United States

Bloomberg News reported on Friday that the 'Trump administration has ruled out using the Treasury Department to trade oil futures for the time being, citing an individual familiar with the issue. The report stated that officials discussed getting the Treasury Department to get involved but believed its ability meaningfully to affect the market was limited. The global oil prices have increased since the war began with Iran on Saturday, as the conflict has disrupted Middle East supply. Prices fell on Thursday, the first time since six days. This was due to reports that the U.S. The U.S. may intervene on...

The oil prices dropped on Friday, the first time since six days. This is because the U.S. government has been considering intervening in the futures markets to curb rising 'prices' and issued waivers to Russian oil buyers to ease the supply constraints caused by the Middle East War. Brent crude futures fell 95 cents or 1.1% to $84.46 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped $1.08 or 1.3% to $79.93 at 0440 GMT. Brent is still up 16.4% while WTI is up 19.2%, making this the biggest weekly gain since Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine began in February 2022. The...

The UK's hesitant response to the Middle East conflict and reluctance to defend its allies have renewed doubts about the military effectiveness of the country, especially when the U.S. demands widespread rearmament. Trump slammed Keir starmer, the British Prime Minister on Tuesday. He said that he had "ruined" their historically close relationship when London refused to allow the U.S. to use British bases for pre-emptive attacks on Iran. Cypriot officials have also criticised London for sending a drone made in Iran to strike one of Britain's bases on the island. This prompted France, Greece, and other countries to offer support....

Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that the U.S. Government will exempt Rosneft's German unit from sanctions indefinitely. A person familiar with this matter was quoted as saying so. Could not verify immediately the report. The German economy ministry didn't immediately respond to an 'ask for comment'. Germany placed local units of Rosneft, a Russian oil company, under trusteeship by 2022 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. This broke Berlin's decades long energy relations with Russia. Assets include a'stake' in the PCK Schwedt refinery, which is a major supplier of fuel for the capital area. Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. Treasury’s...

Italy's Energy Minister?said Wednesday that the country could reactivate some coal-fired?power stations if conflict in?the Middle East leads to an energy shortage. Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister of Energy and Environment in Italy, said that "there are coal-powered stations in Italy that I would not like to reactivate. But they're there in reserve for our country." Israeli and U.S. Forces?struck Iranian targets on Tuesday. This prompted Iranian strikes against energy infrastructure in other Gulf States considered U.S. Allies in a area that accounts for just under a third global oil production. Iran also targeted tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Through...

Dubai and Abu Dhabi stocks plunged on Wednesday after they reopened following a two-day suspension in response to Iran's unprecedented wave of missiles and drones?attacks against the Gulf nation. The closing of the market froze the trading of billions of dollars worth of listed assets, as investors awaited clarification on the'scale of damage caused by the weekend strikes which 'hit airports and ports in both emirates, along with residential areas. Dubai's main share index fell 4.7% on a broad basis, led by Emaar Properties, a blue-chip developer, who dropped 4.9%. Budget airliner Air Arabia also declined 5%. In Abu Dhabi...

?Oil Prices rose 1% on Tuesday as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran disrupted Middle -East supplies. However, the pace of gains slowed from previous sessions after President Donald 'Trump' raised the possibility of U.S. Navy escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude oil rose $1.17 or 1.4% to $82.57 per barrel at 0408 GMT after Tuesday's closing price was its highest since Jan 2025. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude rose 72 cents or 1% to $75.28 after reaching its highest level since June. Both have risen by 5% or more over the last two sessions. Phillip...

Investors are uncomfortable with the Middle East conflict and the flaring geopolitical risks around the world. How can they hedge these risks when the traditional equity-bond portfolio no longer works? Investors are under pressure to find a solution, and the answer may not be obvious. However, the recent volatility in the world markets following the U.S./Israeli attack on Iran at the weekend indicates that this pressure will only intensify. On Monday, implied volatility in U.S. Treasuries rose to its highest level since April as bonds fell across the curve. On Tuesday, implied volatility in the U.S. equity markets rose to...

