North America

S&P 500 and Nasdaq sawsawed back and forth between gains and losses Monday as the markets took in a sharp drop in precious metals. This was at the beginning of a busy week that would include corporate earnings and important?economic? data. Silver and gold both fell by up to 10%, before recovering some of their losses. The CME Group increased margin requirements after a historic drop on Friday. U.S. listed gold and silver miner companies pared losses to trade higher. Jim Baird is the chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. Last week, the metals market plunged after U.S....

People familiar with the discussions said that the United Steelworkers union, or USW, has neither accepted nor rejected Marathon Petroleum's last offer for a four-year labor contract for U.S. chemical and refineries plants. Sources said that the offer made on Sunday would provide 30,000 USW workers with a 15% increase in pay over the duration of the contract. Marathon is the lead negotiator of 26 companies, including Exxon Mobil and Valero Energy. Marathon is the biggest refiner in the U.S. Marathon is the largest refiner in the U.S. USW-represented employees operate sites that represent nearly two thirds of the U.S....

Wall Street's major indexes were set to open lower on Monday as investors became uneasy due to a violent drop in precious metals at the beginning of a week that will be filled with earnings reports and important economic data. As a result of the CME Group increasing margin requirements, gold and silver fell as much as 10%. This was after a historic drop on Friday. Leveraged investors were forced to unwind their positions in order to meet margin requirements. Jim Baird is the chief investment officer of Plante Moran Financial Advisors. Premarket trading saw a drop in the U.S....

Three sources familiar with the process have confirmed that U.S. Private Equity firm Carlyle is in exploratory "talks" with UAE investors, to find partners if its initial agreement to purchase Russian firm Lukoil’s international assets proceeds. Carlyle and Lukoil announced on Thursday a preliminary agreement that would transfer assets, including oilfields and refineries located in eastern Europe and Iraq to the U.S. company. A separate source told us on Thursday that neither company had disclosed an estimate for the deal. This excludes Lukoil’s Kazakh assets. Three sources said that state-controlled Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala and XRG had talked to Carlyle...

On Sunday, the United States accused Cuba of interfering in the work of their top diplomat at Havana after small groups of Cubans laughed at him outside the capital during meetings with residents and church representatives. On social media, the State Department accused Cuba of using "failed intimidation techniques" and demanded that Havana cease "sending individuals who interfere with diplomatic work of the United States." Charge d'Affaires Mike Hammer. The tension between the two long-time enemies has increased after U.S. president Donald Trump declared Cuba an "unusual and extraordinary threat" against the national security of the United States and announced...

The United Steelworkers union and Marathon Petroleum continue to negotiate on Saturday. This is just hours before a possible strike deadline at several U.S. refineries or?chemical plants. The union rejected an offer made by Marathon, who is the chief negotiator of 26 U.S. chemical and refinery companies, including Exxon Mobil and Valero Energy. According to sources who were familiar with the negotiations, the offer included a 13% wage increase over a 4-year contract. Jamal Kheiry, Marathon's spokesperson, said that "MPC is continuing to meet with USW representatives." "We're committed to negotiating in good faith, and working towards a mutually satisfying...

Three sources with knowledge of the situation said that the United States has informed Delhi it may resume its purchases to replace Russian?oil imports. India promised to cut its Russian crude oil purchases following Washington's tariff hikes on this activity. India is also on track to reduce its Russian oil imports in the next few months by several hundred thousands barrels per day, according to sources who declined to identify themselves. In March 2025, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on countries that bought Venezuelan oil, including India. His administration also stepped up its campaign against Venezuelan president Nicolas...

State regulators said that all of North Dakota’s crude production had been?brought back online? on Friday after recovering from the arctic blast caused by a winter storm which has disrupted nationwide production. The latest data from the Industrial Commission of North Dakota showed that the state was the third largest oil producer in the United States. In November, North Dakota produced 1.189 million barrels per day. As of Thursday, crude production outages nationwide totaled 500,000 barrels per day, down 100,000 barrels per day from Wednesday. Over the weekend,?outages peaked around 2 million bpd. The Energy Information Administration reported this month...

