Europe

Early trading on Monday saw oil prices rise by more than 2 percent after Israel ordered troops to advance further into Lebanon, in the midst of a battle against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group. This was despite a ceasefire that had been announced more than six weeks earlier. U.S. crude?futures?rose by $2.37, or 2.71%, to $89.73 per barrel as of 0028 GMT. Brent futures increased $2.16, or 2.37%, to $93.28 per barrel. This increased fighting came just days after the U.S. held Israeli-Lebanon talks in Washington, and dimmed expectations of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement extension. Brent and WTI had both...

Authorities in the southern regions Rostov-Krasnodar reported that Ukrainian drones had struck a tanker overnight at Taganrog, a Russian port. They also reportedly hit an oil depot?in?Armavir. Yury Slyusar, Governor of the Rostov Region, said via Telegram that the fires in Taganrog's port and on the tanker had been put out. No oil spillage was reported. He said that two people were injured. Svetlana kambulova, the mayor of the?city, announced that a local emergency state, which was introduced on May 27th, had been prolonged. The Russian Defence Ministry announced that its forces?had?downed 127 drones over night. Authorities in Armavir in...

Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said at the annual general meeting held on Friday that French citizens prefer to have energy companies 'cap fuel prices' at the pump rather than pay a tax on superprofits. He was answering a climate NGO's representative who asked if?the company could do more to help ease the price shocks for consumers. TotalEnergies has been criticized for its massive profits from oil price spikes caused by the war in Iran. French politicians are pushing for a tax on the company to help lower prices. Pouyanne claimed that a survey had revealed that French...

Data analysis revealed on Friday that the production of diesel in Russia dropped?by about 10% in 'May. This was on top of a %10% monthly drop in April, as Ukrainian drones attacked refineries, forcing them to cut back or stop their output. Kyiv is targeting Russia's energy infrastructure in order to reduce the amount of money that Moscow can earn from oil and gas, which it could use to fund its war against Ukraine. The Russian government has been focusing on exporting diesel at a high price. However, this is the time of year when farmers are in high demand....

EU foreign ministers warned on Thursday that Russia would not be able to choose who represented Europe in any future talks with Moscow about Ukraine. The bloc's chief of foreign policy also said that Moscow showed no real interest for peace. The?ministers? met informally on Cyprus to discuss their strategy towards Russia, as Kyiv calls for greater European involvement in order to end the conflict while the U.S. is focused on the Iran crisis. The Kremlin told the RIA News Agency on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to talks with Europe. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has...

Turkey will cut its imports of Urals crude from Baltic and Black Sea port this month to the lowest level for almost a year and a half, according to LSEG, Kpler, and trading'sources. Turkey is the third largest importer in the world of seaborne Russian crude after India and China. It mostly buys Urals, and occasionally other grades. Kpler data indicates that Turkey's Urals exports will average 161,000 barrels per day in this month. This is down from an average of 189,000 barrels per day in January-April, and 302,000 barrels per day in May 2025. This is despite the fact...

In an article published a week before his visit to Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin said that Russia had given the Central Asian country four Amur tigers. Two of these cubs were also handed over to help the country restore the number of the animals. Kazakhstan is rich in minerals and energy, and shares a border and ally with Russia. Putin announced on Tuesday that the four animals caught in Russia's Khabarovsk region, located in the far east, were flown to Kazakhstan and will be released soon into the wild. Putin is not a stranger to using animals as a diplomatic tool....

LONDON/DUBAI - U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that negotiations with Iran could "take several days." This was after the U.S. launched what they called 'defensive strikes' in southern Iran. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated earlier that many of the topics covered in a possible 14-point memorandum were concluded, but this does not mean an agreement to end the war will be reached anytime soon. What is the current stage of the discussions? After a "ceasefire" in early April, both sides remain at odds over difficult issues, including Iran's nuke ambitions, Israel’s war with the Hezbollah militia,...

Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia's president, said that he was not optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement over the Hungarian oil firm 'MOL's bid for a majority stake in NIS, operator of the Balkan country's only refinery. The deadline is Friday. Gazprom and Gazprom, two Russian oil companies, agreed to sell their majority 56% stake in NIS in January to?MOL after the United States demanded that Russian shares be divested due to sanctions imposed by the United States over Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. Washington has given MOL and the Russian companies until May 22th to complete the sale. This requires...

