Market News - Gold, Oil & Forex

The United States says its campaign to choke off Iran's oil revenue may finally be showing results where it matters most: China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Chinese purchases of Iranian crude have fallen sharply after Washington expanded sanctions on the country's independent "teapot" refiners, which have long been the primary buyers of discounted Iranian barrels. Speaking to Fox Business, Bessent said China's crude purchases have dropped by about 40% over the past...

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trades around $84.40 at the time of writing on Tuesday, up 2.6% on the day, as concerns over global Oil supplies continue to support prices despite hopes for a diplomatic de-escalation in the Middle East.

Houthi attacks are expanding the Middle East conflict into the Red Sea, forcing tankers to reroute and pushing Brent above $91 amid growing fears of prolonged supply disruptions. Aramco Floods the Red Sea With Crude Ahead of Houthi Escalation - Perhaps foreshadowing an escalation in the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco shipped record volumes of crude from its Red Sea port of Yanbu over the past four weeks. - Yemen’s Houthi rebels have sent an email to most global...

India emerged as the world’s most active long-term LNG buyer market in 2025 with a total of 8.4 million tons per year contracted, according to the annual 2026 report of the International Group of LNG Importers, known by its French acronym GIIGNL. Last year, India added its eighth LNG import terminal as it plans to nearly double the share of natural gas in its energy mix to about 15% in a decade. India was the most active end-user buyer last year, with 8.4 MTPA in total contracts disclosed...

Shipping disruption: Houthi threats forced two Saudi oil tankers to turn around in the Red Sea as Hormuz traffic slowed sharply after more tanker attacks. Escalation in Gulf: Iran claimed strikes on infrastructure in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, while Kuwait reported a second day of attacks on power and desalination plants. Trump vows more to come: The US launched fresh strikes on Iranian targets, Trump vowed retaliation, and Reuters reported a proposed 10-day ceasefire. Oil surges: Crude...

A Kuwait-owned oil products tanker was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz near Oman as tensions escalate around the key shipping lanes of the Middle East, sending Brent back above $90 per barrel.  The Kaifan tanker, owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. S.A.K., was the vessel hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait, per security consultancy EOS Risk Group cited by Bloomberg. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations UKMTO said early on Tuesday that it had received a report of an...

India's crude oil imports have remained close to record-high levels in July despite the end of the U.S. waiver the previous month. The U.S. quietly let the waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil loaded on tankers expire on June 17, just as the U.S. and Iran signed the memorandum of understanding to continue negotiations on a deal. Yet, Indian imports of Russian crude has continued to flow in July, many of which may have been cargoes that were arranged during the window covered by the U.S....

Pakistan is paying top dollar for LNG supply as the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the stranding of cargoes from its term supplier Qatar have forced the South Asian country to seek liquefied natural gas on the spot market. So far this month, Pakistan has issued several tenders for July delivery and is apparently willing to pay up to secure supply. In the latest tender, state-controlled importer Pakistan LNG Limited has accepted an offer from TotalEnergies Gas & Power Limited for a...

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) – the benchmark US Crude Oil price – struggles to capitalize on the previous day's late rebound from the $79.50-$79.45 area and trades with a negative bias through the first half of the European session on Tuesday.

Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC on Tuesday announced a $6.2 billion final investment decision to develop the Umm Shaif Gas Cap project in Abu Dhabi as part of its strategy to grow its global gas portfolio. ADNOC will develop the project alongside its international partners-France’s TotalEnergies, Italy’s Eni, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The final investment decision (FID) includes three engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) packages totaling $5.1 billion...

Crude oil prices reversed their climb this morning, retreating on reports that efforts are being made to negotiate another ceasefire between the United States and Iran. Brent crude was trading at $88.77 per barrel at the time of writing, down from over $90 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate was changing hands for $82.31 per barrel despite continued missile strikes in the Persian Gulf and President Trump’s threat to punish Iran for the deaths of several U.S. troops. Reports about ceasefire...

Crude oil prices could surge to $120 per barrel towards the end of the year if the war in the Middle East extends and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for longer, Goldman Sachs has warned in its latest prediction in response to geopolitical developments in the Middle East. "Escalation in the Middle East and the decline in estimated Persian Gulf flows to below 45% of pre-war levels have pushed oil prices back up," Goldman's commodity analysts said in a note, as quoted by Bloomberg. This is...