Mike Wirth, CEO of Chevron, said that the U.S. major oil company can refine an additional 100,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude per day at its refineries. "We have been bringing in about 50,000 barrels per day, plus or minus, to our Pascagoula refinery, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast. Wirth stated during a conference call with analysts that we can add another 100,000 barrels per day to our system. This is true for both Pascagoula, and the West Coast where El Segundo has coking capacity. "I think you can expect to see more Venezuelan crude being used in our system, if...

Even though oil prices rose 15% in January on the back of fears that a new U.S. attack on Iran was imminent, they remain in a narrow range. A well-supplied oil market makes it unlikely that either side will be able to push prices higher. It would take a massive, sustained action to make a significant impact on the global supply-demand imbalance. Brent crude futures are at their highest level since July?last year. This puts the global benchmark in line for its largest monthly gain since January 20,22, when Russian troops were preparing to enter Ukraine. A series of major...

Valero Energy announced on Thursday that it had 'purchased' Venezuelan crude oil from authorized sellers. The company expects this grade to be a major part of the heavy oil diet for its refineries as soon as next month. U.S. refining companies are expected to gain from President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase oil production in Venezuela and to rebuild the country’s deplorable oil sector after the capture of Nicolas Maduro this month. Valero said that it had engaged with all three authorized sellers, and bought barrels from each of them. This was in an email sent to customers on Thursday...

Four people who are familiar with these reports in recent days have expressed doubts that interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rod will cooperate with Trump's administration by cutting off ties to U.S. enemies. Officials of the United States have publicly stated that they want Venezuela's interim president to cut ties with allies such as Iran, China, and Russia. They also want their diplomats and advisors expelled from Venezuela. Rodriguez, who was sworn in by the representatives of these countries at the beginning of this month, has not yet publicly announced such a decision. She was elected president on January 3 after...

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen warned Monday that despite the fact that Donald Trump, U.S. president has disclaimed military force, Washington is still attempting to gain control of the Arctic island. Trump increased his calls for U.S. sovereignty over Greenland in the beginning of the year. He cited national security concerns relating to Russia and China. Some European NATO allies defended Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland, and said Trump’s pressure threatened the NATO alliance. Since then, the U.S. President has backed away from threats of violence and claimed that he secured U.S. total access to Greenland through a NATO deal....

Eldorado Gold is acquiring Canada's Foran Mining, valuing it at about C$3.8billion ($2.79billion). This deal will add a second project for near-term growth and increase its exposure to the copper market. The companies announced the deal on Monday. It will increase Eldorado’s production during a period of high gold prices and a growing demand for copper. Copper is a critical material in clean energy and electrification. The combined asset base of the company will have an exposure to gold of approximately 77% and copper of 15%, with projects and operations in Canada, Greece and Turkey. Eldorado plans to increase exploration...

Futures tied to Canada's major stock index fell Monday due to a commodities selloff. Precious?metals continued their losses, and oil prices dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated a de-escalation of the conflict with Iran. As of 5:45 a.m., March?futures _on Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index were down 0.42%. ET, signaling a gloomy start to the month of February, after the benchmark index had registered its longest winning streak in 2017 - nine consecutive monthly gains. The TSX recorded its largest single-day decline since April on Friday, as gold prices sank and mining stocks plummeted after Trump selected Kevin Warsh –...

The copper prices continued to fall on Monday, as speculators pulled away from a market that had reached record highs the previous week. However, losses were mitigated by positive factory data from China. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell?as much as?5.6% during Asian trading. It eventually pared the losses to $12,930 per metric ton at 1025 GMT. This represents a drop of 1.7%. "I am still fundamentally positive on copper but last week's price spike was way too high and too rapid. Nitesh Sha, commodity strategist with WisdomTree, said that once we have a healthy...

