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.
2,723 total articles
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, …
Summary: U.S. Central Command says operations against Iran are progressing faster than planned after coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes reached deep into Iranian territory and Tehran responded with strikes across the Gulf. The five-day conflict has disrupted global travel with more than 20,000 flight cancellations, prompted large-scale troop depl…
Oil futures climbed in Asian trading as an intensifying conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran heightened concerns about supply disruptions. Brent and WTI both rose following multi-day gains, with Tehran's actions in the Gulf and reported Iraqi production shutdowns injecting a significant geopolitical premium into prices. Announcements of U.S…
An Israeli strike on a four-storey residential building in eastern Lebanon's Baalbek has left at least four people dead and six injured, state media reported on March 4. Rescue teams were working to extract families from the debris as the incident formed part of a wider surge in cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which has respo…
Global crude benchmarks rose more than $1 as military strikes involving U.S. and Israeli forces and retaliatory Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure and ships disrupted output and shipping in a region that supplies a substantial share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. Supply interruptions, containerized export limits and closed ship…
A sudden escalation in regional hostilities propelled oil prices higher and drove unprecedented hedging activity on the Intercontinental Exchange. Traders and U.S. crude producers moved quickly to fix prices, driving record volumes in energy futures and options and pushing diesel particularly sharply higher amid tight inventories and supply concern…
President Donald Trump said the U.S. Development Finance Corporation will immediately provide political risk insurance and guarantees for maritime trade through the Gulf, and that the U.S. Navy stands ready to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The moves come amid conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran that has severely disrupted sh…
The Trump administration is evaluating plans to provide military protection for oil and gas tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz and to possibly support insurance for those voyages. The moves come as energy prices have risen sharply amid threats to vessels and ongoing fighting in the region, raising concerns about disruptions to natural gas and …
The White House is set to review a package of measures aimed at limiting energy price increases after strikes on Iran disrupted tanker movements in the Middle East. Options include government assistance to help oil tankers obtain insurance, with senior administration officials scheduled to brief the president and finalise a response. Rising war-ris…
China has publicly opposed recent military strikes by Israel and the United States against Iran and has demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities. Foreign Minister Wang Yi conveyed the position in a phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, reiterated China’s preference for dialogue and negotiation, and signalled Beijing will act t…
