Market Pulse - Commodities
Commodities: Oil rises on IEA production decline forecast
Oil futures returned to positive territory on Monday, after the International Energy Agency put out forecasts predicting a gradual supply correction over the next two years.
Bonds: Investors see opportunity in pound-denominated debt
Gilts advanced even as news broke that David Cameron might be facing some unexpected opposition in Belgium to his efforts to reach a new settlement for the UK with his EU peers.
IEA warns of risk of oil price spike in medium-term
The recent sharp drop in crude oil prices, while welcome by consumers, raised the risk of a spike in prices in the medium-term due to insufficient demand, according to the rich-world´s energy watchdog.
Iran will struggle to raise exports by more than 500,000 barrels a day, Moody´s says
Iran was set to add to an already oversupplied oil market in 2016, but the country would struggle to meet its stated export targets due to multiple hurdles, Moody´s said on Monday.
Commodities: Oil heads lower as glut concerns dominate market sentiment
Oil futures were firmly in negative territory on Friday, after gains seen over previous sessions, premised on a call by major producers to freeze production, were overwhelmed by renewed oversupply concerns.
Commodities: Oil rally cools as oversupply concerns return
Oil futures headed sideways on Thursday, after substantial spikes over the previous session, premised on a call by major producers to freeze production, fizzled out with Iran still not clarifying its stance on whether or not it would back a Saudi-Russian initiative.
Iran says Doha agreement is a positive first step, oil futures rise
Iran's Petroleum minister, Bijan Zangeneh, welcomed the agreement reached on the previous day by Russia, Saudi Arabia and two other members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Doha, Qatar to freeze their output of crude oil at January's level, but refused to say whether the Central Asian country would do the same, according to Javier Blas, an energy correspondent at Bloomberg.
Tensions rise in South China Sea after Beijing missile deployment
Tensions rose in the South China Sea on Wednesday after satellite images surfaced which appeared to show that the People’s Republic of China had deployed two batteries of surface-to-air missiles and a radar system to the disputed Woody island, or Yongxing in Chinese.
Oil futures drift lower ahead of meeting between Iraq and Iran
Crude oil futures recouped some of the previous day's losses in volatile trading on Wednesday, ahead of a meeting of energy ministers from Iraq, Iran and Venezuela scheduled for later in the day to try and agree on a freeze of their levels of crude oil production.
Commodities: Oil retreats despite producers' pledge to 'freeze' output
Oil futures headed lower on Tuesday despite a pledge by major producers to freeze production.
Iran may be offered special terms to freeze oil output
Iran may be offered 'special' consideration under the terms of the agreement reached earlier in the day by a group of key oil producing countries to freeze their output at current levels, according to an unconfirmed report citing Reuters.
Qatar says tentative agreement reached on freezing oil output
The energy ministers of Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela reached an agreement on Tuesday to keep oil output at current levels, contingent on obtaining the agreement of other major producers, Qatar's energy minister said, according to a report citing Reuters.
China extends more new loans than expected in January
China banks granted more new loans than expected in January, boosted by increased injections from the central bank ahead of the Lunar New Year.
Russian and Saudi oil ministers to meet in Doha
The energy ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia were set to meet on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar to discuss the situation in oil markets, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the talks.
Commodities: Oil futures remain on positive turf, but gold retreats
Oil futures posted decent upticks on Monday, but gold retreated as calm returned to the equities market.
Markets oversold in short-term, but profits will be a drag in the medium-term, JP Morgan says
A bounce in global equities may be headed investors' way soon, JP Morgan believed, but the best strategy remained to "use the rebound as an opportunity to sell," the broker added.
Anglo American downgraded by Moody's with negative outlook
Mining giant Anglo American’s credit ratings have been downgraded by Moody’s, with a negative outlook.
Union Jack announces start of drilling at Laughton
One of Union Jack Oil's newer investments achieved a major milestone this month, with the company announcing the start of drilling operations at the conventional Laughton-1 well.
Commodities: Oil rises on output cut chatter, gold spike cools
Oil futures registered decent gains on Friday, while the previous session’s gold price spike cooled on profit taking as the weekend approached.
European steel outlook negative as prices sink, Moody's says
Moody's has changed its outlook for the European steel sector to negative as the sharp fall in steel prices weighs heavily on profitability such that it will take at least 18 months to return to levels close to those of 2014.