Europe

Donald Trump said he was'very disappointed'?with British Premier?Minister Keir Starmer because he refused to allow the U.S. use of the Diego Garcia Air Base to conduct strikes against Iran, according to an interview with the Daily Telegraph. The?U.S. was initially reportedly denied permission to conduct air strikes from its bases. Starmer said he would accept a request to use its bases for air strikes against Iranian targets. In an interview published Monday, Trump said that Starmer's change of heart took "too much time". He told The Telegraph that "that's probably never happened before" between our countries, and added: "It sounded...

Saudi Arabia closed its largest domestic oil refinery after a 'drone strike' on Monday, according to a source. Across the Middle East, oil and gas facilities were forced to shut down due to?Israeli, U.S. and Iranian retaliation? The wave of attacks in the region lasted a third consecutive day. This led to the suspension of the majority of oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as at several of the largest Israeli gas fields. Exports to Egypt were also halted. The Saudi Aramco Ras Tanura refinery that produces 550,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was closed as a precaution....

Safe haven currencies like the Swiss franc, Japanese yen and the euro strengthened as currency trading returned after the weekend when the United States and Israel launched their most ambitious attack on Iran since decades, killing the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It dropped by 0.34%, to $1.1776, compared to around $1.18 at the end of New York trading on Friday. The euro fell by 0.5% against the Swiss Franc, to 0.9039. This is its lowest level since 2015. The dollar dropped 0.26%, to 155.65yen. However, the greenback gained against sterling and Australian dollars. U.S., Israeli, and Iranian strikes, as...

Chris Wright, the U.S. Secretary of Energy told reporters on Thursday in Texas that sales under the flagship oil supply agreement between Venezuela and the U.S. will reach $2 billion by the end of this month. The U.S. took over Venezuela's oil sales shortly after U.S. troops captured President Nicolas Maduro early in January. Proceeds went to a U.S. supervised fund in Qatar. Since then, Vitol - and Trafigura - have been marketing and distributing the lion's'share' of the OPEC countries' 'oil' under the pact. Meanwhile, partners of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, particularly Chevron, are 'increasing output and shipments....

Helleniq Energy, the Greek oil refiner, reported on Thursday a '10% increase?in core profit for the full year, which was boosted by high refining margins and record marketing performances, as well as growing contributions from their expanding power and renewables businesses. The group reported a full-year adjusted profit before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of 1.13 billion euro ($1.33 billion), up from a previous year's 1.03 billion euro. The refinery's?output was 15 million metric tonnes, a little lower than expected due to planned a?turnaround? at the Elefsina refining plant, but the volume of sales remained at 15.6 millions tons. Exports...

MOSCOW, February 26 - The Kremlin said on Thursday that a sharp drop in revenue from energy sales and a growing budget deficit were "routine problems" which could be resolved thanks to macroeconomic stability. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, commented on the meeting that President Vladimir Putin had with top government officials to discuss budget this week. Peskov stated that Putin closely followed 'economic developments' during the meeting that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed took place on Tuesday night late at night. "There is a real decline in oil and gas revenues. The growth of non-oil revenue partially offsets this decline....

Investors adopted a cautious stance in the early hours of trade on Thursday, as they awaited a third round U.S. - Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Geneva later in the day. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.5% as its losses grew due to the Kingdom's increased budget deficit. The losses were widespread, with financial stocks leading. These included a 0.6% decline?in Al Rajhi Bank - the largest Islamic lender in the world - and a 1.4% drop in Saudi National Bank - the largest lender of the country by assets. Saudi Aramco's shares fell 0.7% and are on course to...

A key ally of the?Italian Prime Minister Giorgia?Meloni stated that Italy's state-controlled firms have performed "very well" over recent years, hinting at their chief executives being poised to receive new mandates when a new appointment round looms. In the coming weeks, the CEOs of companies such as energy giants Enel, Eni, and defence group Leonardo will be nominated. This is traditionally seen as an opportunity for politicians to demonstrate their power over certain sectors of the economy. Meloni’s coalition made their first round of appointments just a few?months after taking office in 2023. They reappointed Claudio Descalzi to the top...

