United States

Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, hit $100 per barrel Wednesday. This was the first time this has happened since late July. However the price increase is relatively slow despite the escalating conflict in the Middle East that fuels fears of more disruptions to oil shipments. Russell Hardy, CEO Vitol - the world's largest independent oil trader - told the APPEC Conference in Singapore on Tuesday that the Middle East has exported approximately 9 million barrels of crude per day and another 1 million bpd in refined products in recent days. This compares to roughly 20,000,000 barrels of...

Iran threatened the United States with "economic warfare" on Tuesday and said it had ?fired an advanced missile at U.S. warships,underscoring the risks of further escalation in the war only days after both sides traded blows again. The six-month war has been marked by periodic flare-ups and pauses. Last Saturday, U.S. forces attacked three Iranian oil tanks. Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Iran had fired the Qassem Basir rocket. Iran continues to block shipping in the Strait of Hormuz despite U.S. efforts to open it. There is also no progress toward a diplomatic breakthrough which could end the...

TotalEnergies announced on Monday that it had cleared a number of?commercial and contractual hurdles in its Papua LNG Project, bringing the project closer to a decision. The French energy giant said that it had completed the tendering process for the engineering, procurement, and construction work of liquefied gas facilities. Contracts are now awaiting approval from its joint-venture partners. TotalEnergies reported that by rebidding?contracts and optimising project design, they have been able to save close to $4 billion in costs since 2024. This has brought down the capital spending?to?around $14 billion. ExxonMobil already operates the nearby PNG LNG plant. The company...

According to Thursday's regulatory filings, shareholders of Dominion Energy & NextEra Energy have approved the $66.8 Billion merger. The two companies announced their merger plan in May. This is expected to result in one of the largest electric utilities around, with an expansion of data centers that use a lot of energy to support artificial intelligent. Dominion, a Virginia-based company, serves the world's largest concentration of data centres. After nearly two decades stagnant electricity consumption, a resurgence of electricity demand has led to a wave major utility mergers. The deal is pending regulatory approvals and will create the third largest...

Weapons experts reviewed video and images verified by the Iranian authorities and concluded that it was likely a direct strike by an American munition, not a ricochet from another target. The incident in Kuhestak, a small town in Iran, has reignited concern about the civilian cost of the U.S.-Iran war. It is the most dramatic case to date since a missile hit an Iranian primary school and killed scores of students and teachers in February. U.S. Central Command announced that its forces had carried out multiple strikes in Iran's southern region on Sept. 1. These targeted air defense systems, radars,...

Dominion Energy announced in a regulatory document on Thursday that its shareholders had approved the previously announced $66.8 billion merger with NextEra Energy. 671.32 millions votes were cast "in favor" of the 'deal. In May, the companies announced their merger plan. This is expected to result in one of the largest electric utilities in the world. Dominion, a Virginia-based company, serves the largest concentration of data centres in the world. After nearly two decades stagnant electricity consumption, a resurgence of electricity demand has led to a wave major utility mergers. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and will create...

Energy Secretary Chris Wright of the United States said that after arriving in Venezuela on Tuesday, the oil companies in the U.S. as well as?other countries will sign deals in Caracas tomorrow that will result in a more-than-doubling in crude production over the next few year. Wright is in Venezuela for a day-long visit, his second trip since U.S. troops seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's office in January. Venezuelan oil production peaked at over 3 million barrels a day in the late 90s, but then plummeted due to a lack investment, poor management and U.S. sanction. In recent months, it...

Nvidia may be synonymous with AI, but a group of lesser-known power and cooling equipment providers is also cashing in on the global data center construction boom as developers rush to avoid infrastructure bottlenecks. The energy-hungry data centers have created a surge of demand for equipment from transformers to advanced cooling systems. This has created winners throughout Asia's supply chains, though earlier stock price gains have moderated. McKinsey predicts that data centres will be worth $7 trillion by 2030. Nvidia said last week it expected AI spending to continue for many years. It is getting harder to build data centres...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Tuesday that the United States will likely announce sanctions against a bank in this week as part of its economic campaign against Iran. "We will probably announce a sanction against a bank this week and another the following week." Bessent stated that he was speaking with our allies in the area, who had all expressed their support. The treasury secretary said that the United States was targeting airline leasing companies and other entities who did business with the Islamic?Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at an event held on the sidelines of a meeting of 20...

