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Oil steadies near one-week highs as US-Iran peace deal hopes dim
The price of oil remained stable on Tuesday, at a level higher than the previous week's high. This was due to the fading hope of an agreement between the U.S.A. and Iran that would end their war and open the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump asked for compensation for the damage the U.S. had incurred. Brent crude futures dropped 10 cents or 0.11% to $87.62 per barrel at 0405 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 5 cents or 0.06% to $82.08 per barrel. Both benchmarks rose by more than 5% to their highest level since July 31 after Trump's response to Iran’s conditions for a deal. He demanded that Iran pay compensation for those killed in wars and attacks, as well as protests. This is likely to complicate attempts to reopen Strait of Hormuz. He added later in the day that the U.S. controlled the Strait of Hormuz and had cleaned the strategic oil 'waterway from Iranian mines. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that there appears to be "a gap, no pun intended" between Iran and the U.S. about what an agreement might actually look like. "As a consequence, some of that optimism which was built up in the last week has been unwound and oil prices have taken on a decidedly bid note." Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco has postponed the restart of its 400,000-barrel-per-day Jazan refinery to August 30 after ?the Houthis claimed two attacks on the plant on Sunday. The chokehold risk in the Strait of Hormuz as well as the Bab el-Mandeb is still very high. Waterer stated that even intermittent restrictions and the threat of future incidents can keep insurance rates high, forcing longer shipping routes. "Hence energy flows are likely to remain constrained in the near term," he said. Analysts at Barclays wrote a note Monday stating that crude oil and refined product net exports via the Strait of Hormuz decreased to 3 million barrels per day in the week ended August 7. This is down from the previous week's average of 4.4 million barrels. Tony Sycamore, IG analyst, says that markets will remain in a morbid state of detachment if crude oil continues to slip 'through both blockades by ship-to-ship transfer and?overland route. The?Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is currently offering spot crude as part of a tender. This is the eighth such tender since the beginning of June, when the UAE state oil firm began working to move oil out of the Strait of Hormuz. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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Inflation reports and gold gains in the spotlight
Investors focused on inflation data to get clues about the U.S. rate outlook. Gold rose for a 'third straight session' on Tuesday. By 0217 GMT, spot gold had risen 1% to $4432.74 an ounce, its highest level since the 5th of June. U.S. Gold Futures increased 1.7% to $4492.60. The?move is being driven by a level of FOMO (fear to miss out) among those who missed a?dip of $4,000 and some short-covering on speculative account, according to IG market analyst 'Tony Sycamore. "We do expect that prices will break in the medium-term and allow for a stronger recovery to $5,000." After last week's disappointing July U.S. job data, the markets lowered their bets on Federal Reserve raising rates in September. The Federal Reserve held rates at the same level during its meeting in July, despite three officials voting for a rate hike. Gold tends to be supported by lower interest rates, as it pays no interest. If the data continues to show a cooling in the economy, without a significant resurgence of inflation, then markets may reduce expectations about tighter policies. This would 'leave the dollar vulnerable, and provide a supportive backdrop for gold,' Fawad Rasaqzada said in a Forex.com note. In a rhetorical escalation that is likely to complicate the efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. president Donald Trump has responded to Iran’s 'conditions' for a deal by demanding that Iran compensate for those killed in wars, attacks, and protests. Silver spot rose 0.9% per ounce to $66.30, platinum gained 0.7% at $1,765.26, and palladium increased 0.8% at $1,394.00.
