Energy Markets

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, threatened Iran on Sunday with bombings and secondary duties if Tehran failed to reach an agreement with Washington regarding its nuclear program. In a phone interview with NBC News Trump stated that U.S. officials and Iranian officials are talking, but did not provide any further details. Trump warned that if they do not make a deal there would be bombing. "But if they do not make a deal I may impose secondary tariffs like I did in 2004." Trump, in his first term 2017-21, rescinded the U.S.'s participation in a 2015 agreement between Iran and...

Gold, the safe-haven asset, hit a new record high Friday. An index of global stocks fell as investors worried about a trade war that could be triggered by Trump's tariff decisions. The latest inflation figures were a source of frustration for U.S. traders, but Trump's 25% auto import tariff and his plans to impose a much wider levies on next week continued to be a cause for concern. All three major Wall Street indexes finished lower, and recorded their third consecutive loss. Communication services, consumer discretionary and technology stocks were the biggest losers. Utilities stocks finished higher. The Dow Jones...

Gold, the safe-haven asset, hit a new record high Friday. An index of global stocks traded lower as investors worried about a trade war that could be triggered by Trump's tariff decisions. The latest inflation figures were a source of frustration for U.S. traders, but Trump's 25% auto import tariffs and his plans to impose even more levies in the coming week continued to be a cause for concern. All three major Wall Street indexes lost ground, and they were headed for their third consecutive session of losses. Communication services, consumer discretionary and technology stocks were the biggest losers. Utilities...

Canada is planning additional retaliation against the U.S. tariffs on autos and tariffs reciprocal to those imposed by President Donald Trump. These actions are scheduled for April. Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said that he has not yet decided what he will do. actions Canada might take , however. Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on goods that were not compliant with the U.S. Mexico Canada free trade agreement, but deferred a 25% tariff for most Canadian goods by 30 days. He then imposed tariffs Steel and Aluminum Imports will be allowed on March 12. Here are the retaliatory actions...

Canada is planning additional retaliation against the U.S. tariffs on autos and tariffs reciprocated by U.S. trading partner countries scheduled to begin in early April. Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said that he has not yet decided what he will do. actions Canada might take , however. Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on March 6 on goods that were not compliant with the U.S. Mexico Canada free trade agreement, but delayed a 25% tariff for most Canadian goods by 30 days. He then imposed tariffs Steel and Aluminum Imports will be allowed on March 12. Here are the retaliatory...

Asian stocks dropped on Friday, with South Korea and Japan seeing heavy selling. Meanwhile, gold reached a new record high after the latest tariff salvo by U.S. president Donald Trump raised investor fears of a full-blown trade war. Trump has moved forward with a 25% auto import tariff that will kick in next Monday. This move has drawn fierce criticism from politicians, industry executives and car manufacturers around the world. Trump's escalation of the global war on trade that he started upon regaining power has shocked the markets. Shares of automakers around the world have been hit especially hard. In...

Gold reached a new record high and global stocks dropped for the second consecutive session on Thursday, following the latest tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in the United States that extended the trade war to automobiles. Trump announced on Wednesday 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts. The Nikkei 225 and KOSPI, the South Korean stock index, were both affected. Many countries around the world threatened to impose retaliatory taxes. U.S. stock prices fluctuated between gains, losses and a decline in automakers. However, electric vehicle manufacturers Tesla and Rivian rose as their production is based within the U.S....

Gold and global stocks hit record highs on Thursday, following the announcement of new tariffs by the Trump administration in the United States that extended the trade war against auto imports. Trump announced late Wednesday that he would impose 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts made abroad. The tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on April 3rd. The Nikkei 225 and KOSPI in South Korea were affected by this. Many countries around the world threatened to impose retaliatory taxes. U.S. stock prices fluctuated between gains, losses and a decline in automakers. However, electric vehicle manufacturers Tesla and...

