Commodities

Shell Q1 profit falls 28% but tops analyst expectations

Shell PLC disclosed on Friday that its net profit for the first quarter experienced a substantial 28% year-over-year decrease, settling at $5.58 billion.  Despite this considerable decline, the reported profit figure surpassed the anticipations...

Gold prices could hit $4,000 by 2025: Bybit & FXStreet report

Bybit and FXStreet have released a new joint report predicting that gold could climb to $4,000 per ounce by the end of 2025, citing a powerful combination of macroeconomic stressors, technical strength, and investor flight from traditional markets. T...

Hershey Q1 results beat expectations despite sales dip, salty snacks drive growth

Hershey reported a less severe decline in sales than anticipated for the first quarter, alongside exceeding profit expectations, according to a Thursday announcement. The company’s resilient performance was primarily attributed to consistent co...

Alcoa sees strong order book but faces uncertainty amid tariffs, power outage

Alcoa reported on Thursday that its second-quarter order book remains strong and has not yet been affected by US tariffs. The aluminium producer also noted that the recent power outage in Spain presents potential risks to its operations in that count...

Gold slips to two-week low as safe-haven appeal fades; can prices recover?

Gold prices remained vulnerable to further downside on Thursday as prospects of a trade deal between the US and its trading partners wiped the sheen off the yellow metal.  Safe-haven appeal of both gold and silver was affected on Thursday’s trad...

Why oil prices may face an uphill battle despite market support

Oil prices were slightly lower on Thursday after sharp losses in the previous session due to prospects of higher supply and a slowing US economy.  “Crude just can’t get an upside break,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation...

BP shares rise after Elliott reveals 5% stake: here’s what it plans to do

BP shares climbed by more than 5% on Wednesday after hedge fund Elliott Management revealed a 5.006% stake in the British oil major. The stock was up 5.11% at 10:12 a.m. London time, partially reversing its declines year-to-date. The jump follows Ell...

Germany to phase out power payments, saving consumers €1.5B

Germany’s Bundesnetzagentur, the regulatory body overseeing the country’s energy grid, has announced a proposal aimed at providing financial relief to power consumers.  The plan involves gradually phasing out payments currently made...

JPMorgan sees gold topping $4,000 by Q2 2026 on rising trade tensions

In a note released recently, JPMorgan has predicted that the price of gold could surpass $4,000 per ounce in the coming year. This forecast is based on the bank’s assessment of heightened recession risks, which are being fueled by escalated US...

Japan’s crude oil imports in structural decline, dependence on Middle East grows

Japan’s crude imports are in structural decline. The country is increasingly dependent on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to Vortexa. The decrease in Japan’s crude imports from 2022 to 2024 can be attributed to falling domestic demand for t...

Russian wheat exports plummet for fourth straight month on lower profitability

SovEcon, a leading agricultural consultancy, estimates that Russia will export 2.0 million metric tons of wheat in April.  This figure represents a significant decrease compared to the 5.0 million metric tons exported in April of the previous ye...

Is the cocoa crisis over? West African harvests signal sweet relief for 2025

A dramatic decline in cocoa production owing to bad weather and disease in West Africa caused prices to skyrocket, putting pressure on European chocolate makers and raising prices for consumers worldwide. Despite this scenario, a Statista report show...

Asian importers buy the dip as LNG market sees price corrections

The Asian Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) market experienced a decline in prices this week, which spurred opportunistic buying activity from some Asian importers.  The lower prices presented an attractive opportunity for these importers to secure LN...

Brazil’s Petrobras cuts diesel prices in response to falling crude prices

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil giant, has announced that the price of diesel sold to distributors will be reduced by an average of 0.12 real ($0.0205) per litre beginning Friday. According to Reuters, the move follows recent drops in global...

SovEcon raises forecasts for 2025 Russian wheat output on better winter survival rates

SovEcon, a leading agricultural consultancy, has revised its forecast for Russian wheat production upwards.  The new estimate projects a harvest of 79.7 million metric tons, representing a substantial increase of 1.1 million metric tons from the...

OPEC+ remains in control despite weakening demand and US-China tariff tensions

Oil prices may fall to $50 per barrel as trade tensions between the US and China show no signs of abating.  In such a scenario, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries remains in control of the oil market.  The escalation of t...

Czech Republic ends reliance on Russian oil after 60 years

The Czech Republic had achieved full independence from Russian oil supplies for the first time in its history, government officials announced on Thursday.  This milestone was reached due to the completion of capacity upgrades on the TAL pipeline...

Long XAU/GBP: breakout above key highs hints at accelerated bullish run to 2,600 level

Analysis: crude oil set for weekly rise in 3 weeks; will gains hold?

Oil prices rose on Thursday due to tighter supply expectations after Washington imposed additional sanctions on Iranian oil trade.  Additionally, some Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries producers also pledged more output cuts to o...

OPEC receives updated output cut compensation plans from Iraq, Kazakhstan and others

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced on Wednesday that it has received revised plans from member countries Iraq and Kazakhstan, as well as other nations within the alliance, detailing their strategies to implement additiona...