Fossil Fuels

The price of oil fell on Thursday, after a rise in the previous session. Investors weighed the expectations for a lower U.S. demand as the end to the summer season is nearing. They also focused on India's reaction to the punitive U.S. duties. Brent crude futures fell 63 cents or 0.91% to $67.43, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropped 62 cents or 0.97% to $63.55. Both contracts rose in the previous session after the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced that U.S. oil inventories dropped by 2.4 millions barrels during the week ending August 22. This was in contrast...

India, which is the third largest oil consumer in the world and also the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil by sea, has been caught up in the diplomatic negotiations between Russia, and the United States, to end the conflict in Ukraine. Why has Trump imposed additional tariffs on Indian goods? In retaliation against New Delhi's increased purchases of Russian oil, President Donald Trump has added an additional 25% to the tariffs already in place on Indian goods. This is among Washington's most severe. Peter Navarro, White House's trade adviser, said that India's purchases were funding the war of Moscow...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. A senior Exxon Mobil executive talked with Rosneft in Russia this year about returning the Sakhalin Project if the U.S. gave the greenlight as part of the Ukraine peace process. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched its giant Starship for a 10th test flight, aiming to overcome setbacks in development and achieve long-awaited technical milestones that are key to the Mars Rocket's reusable construction. Cracker Barrel has announced that it will keep its old logo and scrap plans...

The U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to up to 50% as planned on Wednesday. This escalating tension between the two world's largest democracies, and strategic partners. COMMENTARY: RADHIKA RAO SENIOR ECONOMIST DBS BANK The impact of the second 25% duty on Wednesday, despite India's modest exports to the U.S. being only 2.3% of its GDP, will be asymmetric. The central bank will be on alert for signs of growth risks, as well as possible relief in credit and liquidity. Other counter-efforts, such as seeking alternative markets and strengthening trade & investments ties via multilateral and bilateral...

According to a report by the Italian-American automaker and the government, Chrysler's parent Stellantis was fined $190.6 Million for failing to meet U.S. fuel efficiency requirements. In an annual report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that Stellantis had paid $112.3 in June and $78,3 in March as payments for shortfalls in 2019 and 2020 models. Stellantis paid a total of $773.5 Million since 2018. NHTSA informed automakers last month that they would not be fined for failing to meet fuel-efficiency rules going back to 2022, as per a law signed into law by President Donald Trump. Stellantis confirmed...

Indonesia's chief trade negotiator announced on Tuesday that the United States had agreed in principle to exclude Indonesian exports such as cocoa, rubber and palm oil from the tariff of 19% imposed by Donald Trump since August 7. Airlangga hartarto, chief economic minister and also the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, said that the exemption would take effect when both parties reached a final agreement. However, no time frame has been established because the U.S. was busy with tariff negotiations with other countries. Airlangga told an interview that the two countries discussed possible U.S. investments in fuel storage in Indonesia, in...

Indian exporters should prepare for disruptions following a U.S. Homeland Security confirmed that Washington will impose an extra 25% tariff on all Indian origin goods starting Wednesday, increasing trade pressure against the Asian nation. U.S. exports to India will be subject to duties up 50%, among the highest Washington has imposed. This is in response President Donald Trump's announcement of extra tariffs in punishment for New Delhi purchasing Russian oil. Homeland Security's notice states that the new duties will be applied to goods coming into the U.S. or being withdrawn from storage for consumption as of 12:01 am EDT or...

Indian exporters should prepare for disruptions following a U.S. Homeland Security confirmed that Washington will impose a 25% additional tariff on all Indian origin goods starting Wednesday. This will increase trade pressure against the Asian nation. Indian exports could face U.S. tariffs of up to 50 percent - one of the highest Washington has imposed - following President Donald Trump's announcement of extra tariffs in response to New Delhi's increased purchase of Russian oil. According to Homeland Security's notice, the new duties apply to goods that are imported into the U.S. or removed from warehouses for consumption as of 12:01...

The state regulator announced on Friday that oil production in North Dakota will increase in August, as operators bring some production back online they had curtailed earlier this year after oil prices fell. Last quarter, oil prices dropped to multi-year lows after U.S. president Donald Trump announced a list of tariffs on April. This led operators in the U.S.to reduce their rig count. In May and June certain operators curtailed production in the State due to the low prices. Nathan Anderson, Director of the North Dakota Department Of Mineral Resources, said that the Department of Mineral Resources believed that the...

China Concord Resources Corp. has started developing two Venezuelan oilfields. The company plans to invest over $1 billion into a project that will produce 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day by the end of 2026. The project is a rare investment made by a Chinese private firm in an OPEC nation that has been struggling to attract foreign capital because of international sanctions against the Maduro administration. This is the first time that the investment amount and production plan have been reported. Beijing is a major ally of Maduro, as well as his predecessor, late President Hugo Chavez. It...

Investors sold tech stocks on Wednesday and moved to less-valuable sectors as they awaited the Federal Reserve officials' remarks at their Jackson Hole Symposium this week. The tech stocks that drove the Wall Street recovery after its April selloff have been slipping back. The S&P 500 Technology index fell on the day while other sectors like energy, healthcare, and consumer staples rose. Bryant van Cronkhite, senior portfolio manager at Allspring, said that a broader perspective would indicate a more gradual rotation rather than a real sell-off. In the context of today's inflated spending, tech valuations appear to be stretched. Second,...

Since taking office in January 2017, Donald Trump has purchased more than $100,000,000 in bonds issued by companies, states and municipalities. This is according to new disclosures that shed light on his vast portfolio. The online forms posted on Tuesday show that the former Republican real estate mogul has made over 600 financial purchases in the past 21 days, the day following his second term as President. The filing of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on August 12 does not give exact amounts, but only a range. These include corporate bonds issued by Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo...

