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.
1,590 total articles
An Italian foreign ministry source has denied reports that Italy is negotiating with Iran to guarantee safe transit for Italian ships or oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry reiterated Rome's focus on diplomatic efforts aimed at broad military de-escalation and rejected the notion of arrangements that would shield some merchant ve…
A senior UAE diplomat said Iran must halt attacks on neighbouring states before mediation can take place, expressing confidence that U.S. President Donald Trump will lead efforts to a diplomatic end to the war. The minister described Iranian strikes on the UAE as shocking and egregious, defended the UAE’s close coordination with the United States, …
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's newly named supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured, casting doubt on his authority after a wave of strikes. Iranian state media and an Iranian official have described him as war-wounded and lightly injured, respectively. The Pentagon emphasized U.S. operations targeting Iran's missile, drone …
Iran has effectively weaponized the Strait of Hormuz, using a campaign of missile and drone attacks and restrictions on tanker traffic to impose a severe shock on global oil and liquefied natural gas flows. Regional sources and analysts say the move is an intentional strategic response to military inferiority, designed to create economic pain that …
French President Emmanuel Macron said that U.S. waivers permitting purchases of some sanctioned Russian oil products are short-term and narrowly scoped. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a Paris press event, Macron reaffirmed that the G7’s position remains to maintain sanctions on Russia and that neither France nor Europ…
Bernstein analysts, led by James Hooper, caution that while semiconductor production is unlikely to be hit immediately by tensions involving Iran, a sustained conflict could lift helium prices materially. Qatar supplied about 34% of global helium in 2024, and the market's structural features - inventories, alternative sources, recycling and undergr…
RBC Capital's head of global commodity strategy warns that talks in Washington have led the bank to extend its outlook for the Iran-U.S. conflict and its effect on oil markets. The bank says the confrontation could last into spring, elevating the chance that crude surpasses the 2022 Russia-Ukraine peak of $128 per barrel and, if fighting endures fo…
Yemen’s Houthi rebels possess significant missile and drone capabilities and have previously targeted Gulf oil infrastructure and international shipping. Yet, unlike allied Shi’ite groups in Lebanon and Iraq, they have not formally entered the broader regional conflict following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Explanations include a distinct reli…
Global markets registered significant turbulence as the conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices into triple digits, prompted emergency reserve releases and exposed stress in opaque corners of credit markets. U.S. equity losses were modest compared with global peers even as refined fuel squeezes and rising gasoline prices began to bite consume…
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday that Berlin only learned on the morning the United States issued a waiver allowing purchases of sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea. Speaking in Norway, Merz said he wants to understand Washington's reasoning and ruled out providing military protection for sea routes in response…
China has tightened phytosanitary inspections on Brazilian soybean shipments after authorities flagged pesticide- and fungicide-coated beans and other quality issues. Increased checks at exporters' end and longer waits for certification at Brazilian ports are delaying arrivals, lifting freight and demurrage costs and reducing offers to sell. While …
South Korea's Industry Ministry has set temporary maximum wholesale supply prices for gasoline, diesel and kerosene in what officials describe as the country's strongest energy market intervention in nearly 30 years. The two-week cap targets refiners' supply prices while leaving retail pump prices outside the controls. A concurrent Finance Ministry…
Brokerages including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have adjusted their average oil price forecasts for 2026 as the Iran conflict entered its second week. Analysts say prices are likely to remain elevated in the near term while they assess supply disruption risks through the Strait of Hormuz - a waterway that carries more than 20% of global oil …
A bombing that hit the fuel depot of private carrier Kam Air near Kandahar airport was reported by the Taliban, representing a notable escalation in cross-border hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The attack came after a pause in air strikes lasting over a week amid stepped-up mediation by China, with both sides reporting further strikes…
A Goldman Sachs vessel-count tracker shows oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen roughly 97% from normal levels, stabilizing near 0.6 million barrels per day. The bank estimates total Persian Gulf flow reductions of about 16 million barrels per day after partial rerouting to alternative ports. Production and refining outages are intens…
Goldman Sachs raised its near-term Brent crude price outlook to an average above $100 a barrel for March and $85 for April as conflict-related disruptions in the Middle East, damage to regional energy infrastructure and interruptions in the Strait of Hormuz push energy markets into heightened volatility. The bank nonetheless projects a gradual decl…
Gold gained in Asian trade after a pause in the dollar and oil advance, but the metal remains on track for a second consecutive weekly decline as markets weigh the inflationary implications of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and central bank responses. Key inflation data and policy expectations dominate near-term direction.
LyondellBasell reported a fire at its Bayport Choate facility in Texas late Thursday. Company firefighting and incident response teams, supported by regional mutual aid and local fire and emergency agencies, are working to control the blaze. The firm said there is no current threat to nearby residents and that all employees are safe and accounted f…
Senior aides inside the administration are jockeying over how to present and ultimately conclude the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran. Economic and political advisers warn that rising gasoline prices could sap domestic support, while hawks press for continued pressure to blunt Iran’s capabilities. The president has alternated between pro…
President Donald Trump expressed the view that Iran’s newly named supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is likely alive but impaired after reports of injuries. Khamenei has not been seen in public since his appointment by a clerical assembly, and Iranian state media has described him as war-wounded. The conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran, which…
Oil prices fell in early trade after the United States issued a 30-day licence allowing countries to purchase Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea. The move, described by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as aimed at stabilising global energy markets shaken by the war in Iran, provided immediate relief to traders but lef…
Oil futures dipped in Asian trading after the U.S. Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing countries to buy Russian crude that was loaded onto tankers before March 12, a move intended to help stabilize global energy supplies amid the fallout from the war with Iran. The development came as Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Tehran wo…
The U.S. Treasury issued a 30-day license allowing countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products that were already at sea before March 12, a move intended to stabilize energy markets amid heightened hostilities involving Iran that have disrupted shipping in and around the Persian Gulf and lifted crude prices.
The U.S. Treasury issued a 30-day license permitting countries to take delivery of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that are currently stuck at sea, a step Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was intended to help stabilize global energy markets amid heightened tensions following strikes involving Iran. The license covers cargoes loaded by…
Iranian officials said ships must coordinate with the Iranian navy to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, after comments by the country's newly installed Supreme Leader asserting that Tehran will press on with efforts to keep the strait shut as leverage against the United States and Israel. The remarks and ministerial statements have coincided with …