The major stock markets in the Gulf region rose on Monday morning after a?U.S. Donald Trump stated that Iran is "seriously" talking with Washington. This comment signals a?potential de-escalation of tensions. Esmaeil baghaei, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said that Iran was reviewing the details of diplomatic channels to ease tensions with the United States. Baghaei added that Tehran hopes?for progress over the next few days. Trump said last week that Iran "seriously talks" with Washington, despite the U.S. Navy's buildup in close proximity to Iran. Trump's remarks came hours after Iran’s?top official for security, Ali Larijani wrote on X...

The price of copper fell on Monday, as investors entered a risk-off mood after Kevin Warsh's nomination to the position of?Federal Reserve Chair. Demand for the metal also dipped in the run-up to China’s Lunar New Year holiday. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most active?copper? contract hit the lower price limits, falling 9% and closing daytime trading at $14,183.56 a metric tonne, the lowest level since January 9. On Monday, three other SHFE metals - aluminium, tin and nickel - also hit the lower price limit. Shanghai aluminium fell 9%, closing at 23,035 Yuan per ton. Nickel and tin, both down...

Australian shares suffered their worst losses in over two months Monday as precious metals and base metals miners were weighed down. Investors became cautious before the expected rate increase by the central banks this week. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 1% lower, at 8,778.60 point, its lowest level since January 12. The benchmark index gained 1.8% in the last month. This is its highest level since August 2025. Gold miners fell as much as 8,9% on Monday. It was their worst day for more than three months. Heavyweights Northern Star Resources, and Evolution Mining, both lost 8%, and 5% respectively....

Copper prices continued to fall on Monday, for the second consecutive session. Investors were in a risk-off mood after Kevin Warsh was?nominated as the new Fed Chair. Demand also remained low?as China prepared to celebrate the Lunar New Year. As of 0330 GMT, the?most active copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 7.60%, to 100,110 Yuan ($14401.00) per metric ton. The benchmark copper for three months on the London Metal Exchange fell 2.73% to $12,798 per ton. After hitting record highs in both Shanghai and London on Thursday, copper is now taking a hit. This was due to speculative...

Capstone Copper Corp. resumed its operations at the Mantoverde Copper and Gold Mine in northern Chile despite a strike by a union that represents nearly 22%. In a filing to the Australian stock exchange dated 1 February, the company reiterated that it expected to continue operating at a level of 50% to 75% normal production throughout this strike. The shares of Capstone Australia listed depositary receipts fell as much as 4.5 percent to A$15.810 per day, their lowest levels since January 23. The decision to resume operations was made following a Chilean Court ruling that authorized the removal of striking...

Gold dropped on Friday and was heading for its steepest daily drop since 1983 after?U.S. Donald Trump named his Fed Chair nominee, and silver fell nearly 30%. It was on track to have its worst-ever day. Gold spot dropped 9.5% at 1:57 pm to $4,883.62 an ounce. Prices reached a record high of $5,594.82 at 1857 GMT ET. U.S. Gold Futures for February?delivery settled at $4,745.10, down 11.4%. Analysts have described the selloff as a profit-taking. It has also affected other precious metals. Suki Cooper of Standard Chartered Bank, Global Head, Commodities Research, stated that the market was due for...

The Chilean Court authorized the use of force on Friday to remove striking workers from a desalination facility serving Capstone Copper’s Mantoverde Copper and Gold Mine. This escalating labor dispute came hours after workers voted to reject?the latest contract offer by the company. The employees at Mantoverde have rejected the revised proposal that was presented by the company. It included final payments of about $17.400 per member, and a wage adjustment of 1%. This means their strike, which began at the start this month, will continue. According to the union, despite only?14% eligible employees voting against the offer, the majority...

Citi said 'on Friday that the gold investment allocations were being influenced by a wide range of geopolitical and economic risks. However, around half of these risks may disappear later in the year. Citi said that some of the key risks driving gold demand, such as U.S. China tensions, China Taiwan risks, concerns about U.S. Government debt, and uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence, were likely to keep prices high by "historical standards". The bank believes that approximately half of the risks embedded in the gold price will either not be realized?in 2026, or they won't persist beyond that year. The bank...