Gold Reserve filed a motion on Wednesday to disqualify an opposing bid by an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, which a Delaware court selected this month as the frontrunner in an online auction for Citgo Petroleum’s parent. The auction of PDV Holding (parent of Venezuelan refiner Citgo) was overseen by a court officer who determined that the winning bid in the competition was a $5.86-billion offer made by Elliott affiliate Amber Energy, despite his recommendation in July of a $7.4-billion bid from a group headed up Gold Reserve subsidiary Dalinar Energy. The officer will now have to submit a fresh...

The excitement over a possible U.S. rate cut in September waned on Monday. U.S. stock futures fell during pre-market trade as investors focused on the larger economic picture. As of 1258 BST, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Nasdaq Futures were down 0.3%. This indicates a lower Wall Street opening. Powell's change in stance has caused futures markets to price an 84% probability of a quarter point rate cut in September and at least 100 base points of easing up to 3.25-3.5% in the middle of next. The broadest MSCI index of world stocks rose by 0.1%, and remained...

A new report released on Monday found that China built 21 gigawatts of coal power plants in the first half 2025. This is the highest amount since 2016, even though the country continues to build record amounts of renewable energy. The authors of a report from the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, CREA, wrote: "The commissioning surge of 2025 is a delayed reaction to the permit surge of 2022-2023." This surge was in response to the power shortages and blackouts of 2021 and 2022. Supply disruptions, higher coal prices and tighter emission standards all collided at...

Startups around the world are racing to create new battery technologies that use materials such as sodium and sulfur, or other innovative chemistries. They aim to reduce costs and reduce dependence on certain minerals for electric vehicles (EVs). China controls 90% of raw material processing for two of the most popular lithium-ion EV variants. The battery technology is constantly evolving, but its basic principles remain unchanged. It has three components: a cathode anode, and an electrolyte. Here are some of the battery types that are currently being used or developed by carmakers as they consider long-term solutions. Use in batteries...

According to a study conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki, China's carbon emissions fell 1% from the same time period last year to the first half 2025. This was due to the growing use of renewable energies to generate electricity. According to a study conducted by CREA's Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for UK-based Carbon Brief, emissions from the China power sector fell by 3% over the past six months. Myllyvirta attributes the drop to the more renewable electricity generated by China's rapidly expanding fleet of solar power stations, which will see yet another...

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co reported a net loss for the first six months of 2025 due to lower demand in refining products and chemical products. According to the report, Sinopec posted a net loss between January and June of 462.1 millions yuan (64.40million dollars). This compares to a profit of 27.9 millions yuan the previous year. Net sales fell 10.66%, to 33.498 billion Yuan, while sales of chemicals and refining products were down 16.14% and 3.21 %, respectively. The company stated that the market is still challenging with a strong supply and a weak demand. New-energy vehicles are increasing in...

Peter Navarro, White House's trade adviser, said that India's purchases were funding the war in Ukraine by Moscow and must stop. He added that New Delhi is "now cozying up with both Russia and China." Navarro, in a recent opinion piece, wrote: "If India wishes to be treated like a strategic partner by the U.S. it must act as such." Published by: Financial Times. India's Foreign Ministry said that the country was unfairly singled-out for purchasing Russian oil, while the United States continues to buy goods from Russia. U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian products...

The oil prices fell on Monday, as the U.S. failed to exert further pressure on Russia in order to end the Ukraine conflict by implementing additional measures to disrupt Russian crude exports following the Friday meeting between the presidents of both countries. Brent crude futures fell 26 cents or 0.39% to $65.59 a bar by 0028 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was down 18 cents or 0.29% at $62.62 a bar. The U.S. president Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska and came away more aligned to Moscow regarding the need for a...

The oil markets will open with a muted reaction on Sunday following the meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Trump stated that a full-fledged ceasefire was not his goal for Ukraine, but rather a peace agreement. Trump said that he and Putin agreed to go directly to a settlement, not through a ceasefire as Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S. have demanded. Trump announced that he would not impose tariffs on nations such as China who buy Russian oil after his meeting with Putin. Trump has threatened to impose sanctions against Moscow as well...

Multiple sources confirmed on Friday that China's Changyi Petrochemical (recently sold by the state-owned Sinochem Group) has been granted a crude oil import quota until 2025. The company used this quota to purchase Brazilian oil. Three sources confirmed that the refiner in Shandong was allocated 2.5 million metric tonnes (18 million barrels), on a prorated scale, for the rest of the year. The sources claim that Changyi has a right to 5,000,000 tons for a whole year. Changyi declined comment. Hongrun declined to comment on a phone conversation, and the company didn't immediately respond to e-mail requests. The Commerce Ministry,...

It would have been a bold prediction a couple of months back to claim that OPEC+ could bring back 2,5 million barrels of crude oil production per day and keep the price of oil at $70 a barrel. This is what happened, as the eight producers of the group rolled back their voluntary reductions of 2.2 million bpd by September and allowed a separate rise for the United Arab Emirates. Eight OPEC+ member countries met virtually on Sunday and agreed to increase output by 547,000 bpd in September. This is an addition to the 548,000 bpd increases for August, the...

Angola’s oil-backed loan to China is expected to drop from $7.5 billion to $8 billion by the end the year. This comes as the government tries to reduce its dependence on resource-backed finance. Dorivaldo Téixeira, Director, Debt Management Unit, Finance Ministry, said late on Wednesday that "all debt collateralised by the oil revenue is concentrated in agreements made with China. These have been reduced gradually in recent years." Angola is trying to reduce the amount of loans backed by resources it has in order to cope with a challenging external environment, which has seen a rise in interest rates and...