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Oil prices rise, Asia stocks drift amid US-Iran stalemate
The oil prices rose Tuesday, as the negotiations between the U.S. & Iran on a peace agreement and the reopening of Strait of Hormuz reached an impasse. Meanwhile, Asian shares fell on the back of persistent uncertainty about?the global outlook for inflation. U.S. president Donald Trump responded on Monday to the Iranians' conditions for a deal by demanding that Iran compensate for those killed in wars and attacks, as well as protests. This rhetorical escalation is likely to complicate attempts to reopen this vital waterway. Brent crude futures climbed to $88.00 per barrel and U.S. oil futures slid to $82.45 after the contracts rose by about 5% on Sunday. Tony Sycamore is a IG market analyst. He said, "This will be a war attrition." "You can probably see the (oil market) sitting around the $75 to 95 range while we watch who blinks first." Fuel costs have risen again, raising the stakes in the U.S. consumer price report for July due on Wednesday. Expectations are for an increase of 0.2% in the core measure and?0.1% for the headline. A positive surprise could revive bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next week. The odds are currently at a coin flip. Capital Economics' chief market economist, Jonas Goltermann said: "We believe the risks are skewed in favor of a hot print. This would likely drive a rebounding of rate expectations, and potentially, a renewed worry about stagflation." Overall, we remain of the opinion that the U.S. economic situation is a little hotter than "Goldilocks". This indicates higher interest rates." Due to the holiday in Japan on Tuesday, trading of U.S. Treasury bills in Asia was closed. However, futures prices fell, suggesting higher yields. The Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its policy decisions on Tuesday. It is expected that the central bank will keep rates at current levels. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan fluctuated between losses and gains, and last was up 0.2%. South Korea's Kospi also rose 0.3% as the latest escalation in Gulf hostilities kept the market sentiment fragile. Nasdaq Futures rose 0.28%, while S&P500 futures gained 0.1%. Wall Street closed lower on Monday in the cash session. The EuroStoxx 50 futures fell 0.05% while the FTSE and DAX were flat. Nvidia announced overnight that it had partnered with six major banks to launch compute finance platforms, aiming to raise over $500 billion for AI infrastructure. This highlights the'scale of investment boom in this sector. Sycamore, IG's Sycamore, said: "A small piece of me wondered if this was how I felt when subprime mortgages became a mainstream item - an innovation that helped to trigger the GFC." The?yen, which was slipping below 159 dollars per dollar last week, and far from the previous?high of 155.20, after several suspected rounds, including one jointly by Japan and the United States, is back in the spotlight. Analysts at Nomura said that the market is likely to remain vigilant over further U.S. and Japanese yen buying intervention. Therefore, USD/JPY breaking 160 in the near term appears unlikely. The latest price action shows that there are a lot of USD/JPY buyers who have been buying dips after the pair has reached the 156-157 area for the first since May." The dollar was boosted by the recent rise in oil prices. It kept the euro from reaching a high of 1-1/2 months, as it traded last at $1.1546. Sterling, however, slipped from its one-month-old peak and changed hands at $1.3512. Spot gold rose 0.5% elsewhere to $4,409.81 per ounce.
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Five people have been killed in attacks by Russia on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv, according to officials
Officials said that Russian attacks on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia city early Tuesday morning killed five and injured 20 people. They also hit Kyiv and caused fires to spread in the capital. Ivan Fedorov, regional governor of Zaporizhzhia, said that 'Russian troops have used missiles and aerial bombardments on the city. He posted photos of burning buildings and vehicles. Air raid alerts were issued in both Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv. The city's military administration reported that warehouses in the central district of Kyiv were on fire. One person was reported to have been injured. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, said that medical personnel had been dispatched in the central district. Kyiv’s air raid warning was lifted after a period of?40 minutes, and then issued again well past midnight. Witnesses?earlier reported hearing explosions in the city. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese; Rosalba o'Brien, Lincoln Feast, and Chris Reese)
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Ukrainian prisoners describe torture and sexual abuse they suffered while detained in Russian custody
