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.
2,682 total articles
Oil prices climbed more than 3% in Asian trade as the Middle East conflict extended into a sixth day without signs of cooling, sparking renewed concerns about disruptions to crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz and prompting volatile market reactions despite a large U.S. stock build reported by the API.
Gold prices advanced in Asian trade as renewed conflict in the Middle East pushed investors toward safe-haven assets while a retreat in the U.S. dollar provided additional support. Spot gold rose 0.8% to $5,179.60 an ounce by 21:09 ET (02:09 GMT), after a 1% gain in the previous session that followed a near 5% drop earlier in the week.
Global crude prices rose sharply as the widening U.S.-Iran conflict has effectively choked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and pressured regional output. Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures jumped on concerns over suspended shipping, production cutbacks in Iraq and force majeure declarations on Gulf gas exports. Financial-sector ana…
A large-scale power failure left most of Cuba without electricity after an unexpected outage at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant. The interruption, which affected provinces from Pinar del Rio to Camaguey and parts of Las Tunas, occurred amid constrained oil supplies and ongoing government rationing of services. Repairs to the Guiteras plan…
Australia and Canada signed a set of agreements on critical minerals that will see Australia work with the G7 critical minerals alliance, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. The accords come as western countries seek to reduce dependence on China for minerals used in semiconductors and defence, and as both resource-rich nations explore broade…
Citi has lifted its London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium 0-3 month price target to $3,600 per metric ton from $3,400, and said prices could reach $4,000/mt in a bull-case scenario. The upgrade follows force majeure declarations by Gulf producers and sharply reduced shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian retaliatory strikes affected ve…
Average U.S. retail diesel prices climbed above $4.00 per gallon for the first time in nearly two years, propelled by sustained conflict involving Iran and disruptions to Middle Eastern energy flows. The move reflects a sharp daily jump in diesel, tight global inventories, and the disproportionate impact of regional crude disruptions on distillate …
Heavy crude grades produced in the United States, Canada and Venezuela reached multi-year highs amid a disruption of Middle Eastern oil flows following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s threat to fire on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The squeeze has pushed premiums on sour and heavy crudes higher, narrowed discounts on Canadian h…
On March 4, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited Caracas, meeting acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez and other officials as the interim government discusses revisions to the country's mining legislation. Burgum also held private talks with executives from foreign mining firms and is set to meet oil and gas companies, as U.S. officia…
Shipping rates for very large crude carriers and liquefied natural gas tankers have climbed to record levels amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and Iranian strikes on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, which handles roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption and substantial LNG volumes, has seen traffic grind to a near halt aft…
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has tightened its control over wartime decision-making after a series of leadership losses, centralising a hardline military response while preserving internal security functions. Sources close to the Guards say a long-standing decentralisation doctrine - with successors named multiple ranks down - h…
A U.S. submarine strike on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka expanded the U.S.-Iran conflict and intensified a shutdown of transits through the Strait of Hormuz for a fifth consecutive day. At least 200 vessels remain at anchor outside major Gulf producers, several countries have suspended or cut output due to storage constraints, and market forecas…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said crude oil markets are well supplied even as U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted Middle East output, and he indicated additional U.S. policy announcements are forthcoming. Oil prices rose about 1% on the disruption, though gains moderated after President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. Navy could escort …
Iraq has reduced oil production across several major fields by more than 50% after onshore storage reached capacity and maritime carriers are steering clear of the Strait of Hormuz following attacks on shipping. Authorities have cut output at Rumaila, West Qurna 2 and Maysan, and suspended crude flows from the Kirkuk region as a precaution, limitin…
On March 4, UBS raised its average Brent crude price forecasts for the first quarter and for full-year 2026, citing intensifying conflict in the Middle East and what it describes as the near de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The bank now projects a Q1 average of $71 per barrel, implying roughly $80 in March, and a 2026 average of $72 per ba…
Officials briefed on the matter told the New York Times that operatives from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence signalled openness to talks with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to explore an off-ramp from the current conflict. The outreach was reportedly passed via an unnamed country's intelligence service. U.S. officials remain doubtful about ne…
Markets across Asia tumbled as a sudden escalation of violence in the Middle East sent energy price and supply risk sharply higher. South Korea's Kospi plunged 12% in its largest single-day drop on record, while Japan's Nikkei and Taiwan's main index each fell roughly 4%. The Korean won reached a 17-year low and several Asian exchanges halted tradi…
European natural-gas benchmarks declined on Wednesday after a report that Iranian operatives had quietly offered discussions to end the conflict involving the U.S. and Israel. The Dutch TTF benchmark slid 8.5% to $49.695 per megawatt-hour in early afternoon trade, stepping back from gains and a three-year peak recorded the previous session. Market …
Gold has weakened even as geopolitical risk in the Middle East has risen. Morgan Stanley strategists led by Amy Gower point to a stronger U.S. dollar and investor liquidity requirements as primary drivers of the recent price slide, and say the pullback may be temporary if tensions persist. They also note potential support from oil-linked revenues a…
Aluminium jumped 3.8% to $3,315 per tonne after QatarEnergy stopped output following retaliatory strikes linked to the recent escalation in the region. The shutdown at Qatalum, limited alumina inventories at Gulf smelters and shipping risks around the Strait of Hormuz have amplified concerns about near-term availability and the potential for a sust…
A U.S. mining firm supported by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates has proposed digitising colonial-era geological maps of the Democratic Republic of Congo held at Belgium's AfricaMuseum, but the museum and Belgian authorities have declined, citing existing bilateral projects, legal constraints and institutional ethics. The disagreement highlights tensions …
Goldman Sachs has increased its oil price forecasts, pointing to severe interruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz and expectations for substantial inventory draws in March. The bank raised its mid-2026 Brent and WTI estimates and flagged an upside-skewed risk profile should disruptions persist.
Goldman Sachs increased its average price forecasts for Brent and WTI crude in the second quarter of 2026, citing expectations that constrained flows through the Strait of Hormuz will sharply reduce OECD inventories and curtail Middle East oil output in March. The bank also adjusted later-quarter and 2027 forecasts and highlighted both upside risks…
J.P. Morgan analysts say a sustained shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would force Iraq and Kuwait to begin shutting in crude exports within days, with cumulative losses potentially reaching 3.3 million barrels per day by day eight and rising to 4.7 million bpd by day 18. Iraqi officials warned of an imminent production halt if tankers cannot reach …
A Suezmax oil tanker, identified as Pola, transited the Strait of Hormuz this week and is proceeding to the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Dhanna to load Abu Dhabi Murban crude for delivery to Thailand, industry sources and shiptracking data show. The vessel switched off its AIS tracker late on March 2 and re-appeared off Abu Dhabi on March 3, …