Iraq's Oil Minister said that Chevron is in exclusive talks with Lukoil to take over the West Qurna 2 oilfield. Iraq is seeking to increase its oil and gas production. Oil majors are competing to expand their operations, after years of political insecurity. Hayan Abdel-Ghani, the Oil Minister of Iraq, told Kurdish TV Rudaw in an interview that production could increase to 750,000-800,000. bpd once Chevron took over operations. The U.S. The?U.S. Iraq, which is the second largest oil producer in the OPEC+ Group, comprising Organization?of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, has plans to increase the...

Democrats in the Senate Banking Committee criticized President Donald Trump on Tuesday for not stepping up sanctions against Russia to force it to end the four-year war in Ukraine. They noted that the European Union had?designated nearly 900 targets by 2025, compared to only two?for?the?U.S. Democratic staff from the Republican-led panel released an analysis on the fourth anniversary. They identified hundreds of targets that Trump could have sanctioned during his first year as president. The war in Ukraine, Russia’s western neighbor, has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and ravaged large areas of Ukraine. They said that...

Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy Secretary, gave an ultimatum to the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday. The agency had one year to abandon its support for goals to reduce energy emissions to zero net or else risk losing membership. At the biennial meeting of the agency, European countries downplayed the "threat" and reaffirmed their commitment to cleaner fuel. In 2015, the U.S., along with nearly 200 other nations, signed the Paris Accords. This international agreement aims to reduce global warming through the burning of less oil, coal and gas, and to reach net zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050....

The Venezuelan government owes Repsol 4,55 billion euros ($5,37 billion), the Spanish energy group said in its report for the first-time on Thursday. Repsol is active in Venezuela since over 30 years, employs staff and is a major partner of the state energy company PDVSA. It is one of a few companies that have been granted a license to run oil and natural gas operations in Venezuela by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Repsol received a permit in March of last year from the U.S. authorities allowing it to receive PDVSA oil as "payment for debt"....

Gold as a safe-haven asset gained on Monday due to escalating fears of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East following?U.S. Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iran have boosted the price of safe-haven gold. Gold spot gained 2%, to $5,384.41 per ounce, by 1406 GMT, after reaching a session-high of $5,418.50. Prices reached a record high of $5,594.82 in January. U.S. Gold Futures increased 2.9% to $5.397.40 per ounce. David Meger is the director of metals trading for High Ridge Futures. "I believe that it is the uncertainty that will more than likely'support prices. The U.S. and Israeli air war...

Gold prices rose by more than 2% on Monday as U.S. and Israel strikes against Iran continued - with no end in sight. This stoked fears of a wider geopolitical & economic uncertainty, which sparked a flight into safe havens. Gold spot prices rose 2.1% at 1255 GMT to $5,388.59 per ounce, after reaching a four-week high in the previous session. The metal reached a high of $5,594.82 in January. U.S. Gold Futures increased 3%, to $5404.20 an ounce. Ricardo Evangelista, ActivTrades analyst, said: "We're seeing an increase in'safe-haven assets. This is reflected both in the gains of gold as...

Geoff Gilmore, Worthington Steel's chief executive officer, said that the U.S. company would have a 'decent number of other acquisition targets if a $2.4 Billion deal to buy German metals distribution?Kloeckner & Co falls through. Worthington must secure at least 66% of Kloeckner shares by March 12 to seal the deal. Worthington is looking at around 10 targets, including Kloeckner, a German company, that Gilmore has said he's "highly confident" he can achieve. He already secured?53% of Kloeckner from Swoctem, Kloeckner’s largest shareholder, and other tenders. Gilmore said, "We felt that Kloeckner was the best choice for us in terms...

Aluminum?prices jumped to their highest level?in over a month?on Monday, after U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran fueled concerns about a prolonged conflict in the Middle East. Iran is a major producer. Benchmark aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange were up 3.1% to $3,236 per metric ton by 1050 GMT, after reaching $3,254 at its highest level since January 29. Investors closely monitor developments in the Strait o'Hormuz. This important trade route for commodities was disrupted when Iran attacked U.S. bases in the region. Neil Welsh, Britannia Global Markets said: "Base metals have risen this morning on the back of concerns...