The music publishing divisions of Sony Music 'and 'Warner Music sued Anthropic at the federal court in California for allegedly using their copyrighted compositions as a basis to train Claude AI models. Sony and Warner stated in their complaint filed on Friday that Anthropic had pirated hundreds song lyrics and sheet songs from The Beatles to Taylor Swift to Michael Jackson to train Claude to respond to human prompts. This lawsuit is part of a series of similar cases filed by copyright holders, including publishers, authors, music labels, and news outlets, against tech companies for using their work in AI...

Donald Trump has accused U.S. refiners of ripping off Americans. He also called for an investigation by the Justice Department and encouraged companies to use their profits to'reduce gasoline prices, which spiked during the conflict with Iran. He is expected to welcome many of these companies to the White House on Tuesday to celebrate their efforts to maintain a well-supplied market in an effort to manage gasoline prices, which currently average over $4 per gallon. Executives have had to make an unusual calculation because of the timing. According to those familiar with the plans and the timing, companies received the...

SK On, a South Korean battery manufacturer, announced on 'Monday that it had signed a contract to supply U.S. -based NeoVolta Power 9 Gigawatt Hours (GWh), of lithium iron phosphate?battery cells. These will be used in energy storage systems over a five-year period starting 2027. In a press release, SK On said that the pouch-type cells would be manufactured at its factory in Georgia. SK On has not disclosed the value of the deal but industry estimates place it at approximately 1.5 trillion won ($1.09billion). SK On has entered into an agreement to expand its energy storage systems business in...

Benchmark Brent crude futures surpassed $100 per barrel on Wednesday. This was the first time that the symbol had been breached since July 24, as the intensifying conflict in the Middle East fueled a growing concern about oil exports from the region. Brent crude futures were up $2.15 or 2.2% to $100.07 a bar by 0721 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.70 or 1.83% at $94.73 a bar. Brent crude prices are up by 25% since the beginning of last month, as hope for a permanent solution to the U.S.-Iran conflict fades. The attacks this week by the?Houthis,...

The oil price rose for the 4th straight session, with a gain of more than $1 on early Wednesday trade. Brent crude futures were up 1.4% to $99.33 per barrel at 0212 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was $94.34 per barrel, an increase of 1.4%. Brent crude prices jumped by 25% since early August, as the hopes of a permanent solution to the six-month old war faded and fighting flared up again. Prices are now fast approaching $100 per barrel. The 'Middle East War' intensified Tuesday as Iranian-backed Houthis launched strikes against several Saudi cities, further entangling a U.S....

The New York Federal Reserve reported that the outlook of U.S. households for inflation remained unchanged in August as their?worries?about the job market?and the state of?their?personal finances grew. In the latest Survey of Consumer Expectations from the regional Fed bank, respondents held steady to their projections of inflation of 3.6% a year hence and 3% in five years. They also marked down inflation expectations in three years from 3.3% to 3.2%. The report stated that respondents in August predicted higher gasoline prices within a year. Although households' inflation expectations did not change much, their outlook for hiring and personal finances...

Senior industry executives stated on Tuesday that the global diesel supply would remain tight because of a 'lack of spare refinery capacity', Russia’s export ban and the approaching peak winter demand. The wars in Ukraine, Iran and Russia have affected refineries in Russia, the Middle East and Europe, driving diesel margins up to record levels. Crude supplies to Asia are also reduced. Russell Hardy, Vitol's CEO, said at the APPEC Conference on Tuesday that there was a real shortage of products. We are missing 2,000,000 barrels a DAY from Russia and we're also missing nearly 2,000,000 barrels a DAY from...

