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Commodities News

Surging dollar takes shine off precious metals
Base and precious metals fell across the board after a dollar rally hurt commodities priced in the US currency

Bets on $200 oil increase
The number of financial bets on crude oil prices hitting $200 a barrel before the end of this year has almost doubled in the last month, a further sign of growing concern that oil prices will continue to rise sharply in the near term

Fall in supplies sends oil price climbing
Oil prices rose close to record levels on Wednesday after data showed US crude stockpiles fell much more than expected last week

Ex-Refco chief gets 16 years in prison
Phillip Bennett, the former chief executive of Refco, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a nearly decade-long fraud that ultimately pulled the commodities brokerage into bankruptcy

BHP Billiton to settle iron ore contracts
BHP Billiton, the mining company, is expected to agree a record increase in the price of iron ore supplies to its largest Chinese customers, in line with a settlement negotiated last week by rival Rio Tinto

Investors bet on oil at $300 this year
Data provided by the New York Mercantile Exchange show that 1,402 call options were bought that would be profitable only if oil prices trade above $300 a barrel in December

Brazil ethanol data drive 5% rise in sugar
Sugar hit its highest price in almost four months on Tuesday, rising almost 5 per cent on the day, after a report of Brazil's converting more cane into ethanol biofuel

Inflation fears spark retreat to safety
Fear of inflation returned to spook investors at the start of the new quarter as the oil price jumped close to record highs, sparking a sell-off in equity markets and strengthening the yen

IEA warns of tightening oil supplies
The western countries' energy watchdog warned that oil production is set to tighten over the next five years leaving consumers facing higher prices as demand remains relatively strong

Energy chiefs absolve oil speculators
Shell, BP and Repsol add to a growing industry consensus that tight supply and high demand are the culprits for the steep rise in oil prices

Corn prices hit by report on planting in US
Corn prices fell sharply after the US agriculture department revealed that US farmers had planted more of the crop than forecast, in spite of severe flooding in the Midwest

Record commodity gains mirror equities downturn
Commodities have achieved their best first-half performance in more than 50 years, while equities and fixed-rate bonds have endured a miserable six months

Venezuelans enjoy costly petrol subsidy
A domestic economy booming on high oil prices has led Venezuela's petrol consumption to double in five years. Its huge subsidy is unlikely to be eliminated soon – though it costs $10bn a year

Posco buys 10% stake in Macarthur
Posco, the world's fourth largest steelmaker, has moved to strengthen the security of its coal supplies by joining ArcelorMittal and China's Citic on Macarthur Coal's share register

Credit woes mar Astana's capital idea
The fizz has gone out of the construction boom driving one of the world's most audacious projects. Yet that will not prevent Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev hosting a party to mark the 10-year anniversary of Astana, the glittering capital