According to official sources, almost all of the major oil refineries in central Russia have been forced to reduce or halt their fuel production due to recent drone attacks by Ukraine. Moscow has already banned gasoline exports from April to the end of July. Refineries which have stopped operations or are partially stopped, together, produce more than 83 million tons of?product per year. This is approximately 238,000 tons a day. According to anonymous sources and data, this represents around a quarter of Russia's entire refining capacity. Over 30% of Russia's gasoline is produced by refineries, and around 25% by diesel....

Local officials reported that two people had been?killed? and 19 others injured overnight in Russia's attacks on Ukraine, while Ukraine sent drones into industrial areas of central Russia. Local authorities in Ukraine reported that two people died and six were injured when Russia attacked the city of Dnipro, located on the south-east coast, with artillery and missiles. Authorities?added that another 13 injuries were reported in the northern Sumy Region and the southern region of Zaporizhzhia. Three children included. We could not independently verify these reports. Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians. DRONES TARGET INDUSTRIAL AREA?IN RUSSIA According to Russian officials...

Sanjay Khanna, the chairman of India's Bharat Oil Corp. said that it is recalibrating its crude import strategy nearly daily and increasing?spot purchase after the U.S./Israeli conflict in Middle East disrupted Middle East supply. India, which is the third largest?oil?importer and?consumer in the world, has been affected by the rising crude prices as well as supply disruptions after the Strait of Hormuz was closed. South Asian nation raised retail petrol and diesel prices twice in one week. The refiner planned to purchase about 55% of its crude requirements for 2026/27 via annual contracts, mostly from Middle Eastern producers. Khanna stated...

The?U.S. has stated that Russian unwrought Palladium, which is used to reduce emissions from gasoline vehicles, doesn't?harm American companies. The International Trade Commission announced a decision?on Friday to end Washington's antidumping investigation. Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce decided on a separate countervailing duty of 109.1%. Sibanye Stillwater, which produces in South Africa as well as the United States, and the United Steelworkers Union had asked Washington to consider imposing duties so that they could 'protect the long-term sustainability of U.S. supplies. The USITC has now concluded the investigation with its negative determination. USITC stated in a press release...

Rio Tinto announced on Friday that it had commissioned its $1.5 billion low carbon aluminium smelter?in Canada's?province?of?Quebec. The?Anglo Australian mining giant expects to complete the start-up by the end this year with all 96 pots in Complexe Arvida operating. The plant will be able to produce 220,000 metric tons of primary aluminum annually using the low-carbon smelting technology AP60. The AP60 expansion is a step towards the carbon-free aluminum electrolysis technology that ELYSIS has developed in partnership with Alcoa. Separately, on Friday, Melanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Industry?and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions announced a C$100...

Gold prices fell for the third consecutive month as fears about rising energy costs fueled expectations of higher rates. As of 1151 GMT, spot gold was up by 0.9% to $4,532.03 an ounce. On Thursday, gold fell to its lowest level in two months, $4,365.76, but it closed higher. Metal has dropped?around 2 percent so far in this month. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery rose by 0.7% to $4.562.60. Gold remains negatively correlated to oil which impacts inflation and monetary policy. "Gold is positively correlated to lower oil prices, which reduces the likelihood of rate increases," said UBS analyst...

Gold prices rose?on Friday, fueled by hopes of a possible U.S. Iran ceasefire. However, they were on course for their third consecutive monthly decline due to concerns over energy-driven inflation. As of 1005 GMT, spot gold was up by 0.8% to $4,528.19 an ounce. On Thursday, gold fell to its lowest level in two months, $4,365.76, but ended higher. Metal prices have fallen by 2% so far this month. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery rose 0.6% to $4,59.10. Gold remains negatively correlated to oil, which impacts on inflation and monetary policy. "Gold is positively correlated with lower oil prices,...

