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The price of oil topped $100 per barrel for the first time since six weeks on Wednesday as the escalation of fighting between U.S. forces and 'Iranian forces raised concerns about the supply coming from the region. This also raised fears over inflationary pressures, and increased energy costs for businesses and consumers. Brent, the global benchmark for oil, has increased by 25 percent since early last week as hope fades of a permanent solution to the six-month old U.S./Iran conflict. This week, the rally intensified after Iran-backed Houthi attacked Saudi energy installations and set them ablaze. The increased risk of...

Oil prices have risen to $100 per barrel, the highest since July, after a new round of back-and forth in the "Iran War". Meanwhile, the U.S. has banned some Canadian imports, the latest salvo in a spiraling trade dispute. Brent crude prices have risen to three-year-highs and natural gas prices are also up. This is because Iran has attacked U.S. base again on Wednesday, in response to U.S. destructions of some of its oil tanks. Iran-backed Houthis attacked energy facilities and Saudi Arabian cities on Tuesday. The traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is once again at a crawl as...

Benchmark Brent crude oil futures surpassed $100 per barrel on Wednesday, reaching a six-week high. They also broke the symbolic barrier for the first since July 24, as the intensifying conflict in Middle East increased concerns about oil flow from the region. Brent crude futures rose $2.01 or 2.05% to $99.93 per barrel at 0802 GMT after touching $100.19 earlier. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude gained $1.49 or 1.60% to $94.52 per barrel. Brent crude prices are up by a quarter compared to early last month, as the hope for a permanent solution to the six-month old U.S./Iran conflict fades....

Kevin Buckland gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Brent crude is on the verge of hitting $100 per barrel. This was a level that was last seen at the end of July as renewed fighting in the Middle East has fuelled fears that the conflict may spiral out into a wider regional war. This backdrop is limiting the risk appetite on Asian equity markets - at least in'stocks' that are not part of the AI trade. The yen has refused to follow its usual pattern. The yen is not following the usual...

Interfax reported that Kazakhstan's Ministry of Justice suspended enforcement proceedings against the North Caspian Operating Company, which operates the Kashagan Oil Field. NCOC is a joint-venture between Shell, TotalEnergies,?ExxonMobil, and China's CNPC. It runs Kazakhstan's 'offshore Kashagan' field. It did not respond immediately to a request for comment. NCOC is embroiled in a long-running?legal dispute with the Kazakh Government, who accuses NCOC of?environmental violation related to sulphur storing, and ordered NCOC pay a large penalty. NCOC and its contractors have rejected the fine, as well as the allegations that led to it. The case is now being heard by international...

The calm on global markets was broken Monday and Tuesday as U.S. stocks returned from Labor Day holidays. A fresh surge in the Japanese yen brought it to its highest levels since February. This move was more of a repositioning before what appears to be a 'near certainty' Bank of Japan rate hike next week. The case for a BOJ interest rate increase was strengthened on Tuesday following an upgrade of Japan's second quarter GDP estimates, and the largest annual rise in real wages since five years. Recently, there have been rumors that the BOJ may consider a rate increase...

The oil prices continued to rise 'on Tuesday, as the risk of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East increased after Iran threatened retaliation against any new U.S. attack on its assets. This increased concerns over supply disruption. Brent crude futures rose 34 cents or 0.35% to $97.34 per barrel at 0000 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $92.63 a barrel at 0000 GMT, up $1.15 or 1.26%. Brent crude oil prices rose in the previous session to their highest level since the 24th of July, as traders continued to add a premium to the price of the product...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The week has started with a mixed bag. While European and Wall Street futures barely moved, Asian shares were led higher by tech. Semiconductor stocks helped the Nikkei rise by 2%, and?South Korea?s Kospi rose around 3% to 6,900. Goldman Sachs has predicted a 75% increase in the Kospi, but this is a call that's been made for years. The fact that the U.S. has a holiday on Monday might make it easier to buy tech shares without fear of Wall Street crashing everything....

