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The oil prices dropped slightly on Wednesday, as the talks between 'the United States and Iran' progressed. This raised hopes for a deescalation in bilateral tensions. It also reduced risks of disruptions to supply from Middle Eastern oil producers. Brent futures fell?3?cents (0.04%) to $67.39 per barrel at 1:39 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 5 cents (0.08%) to trade at $62.28. Both are near their two-week lows. Iran and the U.S. agreed on "guiding principles" for talks on resolving a long-standing nuclear dispute on Tuesday, but this does not mean that a deal will be imminent,...

Rocky Swift gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. As much of Asia was closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, all eyes were on the Middle East in the hope that talks between the U.S. Geopolitical tensions will be de-escalated by talks between the?U.S. Gold and oil prices fell after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he will be participating "indirectly," in the talks scheduled for Tuesday in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program. He also said he believes Tehran wants to make a deal. Following a holiday in the U.S. for Presidents'...

In Asian trade, Brent oil prices fell on Tuesday after investors?assessed the risks of a supply disruption following Iran's naval drills near Strait?of Hormuz just before?nuclear talks with the U.S.?later?in?the day. Brent crude futures fell 0.47% or 32 cents to $68.33 per barrel at 0430 GMT after a 1.33% rise on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $63.51 a barrel, up 62c or 0.99%. However, the price increase included the entire Monday's movement as the contract didn't settle that day because of the U.S. Presidents Day Holiday. There are many markets closed for Lunar New Year on Tuesday, including...

By Anna Szymanski February 13th - What Mike Dolan, the ROI team and I are looking forward to reading, watching and listening to this weekend. Editor's Note Hello Morning Bid readers! This week has been a rollercoaster ride. We saw a massive election victory in Japan, the extension of artificial intelligence disruption, a pushback against President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, and a mixture of U.S. data that roiled rates markets. All of this suggests that market expectations on everything from technology to "Takaichi" are as clear as mud. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% on Thursday after Cisco Systems' disappointing earnings....

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The markets like it when there is a political event. Sanae Takaichi, Japan's first woman Prime Minister, blew the competition out of the water in the election. This sparked a rally of 4.5% in the Nikkei index to "all-time" highs. The index actually broke 55,000, 56, 000, and 57,000 in a single go. The LDP's best ever result was a resounding victory as it took 316 out of 465 seats at the lower house of parliament. Takaichi, together with its coalition partner Japan Innovation...

By Anna Szymanski Feb. 6 - What Mike Dolan, the ROI team and I are looking forward to reading, watching and listening to this weekend. From the Editor Hello Morning Bid readers! Investors have reevaluated what businesses are worth anything in an AI-driven world. The week started with a sale of some of the oldest forms of value in the world, such as gold and silver. The so-called "software-mageddon" is expected to wipe out roughly $1 trillion in market capitalization for the S&P 500 index of software and services this week. Anthropic's new tool, which could automate legal work, as...

Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. There is no report on jobs for Friday. The markets are worried about the?non farm payrolls being delayed - yet again - by another U.S. shutdown and the global selloff on Wall Street. Following fresh signs of economic strain in the labor market, traders are increasing?betting? that the Federal Reserve will ease policy at its meeting. According to a survey by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the number of layoffs in the U.S. increased in January, reaching the highest monthly level...

The oil prices increased on Wednesday as they extended the gains of the previous day. This was after the U.S. shot a drone from Iran and armed Iranian boats approached a U.S. flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. This rekindled fears of an escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. Brent crude futures was?up 65 cents or 1.0% at $67.98 a barrel at 0111 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $63.90 a barrel, an increase of 69 cents or 1.1%. Both benchmarks rose by nearly 2% Tuesday. U.S. Military said that on Tuesday, an Iranian drone "aggressively approached"...

Tom Westbrook gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The trade took on a more stable tone during the 'Asia session' on Tuesday. Metals prices stabilized and stocks recovered from the gold-and silver-led crash on Monday. Rebounds were sharp in Tokyo and Seoul, and Indian shares cheered the deal announced by U.S. president Donald Trump on Truth Social. The agreement would lower tariffs on Indian products in exchange for India ceasing to purchase Russian oil. There were no solid details about the timing, and there was little information on the deal. However, it...