QatarEnergy announced on Tuesday that it would halt production of aluminium due to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. Natural gas prices have soared since Monday, when the state-owned company halted production of liquefied gas following Iranian drone attacks against its Ras Laffan facility. QatarEnergy holds 51% of the shares in Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Co, one of the shareholders in the 648,000-metric-ton per year Qatalum smelter alongside Norway's Norsk Hydro. QatarEnergy holds 51% in Qatar Aluminum ?Manufacturing Co, one of the shareholders in the 648,000-metric-ton-per-year Qatalum smelter alongside Norway's Norsk Hydro. IMPLICATIONS FOR ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION ?ARE UNCLEAR Hydro confirmed...

Shell's CEO for Brazil told reporters that the conflict between Israel and the United States with Iran presents "enormous opportunities" to attract investment to develop Brazil's oil assets. Cristiano Pinto Da Costa, who is a Brazilian politician, said that Brazil's geopolitical stabilty and its track record as a reliable oil-producer give it a definite 'advantage' over other countries, even though he acknowledged the country had limited capacity to increase production in the short term. Brazil will likely benefit "over the medium to long term", he said, touting the record investments made by the London listed oil major of $12.5 billion...

The majority of Gulf'stock markets fell Tuesday. Qatar's benchmark continued to fall after the country stopped liquefied natural gas production amid a escalating air war in the area, and Egypt also?fell? for a third consecutive day. Israel expanded its campaign by launching new strikes against Iran and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel, several Gulf States and a British base in Cyprus. QatarEnergy's, a state-owned company in Qatar, whose 82% clients reside in Asia, had planned to declare force majeure for its LNG shipments following Iranian drone attacks against facilities at the sprawling Ras Laffan Complex. Qatar...

The majority of Gulf stock markets fell on Tuesday. The benchmark Qatar index continued to decline after the country stopped?liquefied gas production amid an escalating air conflict in the region. Israel has 'extended' its campaign by launching new attacks on Iran and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel, several Gulf States, and a British base in Cyprus. QatarEnergy's, a state-owned company in Qatar, whose 82% clients reside in Asia, had planned to declare force majeure for its LNG shipments following Iranian drone attacks against facilities at the sprawling Ras Laffan Complex. Qatar's benchmark stock index fell 0.9%,...

A government order revealed that India has invoked emergency powers to increase production of LPG in order to prevent a shortage after supply disruptions caused by the Middle East Crisis. Last year, the world's second largest importer of LPG consumed 33.15 millions metric tons of LPG. This is a mixture between propane and butane. About two-thirds (or 85-90%) of LPG is imported, and most of it comes from the Middle East. The order, issued late Thursday night, asked all oil refiners to "maximise their propane and butane supplies and use them for the production of LPG". The government has asked...

A senior White House official stated that the U.S. Treasury Department will announce measures to combat 'rising energy prices' as early as Thursday. This could include potential actions involving the oil 'futures market. Washington's potential move would be an unusual attempt to influence energy costs through financial markets, rather than through physical oil supplies. Officials are racing to reduce the political and economic impact of rising fuel prices. The global oil price has risen by 16% as the conflict in the Middle East continues to spread. According to AAA, the U.S. travel agency that tracks fuel prices, the national average...

The price of heavy crude oil produced in Americas reached multi-year-highs on Wednesday as a result of the U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran, which slowed down the exports similar oil produced elsewhere in the Middle East. Brent crude is at its highest level since January 2025, and benchmark crude oil has surged ever since the first attacks last week. Iran has threatened that it will fire at any vessel passing through the'shipping lanes' of the Strait of Hormuz near its southern coast as a retaliation to the U.S. and Israeli attacks. This has effectively shut down the Strait of...

The price of oil rose by more than $1 Wednesday, as the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle East production and stopped exports from the region. Brent rose $1.11 or 1.4% to $82.53 per barrel after Tuesday's closing price at its highest level since January 2025. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude rose by 79 cents or 1.1% to $75.37 after closing at its highest level since June. Israeli and U.S. troops struck targets in Iran on Tuesday. This prompted Iranian strikes against the energy infrastructure of a region which accounts for less than a third global oil production....

