Europe

The oil prices lost some of their gains on Thursday despite the escalating attacks across the Gulf. Investors' attention shifted to the supply flow through the major chokepoints within the region. Brent futures dropped 96 cents or 1.06% to $89.78 per barrel as of 0418 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), crude oil, fell 64 cents or 0.76% to $83.82 per barrel. Brent and WTI both rose by 6.56% during the previous session, one of the biggest spikes in the Iran War. This was after the pause of hostilities that occurred on Tuesday following a 5% drop. The prices of...

On August 2, seven members of OPEC+ will meet. Sources say that the group will increase its output quotas for September by 188,000 bpd. Source: OPEC+ requires the result of the oil capacity review to decide on 2027 quotas By Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON, 28 July - OPEC+ will likely pause its 'gradual oil production hikes' after September, for?the rest of the year, according to four sources, because it needs to hold additional discussions before deciding on its output quotas in 2027. The pause will mark the end of several month of production hikes that were mostly on...

TotalEnergies announced on Tuesday that France's TotalEnergies, and Italy's Eni, have 'approved' the development of 'the Cronos gas field' in Cyprus, which will supply Europe with natural gas liquefied. Production is expected to begin in 2028. The two companies will share the 2.8 million tons of LNG expected to be produced by the field. After losing their access to Russian gas and oil in 2022, the European countries are now focusing on their own resources. Cronos is the name of a large?natural gas find in Block 6 in Cyprus' exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea. It was discovered by...

Kumba Iron Ore, South Africa, said on Tuesday that its half-year profits fell by 41%. This was mainly because of a'strong rand and lower prices for the steelmaking ingredient. Anglo American's headline earnings were 13.24 rand ($0.79) per share in the six-month period ended June 30 compared to 22.26 rand during the same time last year. The top African iron ore miner reported a 11% drop in revenue to 30,88 billion rands after the Rand strengthened by 11% against the U.S. Dollar. Kumba reported a marginal 1%?decrease of the average realized price as well as lower sales volumes. Iron ore...

These are the top stories from?the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been?verified and we cannot vouch for their accuracy. Johnson & Johnson, a manufacturer of babycare products, has agreed to pay $5.5 Billion to settle outstanding lawsuits alleging that the company's Talc products cause ovarian cancer. The agreement is conditional on 95% participation by the remaining claimants. Iran and Oman have worked to achieve an agreement for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid a lull between fighting between the U.S. -Kuwait Petroleum signed a $16billion pipeline lease agreement with Kuwait Oil, involving the...

Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister, said that if fuel prices remain volatile, Poland may act to lower them again, perhaps in the last two weeks of August, when many Poles are returning from their holidays. Poland, like many other countries introduced measures to cap fuel prices in March?after a surge in energy costs caused by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. As tensions in the Middle East eased and oil and gas prices stabilised, the government lifted the curbs. However, they have since been re-instituted as the conflict continues. "If the situation becomes unstable again and prices rise, we'll...

This week, it's all central banks. Rising energy prices are likely to keep rate-setters in Tokyo, Washington and London alert even if oil is below $100. Tariffs from the United States are now back on the list of worries for markets that worry about inflation and growth risks due to war. Rae Wee, Dhara Ranasinghe and Alun John are in London. Lewis Krauskopf is in New York. 1/ DOUBLE THREAT Investors are now watching two chokepoints for energy shipping to see how much oil and natural gas comes out of the Middle East. Houthi attacks may make the Bab el-Mandeb...

By America Hernandez PARIS, July 27 - French oil giant TotalEnergies has appealed a court ruling in Paris ordering it to align its business with climate change goals. This was the first of its kind French ruling that found Total responsible for planet-warming emission released by customers using their fuel products. The ruling was made under France's "corporate duty of vigilance" law. It was seen as a victory for climate campaigners. In recent years, climate litigation against oil majors has had mixed results. The Netherlands Supreme Court is currently reviewing a landmark Dutch ruling ordering Shell to reduce emissions. "The...