By Anna Szymanski 30th January - What Mike Dolan, the ROI team and I are looking forward to reading, watching and listening to this weekend. From the Editor Hello Morning Bid readers! The U.S. maintains that it has a "strong dollar policy" but few are able to agree exactly what this means. The dollar fell to its lowest level since early-2022 on Tuesday. This move was initially sparked by Friday's expectations of a joint U.S. and Japanese?intervention in order to prop up yen. After President Donald Trump said that the dollar would "find its levels" in response to the currency's...

The oil prices rose on Wednesday, as supply concerns remained after a winter storm that disrupted U.S. crude exports and production. Middle?East tensions also contributed to the increase. Brent crude futures increased 11 cents or 0.2% to $67.68 per barrel at 0725 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 19 cents or 0.3% to $62.58 per barrel. Both benchmarks rose by about 3% Tuesday. Analysts and traders estimated that the storm had caused the U.S. to lose up to 2,000,000 barrels of oil per day, or 15% of the nation's output, over the weekend. Ship tracking service Vortexa reported that...

On Wednesday, oil prices were mixed. Brent was down slightly while the U.S. contract edged higher. Supply concerns increased after a winter storm disrupted production and stopped Gulf Coast exports at the weekend. Brent crude futures dropped 6 cents or 0.1% to $67.51 a 'barrel' by 0122 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude rose 4 cents or 0.1% to $62.43 a 'barrel. Both benchmarks rose by about 3% Tuesday. Analysts and traders estimate that U.S. oil producers lost as much as 2 million barrels of crude oil per day, or 15%, over the weekend due to the storm straining the?energy...

The price of copper fell on Tuesday due to a'stronger dollar' and a rise in inventories at London Metal Exchange-registered storage facilities, as well as low trading volumes because of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. Benchmark three-month "copper" on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.8% to $12,619 per metric ton at 1702 GMT, after reaching its lowest level since February 6 (12,586). Metal, which is used for power and construction, has fallen 13% since a record high was reached on January 29,?on the back of a wave speculative purchases, encouraged by expectations that demand would be strong. The high...

Antofagasta, a Chilean miner, posted a 52% increase in its annual core profit on Tuesday, as record prices for copper offset softer output. It also said that increased capital expenditures would support production over the medium-term. Analysts had expected that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation would reach a record of $5.2 billion in 2025, up from $3.43billion a year ago. This was due to the fact that copper prices rose by more than 40%. Antofagasta proposed a final dividend of 48 cents per share for 2025, bringing its dividend payout ratio to 50%. Since more than a decade,...

Prices of copper fell on Monday, due to the?firmer dollar as well as a focus on increasing inventories and weak demand prospects during holiday trading. The London Metal Exchange's Wednesday settlement or rollover for maturing contracts and the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday this week, as well as the U.S. public holiday on Monday, will likely result in low volumes and volatile movements due to the expiring contracts and the holiday. As of 1700 GMT, the benchmark copper price on the LME was 0.2% lower. It stood at $12.845 per metric ton. It has fallen more than 11% from a...

Analysts praised a core profit that was above expectations and predicted a positive reaction to the shares. Rio de Janeiro-headquartered Vale, one of the world's largest iron ore producers, posted a $3.8 billion net loss for the October-to-December quarter, compared to a $694 million loss in the same period of 2024. Analysts polled at?LSEG expected a profit of $2.7 billion. Vale Base Metals reported a $3.5billion impairment of its?nickel assets located in Canada. This was "caused by a downward adjustment in long-term nickel prices based on market estimates". The company also noted a $2.8 billion write-off from deferred taxes assets...

Data from Benchmark Mineral - Intelligence (BMI), a consultancy, showed that global EV registrations dropped 3% in January due to the introduction of a EV purchase 'tax' and lower EV subsides in China as well as policy alterations in the U.S. Why it's important Global automakers with a large exposure to the U.S. have written down $55 billion over the last year. This is due to their scaling back of electric vehicle ambitions as they face a difficult U.S. marketplace under President Donald Trump. They also faced price wars and more complex vehicle types in Europe. The European Union, as...