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are exploring the possibility of selling their majority stake in German renewable projects developer PNE. This could lead to a bid being made for the 1,09 billion euro ($1.17 billion), firm. One person said that Goldman Sachs is already contacting potential private equity investors about their interest in Morgan Stanley’s 50.06% stake, currently valued at around 543 million Euros, in PNE. The people added that the deliberations are still at an early stage, and it is not certain if a deal will happen. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and PNE declined to comment. According to German...

Gold and global stocks both hit record highs on Thursday, following the latest tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump that extended the trade war into auto imports. Trump announced late Wednesday that 25% of all imported vehicles and auto parts made abroad would be subject to tariffs. These are scheduled to go into effect on April 3rd. The Nikkei and KOSPI stock exchanges in Japan and South Korea were affected by this. The world is a big place. threatened Tariffs in retaliation U.S. stock prices recovered from initial losses and remained roughly unchanged, while automakers plunged. Ford and General...

According to four sources familiar with the issue, the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump has asked the oil and biofuels industry to reach an agreement on the next phase in the country's biofuels policies to avoid the political conflicts that marked his first tenure. Big Oil and Farm Belt biofuels producers are competitors who have been fighting for a share of the U.S. multi-billion dollar gasoline market. The two have fought repeatedly over the details of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. This program requires that billions of gallons corn-based ethanol, and other biofuels be blended in the nation's fuel...

The oil prices rose on Thursday due to concerns over tighter supply globally after the U.S. threatened tariffs on Venezuelan buyers. Market players were also weighing the impact of Donald Trump’s latest announcement about auto tariffs. Brent crude futures rose 14 cents or 0.2% to $73.93 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures rose by 14 cents or 0.2% to $69.79 per barrel at 0049 GMT. The price of oil rose by around 1 percent on Wednesday. This was due to government data that showed U.S. crude and fuel inventories had fallen last week and the threat from the...

Taiwan won't raise electricity prices at this time due to global uncertainty about the impact of trade policies and geopolitical risk. However, the government will ask parliament for funds to help the state-run energy firm stem losses worth nearly $13 billion. In order to limit inflation, the government has heavily subsidised energy. However, it did increase power prices between September and April last year. After a meeting with its committee to review electricity prices on Friday, Taiwan's Economy Ministry said that the members "carefully examined the impact of electricity bill on prices and decided that electricity prices will not be...

In a Wednesday video call, China's Vice-Premier He Lifeng voiced "serious concerns" about U.S. duties and the planned "reciprocal", according to Xinhua. Xinhua reported that the two men exchanged "candidly and in depth" views on important economic and trade topics and agreed to keep in touch. The announcement came as U.S. president Donald Trump prepared to impose reciprocal duties next week. This could mean imposing more duties on Chinese products. Trump has imposed 20% tariffs on all Chinese imports, since he took office in January. He accuses Beijing of failing to do enough to stop the flow of chemical precursors...

After three sessions of losses in a row, Malaysian palm oils futures rose on Wednesday. This was due to bargain hunters after the contract reached a two-month low. The benchmark palmoil contract for June delivery at the Bursa Derivatives Exchange increased 0.33%, closing at 4,259 Ringgit ($962.05) a metric ton. When prices reached the lowest point of the day, they were too low to ignore. "We saw a great deal of bargain-hunting today. A lot of buyers came out and there was also a good amount of (short)covering," said Paramalingam Supramaniam of Selangor brokerage Pelindung Bestari. Intertek Testing Services, a...

After three sessions of losses in a row, Malaysian palm oils futures rose on Wednesday. This was due to bargain-hunting after the contract reached a two-month low. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange rose by 0.75% to $4277 per metric ton ($966.34). This week, the contract has fallen by 2.97%. When prices reached the lowest point of the day, they were too cheap to ignore. "We saw a great deal of bargain-hunting today. A lot of buyers came out and there was a (short)covering as well," said Paramalingam Supramaniam of Selangor brokerage Pelindung Bestari....