Former Ukrainian detainees as well as?Ukrainian officials, on Monday, accused Russia of torturing civilian and prisoners of war, keeping them incommunicado, and subjecting?thousands of people still held captive to beatings, shocks, and sexual abuse. Russia has rejected the claims made during a?informal U.N. Security Council Meeting. Its Deputy U.N. representative Maria Zabolotskaya called it "a campaign of disinformation" and claimed that Russian prisoners were being subjected "to torture and degradation, as well as moral and physical abuse." Khuan Levya-Garsiya is still an active member in the Ukrainian military. He claims that his Russian captors tortured him for 1,183 days. "Yes ... "Yes... "Anything that you can imagine can be done to humiliate and hurt a man without his consent. You can imagine anything, including verbal abuse, physical abuse and electrocution. All the things that can be done to someone in order to break them mentally. "It was all done to me and the majority of my comrades." Garsiya told the U.N. meeting that he had been lucky to survive, but two of his close friends died in Donetsk detention centers. He told the U.N. that prisoners were kept in "overcrowded bars without adequate conditions" where "almost everyone was sick with dysentery," and many were starving. He said that guards were targeting him because of his Latino surname, accusing him of being a "mercenary" and an "American spy". Leniie Umerova is a Crimean Tatar activist who was released as part of a prisoner swap in 2024. She said that she had been detained when trying to visit her seriously-ill father in Crimea. She accused Russia of torturing Ukrainians held in captivity and described her experience of being taken through "seven" detention facilities in a "carousel" of repression. Oleg Gushin, the head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War of the Ukrainian Government, said that Ukrainian prisoners are "killed and abused" while in captivity. He claimed that Kyiv identified "more than 30 places of detention" on Russian and Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. While more than?9,000 Ukrainians were returned to their homes through exchanges, he said "thousands' remained in Russian captivity. Volodymyr Pavlichenko, Ukraine's Charged d'Affaires, called for increased international pressure on Russia to hold it accountable for the treatment of its prisoners. "WIDEPREAD AND SYMPATHETIC" U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Claudia Fuentes Julio stated that U.N. Monitoring showed "widespread and systematic torture and abuse of Ukrainian prisoners-of-war and civilian detainees" by Russian Federation authorities, including sexual violence. She said that since February '2022, the U.N. Office of the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner had documented the death of 48 Ukrainian prisoners in custody due to torture, lack of medical care or other inhumane detention conditions. She stated that more than 95 percent of Ukrainian prisoners-of-war interviewed had reported torture or mistreatment. She stated that more than half of respondents also reported sexual violence. This included "rapes, gang-rapes, beatings while nude and beatings on the genitals. Electric shocks were given to the genitals or nipples. And degrading treatment with a sexualized tone." She stated that the U.N. had received "consistent reports of severe beatings using objects such as heavy belts and batons. Other forms of torture include electric shocks and dog attacks. Fuentes Julio stated that the OHCHR also documented torture and ill treatment of Russian and foreign nationals held as prisoners of war by Ukraine but on a "fundamentally different scale." She stated that about half of Russians and other third-country detainees interviewed had reported abuse in the initial stages of their captivity. (Reporting and editing by Stephen Coates; David Brunnstrom, Andrea Shalal)
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Oil steadies near one-week highs as US-Iran peace deal hopes dim
The oil prices remained steady?on Tuesday? at a level higher than a week ago?despite fading hopes of an agreement between the U.S.A. and Iran that would end their war and open the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump demanded damages for the U.S. Brent crude futures remained flat at $87.81 per barrel at 0013 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude?futures stayed at $82.20 per barrel. Both benchmarks rose by more than 5% Monday, reaching their highest level since July 31. Trump's response to Iran’s conditions for a deal was to demand that Iran pay compensation for those killed in wars and attacks, as well as protests. This is likely to complicate attempts to reopen Strait of Hormuz. Later that day, he said the U.S. controlled the strait. Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst for KCM Trade. He said that there appears to be an apparent gulf between Iran and the U.S. regarding what an agreement might actually look like. Oil prices have a decidedly 'bought?tone. Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco has postponed the restart of its 400,000-barrel-per-day Jazan refinery to August 30 after the Houthis claimed two attacks on the plant on ?Sunday. The chokehold risks around the Strait of Hormuz as well as the Bab el-Mandeb remain very significant. Even intermittent restrictions and the threat of more incidents keeps insurance costs high and forces longer shipping routes. "Hence energy flows are likely to remain constrained in the near future," Waterer said. Analysts at Barclays wrote a note dated 'Monday' stating that crude oil and refined products net exports via the Strait of Hormuz decreased to 3 mln barrels per day in the week ended August 7. This is down from the 4.4 mln bpd of the previous week. Iraq also raised its official selling price for Basra medium crude in September by $2.50, to $4 less per barrel than the average Oman/Dubai quote. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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Prices of diesel rise due to tightening supply worldwide