Aluminum prices reached a two-week high after Australia's South32 confirmed that it would close a smelter located in Mozambique. However, all metals fell later as investor sentiment soured and financial markets tumbled. Benchmark three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange reached its highest since January 30, at $3,163.50 per metric ton. South32 confirmed it would place its Mozambique Aluminium plant on care and maintainance next month due to a power shortage. Aluminum, however, as well as other metals,?moved in the red during European afternoon trading, along with financial markets and was down 0.1% at $3.100 by 1730 GMT. U.S. indexes...

Nickel rose on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive session after the?world's largest nickel mine, located in Indonesia? received a?dramatically reduced production quota this year. As of 1705 GMT, the benchmark three-month Nickel?on London Metal Exchange?was up by 2.7% to $17.955 per metric ton. The nickel used in the production of stainless steel and rechargeable battery earlier rose as high as 3%, to $18,020. This was its highest price since January 30. French miner Eramet announced on Wednesday that its PT Weda Bay Nickel joint venture with China's?Tsingshan and Indonesia's PT Antam received an initial production allowance for 2026 of 12...

Platinum's record-high price will have to continue for miners to invest heavily in new projects. Executives are prioritising shareholder payouts at the moment, despite concerns about past mistakes and rising costs. After years of margin stress that forced deep cost cuts and massive layoffs, a rebound in the?platinum? prices -- spot platinum reaching a record 2,918.80 an ounce in January after surging by 127% in 2025 - has improved the fortunes of miners. Valterra Platinum, which is the largest platinum producer in the world by sales value and was spun-off from Anglo American last January, is expecting its annual profit...

Kraft Heinz halted its plans to split on Wednesday, joining a select group of companies that have retracted major corporate restructurings. It announced plans to split in two, one focusing on sauces and condiments and the other on groceries. Some major companies have cancelled plans to split. DUPONT DuPont, a manufacturer of industrial materials, announced in January 2025 that it would no longer'separate their water business and turn it into a publicly-traded company. Instead, they will'spin off its electronics business. VIRGIN O2 Marc Murtra, the CEO of Telefonica, announced that in July 2025 they had scrapped their plan to spin...

Mark Learmonth, CEO of Caledonia Mining, said on Wednesday that the successful international capital raise?for its flagship Bilboes Gold Mine highlighted Zimbabwe's renewed potential as an investment destination. Caledonia raised $150 million in a convertible bond last month to fund the Bilboes Project, which will, when operational, be the largest mine of gold in Zimbabwe. It already operates Zimbabwe's 80,000-ounce-per-year Blanket mine. Learmonth said on the sidelines a mining conference held in Cape Town, "It is not only a game?changer" for Zimbabwe. "With a project that large and of such high quality, it is not possible to continue believing that...

Copper prices dropped on Tuesday as a result of rising inventories, muted trading and the Lunar New Year holiday in China (the world's largest metal consumer) that begins this weekend. The benchmark?three-month?copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6% to $13,088.50 per metric tonne at 1704 GMT. Chinese brokerage GF Futures stated in a report that the demand has cooled since downstream Chinese buyers have completed their pre-holiday restocking. Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a report that China's apparent fourth-quarter?copper demand fell 12.3% on an annual basis, but the full-year 2025 metal demand is up 4%. Due to the...

TechMet, a U.S. investment vehicle backed by the United States, is seeking to raise an additional $200 million to finance vital minerals projects. CEO Brian Menell said on Monday. TechMet, a privately-held company that owns stakes of ten companies, including Brazilian Nickel, South Africa's Rainbow Rare Earths and Qatar Investment Authority, raised $300 million last year, including $180 from the Qatar Investment Authority. TechMet has reopened its fundraising. The company, valued at over $1 billion, focuses on developing businesses along the entire critical minerals value chain. Menell said on the sidelines an African mining conference in Cape Town: "We kept...