Price movements and fundamentals across major commodities.
Analysis and reporting on commodities such as oil, natural gas, gold, industrial metals, and agricultural products. Focuses on supply-demand dynamics, geopolitical risks, inventory trends, and macro drivers affecting commodity markets.
2,695 total articles
Private businesses and youth-driven cultural trends in Turkmenistan are showing gradual change: local e-commerce, growing social media use via VPNs, and popular urban activities such as breakdancing suggest a measured opening in everyday life. Political authority and economic controls remain firmly in place, and foreign access continues to be tight…
Ukrainian drones struck the Baltic oil export hub of Primorsk on Sunday, causing a temporary fire that was extinguished with no oil spill, regional authorities said. Officials reported more than 60 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region overnight, while Kyiv also struck two tankers near Novorossiysk. Additional drone incidents were reporte…
OPEC+ members are preparing to approve a modest rise in oil production targets for June after seven countries signalled agreement to add about 188,000 barrels per day. The increase would mark the third monthly boost in a row, but market participants caution the adjustment will have limited practical effect while the U.S.-Iran war and the closure of…
China's Ministry of Commerce has issued an injunction preventing U.S. sanctions from being recognized, implemented or complied with in the case of five Chinese refiners accused of buying Iranian oil. The move follows recent U.S. Treasury action targeting Hengli and earlier measures applied during the previous U.S. administration to several smaller …
Seven OPEC+ members have reached an agreement in principle to lift collective oil output targets by roughly 188,000 barrels per day in June. The move comes as the United Arab Emirates has departed the grouping and as significant export disruptions tied to the conflict over Iran and related closures of the Strait of Hormuz continue to limit physical…
The United Arab Emirates has formally declared it will withdraw from OPEC effective 1 May 2026, citing the need for greater strategic flexibility in its long-term energy planning. UBS analysts say the move is unlikely to push oil prices sharply higher in the near term because of physical export constraints, but it raises meaningful downside risk to…
In Ashgabat, private entrepreneurs and a growing online culture illustrate a gradual loosening of day-to-day social constraints in Turkmenistan, even as political authority and economic controls persist. Local e-commerce operators delivering mostly Turkish-made apparel, the rising popularity of social media accessed via VPNs, and increasing interes…
President Donald Trump characterized recent U.S. naval actions against vessels tied to Iran as 'like pirates' while describing the seizure of a ship and its cargo. The remarks came amid a broader conflict between the U.S. and Israel and Iran that has led to port blockades, attacks across the region, elevated oil prices and widespread condemnation o…
A radio-collared endangered Mexican wolf moved from the New Mexico Bootheel into Chihuahua, Mexico, last week, a federal wildlife official said. Conservation groups warn that continuing construction of an 18- to 30-foot-high steel border barrier across New Mexico could prevent future crossings, worsening inbreeding and threatening the long-term sur…
Barclays increased its 2026 Brent crude price projection to $100 per barrel from $85, citing the ongoing impasse in the Strait of Hormuz. The bank says a fragile ceasefire is largely holding but physical flows through the strait are a trickle, inventories are drawing down and the market is running a sizable daily deficit that could widen if disrupt…
On May 1, Barclays raised its 2026 Brent crude price forecast to $100 per barrel, citing severely constrained flows through the Strait of Hormuz and accelerating inventory draws. The bank estimates a current market deficit of 6.6 million barrels per day and says the shortfall is likely to grow. Barclays cautioned that if disruptions persist through…
Northwest European gasoline refining margins rose by $8.49 to $30.59 per barrel on Friday, marking the strongest level since August 2023 as oil prices fell. Trading in gasoline barges was active, and a two-month maintenance outage at TotalEnergies' Donges refinery in France removed a significant share of national refining capacity. Separately, U.S.…
U.S. energy firms added drilling capacity for a second consecutive week, pushing the combined oil and natural gas rig count to 547 in the week ending May 1, the highest reading since early April, according to data from Baker Hughes. Oil, gas and miscellaneous rigs each rose by one rig, but the total count remains below year-ago levels.
The U.S. administration has taken the position that the hostilities that began on February 28 have "terminated," as the 60-day period under the 1973 War Powers Resolution expired on May 1. Congressional Democrats rejected that reading of the law, pointing to ongoing U.S. operations aimed at blocking Iranian oil exports and saying the statute contai…
Tether reduced its gold purchases intended for backing its USDT stablecoin to about 6 metric tons in the first quarter, down from 27 tons in October-December. The issuer continues to hold significant gold across its two products - USDT and the gold-backed XAUT token - with total holdings around 154 metric tons. The reserves backing USDT remain larg…
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued an advisory warning U.S. and non-U.S. persons that payments to Iran tied to safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz - including nominally charitable donations - carry sanctions risk. The alert follows Iranian proposals for fees on vessels transiting the strategically vital waterway a…
Yardeni Research says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since February 28 removed more than 15% of global oil supply, yet Brent crude has only climbed into the $90 to $100 per barrel band. Six factors - including expanded bypass pipelines, emergency releases and regional price divergence - help explain the muted response, while demand trends and …
Venezuela's oil exports climbed 14% in April to 1.23 million barrels per day, the strongest monthly outflow in over seven years, driven by larger shipments to the United States, India and Europe. Data and PDVSA documents show 66 vessels left Venezuelan waters in April, up from 61 in March, as the country draws down inventories and lifts crude outpu…
Global equities have climbed on optimism around artificial intelligence and solid corporate earnings, yet a deepening dislocation between physical crude prices and futures markets is raising concerns of a much larger oil shock. Physical barrels are trading significantly above pre-crisis levels, reflecting disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and…
Attacks linked to the war with Iran have removed roughly 20% of global LNG capacity, pushing prices in Europe and Asia sharply higher. At the same time the United States - the world's largest producer and exporter of natural gas - is awash in fuel but cannot move much more to international buyers because pipelines and existing LNG facilities are al…
This week delivered a dense slate of developments across central banks, energy markets and technology earnings. The Federal Reserve left its policy rate unchanged while its departing chair said he will remain at the Fed until "things have calmed down," and the meeting exposed an unusually high level of dissent. The Bank of Japan likewise recorded a…
Simultaneous April 25 attacks in Mali by militants tied to al Qaeda and separatist Tuareg rebels demonstrated how disparate armed groups can conduct coordinated strikes against the country's military government. Despite interventions by French, U.S., UN and Russian forces since 2013, these militant organizations - along with factions aligned with I…
European natural gas prices increased on Friday as the conflict involving Iran showed no signs of abating and shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained significantly disrupted. The Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub rose to 46.580 euros per megawatt hour at 09:50 GMT (05:50 ET), while political statements from both the United States an…
Analysis of official notices and tanker-tracking data shows Russia has become the dominant crude supplier to Syria, increasing shipments by about 75% to roughly 60,000 barrels per day this year. The flows, moved largely on vessels under Western sanctions or high-risk flags and often involving ship-to-ship transfers, cover a substantial portion of t…
Gold held steady in Asian trading after suffering two consecutive months of losses, with prices supported only modestly as uncertainty over the Iran war and the potential for higher global interest rates continued to weigh on the market. Muted volumes due to holidays in much of Asia and upward pressure on oil prices added to the cautious tone, whil…