The U.S. Dollar remained tepid as markets awaited clarity about President Donald Trump's policy on trade ahead of next week's new tariffs. The White House gave traders some hope that it would be flexible after Trump announced on Monday that some levies wouldn't come by the deadline of April 2, and certain countries would receive breaks without giving further details. Trump also opened a second front in his trade conflict by directing 25% secondary tariffs to any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela. This initially sent oil costs higher, but its impact was somewhat offset by relief from Black...

The trade of Venezuelan crude oil to China, its top buyer, slowed on Tuesday following the U.S. President Donald Trump’s order that threatened tariffs against countries purchasing from Caracas. This came days after U.S. sanctioned China's imports of Iranian oil. Trump's surprise order caught Chinese traders and refiners by surprise. It states that, at the discretionary discretion of the Secretary of State, the U.S. can impose 25% tariffs starting April 2 on any goods imported from countries importing Venezuelan crude oil. Chinese traders and refiners are waiting to see the implementation of the order and if Beijing will instruct them...

The price of palm oil in Malaysia fell for the third time on Tuesday, to its lowest close in almost two months. This was due to lower prices for rival vegetable oils at Dalian and Chicago and weaker export data. The benchmark June palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange lost 58 Ringgit or 1.35% to close at 4,247 Ringgit per metric ton, its lowest price since January 27. Anilkumar bagani, head of commodity research at Mumbai-based Sunvin Group vegetable oils brokerage, said: "The sentiments in palm oil are bearish right now because it has been forced by the...

The financial markets started the week with a mixed bag. U.S. stocks futures rose, but the dollar weakened ahead of the coming week. This was due to data, Chinese earnings as well as the threat of steep U.S. Tariff hikes. S&P 500 Futures rose about 0.6% and Nasdaq100 futures increased 0.8% in the morning Asian session. Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose about 0.2% Early trade saw the euro rise 0.2% to $1.0835, after a slight drop last week. The Turkish lira is on the edge of a cliff in emerging markets as investors are uneasy...

Investors awaited the Federal Reserve's rate decision, which was due later that day. Turkish stocks, bonds, and the Turkish lira have all fallen, which has helped boost the U.S. Dollar as a safe-haven currency, following the arrest of President Tayyip Erdoan's principal political rival. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index was flat last session after increasing for three previous sessions. This was boosted by Germany’s revamp of its debt regulations to spend much more on infrastructure and defence. The DAX Index in Germany fell by 0.3% on Wednesday after reaching a new record high. U.S. equity indexes fell on Tuesday, as...

China's iron and steel sector is caught between the expectation that conditions will improve and the reality of much of the data that currently exists. This dynamic was highlighted by the National Bureau of Statistics' data released on Monday, which showed a decline in China's investment, sales and property prices. Data from January-February showed that property sales and investment fell by 9.8% and 5.1% respectively year-on-year. New construction started dropped by 29.6% after a drop of 23.0% in 2024. The new home price fell by 4.8% from the previous year in February, adding to data that showed that Beijing's efforts...

Asia shares rose and global markets tried to rebound after a brutal saleoff. Gold reached a new record as an increase in global trade tensions made investors nervous, causing them to flee into safe-haven assets. Stocks in early Asian trading rose as investors were relieved that a U.S. shutdown was unlikely. Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer had said he'd vote to advance a Republican short-term funding bill and signaled his party's support. U.S. futures for stocks rose in response. The Nasdaq futures were up 0.87%, and the S&P 500 futures were up 0.7%. The FTSE Futures also gained 0.1% and the...

Trade sources reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's crude shipments to China, its largest customer, will drop to the lowest level for more than a full year in April. This is partly due to maintenance programs at Sinopec-owned Chinese refineries. Data shows that the OPEC producer, Saudi Arabia, allocated 34 million barrels to its Chinese clients in April, down from 41 millions barrels the previous month. China's drop in demand for Saudi crude oil is despite the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies agreeing to continue with their plan to increase production in April. Sinopec intends...