Market News - Gold, Oil & Forex

Oil prices pushed higher Monday, with Brent crude topping $94 per barrel and WTI climbing above $90, after President Donald Trump sent a proposed Iran peace agreement back for revisions, raising fresh questions about how quickly the Strait of Hormuz can be fully reopened to global energy shipments. Brent crude was trading at $94.23 per barrel while WTI stood at $90.87 at 6:06 a.m. ET on Monday, trading as investors digested news reports. According to multiple reports, Trump requested stronger...

The Iran war suddenly turned what had started as a year of oversupply in global oil and LNG markets into the worst oil and gas supply disruption in history. Three months after the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, the world has already lost 1 billion barrels of crude oil supply, oil and gas prices have found a new, much higher floor, and whipsaw with violent volatility nearly every day, trade routes have shifted, and tanker rates have spiked. Actual supply shortages are...

Nuclear fuel is becoming a geopolitical battleground as the world increasingly turns to nuclear energy to contend with skyrocketing energy demand projections. The combination of an oil-based energy crisis emanating out of the Strait of Hormuz, the enormous and ballooning energy needs of artificial intelligence, and the urgent imperative of decarbonization is garnering a renewed interest in nuclear energy as a carbon-free, efficient, and round-the-clock power source. Moreover, nuclear energy can...

Over the last two decades, solar panels have fallen in price while efficiency has increased. Greater uptake and high levels of investment in research and development have led to vast improvements in solar power technology. As panel prices fall and governments worldwide look to diversify their energy mix and cut emissions, several developers are now launching mega-projects to meet the growing demand. Most major solar projects developed in recent years provide hundreds of megawatts of clean...

China has been cited as an example of a country that has managed to insulate itself relatively well against oil crises. With over a billion barrels in estimated inventories before the war in the Middle East started, China was the poster child of forward planning in energy security. But this could change, and if it does, it would make an already severe crisis even worse. Kpler sounded the alarm about that prospect earlier this month, reporting that Chinese refiners have reduced their purchases...

The Iran war has handed the United States a rare opportunity: a new dawn of energy dominance in an increasingly fractured world. With coordinated US-Israeli strikes disrupting the Strait of Hormuz from late February, roughly 20% of global LNG supply has been stripped from the market since early March. Prices have surged across Asia and Europe. And into that vacuum, American gas has flowed. The numbers speak for themselves. US LNG exports to Asia jumped sharply in April, with nearly a quarter of...

Cuba has been experiencing a worsening energy crisis for several years, which previously led it to rely heavily on Venezuela for its fuel. Following the United States’ intervention in Venezuela in February, the energy crisis has grown even worse, as Cubans face regular blackouts and the economy suffers. Cuba requires about 100,000 barrels a day to power its grid and meet the regular transportation demands. It fulfils just 40 percent of this demand domestically. In January, the Trump...

USD/CAD is showing signs of potential weakness as Canada's economy struggles with a -0.1% Q1 GDP contraction and the specter of renewed trade uncertainties, while global oil prices react to Middle East truce hopes.

The US Dollar experienced a notable decline last week as markets priced in a potential diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict, leading to a drop in oil prices and Treasury yields. This shift in sentiment suggests a move away from stagflation fears towards a more stable economic outlook.

Canada's labor market is showing signs of stabilization, with analysts predicting a dip in the unemployment rate to 6.8% in May, driven by an expected 25,000 new jobs. This follows a period of sluggish GDP growth and rising joblessness earlier in the year.