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.
2,160 total articles
Diamondback Energy has purchased put options that pay off if the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark widens its discount to global Brent crude to roughly $42 a barrel or more. The firm paid nearly $70 million for the contracts, a rare use of basis puts by a major U.S. onshore producer, and a hedge that would prove lucrative if a U.S. crude…
Northwest European gasoline refinery margins climbed by about $0.90 on Friday to $26.91 per barrel amid tighter supplies and active buying in physical markets. Significant barge trades in E5 and E10 gasoline, a week-on-week draw in inventories at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub and a shutdown at Libya's Zawiya refinery were cited as supporting …
Citi said on Friday it expects copper to remain supported around $13,000 per metric ton, with physical buying likely to prevent a fall below $12,000 per ton through Q2 2026 even under a sharper risk sell-off. Supply tightening after a production recovery delay at Grasberg helped push three-month LME copper to a three-month high. The bank flagged do…
Global markets spent the week trading between a powerful rally in AI-related semiconductor names and sharp swings in crude driven by renewed U.S.-Iran military tensions. Bullish capex projections from major banks and robust demand for AI compute pushed chip stocks and Asian indexes higher, while oil moves, bond yields and currency intervention adde…
Global equities climbed to new peaks this week, fueled by semiconductors and AI-driven technology earnings, yet Barclays cautions that persistent closure of the Strait of Hormuz and an energy shock are constraining broader gains - particularly across Europe. Flows, bond yields and regional political risks add to the market's fragility ahead of key …
Gold prices ticked higher on Friday and were poised to finish the week with gains as investors weighed signs of a potential U.S.-Iran agreement against renewed tensions near the Strait of Hormuz and awaited key U.S. payrolls data. Easing inflation expectations and a modestly weaker dollar supported bullion, while uncertainty around the ceasefire an…
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Cebu on May 8 pressed for a coordinated regional approach to mitigate energy and food security risks stemming from a nearly 70-day blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The Philippines, chairing the summit, urged practical collective measures, including a voluntary, commercial-based oil-s…
U.S. beef producers are urging that exports to China be discussed at the May 14-15 summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, aiming to restore licenses that lapsed over the past year. More than 400 U.S. beef plants lost eligibility after registrations granted between March 2020 and April 2021 were allowed to expire, a dev…
Oil futures rose more than 2% in Asian trading after U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz. Brent and WTI both advanced, while market participants monitored the risk of escalation in a channel that handles roughly a fifth of global oil and LNG flows. Political leaders and state media offered conciliatory messages even as …
On May 7 in Washington, President Donald Trump said he spoke by phone with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and has given the European Union until July 4 to implement its part of a trade agreement. Trump warned that if the EU does not reduce its tariffs to zero as promised, U.S. tariffs will rise to much higher levels. He also sai…
Market activity in March and April shows potentially coordinated short bets on crude and refined fuel futures totaling as much as $7 billion placed minutes before several public statements by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Iran. The transactions, spread across major exchanges and multiple fuel contracts, exceed earlier reported totals and ha…
Mohamed Soliman, 46, an Egyptian national accused of throwing gasoline bombs at a pro-Israel demonstration in downtown Boulder on June 1, 2025, entered guilty pleas on all state charges, including multiple counts of first-degree murder. The court heard that Soliman used two Molotov cocktails and a makeshift blowtorch during the attack, which author…
U.S. and Iranian officials are said to be negotiating a narrow, staged agreement intended to stop the ongoing military confrontation and reopen traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The framework under discussion would first aim to formally end the war, then settle the Gulf shipping crisis, and finally create a 30-day window to negotiate a more com…
European natural gas benchmarks eased Thursday as market participants monitored reports that Washington and Tehran are engaging mediators on a one-page framework to revive peace talks. The Dutch TTF front-month contract fell modestly, as did the U.K. front-month, while officials on both sides signalled differing reactions to the U.S. proposal. Anal…
A renewed surge in chip and tech-related stocks pushed Asian markets higher as Japan returned from Golden Week, led by large gains in SoftBank. The move adds to a strong year for Asian benchmarks and contrasts with more modest gains in U.S. indices. Falling oil prices on hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal helped ease bond yields, even as sporadic military a…
With automatic identification transponders switched off and a mix of direct sailings, ship-to-ship transfers and storage unloading, the United Arab Emirates has moved several million barrels of crude out of Gulf terminals through the Strait of Hormuz. Industry sources and satellite and shiptracking datasets indicate these operations reflect the len…
China's central bank added to its gold stockpile for an 18th straight month in April, lifting holdings to 74.64 million fine troy ounces and increasing the reserve value to $344.17 billion. The uptick in April reversed a value decline recorded in March that was linked to a sharp drop in bullion prices. Market movements in April were influenced by w…
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva travels to the White House aiming to restore personal rapport with U.S. President Donald Trump, head off potential new trade penalties tied to a Section 301 probe, and offer cooperation on critical minerals and organized crime. The visit comes amid lingering tariff fallout from measures imposed last yea…
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and May 15 in the first visit by a U.S. leader to the Chinese capital in nearly a decade. Officials and market participants expect limited concrete breakthroughs, but negotiators are pursuing targeted trade deals, discussions on advanced technology exports and c…
Gold ticked higher in Asian trade after a near 3% rally the previous session, supported by reports of progress on a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and a weaker dollar. Falling oil prices helped push down Treasury yields and encouraged demand for non-yielding bullion ahead of U.S. jobs data later this week.
Oil futures recovered modestly in Asian trade after a more than 7% decline the previous session. Prices were driven by reports that Washington and Tehran may be nearing a memorandum of understanding, and by U.S. Energy Information Administration data showing smaller-than-expected crude draws alongside strong petroleum exports.
U.S. crude futures climbed roughly $1 in early Asian trading on May 7, reversing losses from the previous session as investors digested reports that negotiators were close to a one-page memorandum that could formally end the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate gained 80 cents, or 0.8%, to $95.88 a barrel as of 2223 GMT after touching $96.…
Basis bids for hard red winter wheat in the southern U.S. Plains were unchanged on Wednesday as merchandisers weighed forecasts of frost and freezes that could damage drought-affected crops. K.C. hard red winter wheat futures, which climbed to multi-year highs last week amid concerns about drought-related crop loss, settled slightly lower on Wednes…
PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. power grid operator, is evaluating sweeping changes to how electricity is procured across its 13-state system after record increases in capacity prices driven largely by new data center connections. The operator has proposed three distinct reform pathways that favor longer-term contracting to address supply sho…
Heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, combined with persistent supply chain constraints for critical equipment and resistance to long-term procurement in parts of Europe, are encouraging more LNG exporters to secure shipping under long-term charters rather than relying on the spot market. Industry executives at a Houston forum said t…
