Know What's Happening in Commodities
Know What's Happening in Commodities
OPEC+ agrees to modest oil quota increase amid Middle East war
OPEC+ members agreed in principle to raise oil production quotas for May by roughly 206,000 barrels per day. Saudi Arabia and Russia led the video‑conference decision as the conflict in the Middle East constrains output and shipments. Delegates said the move signals alliance cohesion despite the geopolitical shock.
Also developing:
A surge in oil prices sparked a risk-off market week, driving the S&P 500 below its anchored VWAP from April 2025 lows. The technical breach highlights heightened selling pressure and a shift in market structure as traders brace for further downside.
Gold's 2025 Rally Was Prescient: Is It Hangover Time? Gold may have one main problem -- ample room for reversion. At the end of February, the metal stretched to its highest-ever vs. the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index and its greatest premium...
2026 May Mark Enduring Metals Peaks - The Bloomberg Commodity All Metals Total Return Subindex cut its 22% gain for 2026 (to the Jan. 29 high) to roughly 2% on March 27. Did the metals sector set a pump-then-dump peak,...
The latest Pro Farmer podcast highlighted that U.S. corn planting acres are likely to exceed USDA’s spring acreage forecast, according to economists Spencer Langford and Lane Akre. The discussion noted stronger farmer confidence and favorable weather patterns driving the uptick....
Global oil prices jumped more than 3% on Monday, with Brent crude climbing above $115 a barrel and tracking toward its biggest monthly gain on record. The surge coincided with sharp declines in Asian equity markets, as Japan’s Nikkei 225...
Bull Trap or the safe heaven status is back ? Gold has been on the rise for the past few days meanwhile Geopolitical tensions & inflation fears are still on the rise. Let me share my 2 cents on what's happening &...
In this episode Jeff Kralowitz talks with Argus senior reporter John Kordner about how the recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have boosted Canadian heavy crude exports. With freight rates soaring, Canadian grades are now more competitive than Middle‑East...
Golden Pass LNG in Texas announced its first commercial LNG cargo from Train 1. The startup adds roughly 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of feed‑gas demand to the Gulf Coast, tightening regional supply. The added demand is expected to lift the...
The 1970s oil crisis, sparked by an Arab embargo, caused oil prices to quadruple and triggered a global recession. Today, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US‑Israel‑Iran conflict threatens to cut roughly 20% of world oil supply,...
Europe faces its sharpest energy shock since 2022 after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, cutting roughly 20% of global oil and liquid gas supplies. Benchmark oil prices have surged above €115 ($125) per barrel and EU gas prices are...
Alcoa Corp shares jumped 10.9% to $65.10 as aluminum prices surged amid the U.S.-Iran conflict. Forward contracts rose over 100% since the war began, pushing the metal to $3,319 per metric ton. The stock is up 21.6% year‑to‑date, approaching an...
The Iran war has disrupted a greater share of oil supplies than any previous shock. And this time, there is virtually no spare capacity available to make up the gap. @wsj
Oil prices surged on Monday as Brent crude briefly topped $117 a barrel and U.S. crude hovered around $102, driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East. Iran’s attacks on aluminium smelters in Bahrain and the UAE pushed metal prices...
Fastmarkets has issued a consultation proposing new quality, tonnage, payment and shelf‑life specifications for its benchmark battery‑grade lithium‑hydroxide and lithium‑carbonate assessments in the China, Japan and Korea (CJK) market. The draft raises the minimum shipment size from 5 to 18...
The USDA’s March 1 quarterly report shows U.S. corn stockpiles at 9.1 million bushels, soybeans at 2.1 million and wheat at 1.3 million, while planting progress reaches 94.5 million acres of corn and 85.5 million acres of soybeans. President Trump announced a two‑week pause in...
The Indian government says fertilizer stocks have risen to over 18 million tonnes, up from 14.7 mt a year earlier, positioning the country to meet the 39 mt kharif 2026 demand. Gas supplies to urea plants have improved to roughly 80 percent of needs,...
UBS precious‑metals strategist Joni Teves warns that gold’s long‑running rally may be winding down as market pricing assumes no further Federal Reserve rate hikes this year. A flat‑rate outlook removes a key driver of higher gold prices, while persistent geopolitical...
Wartime Brent bulls only slightly deflected by talk about talks Investors trimmed bullish positions in Brent slightly early last week after the U.S. government paused plans to attack Iran’s electricity generation plants and announced it was making progress in negotiations to...
Fuel prices in Nigeria have surged 65% as the newly built 650,000‑bpd Dangote refinery failed to offset market pressures from costly crude imports and debt‑linked export obligations. In the UK, mortgage approvals rose to 62,584 in February, outpacing forecasts, while...
Precious metals rallied in Delhi on March 30, with silver jumping ₹7,000 (≈ $74) to ₹2.37 lakh per kilogram and gold rising ₹3,700 (≈ $39) to ₹1.51 lakh per 10 grams. The surge, about 3 % for silver and 2.5 % for gold, was driven by jewellers stocking...
U.S. economic data released this week showed fourth‑quarter GDP growth revised down to 0.7% and consumer‑price inflation still running above 3% in January. Combined with soaring oil prices and rising Treasury yields, analysts warn the economy may be slipping into...
Bloomberg says major investment banks continued to execute mergers, acquisitions and capital‑raising transactions despite the Iran‑Israel war driving oil above $100 a barrel and cutting Qatar LNG output by 17%. The resilience underscores the sector’s strategic role as markets grapple...
Gold rebounded to above $4,500 an ounce on Monday, marking a 1.3% rise after a 14% slide since the Iran conflict erupted in late February. The metal had previously peaked at $5,602 in January, then plunged to $4,100 before recovering....