Investors took comfort in some corporate earnings and weighed the potential impact of higher oil prices on monetary policy. The STOXX 600 index, which measures the performance of all European markets, rose 0.6% to 644.67 for a second consecutive week. SAP, the software giant, gained 10% on Germany's DAX after it reported that second-quarter cloud backlog growth was ahead of analyst expectations. The technology index gained 1.7% after STMicroelectronics' and BE Semiconductor's quarterly reports failed to impress investors on Thursday. Investors are trying to balance AI growth with stretched valuations and returns on large investments in technology. This has led...

Neste, a Finnish oil refiner and biofuel producer, said on Friday that its core profit had risen?in the second quarter due to the Middle East Crisis driving up prices. However it failed to meet market expectations. Neste's adjusted quarterly earnings, before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, more than tripled compared to a year earlier, reaching EUR1.20 billion ($1.37 billion). Analysts had forecasted EUR1.23 billion. At 0750 GMT, the shares were down 8%. Petri Gostowski, an analyst at the Finnish research firm Indires, said that investors were waiting for "clear results beats". Gostowski said in an email that he believed the...

Next week, it's all central banks. Interest rate-setters in Tokyo, Washington and London are growing more nervous due to the Middle East war escalate. Oil prices have returned to $100. Tariffs from the United States are now back on the list of worries for markets that worry about inflation and growth risks due to war. Rae Wee, Dhara Ranasinghe and Samuel "Indyk" and Alun John are in London. Lewis Krauskopf is in New York. DOUBLE TROUBLE Investors are now watching two chokepoints for energy shipping to see how much oil and natural gas comes out of the Middle East. Houthi...

The latest LSEG 'I/B/E/S' data on Wednesday showed that estimates for blue-chip European companies have?improved. Soaring energy sector?profits will help a deliver the best growth in over three years. According to a data set based on 77 company results and market expectations for those who have not yet reported, companies on Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 Index are expected to post earnings growth of 17.3% during the second quarter. The aggregate growth rate is 7.2%, excluding the estimated 122.6% growth rate for the energy sector. The blue-chips in Europe are expected to grow by 11.5%. This is their highest rate since...

Outokumpu's shares fell 10% on Thursday after it reported a core profit for the second quarter that was below market expectations. The European stainless steel demand has remained largely unchanged, and increased costs have offset increases in volume and pricing. The adjusted earnings of the Finnish company before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation in the April-June quarter rose by 33%, but they were still below the EUR114 million consensus forecast provided by the company. Outokumpu's profitability in Europe, its largest business unit, was broadly stable, as positive effects from higher volumes and a higher selling price were offset by a...

Gold prices fell on Thursday due to higher?U.S. Markets assessed the yields on Treasury bonds, as well as comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh about tackling inflation following this week's unchanged interest rates. As of 0714 GMT spot gold was down 0.5% to $4,045.59 an ounce after a 2% rise in the previous session. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery gained 0.2%, to $4043.70. The yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes increased, increasing the cost of bullion. Soni Kumari, an ANZ analyst, said that "Yields" are a result of rate expectations. If the market believes that...

Heidelberg Materials said that it expects the war in Iran to further increase energy costs for this year. The German cement manufacturer also lowered its profit forecasts for 2026. The group stated that inflation and high financing costs would continue to have a negative impact on global residential construction. High energy costs were also cited as a major factor. Even though CEO Dominik von Achten highlighted "a?environment which remains geopolitically & economically'very challenging", he said that there were still first signs of a visible demand recovery in the core markets. Heidelberg Materials expects to see its operating profit drop from...

Gold prices fell on Thursday due to higher U.S. Treasury yields. Markets also assessed Kevin Warsh's comments on the Federal Reserve's efforts to combat inflation following its decision this week not change interest rates. As of 0445 GMT spot gold was down by 0.4%, at $4,048.39 an ounce. It had risen as high as 2% the previous session. U.S. Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.3% to $4.045.70. The yields on the benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note increased, increasing 'the opportunity cost' of holding gold. Soni Kumari, an ANZ analyst, said that "yields are a product of rate expectations." If...

