North America

The Russian rouble gained against the U.S. Dollar and China's Yuan on Thursday, despite lower oil prices in Russia. Oil firms converted their earnings into roubles prior to U.S. sanctions taking effect. At 1020 GMT the rouble had gained more than 1% against the dollar, trading at 80.45, and was 0.5% higher at 11,31 against the Yuan at the Moscow Stock Exchange where it is traded the most. Washington introduced sanctions last month against Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft Lukoil as part of President Donald Trump's efforts for an end to Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. The deadline set for...

According to sources familiar with the plant's operations, Marathon Petroleum has restarted the last repaired portion of the residual hydrotreater at its 631,000 barrels per day (bpd), Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City. Jamal Kheiry, the spokesperson for Marathon, declined to comment on operations at its refinery Wednesday. Sources said that the last section was a hydrocracker located on the RHU of 64,000 bpd, which had been heavily damaged in a fire in June. The hydrocracker should restart by the week's end. Sources told us in October that the hydrocracker repair work would be completed in November. A restart was...

Three sources with knowledge of the situation said that the Russian energy giant Lukoil had requested an extension of the U.S. Treasury deadline, which prevents transactions with Russian companies after November 21. Last month, the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control announced new sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil. This increased pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. OFAC issued a license to all companies that allowed them until the 21st of November to finalize their deals with Lukoil. This included any purchases of international assets owned by the oil company headquartered in Moscow. Sources...

The chairman of Bulgaria's state reserves agency announced on Tuesday that the country has one month's worth of gasoline left to prepare for U.S. Sanctions against Russia's Lukoil. Lukoil owns Bulgaria's biggest oil refinery, as well as its storage and pipeline infrastructure. Last month, the U.S., Britain, and France imposed sanctions against Lukoil, and Rosneft - Russia's largest oil companies - over Moscow's conflict in Ukraine. This threatened their operations, which still stretch across Europe. The U.S. sanction, scheduled to start on November 21, has raised concerns over fuel supplies in Bulgaria ahead of winter, where Lukoil operates the Burgas...

Saudi Aramco's decision to reduce the price of crude oil it sells to Asian refiners in December has been seen as an attempt to gain market share, amid fears of global oversupply. The reduction in Saudi crude oil was lower than the forecasts of Asian refiners. It seems to be a way for the world's largest crude exporter, Saudi Arabia, to remain competitive against other grades while giving it flexibility should China or India reject Russian barrels due U.S. sanctions. Aramco lowered last week its official selling price for its benchmark Arab Light for Asian customers by $1 per barrel...

The Russian rouble is stable against the U.S. Dollar and weaker than the Chinese yuan after the central banks reported an increase in exporters' foreign currency sales last month. Some analysts attribute this to U.S. sanctioned. The rouble traded at 81.20 dollars in the over-the-counter market and at 11.43 yuan at the Moscow Stock Exchange, which was down 0.5% at 0840 GMT. The central bank of Russia announced Monday that foreign currency sales for October were up 68% compared to a month ago, reaching $8.2 billion. The central bank attributed the increase to exporters repaying their foreign debt. In a...

Early Asian trade on Monday saw oil prices drop, erasing gains made in the previous session. Oversupply worries outweighed optimism about a possible resolution to the U.S. Government Shutdown. Brent crude futures dropped 13 cents or 0.2% to $63.93 per barrel at 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was also at $60 per barrel, down 13 cents or 0.2%. Both benchmarks rose by around 40 cents during the last session. The longest government shut down in U.S. History could end this coming week. A compromise to restore federal funding passed the initial Senate hurdle on Sunday night, but it...