Asian equity markets tumbled on Monday as Brent crude surged to $115 a barrel, the highest monthly level on record. The Nikkei 225 fell 4.5%, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 3.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.7%, reflecting heightened risk...
President Donald Trump warned he would destroy Iran’s power plants, oil wells and the Kharg Island export hub unless a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is reached, sparking a sharp rally in crude markets. Front‑month Brent May futures...
The Iran war has turned the olive‑oil supply chain into a geopolitical liability, adding fuel‑price pressure, a 15% EU tariff and Red Sea shipping disruptions. The United States, which imports over 95% of its 380,000‑ton annual consumption, faces higher freight...
The U.S. and Israel’s recent strike on Iran prompted Tehran to shut the Strait of Hormuz, halting roughly 20% of global oil shipments and pushing crude above $120 a barrel. Higher oil prices quickly feed inflation, lift mortgage rates and...
Food price inflation has stayed modest even as oil prices have surged over 50% this year and global fertilizer costs have jumped roughly 70%. The rise in input costs has been partially absorbed by farmers through larger inventories, cheaper alternative...
Everyone keeps talking about intermittency. Let me show you two kinds. Wind and solar output varies hourly. It follows weather patterns that we can forecast days in advance. It has a well-understood distribution. We have storage, interconnection, demand response, and decades...
Ferroglobe South Africa warned it could shut all smelters if reduced electricity tariffs are not secured by 1 April. Electricity costs have surged more than 900% since 2007, now exceeding 50% of production expenses and eroding profitability. CEO Marco Levi said...
TotalEnergies earned over $1 bn (€868 m) profit by snapping up roughly 70 Middle East crude cargoes in March as war‑related disruptions choked the Strait of Hormuz. The profit stemmed from a sudden narrowing of the Dubai crude benchmark after S&P Global Platts suspended...
U.S. lawmakers have introduced the Critical Minerals Investment Tax Modernization Act, which would lift the depletion allowance for domestically mined rare earth elements and scandium from 14% to 22%. The move is a direct response to Beijing’s April 2025 export...
JET FUEL prices have more than doubled since the onset of the war between the United States, Israel and Iran. Jet fuel swaps in Singapore are trading at more than $200 per barrel up from just over $90 before the...
Diesel prices in the UK have risen to 179.9p per litre (about $2.25), up more than 35p since the Iran‑Israel conflict began, creating the widest diesel‑petrol price gap in decades. The RAC reports that over 4.6 million vans – the backbone...
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is expected to tighten its exchange‑rate policy in April, targeting a stronger Singapore dollar to offset a 60% monthly rise in Brent crude to $115.58. Analysts warn the move could dampen export competitiveness as...
S&P Global Ratings flagged Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as the most exposed South Asian economies to soaring oil prices that have surged toward $200 a barrel. The warning comes as the region grapples with fuel‑rationing measures, soaring inflation and...
Rising hostilities in the Middle East have constricted crude oil and LNG flows, prompting analysts to warn of tighter supplies and higher prices. Airlines and downstream users face inventory stress as the conflict threatens key shipping lanes, while commodity traders...
“If you’re sitting in Asia, going through this again, it’s possible you change your strategy long term — rely more on coal for longer, build out your renewables faster and reduce your exposure to natural gas.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-29/iran-war-s-gas-supply-shock-pushes-top-consumers-back-to-coal
Of course this guy is spewing nonsense. More fossil fuels and nuclear both correlate with higher prices worldwide. Only wind-water-solar correlates with lower prices. https://t.co/288jwtUdqr
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut roughly 11 million barrels of oil per day, creating the largest supply shock since the 1973 embargo and pushing prices toward $200 a barrel. Asian nations are already hoarding fuel and imposing...
Germany warned the European Union’s rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas imports risk impeding crucial LNG purchases just as the country seeks to diversify suppliers and cushion the Middle East war’s impact on energy prices https://t.co/qkRuwIBPvI
🇺🇸Last week's U.S. corn export inspections topped all trade expectations, but soybeans fell slightly below. 46% of the inspected soybean cargoes were destined for China. https://t.co/qtmgF00LfJ
Gold can drop hard while inflation headlines stay hot. That’s not ‘gold is broken’. That’s real rates and margin calls. Correlations don’t die. They just take vacations. https://t.co/LB3g5NQWP9
Pick your timeframe Copper, natural gas, and oil (Brent / WTI) markets are now trading across daily, weekly, and monthly Commodities have entered the chat ↓ https://t.co/dxPGVrURQL
For most of the past three years, falling energy prices had been helping to push the US inflation rate (CPI) lower. But that tailwind will soon become a headwind, with prices of Oil and Gas spiking on a YoY basis. CPI...
i'm still looking at March 9th, 2026... 🧐 crude oil peaked... volatility $VIX peaked... but 10-year yields $TNX ignored oil/VIX & still rising... and stocks $SPX ignored oil/VIX & still falling... https://t.co/8DK3OPCAJa
Oil up across the curve the past week and rate hike odds contracting in the back half of that oil rise feels ominous
Observing the rebound in lithium prices and its positive effect on Australian producers. That said, the rising fuel costs could well offset any gains this quarter.
🇺🇸 2026 U.S. corn plantings are seen sharply lower year-over-year but still well above average. Soy area is seen up 5%. USDA's Tuesday report will shed more light. 💡Fun fact: The corn estimates (avg, hi & lo) are nearly identical to...
"With a cutoff in shipments imminent, Asian countries, the biggest importers of liquefied natural gas from the Middle East, are already burning more coal and reducing consumption." https://t.co/U74LIL7DHC "the entire concept of L.N.G. being a reliable fuel is undermined," 😔 https://t.co/mYeNrKdiYC