Three people familiar with the matter have confirmed that global commodity trader IXM has expanded its portfolio to include iron ore. This is despite the fact that the near-record low price volatility of the steelmaking ingredient reduces profit opportunities and dampens investor interest. IXM in Geneva, one of the largest traders of non-ferrous physical metals like?copper or nickel?, signed last week a prepayment agreement with Brazilian miner Itaminas, to lock-in supply. One of the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they weren't authorised to talk to the media about the matter, confirmed this. The terms of the agreement were...

ASML is Europe's most valuable firm thanks to its dominance of lithography systems. These are?huge?chip printing? machines that cost up to $400 million and are essential to companies driving the?AI boom. Chipmakers have expanded their capacity quickly due to AI advances and the global expansion of data centers. ASML supplies memory chip makers such as SK Hynix and Micron, as well to TSMC which manufactures chips for Nvidia. In the middle of the product range, the company faces new competitors from China. It is also being pressured by the United States regarding exports of certain tools to?Asian nations. The Dutch...

Gold prices fell on Tuesday, as a result of a strong?dollar? that hovered around a month-high. Investors were waiting for the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement this week and Kevin Warsh's comments to get a sense of policy direction. Spot gold dropped 1.1% per ounce to $4.032.42 by 9:27 am EDT (1327 GMT), and U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell 1.1%, to $4.032.40. The dollar remained near a one-month high on Tuesday, making greenback-priced bullion expensive for buyers overseas. The dollar remained near its one-month-high on Tuesday, making bullion priced in greenbacks expensive for overseas buyers. David Meger is...

Investors waited for the Federal Reserve to announce its policy decision at the end their two-day meeting in this week. They wanted insight into the direction U.S. rates will take. Spot gold dropped 0.8% at $4,042.29 an ounce as of 0843 GMT. U.S. gold contracts for August delivery fell 0.8%, to $4.042.80. "Gold has held to a very tight range since late June based on the support in $4,000 region, which suggests at some stage there will be a breakout," said Rhona Connell, StoneX's head of market research. Connell said: "Fundamentally the physical markets are still very quiet, while professionals...

The dollar strengthened on Tuesday and gold prices fell. Markets were looking for clues about the future of interest rates in the Federal Reserve's policy announcement. Gold spot fell by 0.7% at $4,044.81 an ounce as of 0250 GMT. It had risen as high as 1% Monday. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell 0.8% to $4.045.40. Dollars are nearing a month-high, which makes greenback bullion prices more expensive for those who hold other currencies. Ilya Spivak is the head of global macro for finance content network Tastylive. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to conclude its two-day policy meeting...

Gold prices rose on Monday, as a pause between?strikes by U.S. forces and?Iranian forces brought crude oil prices down. This helped ease inflation fears and concerns about higher interest rates a week before Fed policymakers meet. Spot gold rose 1% by 1030 GMT to $4.093.34 an ounce, while U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery climbed 0.6% to $4.095.60. "Precious Metals have begun the week in a positive way, thanks to a pause on Middle East hostilities. The dollar has also weakened, and the yields on U.S. Treasury bonds and oil have both slid," said Ross Norman, an independent analyst. The...

Gold prices rose on Monday as a pause between strikes?between U.S. forces and Iranian forces?helped?crude oil?price?fall. This helped ease inflation fears and concerns about the possibility of higher interest rates during a week when policymakers from the Fed will be meeting. Spot gold rose by 0.9% to $4.089.03 an ounce at 0805 GMT. U.S. gold futures for delivery in August also increased by 0.5%, to $4.090.80. "Precious Metals started the week in a positive way, thanks to a pause of hostilities in the Middle East. "Oil has fallen and both the dollar yields and U.S. Treasury yields are down," said...

Gold prices increased?more? than 1%?on?Monday, as a pause in Middle East hostilities?pushed oil?prices lower?and eased inflation concerns?before a Federal Reserve Meeting this week? By 0723 GMT, spot gold had risen 1.3% to $4103.59 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures rose 0.9% to $4106.00. Tim Waterer is the chief analyst at KCM Trade. He said, "Gold has benefited from the double price action in oil and U.S. dollars." The U.S. Dollar?index fell by 0.3%, making metals priced in greenbacks more affordable to other currency holders. A senior Iranian official said on Sunday that Iran would cease its attacks if the United States...