Energy Markets

A spokesperson for the Interior Department said that, two days after a disappointing Montana auction, the Trump administration had postponed an auction of coal leases scheduled to take place on federal land in Wyoming. According to contingency plan published last week, the Bureau of Land Management (a division of Interior) was expected to continue processing permits and leasings for oil and gas operations and coal during the shutdown. Wednesday morning, a sale of 3,508 acres federal coal reserves located in Wyoming's Campbell County and Converse county was scheduled. The lease area has 365,000,000 tons of recoverable coking coal. Interior announced...

Exxon Mobil returned to Iraq two years after it left, signing an agreement on Wednesday with Iraq to develop the large Majnoon Oilfield and expand their oil export infrastructure. OPEC’s second-largest producer wants to attract Western oil majors back and increase production, which has been constrained for years by wars, corruption and religious tensions. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that Exxon had signed a deal, but provided few details. According to four sources familiar with the situation, the agreement will include a profit sharing agreement for crude oil and refined oil products as well as plans to upgrade...

Investors jumped on Wednesday as they seized on the prospect of lower rates and shrugged off the political drama in France, Japan, and the United States. Meanwhile, a prolonged U.S. shutdown pushed gold to $4,000 an ounce for first time. Gold prices have risen 50% in the past year due to the prospect of Federal Reserve rate cuts and the demand for safe-haven assets resulting from political and economic concerns. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven during periods of economic and political instability. The weaker dollar has also been a factor in this rally. It was driven by...

Nestle, a food group, announced on Wednesday that it has withdrawn from the global alliance to reduce methane emissions. The alliance aims at reducing the impact of milk farming on global climate change. In December 2023 the Dairy Methane Action Alliance, a group of companies including Danone, Kraft Heinz, and Starbucks, was formed. Members have committed to measure and report methane emissions in their dairy supply chain and to publish plans for reducing those emissions. Nestle didn't say why it pulled out of the Alliance, but it said that it would work towards reducing greenhouse gases, including methane throughout its...

Sources in the trade said that traders offering Russian oil are now asking Indian refiners to make payments in Chinese Yuan. They see recent signs of improved relations between New Delhi, China and Beijing as an opportunity to simplify transactions with Indian buyers. Indian Oil Corp, India's largest refiner and state-controlled company, paid in Chinese currency recently for two or three cargoes worth of Russian oil. Indian Oil has not responded to the request for comment immediately. Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have led to a greater use of alternative currencies such as the...

The major stock indexes declined on Tuesday. The S&P 500 ended lower after recent records highs. Investors were looking at political turmoil in France, Japan, and the U.S. shutdown. Gold futures also hit $4,000 per ounce for the very first time. The demand for gold as a safe haven has been driven by the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. shutdown and expectations of another U.S. rate cut. U.S. Gold futures for delivery in December settled at $4,004.4. This is a 0.7% increase. It is the seventh day of the shutdown. The euro dropped against the U.S. Dollar for the second day,...

StoneX, a consultancy, said that Brazil's imports of diesel in September reached their highest level since 2023. This was due to a sharp increase in U.S. volume to compensate for declining Russian supplies, amid high agricultural demand. Why it's important The increase in imports is a reflection of the robust domestic demand that Brazil experiences during its soybean planting season, and reflects global market shifts as a result of disruptions in Russian exports. Brazil imports about 20% of its total diesel consumption. By the Numbers In September, total diesel imports reached 1,77 billion liters. This represents a 9.4% rise on...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday that the Short-Term Energy Outlook, or STEO, will show record levels of natural gas production and demand in 2025. EIA predicted that dry gas production would increase from 103.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2024, to 107.1 bcfd by 2025, and 107.4bcfd by 2026. This compares to a record of 103.6 bcfd for 2023. The agency also predicted that domestic gas demand will increase from 90.5 bcfd, a record in 2024, to 91.6 bcfd by 2025 and 2026. The EIA forecasts from September were 106.6 bcfd in production and 91.5...