U.S., and European Diesel prices rose sharply Monday after attacks on refineries and supply disruptions in Russia and Saudi Arabia. This is a concern for farmers who need fuel to plant in the Northern Hemisphere and harvest in the Southern Hemisphere. The U.S. ultra low sulfur diesel futures contract grew 7.4% on Monday to $4.19 per gallon, its biggest gain since July 13. The European diesel refining profit margins, which are measured by the difference between fuel prices and crude oil costs, increased nearly 10%. The surge came after confirmation that Ukraine had attacked a refinery located in Russia's Tatarstan Region?and Yemen's Houthis had also attacked the Jazan refinery, in Saudi Arabia. According to IIR Energy, the Jazan refinery was closed since July 27 because of an earlier attack by the Houthis. Plans to restart it were subsequently pushed back from August 15 until August 30. Bob Yawger, Mizuho's analyst, said that the?refinery attack has taken substantial amounts of diesel from the market. Fuel prices are largely driven by crude oil, but gains in diesel futures have outpaced U.S. West Texas intermediate futures and Brent Futures. Both settled at about 5%, as the hope of reopening Strait of Hornmuz appeared to fade, with the United States negotiating compensation demands with Iran. The ongoing Iran 'war' has led to a blockade of Strait of Hormuz, which has severely cut the global supply of diesel by cutting off the Middle East crude oil and fuel flow. In recent months, Ukraine intensified its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, leading Moscow to ban the export of gasoline and diesel up until January 2027. This further restricted global supply. As of July 31, the U.S. inventory of distillate fuels (which includes diesel and heating oil) was 107.2 million barrels. This is the lowest level for this time in a year since three decades. According to a preliminary survey by the. (Reporting from Shariq Khan, New York; editing by Daniel Wallis).
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Statement: Fire breaks out in a diesel tank at Libya’s Zawiya Oil Depot
Brega Petroleum Marketing Company released a statement saying that a fire broke out, along with a heavy smoke, in the diesel?tank at Zawiya Refinery in Libya on Monday after the tank was hit under circumstances that are still unknown. Brega, owned by the state oil company NOC, is responsible for fuel supply. Zawiya, the largest refinery in Libya, as Ras Lanuf has been shut down, is located around 40 km west of Tripoli. Its capacity is?120,000 barrels a day. It is linked to the 300,000 barrels per day Sharara oilfield. The?company stated that firefighter 'brigades' are battling the fire. It added that it was assessing damage and would update once the information is confirmed. NOC declared an extreme state of emergencies in the area after claiming that the tank with 4.5 million litres gasoline "was directly targetted". It called on the competent authorities to "immediately" intervene and begin an investigation into the incident. Unverified footage posted on the internet shows thick black smoke and huge flames in Zawiya. Two engineers working at the refinery stated that there is no suspension of operations. The incident occurred two days after the drone crash into an untreated tank of naphtha at Zawiya refinery early on Saturday morning, causing a leak that was controlled by staff. Reporting by Ayman Al-Warfalli, Ahmed Elumami and Muhammad Al Gebaly. Editing by Chris Reese, Nick Zieminski.
Aluminium reaches seven-week high due to dwindling stocks
The light metal's price rose for the seventh time in a row on Tuesday as concerns about a tight supply and an ongoing deficit drove up prices.
Benchmark three-month "aluminum" on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.54% to $3,335.5 per metric ton at 0300 GMT. The price of aluminum had reached $3,350 per ton earlier in the day, its highest level since the 23rd of June.
The most traded aluminium contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 0.62%, to 24,185 Yuan ($3,586.20), per ton. Analysts expect that the market will remain in deficit for this year. The U.S. - Iran war?has caused aluminium shipments to be disrupted from the Middle East. This accounts for almost 9% global capacity. On Tuesday, hopes of a 'deal' between the two nations faded after U.S. president Donald Trump demanded Iranian reparations.
Copper also received support in other countries due to supply concerns and a cooling of fears about higher U.S. rates for longer.
The LME copper price rose 0.14% while the SHFE price increased 0.58%. Cash-to-three month spread on the LME
LME stocks of red metal
Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a recent note that the weaker than expected U.S. job data last week had lowered expectations for an interest rate hike. "Higher interest rates tend to hurt industrial metals because they weigh on economic growth."
Zinc fell 0.12% among?LME Metals. Lead was stable, Nickel dropped 0.24% and Tin slipped 0.06%.
Zinc gained 0.22% among SHFE metals. Lead gained 0.76%. Nickel lost 0.67%. Tin lost 0.45%.
(source: Reuters)