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.
2,694 total articles
The campaign by U.S. and Israeli forces targeting Iranian facilities, and Iran's counterattacks across the Gulf, have damaged more than 40 energy assets and severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and LNG flows. The IEA described the impact as the largest supply disruption on record. Below,…
Physical crude prices for near-term delivery have climbed to record levels, with some grades trading close to $150 a barrel, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran and Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have removed roughly 12 million barrels per day from global flows. The squeeze has pushed benchmark dated Brent and North Sea Forties …
At a joint news conference in Budapest on April 7, U.S. Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized what he described as European Union interference in Hungary’s election and praised Prime Minister Viktor Orban as an ally. Both speakers addressed the Russia-Ukraine war and prospects for peace, and Vance outlined two possible outcomes for tensions wi…
U.S. strikes on Iran's Kharg Island struck military targets and, according to U.S. officials, did not damage oil infrastructure. Vice President JD Vance said the action does not represent a change in U.S. strategy and reiterated a timeline for Iran to respond in negotiations to end the conflict. The administration continues to press Iran to forswea…
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said disruptions to global supplies caused by the Middle East war present new export opportunities for Russia, particularly for resources that have become scarce. He underscored that safeguarding domestic price stability remains the government's top priority and pointed to recent export restrictions as examp…
Global markets opened the week in a cautious stance as investors counted down to a presidential deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has refused a ceasefire and rejected reopening the waterway, leaving oil volatile and equity sentiment tentative. U.S. macro data and central bank speeches this week add to an already uncertain bac…
China's central bank extended a 17-month streak of net gold purchases in March, raising holdings by 160,000 fine troy ounces to 74.38 million fine troy ounces. The dollar valuation of those reserves fell to $342.76 billion from $387.59 billion a month earlier as global prices weakened. UBS strategist Joni Teves says the official-sector buying trend…
European natural gas benchmarks eased on Tuesday after an initial jump, as traders weighed an approaching U.S. ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and reports that Pakistan is pressing forward with ceasefire mediation. The Dutch TTF front-month contract fell about 2.0% to 49.16 euros per megawatt hour by 05:47 ET (09:47 GMT), with ana…
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has described Iran’s near-total stoppage of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as the largest disruption to global energy supplies in history, surpassing the crises of 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined. The blockade has tightened a key shipping route that typically carries about a fifth of the …
Goldman Sachs has lowered its 2026 copper price forecast to $12,650 per tonne from $12,850, citing weaker demand expectations amid slower global growth and an energy price shock tied to Middle East disruptions. The bank raised its 2024 surplus estimate and emphasized short-term volatility and downside risk while keeping a long-run price target of $…
Gold prices fell for a third consecutive session in Asian trading, pressured by rising inflation expectations tied to Middle East tensions and higher oil prices. Spot gold and U.S. futures declined as investors weighed the potential for prolonged elevated interest rates, while diplomatic efforts over the Strait of Hormuz made little progress.
Oil futures rose for a third straight session as traders weighed the possibility of a wider Middle East escalation ahead of a U.S. deadline aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Concerns over tanker disruptions and faltering ceasefire talks between the U.S.-backed proposal and Iranian demands tightened supply expectations and supported higher pr…
Air New Zealand announced a further reduction in services across May and June and said it will increase fares, citing a sharp rise in jet fuel costs tied to the ongoing Iran war. The carrier said the latest consolidation will impact around 4% of flights and about 1% of passengers over the two-month period, and that affected customers will be inform…
A 60-day waiver of the Jones Act that began March 17 allowing foreign-flagged vessels to move fuel between U.S. ports has so far not increased domestic oil shipments, according to trade data and industry commentary. Instead, U.S. fuel exports surged to a record as refiners and shipowners capitalized on stronger international pricing and long-haul f…
A sharp rise in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) costs driven by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and high premiums from a Petrobras auction have squeezed margins for resellers delivering the government’s People’s Gas program. With rules preventing price pass-through, many resellers say they are losing money and may stop accepting vouchers, threatening su…
President Donald Trump publicly demanded that the journalist who first reported the recovery of an airman in Iran disclose how they obtained the information, threatening imprisonment for refusal. The president said the disclosure endangered an ongoing operation to recover a second airman; that second airman was later successfully rescued. The admin…
President Donald Trump told reporters that Iran could be neutralized in a single night if it failed to reach a ceasefire agreement by Tuesday night, warning of broad attacks on power plants and other critical infrastructure. Senior U.S. officials described escalating strike activity and provided an account of a multi-day search-and-rescue operation…
The head of Iraq’s state-run Basra Oil Company says the country could lift crude shipments back to roughly 3.4 million barrels per day within a week if hostilities cease and the Strait of Hormuz is reopened. Production has plunged amid the effective closure of the Strait and recent strikes, with southern fields operating at a fraction of their pre-…
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted to phase out its long-running agency-led 'force-on-force' security drills at operating nuclear reactors, transitioning to a training-oriented approach with independent oversight after 2028. The change, which removes direct NRC-led mock commando-style probes that have been in place since 1991 and were reinforc…
Morgan Stanley economists, including Seth Carpenter, argue that the main danger for global investors is not a fresh oil price spike but a scenario in which oil prices remain elevated for an extended period because of partial disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. Such persistence would produce a stagflationary shock - weighing on consumption and …
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz after late-February strikes and the broader U.S.-Israeli-Iran confrontation triggered an unprecedented energy shock that drove Brent crude up 60% in March. Nations with pipeline and port alternatives - notably Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia - have seen their oil export revenues rise, while Iraq, Kuwait and…
A series of U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed multiple senior Iranian leaders across political, intelligence and military ranks. The losses encompass the Supreme Leader, senior advisers, intelligence chiefs and commanders within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and related forces, according to Iranian and Israeli statements and state media repo…
The Kremlin said the conflict involving Iran is expanding in scope and economic impact, describing the entire Middle East as "on fire." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had seen U.S. social media threats aimed at Iran but opted not to comment directly, and warned of very negative consequences for the global economy as the geography of th…
Spot premiums for U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude have risen to record highs as Asian and European refiners compete for barrels from the Atlantic Basin to offset oil flows interrupted through the Strait of Hormuz. The spike in premiums and higher freight rates are increasing costs and widening losses for refiners on both continents, placin…
Iran has developed a set of positions and demands in response to ceasefire proposals transmitted through intermediaries, the foreign ministry said. Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference that negotiations cannot proceed under ultimatums or threats to commit war crimes, and that previous U.S. demands, including a 15-point plan, were di…
