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The oil prices increased on Wednesday, as concerns about supply resurfaced. Meanwhile, peace talks to end Russia's invasion in Ukraine will likely take longer. This means that sanctions against Russian crude are still in place and could lead to further restrictions for its buyers. Brent crude futures reached $65.93 per barrel at 0149 GMT. This was an increase of 14 cents or 0.21%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for September, which expire Wednesday, increased 37 cents, or 0.59%, to $62.72 per barrel. The October contract, which was the most active, rose 15 cents to $61.92 per barrel. Prices fell more...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. When the idea that Putin sent a body double to Alaska sounds plausible, you know we're living in crazy times. It's clear that President Trump is now tweeting Kremlin talking-points about Crimea and Zelenskiy. Putin seems to believe that Ukraine must give up the land that Russia has taken and that it has not been able to gain in three years of war. Zelenskiy, European leaders and others have repeatedly denied this. They will also be at his side when he meets Trump in...

The oil markets will open with a muted reaction on Sunday following the meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Trump stated that a full-fledged ceasefire was not his goal for Ukraine, but rather a peace agreement. Trump said that he and Putin agreed to go directly to a settlement, not through a ceasefire as Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S. have demanded. Trump announced that he would not impose tariffs on nations such as China who buy Russian oil after his meeting with Putin. Trump has threatened to impose sanctions against Moscow as well...

European stocks closed on Thursday at an all-time high, boosted by strong financial stocks and the hope of a ceasefire in Ukraine. Global equities as well as major Wall Street indexes fell. The oil price dropped after the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with U.S. president Donald Trump. Gold prices, which are seen as a haven of safety in turbulent times, reached a new two-week record. Wall Street fell following a report Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller Trump's choice for the Federal Reserve chair was a top contender, and this raised concerns about the independence of...

Global equity prices rose on Thursday, as positive earnings, rising hopes for a ceasefire and the expectation of U.S. interest rate cuts lifted sentiment. Meanwhile, oil prices stabilized after news broke that Presidents Putin and Obama would meet. Gold prices, viewed as a safe place in turbulent times, reached a new high. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 0.45%, to 937.40. Japanese shares reached a new record high. The Bank of England lowered interest rates, but four of nine policymakers - worried about inflation - voted to maintain rates. The split vote suggests that the BoE may be...

The oil price rose by 1% on Friday, ending a five-day decline, as the U.S. remained the world's largest oil consumer. However, uncertainty over the macroeconomic effects of U.S. Tariffs limited gains. Brent crude futures increased 62 cents or 0.9% to $67.51 per barrel at 0342 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude rose 68 cents or 1.1% to $65.03 per barrel. After Donald Trump's comments about the progress of talks with Moscow, both benchmarks fell about 1% on Wednesday to their lowest levels in eight weeks. A White House official stated on Wednesday that Trump could meet Russian President...

The oil prices rose on Friday, ending a five-day loss streak. This was due to signs of stable demand in the U.S. Brent crude futures were up 20 cents or 0.3% to $67.09 per barrel at 0039 GMT, while U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was $64.57 per barrel, an increase of 22 cents or 0.3%. After Donald Trump's comments about the progress of talks with Moscow, both benchmarks fell about 1% on Wednesday to their lowest levels in eight weeks. Could meet A White House official stated on Wednesday that the U.S. would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin by...

On Wednesday, global shares were mixed, with European shares declining and most major Wall Street indexes gaining, while U.S. Treasury yields mostly increased. U.S. president Donald Trump has issued an executive directive imposing an extra 25% tariff on goods coming from India. He claims that the country imported Russian oil. After four days of falling oil prices, the tariffs and an unexpectedly large draw on U.S. crude oil lifted oil price. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 0.22%, to 929.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.14%, to 44,049.38. Meanwhile, the S&P500 edged up by 0.11%, to 6,306.23,...

Four sources familiar with this matter have confirmed that Litasco Middle East DMCC (LME), a trading division of Russia's Lukoil is moving its business to a newly created entity based in Dubai, as Western powers tighten their sanctions on Russian energy exports. Last month, Britain included LME on its list of sanctions against Russia. The European Union did not sanction LME but listed Litasco’s Dubai-based shipping company, Eiger Shipping DMCC in its 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Alghaf Marine DMCC was the first entity to be registered in Dubai for shipping. It was incorporated on December 31st, 2024. According...

On Wednesday, oil prices rose, recovering from a five week low the day before, amid concerns about supply disruptions following U.S. president Donald Trump's threat of tariffs against India for its Russian crude purchase. Brent crude futures rose 43 cents (0.6%) to $68.07 per barrel at 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 40 cents (0.6%), reaching $65.56 per barrel. Market chatter has grown that China's purchases may be the next thing to come under scrutiny, according to ING commodity analysts on Thursday. They said that if India stopped buying Russian oil due to tariff threats, the market could...

Oil prices fell on Tuesday due to concerns about oversupply. OPEC+ increased production despite a weak outlook for demand. This more than offset the possibility of a tightening Russian oil trade as a result of U.S. policy. Brent crude futures fell 11 cents or 0.16% to $68.65 per barrel at 0424 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was down 12 Cents, or 0.1%, to $66.17 per barrel. Both contracts fell more than 1% the previous session, settling at their lowest level in a week. Both benchmarks have declined because the extra capacity of OPEC+ acts as a buffer to any...

The oil prices were not much different on Friday, after having fallen more than 1% the previous session. Traders were digesting the impact of increased U.S. Tariffs which may slow down economic growth and reduce global fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell 7 cents or 0.1% to $71.63 per barrel at 0656 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was down 10 Cents, or 0.14 %, to $69.16 per barrel. Brent prices will still rise by 4.9% this week, while WTI will climb by 6.4%. This is after U.S. president Donald Trump threatened earlier in the week to impose tariffs on...

