North America

Sources claim that the Russian oil giant Lukoil struggles to maintain operations at its vast foreign businesses, as Western sanctions disrupt oil loads in Iraq, pumping stations in Finland, and trading in Switzerland. Last month, the United States and United Kingdom imposed sanctions against Russia's second largest oil company. This has complicated its operations. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a license giving companies until 21 November to end any transactions with Lukoil or Rosneft, the number one oil producer. Sanctions are being felt in all regions where the company is active. Iraq's Somo, the state-owned firm, has cancelled the...

Oil prices held steady Monday as the market weighed the latest OPEC+ production increase against the group's plan to pause increases in the first three quarters of 2026, along with fears of a glut of oil and weak factory data from Asia. Brent crude futures dropped 24 cents or 0.4% to $64.53 per barrel at 10:37 am EST (1537 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), which is a blend of U.S. West Texas Intermediate and Brent, fell by 31 cents or 0.5% to $60.67. OPEC+ (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, and allied producers) agreed on Sunday to increase...

Authorities in the region said that a drone attack from Ukraine caused damage and fire to the Black Sea port of Tuapse. The facility is home to an important Russian oil terminal. The administration of the Krasnodar Region, where Tuapse lies, announced on Telegram that "An attack from UAVs (unmanned aircraft vehicles) has been repelled." "Falling drones caused damage to the port infrastructure and ignited a fire." No reports have been made of any casualties. The damage to port infrastructure is not immediately apparent. The port houses the Tuapse Oil Terminal and the Rosneft controlled Tuapse Oil Refinery. Both have...

President Donald Trump on Friday denied he was considering strikes inside Venezuela, appearing to contradict his own comments from last week and amid intensifying expectations that Washington may soon expand drug-trafficking-related operations. In recent months the United States has established a significant military presence in Caribbean, including fighter jets, ships and thousands of soldiers. This presence will grow significantly in the next few weeks, with the arrival the Gerald Ford aircraft carriers strike group. When asked on Friday by reporters aboard Air Force One whether media reports claiming that Trump was considering strikes in Venezuela were true or not, Trump...

Yoshimichi M. Maruyama, chief financial officer of Japan's Seven & i, said that the company is working on a number of initiatives including potential M&A and partnership deals aimed at achieving substantial growth. 7-Eleven, the Japanese retailer that owns convenience stores in Japan, wants to show investors how it can grow after Canada's Couche-Tard pulled out of a $46 billion bid offer last July. Seven & i said that it would pursue a listing for its North American convenience-store subsidiary in the second half 2026 and buy back shares worth about 2 trillion yen (13 billion dollars) through fiscal year...

Reliance Industries in India and Google announced tie-ups in artificial intelligence for consumers and businesses, including a free 18-month subscription to Google's Gemini AI Pro Platform, as part of a push to increase AI adoption in India. The companies have announced that the offer, currently priced at 35.100 rupees (about $399) for 18 months will allow Jio users to access the latest Gemini 2. Pro model, 2TB of cloud storage and its image and videos generation models. OpenAI announced a few days earlier that it would provide users with ChatGPT Go access for a full year in India. India's AI...

India announced on Thursday that the U.S. had granted it a six-month waiver of sanctions to operate Chabahar's Iranian port. This will help New Delhi to boost its trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian nations, bypassing Pakistan. Last year, India signed a contract for 10 years with Iran. Develop and operate a port This month, the United States has increased its cooperation with Taliban-run Afghanistan. Reopening of its Embassy Kabul was closed in 2021 after the Islamist group took power following the withdrawal by the U.S. led NATO forces. Initially, the port was planned to be built on Iran's Gulf...

PBF Energy posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday, as higher margins helped the U.S. refiner offset downtime at its fire-hit Martinez refinery in California. The U.S. refinery margins are up from multi-year-lows. They have recovered from last year's slump, when profits dropped from their post-pandemic peaks and supply shocks caused by Russia's invasion in Ukraine 2022 faded. Valero Energy, Phillips 66 and other rival refiners also reported positive quarterly results. PBF Energy’s gross refining profit, excluding special items and other costs, was $9 per barrel during the third quarter of 2016, compared to $6.79 per barrel a year earlier....

