Energy Markets

The U.S. Dollar remained stagnant as the European Central Bank released its outlook on a turbulent global economy. Dollar fell in the previous session due to weak U.S. data on jobs and services. Friday will bring more important employment data. The damage to the U.S. economic system is becoming more evident as a result of President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies, and bilateral agreements remain unrealised. The European Union and Canada reported progress in their trade negotiations with Washington. In this context, the market will be paying greater attention to any signals that Christine Lagarde gives about her future plans....

By Manuela Andreoni & Ricardo Brito SAO PAULO - Brazilian prosecutors have filed a lawsuit on June 3 to cancel a $180m carbon offset scheme that the state of Para, in partnership with major corporations and foreign governments signed last year. The case could be a major blow to both the government of Para which is hosting the United Nations Climate Summit, also known as COP30 this year, and the carbon credit market in general, which looked to government programs to help address fraud and abuse concerns. Amazon.com Inc. and at least five companies have agreed to buy the credits...

Ayatollah Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said that Tehran would not abandon its uranium-enrichment program, and rejected a U.S. request aimed at ending a decades long nuclear dispute. He said the demand was against Iran's interests. The U.S. proposal to a new nuclear deal Oman, the Middle East envoy of President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, presented a letter to Iran on Sunday. Iran insists on maintaining its uranium-enrichment program on its own soil, and Tehran refuses to send its entire stockpile of highly-enriched uranium abroad - a possible raw material for nuclear weapons. Khamenei...

Early Asian trade on Tuesday saw oil prices fall, weighed by a loosening of the supply-demand equilibrium following an increase in OPEC+ production and lingering worries about global economic prospects due to tensions over tariffs. Brent crude futures fell 5 cents or 0.1% to $65.58 a barge by 0040 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was $63.32 a barge, down 9 cents or 0.1%. The benchmarks rose about 2% to their highest level in two weeks on Tuesday, boosted by concerns over disruptions to supply from wildfires in Canada and the expectation that Iran would reject a U.S. proposal...

By Manuela Andreoni & Ricardo Brito SAO PAULO - Brazilian prosecutors have filed a lawsuit to cancel a $180m carbon offset scheme that was signed by the state of Para last year, with the support of a coalition of large corporations and wealthy governments. The lawsuit is a strong blow for the government of Para which will host the next global summit on climate change, COP30. It also strikes the carbon credit industry in general, who had been struggling to reposition themselves after years of being accused of fraud and abuse. Para is home to one of the most fragile...

Texas removed BlackRock on Tuesday from a list that was seen as boycotting energy companies. The New York asset manager only won this step after it drastically reduced its climate goals. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar stated that the decision was a reflection of BlackRock's withdrawal from climate-related industry groups such as the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. Hegar also pointed out that the firm had lowered its support of shareholder environmental resolutions, and supported a new Texas Stock Exchange. BlackRock has "acknowledged the real social costs and economic costs that are incurred by limiting investments in the oil and natural...

The wildfires in Canada's oil producing province of Alberta has reduced Canada's daily crude output by approximately 7%. The following is a list of oil production sites that have been affected so far. CENOVUS Energy - CHRISTINA LAKE SITE: On May 29, Cenovus began to shut down production of approximately 238,000 barrels a day at its Christina Lake facility south of Fort McMurray in Alberta. The company stated that it was not aware of any damages to its infrastructure, and anticipates a full site restart in the near future. CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES – JACKFISH LAKE: Canada’s largest oil-and-gas producer announced...

Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with Constellation Energy, which will keep a reactor in Illinois operational for the next 20 years. This is the first time a Big Tech company has made a deal with atomic power plants. Share Reaction Constellation Energy's shares rose 13.4% in premarket trading to $355.5. Why it's important The Big Tech Companies are seeking to secure electricity, as the U.S. demand for power has risen for the first two decades due to artificial intelligence and data centres. Illinois helps to subsidise Constellation's Clinton Clean Energy Center nuclear plant with...