Worthington Steel's Chief Executive said that if a $2.4 bn deal to buy German metals traders Kloeckner & Co falls through, it would still have a number of options to choose from. Geoff Gilmore's comments come just two weeks before the deadline for the 'offer expires, on March 12th. Worthington is required to secure at least 65% of Kloeckner shares in order to seal 'the deal'. Worthington has looked at around 10 targets, including Kloeckner, a German company, and Gilmore, who said he is "highly confident" of achieving his goal. He already secured 53% by Kloeckner's largest shareholder,?Swoctem, as well...

Gold prices rose on Monday, after U.S. and Israel launched a major strike on Iran that killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. This heightened geopolitical tensions, and deepened global economic uncertainty. As of 0201 GMT, spot gold was up 1% to $5,329.39 per ounce after reaching its highest level in over four weeks. Bullion prices rose as high as 2% earlier in the session. U.S. Gold Futures increased 1.8% to $5342.80 an ounce. Israel launched new strikes against Tehran on Sunday, and Iran responded by firing more missiles. This came a day following the death of Khamenei which threw the...

On Saturday, the United States launched a variety of weapons against Iranian targets, including Tomahawk missiles, stealth aircraft, and low-cost, one-way drones that were modeled on Iranian designs. U.S. Central Command has released photos of Tomahawk missiles and F-18, F-35 fighter planes as well as details about the attacks on Iran in Operation Epic Fury. ARTIFICIAL?INTELLIGENCE According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Pentagon used artificial intelligence tools from Anthropic during its attack against Iran. Anthropic was declared a supply-chain risk by the U.S. a day earlier, suggesting that it poses a national security threat. Donald Trump...

Investors are closely monitoring potential safe-haven flows into bullion as a result of the U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. Investors, traders and analysts have reacted to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. EDWARD MEIR, MAREX ANALYST I?think that you will see a sudden spike in the price of gold and oil. This will be a natural reaction to the unexpected onset of hostilities. I think gold could rise by $200/ounce, but then fall over the course the day. Investors are largely uninterested in military conflicts. They are only concerned with whether oil supplies will be disrupted. Once the...

On Saturday, the United States launched a variety of weapons against Iranian targets, including Tomahawk missiles, stealth fighters and, for the first combat time, low-cost, one-way,?attack drones that were modeled on Iranian designs. U.S. Central Command has released photos of Tomahawk missiles and F-18, F-35 and F-35 fighter jets along with details about the attacks on Iran as part?of Operation?Epic Fury. DRONES According to photos released by Pentagon, the U.S. Military said that it uses suicide drones which appear identical, based upon the photos, to the new LUCAS system (Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System), manufactured by Phoenix-based Spektreworks. The company...

Neue Zuercher Zeitung, a Swiss newspaper, reported that the board of directors at Swiss banking giant UBS intends to keep Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti for a longer period than originally planned. Ermotti is set to leave his position by 2027. However, the timeline has not been finalised. The NZZ, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the board, led by chairman Colm Kelleher wants Ermotti to stay on beyond this date in order to guide the?UBS pushback against the Swiss Government's plans to tighten regulation. When asked about the NZZ Report, a UBS spokesperson stated that it was "premature"...

The company announced on Friday that ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's largest steelmaker, is closing another division in Ukraine because of a 'deepening energy crises caused by Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine's energy system. Russia has stepped up its strikes against Ukraine's energy industry, targeting power plants and substations. This forced Kyiv into cutting off power to businesses, and increasing imports from Europe. The company, an ArcelorMittal SA subsidiary, announced in a press release that it will close its subsidiary Casting and Mechanical Plant. This plant is one of the largest enterprises in the country, and includes foundry equipment, thermal and...

Prices of copper hit a 4-week high on Friday and are on course for a 7th consecutive monthly gain. Demand optimism has outweighed worries about stocks piling up in warehouses registered at major exchanges. The benchmark three-month copper price on the 'London Metal Exchange' rose by 1.3% in open-outcry official trading to $13,482 per metric ton after reaching $13,527, its highest level since January 30. After a wave speculative purchases, the metal used for power and construction reached a record high on January 29, reaching $14,527.50. One metals trader stated that base metals were also supported by the?investment need for...