Gold Reserve, a Toronto-listed company, filed a lawsuit in Delaware against Rusoro Mining on Monday for alleged breach in contractual obligations. The consortium agreement required Rusoro to bid in an auction for Citgo Petroleum's parent company in the United States. In August, Elliott Investment Management's affiliate was recommended to be the winner of the auction. This bid beat Gold Reserve's bid of $7.9billion. The auction of Venezuela's PDV Holding is intended to compensate up 15 creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in Venezuela. As part of both bids, Rusoro agreed to allow the use of its $1.5 billion claim relating...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed on Monday that the United States had struck two alleged drug vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing six on board. The strikes have sparked calls for an investigation. Hegseth stated in a blog post on X that the vessels had been identified as being associated with illegal narcotics smuggling. They were also carrying narcotics and transiting along a well-known narcotrafficking route. According to the U.S. Defense Secretary, the U.S. carried out more that a dozen attacks on vessels near Venezuelan shores and more recently in the eastern Pacific Ocean. More than 70...

Premier Rosen Zhelyazkov announced on Monday that Bulgarian authorities were conducting inspections at the Russian oil giant Lukoil’s Burgas refinery and taking security measures to protect critical infrastructure. The government is preparing to take control of the site. Last week, Bulgaria made legal changes that allowed it to buy the refinery from the U.S. and sell it on to a new buyer to protect the plant against sanctions. Zhelyazkov stated on Monday that these measures include inspections, and the preparation of military police. They are preventive, and aim to preserve critical infrastructure including oil refinery, and other facilities. The Council...

Sources in the trade said that two Indian state refiners purchased 5,000,000 barrels of crude from spot markets through tenders, as they continue their search for alternatives to Russian supplies. Hindustan Petroleum Corp. has purchased 2 million barrels of each U.S. West Texas Intermediate and Abu Dhabi Murban crudes for arrival in January, according to reports. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd purchased one million barrels Basra Medium Crude for delivery between January 1-7, according to the company. It was not immediately clear who the sellers were or what their prices were. Indian refiners have been looking for alternatives since U.S....

The top official of the U.S. Treasury Department said that the United States is looking to seize a "moment in Lebanon" to cut off Iranian funding for Hezbollah, and to press the group into disarming. John Hurley said in a late-Friday interview that Iran managed to send about $1 billion this year to Hezbollah despite the Western sanctions which have ravaged its economy. The U.S. is waging a campaign of "maximum pressuring" on Tehran to reduce its uranium-enrichment program and regional influence. This includes in Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah has also been weakened since Israel destroyed its military strength...

Shanghai copper prices rose on Thursday, as investors welcomed an end to the U.S. Government shutdown. This eased market uncertainty. However, gains were limited by the expectation of weak Chinese lending in advance of important economic data releases. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract closed the daytime trading at 86,550 Yuan ($12150.78) per metric ton, up by 0.95%. As of 0703 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper was also up, rising by 0.19%, to $10,965 per ton. The U.S. president Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday to end the longest shutdown of government in American history, just...

Gold prices rose on Wednesday ahead of a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to reopen government, which could resume the flow of economic information and pave the way for the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates by December. As of 09:41 am (1158 GMT), spot gold was up by 0.3%, at $4,137.95 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose by 0.7%, to $4.143.30 an ounce. Gold is still holding its recent gains, as the House votes today to end the shutdown of the federal government. Recent price movement would suggest that any delays in House...

The copper price steadied Wednesday as the market anticipated the end of the U.S. Government shutdown. At 1122 GMT, the benchmark copper price on London Metal Exchange was unchanged at $10.827 per metric ton. Last month, it reached a record-high of $11,200 due to mine supply shortages caused primarily by disruptions such as an accident in Indonesia. The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday on a compromise to restore funding for government agencies and to end the shutdown that began on October 1. The traders said that the anticipated return of U.S. data, which will help investors and...

Investors waited for a House of Representatives vote to reopen federal government. This could provide clarity about economic data, and possible Federal Reserve rate reductions. As of 8:37 GMT, spot gold remained unchanged at $4,131.80 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose 0.5%, to $4.137.20 an ounce. "Everyone awaits more clarity about the government shutdown, and when data will be coming from the U.S.A. again," said UBS Analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Gold prices are still on an upward trend. Staunovo said that nothing structurally has changed. Gold prices are up more than 57% in the past year, with a...

