Copper prices hit a record-high on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday amid a series of supply disruptions and brighter global economic prospects.  The benchmark three-month copper futures jumped to $11,146 per ton in London early on Wednesday, exceeding the previous record high of $11,104 a ton set in May last year.  This year, copper prices have rallied amid threats from the Trump Administration to impose tariffs on the industrial metal crucial for electrification and grid expansion. Trump backed off plans for a tariff, for now,…

India’s biggest refiner, state-held Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, is preparing to launch in early 2026 a trading joint venture with the world’s biggest independent oil trader, Vitol, to trade crude and fuels, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters on Wednesday.  Indian Oil, which together with its unit Chennai Petroleum holds about 31% of all of India’s refining capacity, had discussed a venture with supermajors BP and TotalEnergies and commodity trading giant Trafigura, before picking Vitol for the new trading JV, according…

India’s biggest refiner, state-held Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, is preparing to launch in early 2026 a trading joint venture with the world’s biggest independent oil trader, Vitol, to trade crude and fuels, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters on Wednesday.  Indian Oil, which together with its unit Chennai Petroleum holds about 31% of all of India’s refining capacity, had discussed a venture with supermajors BP and TotalEnergies and commodity trading giant Trafigura, before picking Vitol for the new trading JV, according…

Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) booked lower-than-expected earnings for the third quarter as liquids prices dropped from a year earlier. The Norwegian energy major on Wednesday reported an adjusted operating income of $6.21 billion for the third quarter of 2025, lower than the company-provided consensus of 21 analysts who had expected $6.31 billion, and below the $6.89 billion booked in the third quarter of 2024. Yet, the lower liquids prices were partially offset by higher production and higher gas prices in the U.S., Equinor said.   The Norwegian oil…

The OPEC+ group will decide this weekend on production levels for December, in the first meeting since the United States slapped sanctions on the two biggest oil firms in Russia, a key member of the OPEC+ alliance and its second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.  The producer group led by the Kingdom and Russia has been managing supply to the market for nearly a decade, mostly by restricting oil output to ensure “market stability” in OPEC+ lingo; in other words, to support oil prices or at least put a floor under them. …

Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, China’s newest refinery, has swiftly become a potent emblem for the unintended effects of Western sanctions. Barely a year after its launch, the 400,000 b/d complex in Shandong province has purchased around 350,000 b/d of Russian crude for November delivery, effectively running almost entirely on discounted Russian oil after losing access to Western supplies following sanctions by the UK and EU. Its rise illustrates how punitive measures meant to isolate Moscow have instead bound together sanctioned Russian…

Liquefied natural gas has once again become trendy. After several years under attack from environmentalists, even the EU has accepted that natural gas, in whatever form it can get it, is going to stay in the energy mix for quite a while yet. The U.S. is building new export capacity like there is no tomorrow; Qatar is ramping up output; and Malaysia is boosting coal imports so it has more LNG to export. Over the first half of the year, Malaysia imported a record amount of thermal coal—the sort used for power generation. The total for the six-month…

US retail power prices have surged 13% since 2022, outpacing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and driving higher costs for consumers. While many have pointed to rising demand from data centers as the culprit for the increase, Rystad Energy’s analysis shows that data centers have yet to significantly influence power prices in the current terms. Our research points to the full price impact of data centers emerging closer to 2030, driven by the completion of a wave of data center infrastructure and more centers coming online. Rystad predicts that…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw a large dip of 4 million barrels in the week ending October 24, when analysts had expected oil inventories to contract by a  smaller 2.9 million barrels. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net loss of 6.4 million barrels for the year, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw a large dip of 4 million barrels in the week ending October 24, when analysts had expected oil inventories to contract by a  smaller 2.9 million barrels. Crude oil inventories in the United States are so far showing a net loss of 6.4 million barrels for the year, according to Oilprice calculations of API data. Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have…

Back in 2009, British oil and gas giant BP along with its then-Chinese partner China National Petroleum Corporation secured a technical services contract with Iraq’s state-owned South Oil Company to develop Iraq’s largest oil field – Rumaila – in the first such foreign exploration on the country’s energy sector in 40 years. The company’s activation earlier this month of a US$25 billion five-pronged oil and gas megadeal in the same country may prove even more historic. The 2 October activation of the deal means…