The price of oil rose on Friday, and is on track to be the highest weekly gain since mid July. Rising tensions and renewed U.S. - Iran hostilities have heightened concerns about Middle - East supply risks. Brent 'crude futures increased 15?cents or 0.2% to $95.67 a barge at 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures were up by 26 cents or 0.3% at $91.56. Brent was up 7.1% on a weekly basis and WTI 9.8%, the biggest gains since the week ending July 20. The U.S. attack this week, which killed and wounded dozens of people, including Iranians...

The price of oil rose Thursday following a?U.S. The strikes against Iran and the renewed threats by?Israeli?against Tehran have rekindled concerns over disruptions in Middle East supply. Brent crude futures were up 59c, or 0.62% at $96.22 a bar by 1327 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 78c, or 0.86% to $91.79. Both contracts were on track to reach their fourth consecutive day of gains. They also hit six-week highs in the earlier session. Iran's health minister reported that 18 people died and 108 were injured in the U.S. airstrikes across Iran on Tuesday night. According to the...

The Japanese yen rose sharply on Wednesday against the U.S. Dollar after retracing approximately half of the gains made at the end July following a rare, joint intervention between the U.S. The motive for the intervention was not immediately apparent. The yen had fallen to a 40-year-low of 163.98 per dollar prior to the intervention. It rose as high as 155.21, before giving up some of its gains. The yen last rose 0.79% to 158.92 dollars. Chris Scicluna is the head of Daiwa Capital Markets Europe's economic research. He said: "It would be convenient for the U.S. to conduct a...

Uganda named its blended crude grade "Pearl Sweet" on Wednesday, a major step in preparation for the planned commercial oil production by the East African nation at the end of this year. Uganda discovered commercial crude reserves in the Albertine Rift basin along its border with Democratic Republic of Congo two decades ago. The lack of infrastructure has repeatedly delayed commercial production, as have disagreements between government officials and international oil companies about development plans. The name was revealed by President Yoweri Mueveni at a ceremony held in the Kikuube District, located about 250 km (155 mi) west of Kampala....

Copper prices reached record levels on Wednesday due to a shortage of supplies in the United States. As 'hostilities' in the Middle East flared, concerns were raised about global demand and growth. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell 0.5% by 1045 GMT to $14,641 per metric ton after reaching an all-time record high of $14 779 on Tuesday. After the escalation of attacks by Iran and the U.S., oil prices soared above $100 per barrel. This is a six-week high. Ewa Manthey is a commodities?strategist with ING. She said that copper?is easing off record highs,...

Investors were cautious on Tuesday due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, and higher oil prices. Novartis also suffered its biggest one-day drop in history after reporting another setback in its drug development pipeline. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.05% to 649.6. Novartis' 10.9% drop in the benchmark Swiss index weighed on the overall index, which fell by 1.6%. Novartis, the Swiss drugmaker, was the largest faller in the STOXX 600 index after it announced that its experimental treatment of a muscle-wasting condition had failed a late-stage study. News of the failure came just a day after Novartis revealed...

The 'price of copper' continued to rise on Tuesday. It reached a record high on speculative purchases on the backs of tight supply outside the U.S. and weak mine production. In open-outcry official trading, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.3% to $14,503 per metric ton, breaking the previous record. LME copper is up 18% in this year. This is largely because a large amount of metal has been moving to the U.S., anticipating?tariffs to be imposed on refined copper. Alice Fox, an analyst at Macquarie, stated that falling inventories outside of the U.S. - including in China...

The dollar was weaker on Monday and the prospects of shortages outside the U.S. boosted the price of copper. The traders said that the U.S. holiday meant volumes would be muted and that they were focusing on copper and zinc. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange was 0.2% higher, at $14.443 per metric ton. It reached $14,467 earlier in trade, its highest level since January's all-time high of $14,527.50. Since President Donald Trump proposed import tariffs last February, traders and producers have shipped large amounts of copper to the U.S. Comex copper stock levels are at a...

