Crude oil futures have jumped to the highest levels in six weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up threats to slap Russia with extra sanctions and tariffs unless it agrees to a ceasefire with Ukraine. Brent crude for September delivery gained 1.2% to trade at $73.34/barrel in Wednesday’s morning session, while WTI crude was up 1.5% to $70.24. Trump told […]
Oil prices traded flat on Thursday in Asian markets, holding on to gains from earlier in the week as traders continued to weigh intensifying geopolitical risks and new tariff deals that could reshape global crude flows.
OPEC+ stuck to the script at Monday’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting, offering no changes to current output policy and little surprise for market watchers. The virtual meeting—its 61st—reviewed production data from May and June and confirmed what most already suspected: while the group remains on track with its broad plans, not every member is keeping pace.
We are still in the early innings of the ongoing earnings season, with only a third of S&P 500 companies having returned their second quarter scorecards. According to FactSet, blended earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 is clocking in at 6.4% Y/Y, the lowest clip in six quarters.
Enterprise Products Partners LP, one of the largest pipeline operators in the Permian basin, sees oil production in the region holding up this year despite an expected drop in crude prices.
The United States and European Union officially reached a tariff agreement on Sunday, averting a potentially crippling transatlantic trade war. Following months of contentious negotiations, U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
Oil fell at the close of last week as the dollar strengthened and conviction waned that the U.S. will reach agreements with key trade partners ahead of a deadline this week.
Oil prices continued to move higher on Friday morning in Asia, supported by renewed optimism surrounding U.S.-EU trade negotiations and expectations that Russia will restrict gasoline exports. Even reports of Chevron’s return to Venezuela, which analysts estimate could add around 200,000 barrels per day to global supply, have been unable to pull prices lower.
ING commodity analysts said the 18th sanction package was unlikely to affect sentiment among oil traders given the ineffectiveness of previous packages. They also noted that the EU may agree to lower the price cap but without the U.S., the original $60 price cap cannot be changed.
EU states earlier approved a fresh sanctions package on Russia that included new banking restrictions and curbs on fuels made from the nation’s petroleum. The package – the bloc’s 18th since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – will also cut off 20 more Russian banks from the international payments system SWIFT and impose restrictions on Russian petroleum refined in other countries. A large oil refinery in India, part-owned by Russia’s state-run oil company, Rosneft PJSC, was also blacklisted.