Two sources who are familiar with the matter confirmed that SAIC Motor would sell a 10% additional stake in JSW MG Motor in India. This will make JSW, the local partner, the largest shareholder in the unit. SAIC Motors' decision comes after the Chinese company struggled to expand operations and raise equity due to New Delhi investment restrictions, even though it had trimmed its ownership to 100% and brought in domestic partners including Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Group. SAIC owns a 49 percent stake in JSW MG Motor. Sources?said that SAIC will sell a stake of 10% to JSW. JSW's stake...

Gold prices?edged up on Friday as investors assessed reports about a?U.S. -Iran ceasefire agreement amid concerns over inflation and U.S. rate hikes. By 0422 GMT spot gold had risen 0.3% to $4505.57 an ounce, but it was down 0.1% so far this week. U.S. Gold Futures rose 0.1% to $4,535.90. Bullion dropped to a 'two-month-low' on Thursday, before closing higher after reports of a U.S. - Iran ceasefire extension. "We saw gold drop to $4,360 yesterday and it was likely that it would go lower until the announcement of the (ceasefire)." The market is still in this position?this morning", said...

Investors weighed?reports about a U.S. - Iran ceasefire agreement amid rising concerns over inflation and U.S. rate hikes. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $4,499.56 an ounce as of 0231 GMT but down 0.2% so far this week. U.S. Gold Futures slipped 0.1% to $4,529.80. Bullion dropped to a two-month-low on Thursday, before closing higher after reports of a U.S. Iran?ceasefire? extension. "Yesterday we saw gold go down to $4360 and it was likely to continue to drop until the (ceasefire announcement) came. Due to this, we suddenly saw a reversal in prices. The market is still?at this level today,"...

Gold prices fell to a 2-month low on Tuesday, "pressured" by expectations of tighter monetary policies to combat rising inflation and the fact that there is no end to the Iran war. As of 10:30 am EDT (1430 GMT), spot gold was down by 1.4% to $4,444.64 an ounce. It had fallen earlier in the day to its lowest price since March 27. U.S. Gold futures for June delivery dropped 1.2% to $4445.20. The Middle East continues to have the biggest impact. "There was a lingering optimism, but that optimism is fading as the conflict continues," said Peter Grant. He...

Gold prices dropped to a 'nearly two-month low' on Wednesday. This was due to expectations that monetary policy would be tightened to combat rising inflation. The war in Iran is still far from over. As of 9 am EDT (1300 GMT), spot gold was down by 1.6% to $4,433.85 an ounce. It had fallen earlier in the day to its lowest price since March 30. U.S. Gold Futures for June Delivery fell 1.6% to $4431.60. The Middle East continues to have the biggest influence. Peter Grant, senior metals analyst at Zaner Metals and vice president, said that there was some...

On Wednesday, copper prices reached their highest level since mid-May, as lower oil prices eased inflation worries for the metal that is vital to growth. Aluminium prices remained 'near 4-year highs' amid concerns about reduced supply in the gulf region. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.2% in open-outcry official trading to $13,597 per metric ton after reaching $13,746, which was its highest level since May 15. Aluminium fell 0.3% to $3.663, after reaching its four-year peak of $3.707.50, on Tuesday. The Iran War has hampered deliveries in the Middle East. September alumina contracts in...

The federal property management agency announced on Tuesday that Russia had failed to sell a stake in the gold producer Uzhuralzoloto, which it seized last year. This is a major blow to the Russian government, as it attempts to reduce budget pressures. A Russian court ruled in July last year that the majority of UGC owned by Konstantin Strukov should be confiscated and transferred to state. This was part of a larger pattern of nationalisation. This latest auction comes after a failed sale of Strukov’s assets in May. The?lot included a stake of 67.2% in UGC, which was valued at...

Aluminum prices reached their highest level in over four years on Tuesday as rising feedstock prices, alumina,?added?to persistent concerns?about a tightening?market amid a?reduced supply from Gulf producers. The London Metal Exchange's three-month aluminium rose by 1.4%, to $3,698.50 at 0937 GMT, after reaching $3,707.5. This is the highest level since March 24, 2020. On March 7, 2022 the metal reached a record high of $4.073.5, as markets grappled with the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion in Ukraine. A 5% increase in September alumina contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which rose to their highest level since early May due to...