Market Pulse - Commodities
Commodities: Quiet day for oil as possible US sanctions on Venezuela loom
Oil markets saw little change on Monday as the market readied itself for a potential fallout between the US and Venezuela following Sunday's election, after it was labelled a "sham" by Washington.
Commodities: Gold lower on the day after initial Fed-fuelled rally
Gold rallied overnight after the release of the Fed’s policy statement, initially continuing into the London session on Thursday, with oil prices also retaining their relative strength.
Improved upstream performance, asset disposals boost profits at Shell
A better performance at its upstream division, together with continued asset disposals, buoyed Royal Dutch Shell's bottom line during the second quarter of 2017.
Citi stays at 'sell' on Fresnillo ahead of 1H numbers
Analysts at Citi stuck by their 'sell' recommendation on Fresnillo stock, pointing to the shares' "expensive" valuation and inability to boost cash returns beyond the "normal" payout.
Weir Group misses second quarter profit forecasts, confident on full-year
Weir Group saw a sharp improvement in top-line growth driven by its Oil & Gas division - together with a favourable tailwind from foreign exchange rates - with management sounding a confident note on the full-year outlook.
Commodities: Brent rally continues as inventories decline
Brent crude continued its rally higher on Wednesday, fuelled by a reduction in oil inventories from the US, which fell by 7. 2m barrels, versus expectations for a smaller drop of 3. 3m.
Commodities: Profit-taking hits gold ahead of FOMC statement
Tuesday saw some money coming off the table as investors looked to be taking some profits on gold ahead of Wednesday's FOMC statement after a month high of $1,258 was hit in the previous session.
Commodities: Oil gains as caps to production agreed by JMMC
After suffering heavy losses at the end of last week, oil received a push higher on Monday on the back of talks in Russia between OPEC and non-OPEC countries regarding global output and price stability.
Commodities: Increasing supply of oil weighs heavy on the market
An over supply of crude from Nigeria and Libya of approximately 1m barrels per day weighed heavily on the oil market on Friday with September contracts for both WTI crude and Brent crude down 2. 28% and 2. 29% respectively.
Commodities: Weaker dollar aids gold and silver buyers
A worse than expected Philly Fed index reading dealt a further blow to US dollar strength today, which has seen gradual weakness since the start of the year as measured by the dollar index (a broad measure of us dollar strength/weakness measured against a basket of currencies) which has seen a fall from 103. 210 in January to 94. 121 today (1700 BST).
Nyota Minerals runs down cash from share placing, tenements sale
Nyota Minerals said its cash position was little changed at the end of the latest quarter despite its most recent share placing and after the sale of its residual tenements, even as the company continued to search for a viable business after an attempted cash call fell through.
Sound Energy reports strong pressure build-up at TE-7 test well
Sound Energy, the African and European focused upstream gas company announced a strong reservoir pressure build-up at its TE-7 well and provided a fresh estimate for the resources in place.
Morgan Stanley downgrades Hunting, sees flat US rig count
Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded their recommendation on shares of Hunting and cut their target price, telling clients consensus was too upbeat about the prospects for activity in the oilfield services space and hence the company's top-line growth.
South Africa suspends implementation of controversial mining charter
South Africa suspended implementation of a controversial mining charter following an appeal from industry.
Pantheon Resources & Kinder Morgan ink contract for gas processing facility
Pantheon Resources announced that contracts have been formally executed on improved terms with Kinder Morgan, the US's largest energy infrastructure company, to install and operate a 15mmcf/d capacity gas processing facility in Polk County, which was expected to significantly boost its cash flows.
Shell declares force majeure on Nigerian Bonny Light crude
Royal Dutch Shell has declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude oil exports in Nigeria, meaning be temporarily exempt from contractual obligations.
Deutsche Bank raises copper price forecasts but stays 'neutral' on miners
Greater confidence on China's plans for grid investment and revised forecasts for air conditioning and electric vehicles in China led analysts at Deutsche Bank to bump up their medium-term copper price projections.
Micro Focus share price drop is an opportunity, Barclays says
Barclays believes recent share price weakness in Micro Focus is an opportunity.
China exports beat forecasts in June, commodity imports at record
Chinese exports kept up a solid pace of growth last month as did imports, which depend on domestic demand, but the improved tone in the latter was not likely to last, some analysts said.
WTI pares gains as domestic US oil output rises
US oil stockpiles saw a large drawdown during the latest week, even as domestic US oil production rose, government data revealed.