North America

The oil prices continued to rise on Friday and are expected to increase by a significant amount over the next week. Falling inventories in the United States of gasoline and distillate have raised expectations for strong demand, while worries about supply disruptions from Russia also contributed. Brent futures rose 16 cents or 0.2% to $76.64 per barrel at 0123 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude edged up by 17 cents or 0.2% to $72.65. Both benchmarks were designed for a weekly increase of approximately 3%. The Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that the U.S. crude stockpiles increased while gasoline...

The U.S. Senate began a discussion on a Republican Bill on Immigration, Energy and Defense on Thursday, even though President Donald Trump had urged members to abandon the effort to support a House of Representatives' bill which would include trillions of tax cuts. This week, Trump came out in support of the House Republicans' plan to pass a single comprehensive bill. Supporters of the plan are worried that if they pass an immigration bill before extending tax cuts worth $4.5 trillion, it could reduce their chances to extend those tax cuts. Senate Republicans have said that they will still push...

In a letter to the United Steelworkers union on Monday, Lyondell Basll Industries announced that layoffs would begin at the refinery in Houston which was closed. Estalee Russi wrote in a letter to USW International president David McCall that "Employment Separations - including (USW) local 13-227 represented employees - will begin at or around April 17, 2025." Tuesday, the letter was examined. A spokesperson for Lyondell did not respond to a comment request. There are around 400 Lyondell employees working at the 263,776 barrel-per-day-capacity Houston refinery, with about 70% of them being hourly workers represented by the Steelworkers. On Tuesday,...

These are the most popular stories in the British business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. The Times Southern Water is in a financial crisis, joining Thames Water. It has asked its investors to provide a further 900,000,000 pounds ($1.13 billion), in order to save the company. The British regulator of water, Ofwat, announced on Tuesday that six water utilities had appealed the pricing regime. This highlights the tensions in a sector trying to strike the right balance between the consumer's bills and the environment. The Guardian In the...

A video was shown to Chevron's employees at a town hall meeting held last week. The video highlighted the success of the oil giant in Colorado, where it is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the state. In less than 30 minutes, the executives announced their plans to reduce up to 20% of global staff. Chevron, despite progress made in safety and financial performance has fallen behind its competition, the company's leaders informed employees at a meeting held on February 12th. On the webcast, they stated that Chevron's business was becoming too complex, costs were creeping up,...

Dutch wholesale gas contracts recovered earlier losses which sent prices to near four-week lows. Prices also rose after an EU draft will be working on more flexible targets for filling gas storage. A draft EU document revealed that the European Commission would work to develop more flexible targets so EU countries can fill their gas storage before winter. This follows concerns from some governments about Europe's strict deadlines for filling up. According to LSEG, the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF Hub reversed earlier losses, and rose by 1,63 euros, or $15.16/mmBtu to 49.45 Euros per megawatt hour The...

Data obtained from sources in the trade show that India's oil imports to the United States increased sharply from December to January, making Washington the fifth largest oil suppliers to New Delhi. The data shows that India imported 218,400 barrels of oil per day from the U.S., compared to just 70,600 in December. India's refiners, the third largest oil importer and user in the world, are preparing for increased energy imports from Washington as New Delhi aims to increase its energy purchases to $25 billion, up from $15 billion, last year. India's top oil supplier, Russia, increased its imports by...

Reliance Consumer products, an Indian company, launched Campa Cola in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. This was the first time the brand had entered the global market, which is dominated by the U.S. beverage companies PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola. The FMCG arm Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group announced that it had partnered with UAE food and beverage company Agthia Group to launch the product, but refused to disclose any financial details. This is the first international expansion for Campa Cola since Reliance Industries revived it in 2023. In the 1970s and 80s, it was a popular brand. However, its popularity waned...