Four sources said that the top?global aluminum producers offered Japanese buyers a premium of $310-$325 per metric tonne for primary metal shipments in October and December, down by 18%-22% on the current quarter. Japan is the largest importer of light metals, and the premiums it agrees to each quarter for primary metal shipments over the London Metal Exchange cash price are the benchmarks in the region. Japanese buyers had agreed to pay a premium of $395 per ton for the period July-September The increase was between 12% and 13% compared to the previous quarter. A source from a Japanese trading...

BHP's commercial officer Rag Udd will step down by the end of January in order to pursue a career outside the company. This was revealed in a memo sent out on Tuesday. The miner is now left with a difficult role -- negotiating iron-ore deals with China. Some analysts and investors had considered Udd as a candidate for the "top job" at BHP. Brandon Craig, who started in July, was given the position. According to the memo, Udd will have been working at BHP in Singapore for 30 years by the time he leaves. Udd?was responsible for BHP's negotiation with...

Market participants were waiting for the remarks of Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Symposium, hoping to gain insight into the central banks future interest rate policy. By 0652 GMT, spot gold had not changed much from $4,603,91 per ounce. The price of gold reached a three-month-high of $4,696.18 after the U.S. Treasury announced support measures for bonds with long-term maturities. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1% to $4 657.10. Matt Simpson, senior analyst at StoneX, stated that the case for Warsh leaning hawkish was greater than for him to not do so. This could lead to gold...

The price of gold fell on Friday, as investors waited for the remarks made by Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh at a Jackson Hole symposium. Gold spot fell 0.5%, to $4,580.19 an ounce at 0438 GMT. The price of gold reached a three-month-high of $4,696.18 after the U.S. Treasury announced support measures for bonds with long-term maturities. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.7% to $4.632.40. Matt Simpson, senior analyst at StoneX, stated that the case for Warsh leaning hawkish was greater than "the case against him". This could lead to a further decline in gold from its cycle highs, Matt Simpson...

The gold?prices eased Wednesday as they were on track to end a three-session winning streak. However, the focus now shifts to the U.S. Inflation data that will be released later in the afternoon for any indications on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy. Spot gold dropped 0.8% by 1114 GMT to $4,618.03 an ounce, after prices rose to their highest level since May 14, on Tuesday, following the U.S. Treasury Department?s recent bond buyback announcement. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.4% to $4673.90. Nikos Tzabouras is a senior market analyst at Jefferies owned Tradu.com. He said that gold prices were subdued...

London's zinc market is still a hazardous place for bears. Metal that was expected to drop in price this year has risen. The London Metal Exchange's (LME) 3-month zinc reached a new four-year high of $3,858 a metric ton on Tuesday morning. The relentless rally has been accompanied by an abrupt contraction of the LME time spreads. This is particularly worrying for holders of zinc short positions. The premium for cash Metal?over a three-month delivery The price of a ton has dropped to $131, which is a significant drop from last October's record high of $323. The tightening market this...

Gold prices eased Tuesday, after reaching a high of more than three months earlier in the session. Profit-taking and an 'a?firmer dollar? curbed gains before U.S. Inflation data and comments from Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh. After reaching its highest level since the 14th of May, spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,634.76 an ounce at 0937 GMT. U.S. Gold futures fell 0.2% to $4689.70. Gold's movement today is due to profit-taking, as the dollar has recovered some of the losses from last week that were caused by the buyback announcement," Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen explained. He was referring to U.S....

The gold price fell?on Tuesday, after reaching its highest?levels? in more than three month earlier that day. Investors' attention shifted towards upcoming U.S. data on inflation and Kevin Warsh's speech this week. As of 0334 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2%, at $4,640.39 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures remained steady at $4,696.00. Tony Sycamore, IG's market analyst, said: "We expect gold dips to be supported by buyers who are looking for gold. We also expect gold to move up towards the next resistance level at $4,900/$5,000." The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it would double its liquidity support buyback...