Sources in the trade said that traders offering Russian oil are now asking Indian refiners to make payments in Chinese Yuan. They see recent signs of improved relations between New Delhi, China and Beijing as an opportunity to simplify transactions with Indian buyers. Indian Oil Corp, India's largest refiner and state-controlled company, paid in Chinese currency recently for two or three cargoes worth of Russian oil. Indian Oil has not responded to the request for comment immediately. Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have led to a greater use of alternative currencies such as the...

By David Sherfinski Trump dismissed climate change last month as a "con-job"; now, his Department of Energy is telling its staff not to use language that contradicts the president's views about climate science. The Trump administration has taken a series of steps to ban, limit or dismiss climate change-related issues and phrases across the federal government. Jean Su, director of the energy justice program at Center for Biological Diversity (an advocacy group), said: "This is a big move for blanket censorship in science and on climate." When we erase these words, then we are actually erasing reports. We are erasing...

Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday as a smaller-than-expected November output hike by OPEC+ helped to ease some fears of a growing supply glut. Brent crude futures rose 23 cents or 0.35% to $65.70 per barrel at 0356 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude climbed 21 cents or 0.34% to $61.90. The previous session saw both contracts settle more than 1% above the previous one after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other smaller producers - also known as OPEC+ – decided to increase their collective oil production from November by 137,000 barrels a day. Analysts at...

Delek US Holdings sued London's Marex Group, and Texas' BTX Energy. They were accused of supplying contaminated oil which damaged its U.S. refining plant and caused losses of more than $30,000,000. Delek, in a court filing in Texas Chambers County District Court, said that it started buying crude oil from Pinnacle Fuel back in January. Deliveries were handled by BTX Energy’s terminal in Winnie. According to the complaint, Delek detected abnormally high levels organic chlorides by February in its Heavy Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit. Marex declined comment, and BTX Energy didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Delek claims that tests...

Investors waited to see minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting on Wednesday, and gold continued its recent rally over $4,000 per ounce. A prolonged U.S. shutdown coupled with expectations for further U.S. rate cuts drove the demand for this safe-haven investment. Gold, traditionally seen as an investment during periods of uncertainty, has gained 54% this year, after having gained 27% in 2024. Gold spot was up last 1.41%, at $4,039.81 per ounce. U.S. gold contracts for December delivery were up 1.5%, to $4,063.70. Gold Fields shares, listed in the United States, rose 3.8%. The Japanese yen fell to its...

The dollar strengthened on Wednesday, as investors dealt with the political turmoil in France and Japan. Meanwhile, a prolonged U.S. shutdown pushed gold spot prices above $4,000 an ounce for the very first time. Gold prices have been driven higher by the prospect of rate cuts in the future from Federal Reserve, and demand for safe havens due to economic and politics worries. Gold spot prices rose by 1%, to $4,021.22 an ounce. This brings the gains this year above 50%. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven during times of uncertainty. This rally was also driven by central...

Taiwan's Economy Minister said on Wednesday, that private refiners would be willing to stop purchasing Russian naphtha if the EU asked them. This comes after a group non-governmental organizations criticized the island's continuing business with Russia. Taiwan, along with the United States, major Western allies, and other countries, put broad sanctions against Russia in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine, but it did not ban explicitly imports, which are a major source of hard currency for Russia. A group of NGOs, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air(CREA), criticised Taiwan for its continued imports Russian naphtha last...

Investors were weighed down by the political fallout in France and Japan. Meanwhile, a prolonged U.S. shutdown pushed gold spot prices up to a record level of $4,000 an ounce. The Japanese yen was hovering near its eight-month-low as investors awaited the fiscal policy direction of prime minister-in waiting Sanae Takaichi. Meanwhile, the euro was under stress after French Prime Minister Sebastien lecornu's resignation on Monday. The dollar was a bit more optimistic. The dollar index (which measures the U.S. money against six other currencies) hit its highest level in August. However, sentiment was still gloomy as the shutdown entered...