Diamondback Energy, an oil and gas company, announced on Tuesday that it will buy certain units from EnCap-backed energy producers Double Eagle for approximately $4.08 billion in cash-and stock deal. Diamondback would gain access to 40,000 acres of land in the Permian Basin (the largest oil field in America), one of the last major assets. Diamondback said it would reduce its pro-forma debt by selling at least $1.5 Billion of non-core assets. The shale oil producer plans to reduce net debt to $10 Billion and maintain leverage between $6 Billion to $8 Billion over the long-term. Double Eagle, a Texas-based...

The operator of the national gas transmission system revealed that Ukraine will increase natural gas imports on Tuesday by 8%, to 26,7 million cubic metres. Gas imports have increased by almost tenfold in the last few months after Russian missiles targeted Ukraine's natural gas facilities. "Shelling continues of gas distribution and production facilities. "We are doing all we can to make sure we have enough fuel to last through the heating season," said Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal at a government gathering. After Russian missiles attacked its gas installations, Ukraine asked its allies for help in importing more natural gas. A...

Germany will hold an immediate national election on February 23 after the collapse of the three-way coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The main political parties, their polling positions, and key policy issues are listed below: Parties Germany has two "big-tent" centrist parties: Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats and the opposition Conservatives, an alliance between the Christian Democrats (CDU), and their Bavarian counterpart party, the Christian Social Union CSU. In recent years, smaller parties like the Greens or Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right party, have gained ground. All four parties, the SPD, Greens, Conservatives and AfD, have candidates running for...

On Monday morning the benchmark Dutch gas contract traded in a narrow range, as higher wind speeds reduced gas demand for electricity generation. Meanwhile the market was monitoring updates on the U.S. and Russian talks to end war in Ukraine. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub was nearly flat at 50.75 Euros per megawatt hour, or $15.59/mmBtu by 1004 GMT. Last week, the contract dropped to 49.25 Euros/MWh - its lowest level since 29 January. The British day-ahead contracts fell 1.25 pence to 124.55 pence/therm, while the Dutch contract lost 0.32 euros at...

Prices of bismuth in Europe are at their highest level in 17 years, after China's plans to restrict exports sparked fears that the metal would be scarce. Bismuth is used in medicine, cosmetics and nuclear research. In response to the new tariffs levied by U.S. president Donald Trump, China announced earlier this month that it would implement export restrictions on five metals critical -- tungsten tellurium molybdenum bismuth and indium. The European spot market for bismuth has risen to between $12 and 18 per lb this week. This is the highest price since May 2008. Bismuth prices are expected to...

Gold prices were stable on Friday and on course for an eighth consecutive weekly gain. This was largely due to safe-haven flows on the back of concerns about U.S. president Donald Trump's threats regarding tariffs. As of 0251 GMT, spot gold remained at $2,940.32 per ounce. Bullion is up about 2% this week and reached an all-time peak of $2,954.69 during the previous session. U.S. Gold Futures remain unchanged at $2.956.10. "The uncertainty is still there, and gold seems to be strong at the moment but we could see a drop in price soon," said Brian Lan. He is managing...

The industry ministry announced on Friday that South Korean officials had requested an exemption from the reciprocal U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs when they visited Washington this week. Park Jong-won led the first large South Korean delegation to visit Washington after U.S. president Donald Trump announced the sweeping tariffs. He argued that most tariffs have been eliminated between the two nations under their free trade agreements. South Korea, a major exporter in the world and a top trading partner of the United States has been increasingly concerned by Trump's actions. The ministry reported that Park praised South Korean investments in...

MP Materials, a rare earths producer, said that its fourth-quarter losses widened in part due to higher production costs associated with the refining the minerals. However the results surpassed Wall Street's predictions. In after-hours trading, shares of the Las Vegas based company increased 1% to $23,40. MP reported a loss of $22.3m, or 14c per share for the quarter ended December 31, compared with a loss of $16.3m, or 9c per share in the previous quarter. Without one-time items such as depreciation or costs related to environmental obligations, MP lost a loss of 12 cents per share. According to IBES...