Lukoil announced on Thursday that it accepted an offer by global commodity trader Gunvor for its foreign assets. Russia's second largest oil company has been seeking to sell these assets after Washington imposed sanctions last week. The planned asset sales are the most significant action taken by a Russian firm in response to the Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. This war began when Russia invaded its neighbor on a full scale back in 2022. Lukoil announced in a press release that it had accepted Gunvor's offer to sell Lukoil International GmbH which controls foreign assets of the oil...

Orban's chief said that the Hungarian prime minister will meet Donald Trump in Washington on November 7, where he hopes to discuss a way forward for a U.S. -Russia summit and to seek an exemption from U.S. sanctions on energy. Gergely Gulyas said at a press conference that the two leaders will also sign agreements of co-operation on the fields energy, defence, economy, and finance. He said that "some of these have been already negotiated while in other cases, discussions are still underway." Orban said previously that he wanted to sign a wide-ranging economic agreement with Washington in order to...

Here are some details from the U.S. White House Factsheet and South Korea's Chief Policy Advisor Kim Yong Beom on the recent trade agreement between the two nations. Washington and Seoul agreed that tariffs on U.S. auto imports from Korea and auto parts will be reduced to 15% from 25%. This is to bring them in line with their Japanese counterparts who pay the same 15% tariffs after Tokyo made a deal with Washington. South Korean wood product and pharmaceutical manufacturers will have the lowest tariffs of all countries. Generic drugs and aircraft parts will be exempt from tariffs. Kim...

The only refinery in Serbia will only continue to operate until November 25, as new crude oil deliveries have been stopped due to U.S. sanction against the Russian-owned plant operator NIS. This was reported by Tanjug News Agency on Wednesday, citing the energy minister. NIS, of which Gazprom, Gazprom and the Serbian Government each own 44.9%, operates the only refinery in Serbia, located in Pancevo. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury placed initial sanctions on Russia's petroleum sector on 10 January and gave Gazprom a 45-day deadline to sell its NIS holdings. The sanctions had been...

TechMet, a U.S. investment vehicle, is looking at portfolio additions. This includes bidding on a Ukraine Lithium deposit. However, the CEO is concerned that Europe is falling behind in developing a vital minerals sector, which will help to counteract Chinese dominance. Brian Menell, CEO of TechMet, said that the company, which is privately held, has stakes in ten companies, from Brazilian Nickel to South Africa’s Rainbow Rare Earths. He hopes to add to this number within 12 months. In an interview, he stated that "this short-term period market weakness due to the supply of nickel, lithium, cobalt, and rare earth...

Canada's main index of stocks fell on Monday, as investors analyzed local economic data. However, an increase in gold and technology shares kept losses under control. 10:08 am The S&P/TSX Composite Index in Toronto was down 0.17% to 30,273.68 at 10:08 a.m. ET. The manufacturing sector's downturn in Canada eased slightly in October, as new orders and output, which had been hampered by trade uncertainty declined at a lower pace, according to Manufacturing PMI data. Later this week, we will receive new data on the employment situation. In the U.S. manufacturing shrank for an eighth consecutive month in October, as...

A letter seen by the Board shows that the activist fund Palliser capital has increased pressure on Rio Tinto, asking it to launch a "now-or-never" counterbid to acquire Teck Resources. The letter urges Rio Tinto's dual listed structure to be unified and to spin off the base metals division to create a powerhouse in copper. In a letter dated October 17, Rio shareholders Palliser and Palliser encouraged the company to contest Teck's merger agreement with Anglo American in order to gain control over a copper portfolio of tier one that could produce combined 1.3 million tons of copper a year....

Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced on Friday that Canada would accelerate mining projects totaling C$6.4 billion ($4.6billion) as part the Critical Minerals Production Alliance. The announcement was made at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of energy ministers and environmental ministers of the Group of Seven in Toronto. Hodgson stated that Canada, along with its G7 partners, will mobilize both public and private capital in order to accelerate the production of graphite and rare earth elements. Canada has announced that as part of its alliance with Australia's Rio Tinto and Quebec-based Nouveau Monde Graphite, it signed...