The U.S. president Donald Trump blasted on Tuesday the decision of an appeals court to temporarily block federal officials' ability to complete a land transfer required for Rio Tinto to and BHP's Resolution Copper Project in Arizona. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, has ruled that the transfer - which was scheduled for Tuesday - should be halted while the court weighs a request from San Carlos Apache tribe to block this project due to religious and cultural reasons. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, ruled Monday that the transfer...

Copper prices fell on Friday due to gloomy data on China's economy, the world's largest metal consumer. However, losses were mitigated by a falling dollar and the hope that these data would prompt Beijing to take more stimulative measures. The price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.4%, to $9,730 per metric ton, in open-outcry official trading. This is down from Tuesday's two-week high. The data released on Friday revealed that China's factory production growth fell to a new eight-month low during July, while retail sales dropped sharply. The Shanghai Futures Exchange copper contract eased by 0.1%,...

The African Union (AU) has endorsed a campaign to stop governments and international organizations from using the 16th century Mercator world map in favor of one which more accurately depicts Africa's size. The projection was created by Gerardus Mercator to aid navigation. It distorts the sizes of continents, enlarging the areas near poles such as North America and Greenland, while shrinking Africa, and South America. Selma Haddadi, deputy chairperson of the AU Commission, said that the Mercator map gave the false impression that Africa is "marginal" despite the fact it's the second largest continent in the world by area and...

Copper prices fell on Thursday, as investors waited for clarity on various issues including tariffs and the Ukraine conflict, Chinese demand, and U.S. Interest Rates. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.5% in open-outcry official trading to $9751 per ton, after having fallen from its highest level in more than two weeks, which was reached on Tuesday at $9865. LME copper is up 11% so far this year. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank, Copenhagen. "We are looking at not only the Friday negotiations (on Ukraine), but also Jackson Hole,...

The Chilean miner Antofagasta reported a 60% increase in its core earnings for the first half of this year, thanks to higher production and prices paid by customers for copper used as an energy transition material. The EBITDA for the first half of this year rose from $1.39 to $2.23, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations. Antofagasta is majority owned by the Luksic Family of Chile. The company announced a dividend per share of 16.6 cents, up from 7.9 cents in the interim last year. Copper is a key material for power and construction industry applications, as well as for green energy...

Chile's copper state commission has lowered its estimate of growth for 2025, saying that it expects a 1.5% increase from last year. This is half the growth estimated by the commission in May, which was 3%. Cochilco announced on Wednesday that the production of the world's largest copper exporter will reach 5.58 millions metric tons in this year. The commission also maintained its forecast for copper prices to average $4.30 per pound in 2025-2026. The Commission said that the decline in growth forecast was due to the June decrease in production of BHP's Escondida Mine, the world's largest copper deposit,...

De Beers joint venture in Angola announced on Tuesday that it had discovered a kimberlite mine, which is the main source of diamonds. This was its first discovery of this kind in 30 years. Anglo American is exploring for diamonds with Endiama, the state-owned diamond firm of Angola. De Beers announced in a press release that the joint venture's first drill hole in July 2025 was kimberlite. The company stated that further drilling, geophysical survey and laboratory analyses will be carried out over the next few month to confirm the type of kimberlite and assess its diamond-producing potential. Kimberlites, a...

The copper price rose for the third session in a row on Friday. This was boosted by expectations of a U.S. rate cut following a central banking appointment, and positive economic data from China. The benchmark three-month LME Copper on the London Metal Exchange increased 0.2% to $9,000 a metric tonne in open-outcry official trading. This is a continuation of a recovery after it reached its lowest level in three weeks on 31 July. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on Thursday his choice to fill the vacant seat at Federal Reserve. This boosted hopes for interest rate reductions and...

The copper price rose on Friday, and was on track to gain a week-long increase. This was due to a lower dollar and the expectation of higher demand from China, which is a major consumer. As of 0750 GMT, the London Metal Exchange reported that three-month copper was up 0.3%, at $9,714 metric tons. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most-traded copper contract rose by 0.1%, to 78 490 yuan per ton ($10 929.02). Data released Thursday showed that China’s exports exceeded forecasts in July as manufacturers took advantage of the fragile tariff truce, between Beijing and Washington, to ship goods. China's...

The copper price rose on Thursday, after the July trade data for China's top metals consumer beat expectations. A cautious optimism about a possible U.S. China trade agreement also helped. In official open-outcry trade, the price of three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange increased by 0.3% to $9701 per metric ton. David Wilson, analyst at BNP Paribas, said that "China's strong data on exports has given positive sentiment to the industrial metals." China's exports increased 7.2% in July compared to the same month last year, exceeding a polled forecast of 5.4%. Imports increased by 4.1% in July, despite expectations...

Prices of copper rose on Monday, mainly due to supply concerns following a deadly mining accident in Chile, which is the world's largest producer. However, gains were limited by worries about the global economy. In open-outcry official trading, three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6% to $9.685 per metric ton, adding to Friday's modest gains. LME copper is up by a fifth from its low of over 16 months, reached in April. However, it has fallen back from an early July high of more that $10,000. U.S. Comex Copper Futures increased by 0.1% to $4.44 a lb. Last...

The dollar fell on Monday as a result of weaker than expected U.S. employment data. This boosted the odds for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September. As of 0712 GMT, the London Metal Exchange reported that three-month copper was up 0.5%, at $9,673 a metric ton. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most traded copper contract rose 0.1%, to 78.330 yuan (10,915.70 dollars) per ton. The dollar index dropped 0.4% against a basket rival currencies, after the dismal U.S. employment report and President Donald Trump's firing of a senior labour official stunned investors. They then increased their bets on imminent Fed...