Copper prices rose on Wednesday, as investors looked forward to progress in resolving the long-running U.S. shutdown. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most active copper contract closed the daytime trade up 0.16% to 86,840 Yuan ($12,191.49) per metric tonne. As of 0705 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper showed minimal movement as well, with a 0.06% increase to $10,833.5 per ton. ADP, a payroll processor, reported on Tuesday that companies in the United States lost more than 11,00 jobs during the week ending in late October. However, it had previously stated that the month of October saw a total gain...

The price of copper was not much changed on Wednesday, as U.S. data on private sector employment added to the expectations for a Federal Reserve rate reduction. Meanwhile, markets were looking to see if there had been any progress in ending the long-running U.S. Government shutdown. As of 0311 GMT, the most active copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange had risen 0.02% to 86,720 Yuan ($12174.65) per ton. Copper for the benchmark three-month contract also showed minimal movement. It eased 0.03%, to $10,824 per ton. ADP, a payroll processor, reported on Tuesday that US firms lost more than 11,00...

Wednesday saw gold rise for the fourth consecutive session, with a lower dollar and the expectation that the reopening U.S. Government and the flow of economic data would strengthen bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut in the next month. Gold spot rose 0.2%, to $4,133.99 an ounce, at 0155 GMT. It had reached its highest level since October 23, Tuesday. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose 0.6%, to $4140.10 an ounce. Tim Waterer, KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst, said that the dollar's decline has helped gold and silver. Both metals have seen gains in this week. Gold is...

Liontown Resources announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with German digital commodity platform Metalshub for online auctions of spodumene from its Kathleen Valley Lithium project in Western Australia. After the announcement, shares of the Australian lithium mining company soared up to 5.7% to A$1.31, their highest level since the middle of 2024. This outperformed a 0.2% increase in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200. This tie-up aims to digitalise and streamline spot sales while promoting market pricing, as lithium buyers and producers adopt auction formats. The project will see the first 10,000 metric ton digital sale on November 19. Liontown plans...

Gold prices fell on Tuesday, as traders took profits after the price had reached a three-week high in the previous session. However, hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut rates next month due to a resumption in U.S. data limited losses. At 11:28 am, spot gold was down by 0.1% to $4,110.42 an ounce. ET (1628 GMT), after earlier reaching its highest level since October 23. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell by 0.1%, to $4116.30 an ounce. "We just hit good resistance around halfway back and that probably caused some profit-taking on the longs following yesterday's gains and...

Gold prices reached a three-week high Tuesday. This was boosted by the expectation that the U.S. Government shutdown could be over and the Federal Reserve would reduce interest rates in the next month. At 9:47 am, spot gold was up by 0.3% to $4,127.12 an ounce. ET (1447 GMT), after earlier reaching its highest level since October 23. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose by 0.3%, to $4133.20 an ounce. As gold is not a yielding asset, it tends to do well in environments with low interest rates. Jim Wyckoff is a senior analyst at Kitco Metals. He said:...

The U.S. Government has added copper to its list of critical mineral - metals that are vital to the economy and national security of the United States. The United States, however, has amassed the second-largest copper stockpile in the world, after China's reserves. The federal government has not spent a single dollar on this project. The copper market did all the work by creating a huge arbitrage gap between U.S. prices traded at the CME and international prices traded on the London Metal Exchange. Price differentials have already brought massive quantities of copper to the United States. The market is...

Gold prices reached their highest level in almost three weeks on February 2, supported by the expectation that a possible U.S. reopening of government could restart U.S. Economic data before an expected Federal Reserve Rate Cut next month. At 1227 GMT spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,140.60 an ounce, after hitting its highest level since October 23, at $4148.75. It is still below the peak of $4381.21 reached on October 20, however. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose by 0.6% to $4147.20 an ounce. Gold, which is traditionally used as a hedge to reduce uncertainty, rose along with a...