Gold prices reached a new record on Thursday as fears of an international trade war, sparked by U.S. president Donald Trump's threats to increase tariffs, fueled demand for gold as a safe haven. As of 12:31 am, spot gold increased 0.3%, to $2,941.69 per ounce. ET (1731 GMT). It reached $2,954.69 in an earlier session -- the tenth highest record so far this year. U.S. Gold Futures rose 0.7% to 2,957.50. Bullion is up 12% this year. "Ongoing trade tensions are continuing to fuel inflation and growth fears, and therefore safe haven interest in Gold," said Peter Grant. Trump announced...

The CEO of Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau said that the company may decide to increase its production capacity in the United States rather than build a new facility in Mexico. This is because tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are affecting global trade. Gerdau announced in 2013 that it was looking at installing a special steel mill for Mexico. The new mill would have a capacity of 600,000 tons per year and require an investment between $500 million and $600 million. Gerdau originally expected to make a final decision on investment by the end 2024, and start construction this year. However,...

Top EU trade officials stated on Wednesday that the bloc is interested in making trade deals with President Donald Trump of the United States. They are also ready to discuss potential reductions or eliminations of tariffs on motor cars and other goods. Maros Sefcovic told an American Enterprise Institute in Washington event that he will tell Trump administration officials about his desire to avoid unilateral U.S. trade tariffs and European reprisals. "I will make this point when I meet my American counterparts later today. Sefcovic stated that the EU was interested in making agreements. These deals should foster fairness, responsibility...

Four people with knowledge of the development said on Wednesday that the Canadian miner Barrick Gold signed a new deal with the Malian Government to end a dispute dating back almost two years over its mining assets. Sources say that Barrick has already signed the contract and now it's up to Mali to approve the deal. Official announcements could be made as soon as Thursday. A second source stated that despite a deal being close, it could still be derailed by last-minute hurdles. Since 2023, the Toronto-based miner has been in dispute with Mali over the new mining code of...

Russia, just like U.S. president Donald Trump, is envious of Ukraine's natural resource - its forces are now closing in on an enormous lithium deposit. Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy that he wanted Kyiv's minerals to be handed over in exchange for U.S. support. Vladimir Putin is gaining control over Ukraine's wealth as Washington and Moscow prepare to negotiate an end to the war that has lasted three years. According to data obtained from Ukrainian military blog Deep State, Russian forces have seized more than a fifth (including rare earth reserves) of Ukraine and are now less than four...

Russia, just like U.S. president Donald Trump, is envious of Ukraine's natural resource - its forces are now closing in on an enormous lithium deposit. Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy that he wanted Kyiv's minerals to be handed over in exchange for U.S. support. Vladimir Putin is gaining control over Ukraine's wealth as Washington and Moscow prepare to negotiate an end to the war that has lasted three years. According to data obtained from Ukrainian military blog Deep State, Russian forces have already taken over a fifth part of Ukraine, including rare earth reserves. They are now less than...

On Wednesday, gold prices reached a new record high due to the demand for safe havens following the latest tariff threats by U.S. president Donald Trump. Investors were also awaiting the minutes of the Federal Reserve policy meeting in January later that day. As of 9:39 am, spot gold was unchanged at $2.934.49 per ounce. ET (1439 GMT), after surging earlier to an all time high of $2.946.85/oz. Prices reached a new record for the 9th time this year. U.S. Gold Futures increased 0.1% to $2.952.10. Paul Wong is a market strategist with Sprott Asset Management. He said, "We're in...

Since Donald Trump returned to office in the United States last month, he has imposed numerous tariffs on imported goods and threatened to do so more frequently. These can be broad - such as a tariff on all imported goods from abroad - or targeted at certain sectors, countries, or regions to try and get them to comply with his demands. Trump's threats are constantly changing, and other nations and businessmen are unsure of what to expect next. Here's a summary of Trump’s threats and actions in relation to trade. BROAD TARIFFS Trump's vision is based on a gradual rollout...