Rubio, the Secretary of State for the United States, said that the U.S. would 'take action' to tame the rising energy prices caused by a surge in oil prices as a result of the conflict with Iran. Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy secretary Chris Wright will announce the plans Tuesday. Rubio stated that "starting tomorrow, you'll see us roll out those phases in an effort to mitigate against this... We anticipated this could be a problem." According to his itinerary, President Donald Trump will meet Bessent and Wright on Tuesday at 2...

The Energy Information Administration reported on Friday that U.S. crude oil production dropped for the second consecutive month in December, to its lowest level since June of last year. Meanwhile, demand was at a multi-month high. The EIA reported that crude?oil?production averaged 13,66 million barrels a day in December. This was down by about 133,000 barrels a day from November. This was the biggest month-over-month drop in U.S. crude oil production since January 2025 when bad weather forced major?production centers to shut down. Analysts have predicted that oil production will slow due to the recent decline in oil prices. U.S....

U.S. soybean futures fell on Thursday, a dip in profit-taking after the?hopes? for more U.S. demand and Chinese imports drove prices to their highest level since mid-2024. Corn futures fell with soybeans, but recovered to close the day higher as recent optimism about demand was not dampened by a smaller-than-expected export sales total. Wheat gained after three sessions of losses. Chicago Board of Trade may soybeans finished down 1-1/2 cents to $11.53-1/2 per bushel, after the most-active contract reached its highest level in 20 months. Soyoil Futures rose for the fourth consecutive?day, and reached their highest level since September 2023....

According to four sources who are familiar with the talks, the United States has slowed down the sale of the international assets of the 'Russian oil giant Lukoil to put pressure on Russia during the Ukraine peace negotiations. A document reviewed by OFAC showed that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will extend to Thursday the deadline for deals to be completed from February 28 to April 1. In recent weeks, U.S. and Russian government officials failed to make a breakthrough during talks in Geneva and Abu Dhabi, or in Miami, in order to negotiate a deal for...

The oil prices rose on Thursday, as investors hoped that U.S.-Iran negotiations could prevent a'military conflict which risks disruption of supply.' However, gains were limited by the buildup in U.S. ?crude inventories. Brent futures traded at $71.04 a barrel at 0415 GMT, an increase of 19 cents or 0.3%. WTI futures increased 15 cents or 0.2% to $65.57 a barrel. Brent rose Monday to its highest level since July 31, as Washington sent military forces to the Middle East in an effort to pressure Iran into negotiating a stop to its nuclear programme and ballistic missile program. Toshitaka Takawa, analyst...

The price of oil climbed Thursday as investors hoped that U.S. and Iranian talks would avert a conflict which could disrupt supply. However, gains were capped due to a 'build-up in U.S. crude stocks. Brent futures traded at $71.12 a barrel at 0123 GMT, up 27 cents or 0.3%. WTI futures increased by 23 cents or 0.4% to $65.65. Brent rose 8 cents Wednesday while WTI dropped 21 cents. Brent reached its highest level since July 31, and WTI also rose to the highest level since July 31. Both contracts have remained?near these levels, as Washington has deployed military forces...

Workers at the facilities reported that the Venezuelan refining system is running 'at around 35% of its capacity installed of 1.29 million barrels a day. This is higher than the 20% to 25% of last year but still a small volume for securing enough fuel to satisfy the rising domestic demand. Refineries in South America, run by the state-owned energy company PDVSA are often hit by power failures and malfunctions, which limit fuel supplies to homes, power plants, and vehicles. Venezuela was forced to ration cooking gas, gasoline and diesel in the past. According to sources, Amuay Cardon?El Palito Puerto...

The Federal Court of Australia fined 'Mobil Oil Australia' A$16m ($11.3m) for misleading claims about fuel sold in petrol stations located in certain parts of Queensland, said the country’s competition regulator on Tuesday. Exxon Mobil owns Mobil Oil Australia, which supplies petroleum, diesel and fuel products to retailers throughout Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took the local unit in 2024 to court. They alleged that the company misled customers about the fuel sold at six branded petrol stations located in Queensland. ACCC released a statement on?Tuesday stating that Mobil had falsely claimed in August 2020 to July 2024...