The oil prices rose on Tuesday due to concerns over supply. Iran is set to reject the U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal that would ease sanctions on the country's largest oil producer. A weaker dollar also helped to support prices. Brent crude futures rose 21 cents or 0.32% to $64.84 per barrel at 0437 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 27 cents or 0.43% to $62.79 per barrel after rising by about 1% in the previous session. In a report, ING analysts said that the oil market gained on Monday due to rising geopolitical risk and a...

On Monday, the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump proposed rolling back Biden's limits on oil drilling in Alaska. This area is the largest undeveloped public land tract in America. This move is in line with Trump's energy agenda, which includes reducing regulations on oil and gas production and increasing domestic fuels. The Alaska National Petroleum Reserve is made up of 10.6 million acres (4.39 million hectares). NPR-A is the name given to a 23 million-acre (9,3 million-hectare) area of Alaska's North Slope, which was designated in 1923 for emergency oil supplies by the U.S. Navy. In the 1970s, the...

The budget of President Donald Trump proposes that the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve be closed as soon as a few weeks. This reserve, which contains 1 million barrels and was created to protect consumers, stores diesel. The reserve created by the former president Bill Clinton in 2000 is enough to heat homes for approximately 10 days. The reserve hasn't been used since 2012 when emergency responders were provided with fuel in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. According to the proposal, proceeds from the sale of ultra-low sulfur fuel in fiscal year 2020 would be used for deficit reduction. The...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Is it the dog that did not bark? Sherlock Holmes fans would ask this question given the complete lack of reaction from the market to President Donald Trump's threat to double steel and aluminum tariffs up to 50%. The policy change was announced via tweet late Friday, after the markets had closed. There were some expectations of an impact on the Canadian dollar today, given the size of the steel exports from Canada to the U.S. The loonie has actually strengthened against a generally...

The dollar weakened as U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum increased, and Asian stocks rose. This marks the latest chapter of the trade war which has roiled the markets throughout the year. Investors have been focused on the pace and lack of progress in trade negotiations. The deadline for U.S. trade partners to submit proposals for deals in order to avoid Trump's "Liberation Day", hefty tariffs, is Wednesday. The European Stock Futures market pointed to an opening higher as the European Central Bank began its two-day meeting, where it was expected to reduce rates on Thursday. South Korea's currency and...

The price of Malaysian palm oil futures increased on Tuesday as a result of the stronger Dalian edible oil market, and India's reduced basic import tax for crude edible oils. By midday, the benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in August on the Bursa Derivatives exchange had gained 89 Ringgit or 2.29% to $3,967 Ringgit ($934.07) per metric ton. The Chinese edible oil market is a major driver of palm oil futures, and the demand outlook has improved since India, the largest importer of crude edible oils, announced a decrease in import duties. India reduced the basic import duty on...

Asia shares were slightly higher in Asia on Tuesday, while the dollar dropped to a six week low. Investors turned defensive as the erratic U.S. policies clouded the market sentiment. White House Press Secretary Karoline Laavitt announced on Monday that U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would likely speak this week. This comes after Trump had accused Beijing of breaking an agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers. Markets will closely monitor the call between the leaders, as tensions in trade between the world's largest economies continue to simmer due to tariffs. Monday's data showed that U.S....

The company stated that Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), has reduced its monthly forecast for Murban oil from August until next May in order to increase the processing at its refinery. ADNOC's August export forecast for the light Murban grade is 1.705 millions barrels per day, according to a report published by the company on Saturday. This is 65,000 bpd less than the previous forecast of 1.77 million. ADNOC has also reduced the forecast from September 2025 through May 2026, by between 100,000 and 177,000 bpd. However, forecast volumes for July and June 2025 remain unchanged. In the report,...