Fossil fuel dependence has long been a geopolitical liability. The crises over Middle East embargoes, pipeline disruptions, and Russia’s weaponization of gas supply have repeatedly exposed how brittle energy systems built on oil and gas can be. By contrast, renewable energy offers a fundamentally different strategic logic: once deployed, solar and wind farms are far less exposed to conventional geopolitical disruption. They are not immune from supply chain risks, but as electricity systems mature, renewables provide a pathway out of fossil…

Argentina’s energy market has entered a sharp re-rating phase as YPF S.A. (NYSE: YPF) extended its rally nearly 40% over the past five days, driven by foreign investment interest and renewed political stability.  The surge follows reports that XRG, the low-carbon investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, is in advanced discussions to join YPF’s flagship LNG export project, according to Arabian Business. The rally also coincides with President Javier Milei’s mid-term election victory and his administration’s…

Argentina’s energy market has entered a sharp re-rating phase as YPF S.A. (NYSE: YPF) extended its rally nearly 40% over the past five days, driven by foreign investment interest and renewed political stability.  The surge follows reports that XRG, the low-carbon investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, is in advanced discussions to join YPF’s flagship LNG export project, according to Arabian Business. The rally also coincides with President Javier Milei’s mid-term election victory and his administration’s…

Via Metal Miner Hot rolled coil prices in Europe have remained largely unchanged in the past two weeks. However, a proposal by the European Union to slash import quotas has raised concerns among market participants. Hot Rolled Coil Deliveries Surging into the EU Mills in northern Europe continue to seek €580-600 ($700) per metric ton EXW for the flat rolled product, though one trader noted that they have since moved away from the offers’ high end, instead transacting material at closer €570 ($665). Imports into Europe from Southeast…

Slovakia’s main refiner Slovnaft said Tuesday that Croatian pipeline operator JANAF had sharply reduced deliveries of non-Russian crude, threatening Central Europe’s effort to diversify away from Russian supply. The company, part of Hungary’s MOL Group, reported losing approximately 90,000 tonnes of Arab Light crude that had been contracted for October and November, according to Reuters. Slovnaft described the decision as a “breach of contract,” warning it “seriously jeopardizes the supply of non-Russian fuel…

Chinese automakers just unveiled a new solid-state battery that could revolutionize the electric vehicles industry. The technology boasts double the energy density of battery models currently available on the market, and could power an EV for an astonishing 800 miles without needing to be recharged. The innovation is just the latest piece of evidence pointing to China’s near-total dominance – in terms of both technology and manufacturing – of the global EV sector. Solid-state batteries have been receiving increasing attention…

Saudi Arabia has awarded one wind power and four solar power projects in the country worth a total estimated investment of $2.4 billion (9 billion Saudi riyals), the official Saudi Press Agency reports. Saudi Power Procurement Company, the principal buyer of the projects, awarded the five projects with a total capacity of 4.5 gigawatts (GW), as part of the sixth phase of the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, aims to hike the share of renewable electricity generation as…

Russian President Vladimir Putin received North Korea's top diplomat at the Kremlin on October 27 as Russian forces continued their push in eastern Ukraine, penetrating a key city amid fierce fighting. North Korean media said Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui discussed "many future projects to constantly strengthen and develop" the bilateral relationship while also passing on leader Kim Jong Un's "brotherly regard" to Putin. No further details were given. North Korea has become a crucial backer of Russia’s nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine,…

Oil India Limited (OIL), the state-owned oil and gas explorer, has $300 million in dividends from its stakes in Russian oilfields stuck at Russian banks and unable to withdraw, due to last week’s U.S. sanctions that hit the Rosneft-operated fields.   The U.S. sanctions on JSC Vankorneft and Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha LLC (LLC TYNGD), in each of which Rosneft holds just over 50%, have complicated fund transfers, Oil India’s chairman Ranjit Rath told Reuters on Tuesday. OIL is seeking legal options to free up the dividends, Rath…