the risk is spillover effects are lower now than they were?then." He said that the impact of higher...

Last week, the U.S. almost became a net oil exporter for the first since World War Two. Shipments surged to near-record highs to meet the demand of Asian and European buyers scrambling in order to replace Middle East supply?cut off by the Iran War. The U.S.-Israeli war against?Iran has caused the biggest ever disruption in the global energy markets. Iranian threats have stopped a fifth of oil and gas from the world transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Refiners who depend on these supplies in Asia and Europe have purchased alternative cargoes wherever possible, thereby boosting the demand for oil...

In its Fiscal Monitor report, released on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund stated that the war in the Middle East had intensified the strains already present in an already fragile fiscal situation. Higher interest rates and rising energy prices have already fueled calls for assistance from developing countries and emerging markets. Rodrigo Valdes is the new head of fiscal affairs at the IMF. He said that countries should avoid fuel subsidies in order to help their citizens cope with an oil shortage and a corresponding rise in energy prices. He said that targeted, temporary cash transfers would be the better...

Financial markets are diverging as the conflict in the Middle East enters its eighth week. The U.S. stock market has?wiped out the losses since the beginning of the war. But oil prices remain punishingly high and are dragging down both government bonds as well as gold. Also, there are dramatic differences in emerging markets. Brazilian markets have risen and China has seen healthy inflows. However, smaller, energy-dependent economies are struggling. Markus Hansen said that the U.S. could manage an oil price shock this long, but Asia was more vulnerable. Hansen said that he used the drop in prices to buy...

South Korea has purchased 273 million barrels of crude oil from the Middle East and Kazakhstan by the end of this year. Supplies are being routed outside of the Strait of Hormuz. Kang, who was visiting as a presidential special envoy in Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia over the last week, said that Asia's fourth largest economy had also acquired 2.1 million tons of naphtha during the same time period. Kang stated that "in particular, the crude and naphtha obtained this time would be sourced via alternative supply routes, unrelated to the closure of the Strait?Hormuz. This will make a...

Sinopec, the state-owned oil company of China, has purchased Russian crude oil in order to replace Middle Eastern oil after a temporary suspension of sanctions by the United States to ease global supply shortages. Sinopec purchased between 8 and 10 cargoes a year of ESPO blend oil from the eastern port Kozmino. Another source estimated that Sinopec bought about 10 cargoes a year of ESPO. Each ESPO shipment is 740,000 barrels. Sinopec purchased the cargoes for a premium of between $8 and $10 per barrel over ICE Brent. Before the Iran conflict, Russian crude was traded at a discount ranging...