Analysts and traders agree that the prospects for iron ore price are improving due to a smaller than expected global surplus in this year. However, new supply coming from the massive Simandou project, located in Guinea, remains a downside risk on a longer-term basis. More than a dozen analysts and traders interviewed at this week's Singapore International Ferrous Week said that their forecasts of oversupply for this year have been reduced from 50,000,000 tons to between 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 metric tons. The reason is that demand has been resilient this year, thanks to strong steel exports. Buyers stocked up on...

The dollar gained on Wednesday, as the United States economy showed promising signs and speculation about strong tech earnings. The markets welcomed the apparent easing of trade frictions between Europe and the U.S., while global bond market settled after an alarming surge in long term yields. The U.S. consumer sentiment surprised to the upside before Thursday's closely watched employment figures. Nvidia's shares jumped by more than 4% on Tuesday and it will be the final of the Magnificent Seven tech giants in the U.S. to announce earnings after the close of U.S. markets. Chris Weston is the head of Pepperstone's...

Nuclear technology company Oklo announced on Tuesday that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the development of Oklo’s planned Aurora powerhouse with South Korea’s nuclear plant operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. In morning trading, shares of Oklo rose 1.9% to $49.71. Oklo said that the MOU also outlines plans for collaboration on the development of advanced nuclear technology worldwide. The nuclear industry is in high demand because it's considered a cleaner fuel source and more reliable than solar or wind energy. The U.S. president Donald Trump signed Friday executive orders to jumpstart nuclear industry. These orders...

Bond vigilantes continue to monitor global debt markets, keeping dollar and stock prices subdued as the U.S. House of Representatives passes President Donald Trump's 'big beautiful' tax bill with a single-vote. Wall Street was expected to open slightly higher on Thursday after it fell on Wednesday, when the lackluster sales of long-term U.S. government bonds and Japanese debt highlighted the growing unease over rising government debt. This reinforced the "Sell America' narrative in the minds of investors after Moody's became the last major credit rating agency to strip the U.S. from its coveted Triple-A status last week. The yields on...

Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkish Energy Minister, said that Turkey has been in discussions with Candu Energy of Canada and other companies about plans to build Turkey's second and third nuclear plants. Bayraktar, who spoke to journalists during a trip to southeast Turkey Monday, said that Turkey wanted to "put names" on the projects it planned for this year. "Russia, South Korea, and China are all interested in the second or third power plant. He said that in addition to the countries and companies mentioned above, we were also in negotiations with other nations. Canada is one of them. "The Candu company,"...

Automakers said that the U.S. Transportation Department will declare that the fuel economy regulations issued by then-President Joe Biden, which included electric vehicles when setting the rules exceeded the legal authority of the government. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department submitted to the White House on Friday its interpretive rule "Resetting Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program". He said that the previous administration "illegally" used CAFE standards to impose a mandate for electric vehicles, which drove up car prices. The reduction in fuel efficiency requirements could be achieved by removing EVs as...

Asian stocks rose Tuesday, while U.S. Treasury rates steadied. This gave the dollar a little breathing room as investors weighed the debt burden of the largest economy in the world and waited for trade deals. Moody's downgraded its rating of U.S. sovereign debt last week due to growing concerns over that nation's $36 trillion in debt. This led to a sell-off on Treasuries Monday, but this stabilised during Tuesday's Asian trading hours. Kyle Rodda is a senior financial analyst at Capital.com. He said that the Moody's downgrade had only a short-term impact and was of little significance in the larger...

The yields on longer-dated Treasury bonds rose, while the global stock indexes fell and the dollar weakened Monday. This was due to concerns over a U.S. federal tax bill, the U.S. government's debt and Moody's decision to downgrade the U.S. sovereign rating. Moody's Investors Service lowered the United States' sovereign rating to "Aaa" late on Friday night, bringing attention to the country's worsening fiscal outlook. A key congressional committee approved the massive tax-cut legislation of U.S. president Donald Trump on Sunday. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, who currently control it, will push for the bill's passage this week....