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Oil prices steady as Middle East crude supplies recover

Oil prices were broadly stable in Wednesday trading as recovering crude supplies from the Middle East eased market concerns, Reuters reported.By 09:35 Moscow time, November futures for US West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $89.44 a barrel, up 0.07% from the previous close.Brent crude futures for the same month traded at $102.86 a barrel, up 0.26% from the previous settlement.

30-09-2026 12:55

Oil prices steady as Middle East crude supplies recover

Oil prices were broadly stable in Wednesday trading as recovering crude supplies from the Middle East eased market concerns, Reuters reported.By 09:35 Moscow time, November futures for US West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $89.44 a barrel, up 0.07% from the previous close.Brent crude futures for the same month traded at $102.86 a barrel, up 0.26% from the previous settlement.

30-09-2026 12:55

Gold prices fall

Gold prices have declined trading and were on track to post a monthly loss of more than 6%, as expectations of higher US interest rates strengthened and investors awaited inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook.Spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,170.63 an ounce, while gold futures rose 0.5% to $4,201.90 an ounce.

30-09-2026 12:44

Watch: Major Agricultural Research Breakthrough

A major breakthrough in agricultural research has marked a significant step forward for the field of scientific research.Watch the attached video for more.

21-09-2026 10:59

Diesel Price Set to Exceed $30

Head of the Association of Fuel Station Owners George Brax wrote on his X account:“Unfortunately, due to the military escalation in the Gulf and the Red Sea, as well as the Russia-Ukraine war, the price of a 20-liter can of diesel will follow gasoline and exceed the $30 mark tomorrow, Friday.”More details can be found in the attached photo.

17-09-2026 12:01

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Oil prices steady as Middle East crude supplies recover

Oil prices were broadly stable in Wednesday trading as recovering crude supplies from the Middle East eased market concerns, Reuters reported.By 09:35 Moscow time, November futures for US West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $89.44 a barrel, up 0.07% from the previous close.Brent crude futures for the same month traded at $102.86 a barrel, up 0.26% from the previous settlement.

30-09-2026 12:55

Qatar in talks to join TotalEnergies' $27 bln Iraqi energy project

Qatar is in talks to acquire a stake from French company TotalEnergies' (TTEF.PA) $27 billion cluster of energy projects in Iraq, three sources told Reuters, as Baghdad hopes to stem efforts by Western energy companies to exit the country.A major investment by a Gulf state would mark an important win for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, who took office last October following more than a year of political turmoil, and would also be considered a step towards countering Iranian influence.QatarEnergy is looking to acquire a stake of around 30% in the project, one source said. Energy companies rarely own 100% of projects and prefer partnerships to reduce risk.After a flurry of deals after the U.S. invasion over a decade ago, international oil companies have been trying to leave Iraq due to poor returns from revenue sharing agreements.When TotalEnergies and Baghdad in 2021 signed an agreement to build four giant solar, gas, power and water projects in southern Iraq over 25 years, hopes for an exodus reversal were high. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and BP(BP.L) have all sought to scale back their operations in Iraq in recent years.But the project, aimed at boosting the country's economy and reducing its dependency on Iranian gas, is yet to take off.The TotalEnergies deal with Iraq, which will require an initial investment of $10 billion, followed a visit from French President Emmanuel Macron in September 2021.The terms of the deal, which have not been made public or previously reported, had raised concerns among Iraqi politicians and were unprecedented for Iraq, sources close to the deal told Reuters in February 2022.The deal includes the construction of a natural gas gathering network to supply local power stations through the expansion of the Ratawi field, building a large-scale seawater treatment facility to boost output from other fields using water injection and a large solar power plant in the Basra region.But there has been little progress since then. Sources told Reuters last year that disputes over terms had risked scrapping the project.QatarEnergy and the Qatari government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the talks.TotalEnergies did not confirm the deal when contacted by Reuters.A senior Iraqi oil ministry official said he was not aware of QatarEnergy plans to acquire a stake in the TotalEnergies' project.SUDANI TO PARISIraq's Sudani is travelling to Paris on Thursday and will meet Macron, a spokesperson for the Elysee said.One of the sources told Reuters Sudani would also meet TotalEnergies Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne in a bid to end the deadlock.QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies have been talking about a stake in the project, and even though no final agreement has been reached yet, there was a lot of confidence it would materialise, two of the sources said.Arab nations including Saudi Arabia have been trying to counter Tehran's influence in Iraq.Iraq and France in December jointly organised a conference in Jordan to show support for Baghdad, which has faced crises ranging from Islamic State militants, climate change, corruption and instability since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.Qatar attended as did Middle East foes Saudi Arabia and Iran.The French and Qatari energy companies have close partnerships in Qatar's giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) production as well as major energy projects around the world including in Guyana, Namibia and South Africa.Pouyanne told investors following the deal announcement that Iraq was a core part of TotalEnergies' focus in the Middle East and the deal was a "win-win" for Baghdad and his company which will be paid via oil sales from the Ratawi field, one of four projects in the agreement.He also said TotalEnergies was looking for partners in the projects, in which it wanted to keep a 40% to 50% share.