Gold prices fell 1% on the Friday due to uncertainty about another interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year. However, gold is still poised to gain for a third consecutive month. At 1:49 pm, spot gold dropped 0.6% to $4.001.74 an ounce. ET (1749 GMT), and was on course for a 3.7% increase this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery settled 0.5% lower, at $3.996.5 per ounce. Dollar index was near its three-month-high, making bullion priced in greenbacks more expensive for holders of other currencies. Beth Hammack, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said...

Gold prices held firm above $4,000 per ounce as traders assessed the uncertainty surrounding another interest rate reduction by the U.S. Federal Reserve in this year. However, the metal was poised to make a third consecutive monthly gain. At 10:59 am, spot gold was unchanged at $4.021.86 an ounce. ET (1459 GMT) after dropping to $3,988.37 in earlier session. Prices are on track to increase by 4% in the month of April. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were up 0.2% to $4,024.9 an ounce. Dollar index was near its three-month-high, making bullion priced in greenbacks more expensive for holders...

Gold fell to $4,000 per ounce as the dollar remained near its three-month highs due to uncertainty about another rate cut by the U.S. in December. However, it is still on track to make a third consecutive monthly gain. Gold spot was down 0.5% to $4,004.37 an ounce at 0936 GMT. It had gained almost 4% this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery were unchanged at $4,016.30 an ounce. Dollar-priced gold is more expensive to other currency holders because the dollar index has been near its highest level in three months. Ricardo Evangelista, an analyst at ActivTrades, said that...

Newmont CEO Tom Palmer said that fiscal stability and fair tax systems and royalties are essential if countries wish to attract mining investments. The company had just opened its $900m Ahafo North Mine in Ghana. Newmont only operates in Ghana in Africa, which is one of the most stable mining jurisdictions on the continent. It offers stability agreements to firms that lock in royalties over a period of five to fifteen years. However, the government intends to tighten oversight of mining companies. Palmer, in an interview on Thursday, following the inauguration the Ahafo North Mine, Newmont's second mine in Ghana,...

The companies announced on Friday that Mexican precious metals mining firm Fresnillo had agreed to purchase Canada's Probe Gold, for C$780,000,000 ($556,000,000) in cash. This marks the expansion of the London-listed company into North American markets. The deal follows a dramatic rise in gold prices in this year as investors seek safe haven assets like bullion due to geopolitical tensions. The deal will see Fresnillo pay C$3.65 for each share, a 39% premium over Probe Gold's closing price. It also gives Fresnillo access to Probe Gold’s 10 million ounces gold reserves, including its Novador project, located in Quebec. David Palmer,...

Gold prices fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened on the uncertainty about further Federal Reserve rate reductions, but the bullion is still on track for its third consecutive month gain. As of 0700 GMT, spot gold was down 0.3%, at $4,011.60 an ounce. Bullion is up 4% this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose by 0.1%, to $4.021.20 an ounce. Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, said that the Fed Chairman's hawkish stance this week did not do gold any favors. The prospect of a December rate cut is now much less certain than previously...

Gold prices fell Friday as the dollar strengthened on fears of further Federal Reserve rate reductions, but bullion is still on course for its third consecutive monthly gain. As of 0459 GMT, spot gold was down 0.4%, at $4,005.54 an ounce. Bullion is up 3.9% this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery remained at $4,018.10 an ounce. Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, said that the Fed Chairman's hawkish stance this week did not do gold any favors. The prospect of a December rate cut is now much less certain than previously believed, which has helped boost...

Gold prices fell Friday as the dollar strengthened on fears of further Federal Reserve rate reductions, but bullion is still on course for its third consecutive monthly gain. As of 0240 GMT, spot gold was down 0.5%, at $4,004 an ounce. Bullion is up 3.9% this month. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery remained unchanged at $4,016.70 an ounce. Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, said that the Fed Chairman's hawkish stance this week did not do gold any favors. The prospect of a December rate cut is now much less certain than previously believed, which has helped...