The oil prices continued to rise?on?Tuesday, as the risks of a long-term conflict in the Middle East increased after Iran threatened retaliation against any new U.S. attack on its assets. This heightened 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 per barrel, up $1.15 or 1.26%. Brent reached its highest level in the previous session since?July 24, as traders built a risk premium to prices amid increased?tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. This is a major artery for crude oil shipments around the...

Iran will increase the price of gasoline starting Tuesday for those who use more than 110 litres of fuel per month, according to a government spokesperson. Fatemeh Mohajerani, in comments reported by the state media, said that the price for the first and second quotas (which include 110 litres) will remain the same, but that the price for the third quota would be increased to 100,000 Iranian Rials per litre. This is equivalent to around?4 U.S. Cents at the current free-market price. The government discussed and delayed the increase in the price of?Iran’s gasoline, which is among the lowest in...

The IAEA announced that a local ceasefire brokered by it took effect Saturday in order to allow repairs at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, controlled by Russia, to be made to restore external power. Since August 20, the plant has been relying on diesel emergency generators to cool vital safety systems. The U.N. Nuclear Watchdog said that if power is not restored to the facility or additional fuel cannot be delivered, a blackout could occur within days. IAEA stated that Ukrainian technicians would begin working on the damaged Ferosplavna electric line after demining the area. In the first weeks following...

The war in the Middle East is still driving up energy costs. Americans are facing record high gasoline prices for Labor Day Weekend, just as midterm Congressional election campaigns begin. Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy analyst, says that the national average gas price is likely to reach $4.03 per gallon on Labor Day. This will be a significant increase over the previous record of $3.83 set in 2012. De Haan, in a blog post, wrote that "Gasoline is not at all-time highs, but it's at the highest level ever recorded for this late in the year. This means Americans may see...

Labor Day, which falls on Monday, September 7, will impact the release of major economic, energy, and commodities reports in Washington for the week ending Sept. 6. The schedule is below. The times are in EDT/GMT. Treasury announcements are subject to change. Monday, September 7 Labor Day. Labor Day. Tuesday, September 8, National Federation of Independent Business releases Small Business Optimism Index, August 0600/1000 Conference Board releases Employment Trends for August 1000/1400 Treasury Dept. Treasury Dept. The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases weekly U.S. Export Inspections for Grains, Oilseeds at 1100/1500. Note: this week's inspections are delayed due to the...

As tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated, oil prices rose on Friday. They are now heading towards their steepest weekly gains since mid-July. Brent crude futures rose by 54 cents or 0.6% to $96.06 per barrel at 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude crude futures gained 80 cents or 0.9% to $92.10. Brent and WTI both saw weekly gains of 7.6%, while WTI gained 10.4%, the biggest since the week ending July 20. The U.S. attacks on Iran this week, which killed and injured dozens of civilians including Iranians, were the most violent clashes that have occurred between...

Oil prices fell on Thursday, as investors weighed the risk of a disruption in Middle East supplies due to renewed military strikes by the U.S. Brent 'crude futures dropped 43?cents or 0.45% to $95.2 a.barrel.at 0029 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures were also down 24 cents or 0.26% at $90.77. The war is now in its seventh full month, and the latest attacks are the most significant exchange of fire since July between the U.S. Brent and WTI fluctuated between gains of up to $2 per barrel and losses as low as $1 during the previous session. Both...

Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy Secretary, said that after arriving in Venezuela on Tuesday that the 'deals' that oil companies from the U.S. The oil companies from the United States and other countries will sign deals in Caracas tomorrow that will result in a more-than-doubling of crude oil production over the next few decades. Wright is on a one day trip to Venezuela, the founding OPEC member. This is his second visit since U.S. troops seized Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro as leader in January. Venezuelan oil production peaked at over 3?million barrels a day in the late 1990s, but then?plummeted due...