26-01-2023 09:36

Oil steady as market awaits more supply clarity

Oil prices were steady on Thursday after U.S. crude stocks climbed less than expected, while investors awaited further clarity on supply drivers, including an OPEC+ meeting and the looming EU ban on Russian refined products.Brent crude futures dipped 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $86.08 per barrel by 0400 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $80.33."The market awaits to get more clarity on the upcoming EU embargo on Russian refined products and the subsequent reshuffle of trade flows, while OPEC+ delegates head into their next meeting," Citi analysts said in a note Thursday."The upcoming EU embargo on Russian refined products remains a major source of concern for the market, with widespread dislocations expected to materialize," the Citi analysts added.Oil prices were also little changed after data showed a build in U.S. crude inventories which was less than expected.Crude inventories edged higher by 533,000 barrels to 448.5 million barrels in the week ending Jan. 20, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.That was substantially short of forecasts for a 1 million barrel rise, though crude stocks are at their highest since June 2021, the EIA said.The rise in inventories capped price gains as it reflected softer fuel demand, on top of broader concerns of a slowing global economy.Global economic growth is forecast to barely move above 2% this year, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who said the greater risk was a further downgrade to their view. That was at odds with widespread optimism in markets since the beginning of the year.Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, are likely to endorse the group's current output levels at a Feb. 1 meeting, OPEC+ sources said.

26-01-2023 09:34

Oil nears 3-week low then steadies on higher U.S. demand, weaker dollar

Oil prices were steady on Tuesday after dropping close to a three-week low, drawing support from a weakening dollar and on data showing demand for U.S. crude and petroleum products rose in November.Although the front-month Brent futures contract was down 37 cents to $84.53 a barrel in low volumes, the more actively traded April Brent futures rose by 89 cents, or 1.1%, to $85.39 by 12:47 p.m. EST (1747 GMT).U.S. WTI crude rose 92 cents, or 1.2%, to $78.82 a barrel.More volatility on the day of expiration kept the front-month contract under pressure as traders closed positions, said Mizuho analyst Robert Yawger. During the session, front-month Brent and WTI futures touched their lowest in almost three weeks as traders worried about prospects for further interest rate increases and abundant flows of Russian crude.The Brent April futures and U.S. front-month WTI gained after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported demand for U.S. crude and petroleum products rose 178,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November to 20.59 million bpd, the highest since August.Crude benchmarks were also supported by a weaker U.S. dollar, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. This makes dollar-denominated crude cheaper for foreign buyers.The dollar index turned negative after U.S. data showed labor costs increased at their slowest pace in a year in the fourth quarter as wage growth slowed, bolstering expectations of the Fed slowing its interest rate increases.Investors expect the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, with increases of half a percentage point by the Bank of England and European Central Bank the following day.An OPEC panel is likely to recommend keeping the group's output policy unchanged when it meets at 1300 GMT on Wednesday, delegates told Reuters on Monday. However, Tuesday's weakness in front-month Brent prices may spark concern in the group, Yawger said. This widened the contango in the market, which occurs when futures prices show a commodity's price is expected to be much higher in the future.A Reuters survey shows 49 economists and analysts expect Brent crude to average more than $90 a barrel this year, the first upward revision since a poll in October, with gains likely driven by demand from top consumer China.Separately, U.S. crude oil stockpiles are likely to have risen last week, a Reuters poll showed ahead of an American Petroleum Institute report due at 4:30 p.m. ET (2130 GMT) on Tuesday.

31-01-2023 21:49

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