Market Pulse - Commodities
BP begins production at offshore Egyptian asset
BP announced on Monday that it had kicked off gas production at its Atoll Phase One asset off the coast of Egypt after completing the project seven months ahead of schedule at just two-thirds of the total costs it had anticipated.
Chinese loan growth beats forecasts in January
Chinese bank lending picked up sharply at the start of the year, but some economists cautioned about reading too much into the data due to distortions from seasonal effects, pointing out signs of a slowdown evident in broader measures of credit growth.
US is open to talks with North Korea, says Pence
The United States and South Korea have agreed to terms regarding further diplomatic engagement with North Korea, according to US vice president Mike Pence who said that talks between Seoul and Pyongyang could eventually link Washington with the rogue nation.
Forties North Sea oil pipeline back on-line after second breakdown
The North Sea’s Forties pipeline system that carries 40% of crude oil has begun flowing again after a short halt, the second in two months.
Barclays sees up to 82% upside in Kaz Mineral shares
Barclays upgraded its view on KAZ Minerals on Thursday, telling clients the recent pullback in the stock had opened-up an unusually large valuation gap relative to peer Antofagasta.
Cryptocurrency exchange goes dark for 12 hours
Binance, One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has caused panic amongst users by suspending trading and withdrawals for a 12-hour period.
HSBC upgrades Randgold to 'buy', expects further dividend growth
Analysts at HSBC upgraded their recommendation for shares of Randgold Resources on Thursday from 'hold' to 'buy', telling clients they expect the outfit to hike its payout by 50% in 2018 after the company reported record production and increased profits for its most recent trading year.
Sound Energy to launch three-well drilling programme in Morocco
Moroccan upstream gas company Sound Energy apprised investors of its exploration plans for the current year on Thursday after having completed an aerial gradiometry programme.
South Africa's Jacob Zuma reportedly on the cusp of resignation
Jacob Zuma, South Africa's controversial President, was said to be in the middle of talks with the African National Congress' new leader Cyril Ramaphosa over a transition of power, with one source saying Zuma would resign as soon as a list of preconditions had been ironed out.
Citi lifts BP target price, sees soft signals on dividend increase
Analysts at Citi lifted their target price on shares of BP by 6% to 510p, while reiterating their 'neutral' recommendation on the shares, highlighting the "soft signals" of a rise in the dividend emanating from the company.
Strategic Minerals appoints new director to aid Redmoor redevelopment
AIM-quoted mining group Strategic Minerals has appointed former Wolf Minerals operations manager Jeffrey Harrison to its board as a non-executive director to support the planned redevelopment of its Redmoor project in Cornwall.
Nostra Terra completes drilling at Permian Basin project
Hydrocarbon resources group Nostra Terra Oil and Gas has successfully completed drilling at its Twin Well site in the Permian Basin, putting the project into production immediately.
Commodities: DoE forecasts record US oil output in 2018
Commodities came under moderate selling pressure on Tuesday, even as most analysts appeared to be sanguine that the recent stockmarket rout would globally eventually wind down.
BIS head says crypto-currency craze is a hybrid of a 'bubble' and a 'Ponzi scheme'
Agustin Carstens, the Bank for International Settlements' new boss, referred to the crypto-currency craze as a mixture of "a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster," as he warned students at a German university that the likes of Bitcoin and Ripple threatened to undermine public trust in central banks.
Credit Suisse sees scope for higher than average dividend yields at Randgold
Analysts at Credit Suisse stuck by their 'neutral' recommendation on shares of Randgold Resources but expressed surprise at management's decision the day before regarding the size of its dividend payout and what that said about their willingness to return any excess capital to shareholders.
Commodities: Hedge funds, money managers trimmed net long crude positions
Industrial metals edged lower on Friday, as a stronger-than-expected US jobs report sent the US dollar higher and weighed on prices.
Crop-based biofuels are likely to go out of use
Biofuels could fall out of favour as governments lean towards cleaner sources of energy and hand out less financial support, thinks Capital Economics.
Commodities: Energy, metals benefit from strong demand, weak US dollar
Metals gained modestly on London Metal Exchange on Thursday, oil prices rose and gold's relationship with the dollar outweighed that with Treasury yields.
Commodities: Base metal prices supported by PMI data, soft USD
Oil prices fell on Wednesday, as the US crude inventories rose by 6. 8m barrels last week, compared with a rise of 900,000 barrels expected by analysts. This is the first build in eleven weeks.