The major stock indexes dipped on Monday. Investors were watching political turmoil in France, Japan, and the U.S. shutdown. Gold futures also hit $4,000 per ounce, a first. Gold's rally was fueled in part by the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. government shutdown. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.6% to $3,998.50 after reaching a high price of $4,009.00. Investors waited to see what happened in France where the shock occurred. You can also find out more about the company by clicking here. Sebastien lecornu, the Prime Minister of Canada, raised concerns on Monday about the fiscal outlook for...

Malaysian palm futures fell for the second session in a row on Monday. Profit-taking weighed them down, but concerns about a fall in production supported prices. At the close, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange for December delivery fell 6 ringgit or 0.14% to 4,436 Ringgit ($1,052.93) per metric ton. It closed Friday at 4,442 Ringgit, a 0.09% decrease. Anilkumar bagani, research head at Mumbai-based Sunvin Group, said that the fall in crude palm oil futures was due to profit-taking, amid market speculation about a possible increase in import duties for vegetable oils by India. Bagani...

Industry and government sources claim that India's private power producers are urging the government to allow the importation of equipment from China. They say the domestic resources available in the country are not enough and expensive, and the country is looking to increase its coal-based generation. India's Ministry of Power, as part of its "Make in India", mandated that homemade equipment be used in 2021. The initiative was designed to boost local manufacturing. This programme was also launched at a time of high diplomatic tensions between China and India. According to a letter that was reviewed by, the Association of...

As markets assessed the likelihood of a U.S. shutdown, which would delay release of closely-watched jobs data, shares in Asia rose on Tuesday. Gold also maintained its record rise. As widely anticipated, the Australian dollar gained after the central banks held rates at their current levels. Oil prices fell due to expectations of increased production by OPEC+. Meanwhile, China's manufacturing activity declined for a sixth consecutive month in September. After little progress was made in budget negotiations between Donald Trump and Democratic opposition, U.S. vice president JD Vance stated that the government "seemed to be headed for a shutdown". The...

Sony Financial shares jumped up to 40% on their Tokyo debut after being spun off from the entertainment and technology conglomerate Sony. Sony, which focuses on entertainment, distributed shares of its finance division, including banking and insurance, through dividends-in-kind to shareholders. This is the first partial spinoff in Japan to take advantage of the 2023 tax changes and the first direct listing for more than two decades. After trading for the first hour and thirteen minutes in Tokyo at 10:13 am, the shares reached 210 yen before trading at 201.6 at 10:30 am. The reference price is 150 yen. Direct...

China's Foreign Ministry said that the EU's climate chief's criticisms of China's climate pledges show "double standards" and "selective blindness", accusing them of slow action on their own climate targets. China pledged earlier this week to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 7% and a 10% reduction by 2035 compared to their peak levels as part of the new targets for its nationally determined contributions. Wopke hoekstra, the European Union's climate commissioner, called the goal "clearly disappointed". The Chinese Foreign Ministry appeared to make a reference to this statement without directly addressing it. A day earlier Donald Trump, the U.S. president,...

Ilya Rebrov, the deputy director general of Rosatom's Chinese division, was quoted on Thursday as saying that Rosatom had made significant progress in placing bonds on the Chinese market. Interfax reported that Rebrov stated that a placement would take months or even weeks. He said that despite the "pressure" Russian industry was under, Rosatom managed to get a rating by a Chinese credit rating agency. It also took decisions which had brought it closer to its goal of being able raise debts in China. Atomenergoprom, Rosatom's power unit, received a "AAA" credit rating in April from China's Dagong Global Capital...

The price of palm oil futures in Malaysia fell more than 2% Tuesday. It was the lowest since 8 August, after Argentina, which is a major exporter of soyoil, temporarily removed its export tax. This made soyoil less expensive than palm oil. After a slight rise of 0.41% in the previous session, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange fell 102 ringgit or 2.3% to 4,341 Ringgit ($1,034.56) per metric ton. Paramalingam Supramaniam is the director of Selangor brokerage Pelindung Bestari. He said that the Argentina news caused a massive selloff on the Chicago and Dalian market....