HONG KONG: Oil prices tanked Monday on easing US-Iran tensions while precious metals swung wildly following last week&#39;s dollar-fueled collapse sparked by Donald Trump&#39;s pick to lead the Federal Reserve. The retreat was also reflected in equity markets, with most regional indexes tracking a retreat on Wall Street and extending Friday&#39;s losses amid fresh concerns over the tech sector. Both main crude contracts shed more than three percent in early Asian trade as the US president said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran after it warned that any attack on the Islamic Republic would trigger a regional conflict. Washington has hit out at the country&#39;s leadership in recent weeks over its response to anti-government protests last month, with Trump threatening military action while ordering the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East. He has also pushed for an agreement over Iran&#39;s nuclear program.&nbsp;&lsquo;A regional war&rsquo;Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday likened the recent protests to a &quot;coup&quot; and warned that a US attack would trigger a broad conflict. &quot;The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,&quot; he said. Asked about the Iranian leader&#39;s warning, Trump told reporters on Sunday: &quot;Of course, he is going to say that. &quot;Hopefully, we&#39;ll make a deal. If we don&#39;t make a deal, then we&#39;ll find out whether or not he was right,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Stronger dollar&nbsp;Oil&#39;s drop was helped by a stronger dollar, which came on the back of news that Trump had tapped Kevin Warsh to take the helm at the US central bank. The president said Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, &quot;will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best&quot;. Traders regard Warsh as the toughest inflation fighter among the final candidates, raising expectations of monetary policy that would underpin the greenback. The choice also eased recent concerns about the Fed&#39;s independence following a series of attacks on incumbent Jerome Powell over his reticence to cut rates as quickly as the president wanted. The dollar surged across the board on the news, having taken a battering for most of last week on concerns the White House was happy to see it weaken. While Warsh is seen as more open to keeping rates higher, Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said: &quot;People do not get handed the keys to the most powerful central bank on earth because they plan to drive in the opposite direction of the people who gave them the keys. &quot;The Fed may be independent, but personnel is policy, and this appointment was unlikely to have been made in a vacuum.&quot; The announcement sent dollar-priced precious metals plunging Friday, with gold losing as much as 12 percent and silver more than 30 percent at one point. And the losses mounted on Monday, with gold shedding as much as six percent to touch $4,586, while silver briefly lost around 11 percent to $75.&nbsp; Both bounced back slightly but were well down from their record highs of $5,595 and $121 touched last week.&nbsp;Gold and silver&nbsp;The easing of Iran tensions added to the selling pressure on gold and silver, which are also considered go-to havens in times of turmoil and uncertainty. Most equity markets were in the red following a sell-off on Wall Street that came amid fresh concerns over the wisdom of the vast sums being invested in artificial intelligence and when traders will begin to see returns. Seoul, which has hit multiple records this year thanks to its big tech weighting, sank more than two percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Manila were also well down. Tokyo rose.&nbsp;Key figures at around 0230 GMT&nbsp;Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2% at 53,422.01 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7% at 26,919.07 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8% at 4,083.84 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1870 from $1.1856 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3693 from $1.3688 Dollar/yen: UP at 155.00 yen from 154.64 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.68 pence from 86.63 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.5% at $62.92 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.3% at $67.02 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4% at 48,892.47 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5% at 10,223.54 (close)

Business

Both main crude contracts shed more than three percent in early Asian trade as the US president said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran after it warned that any attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional conflict.

Oil tumbles on Iran hopes, precious metals hit by stronger dollar

HONG KONG: Oil slid Thursday after US President Donald Trump appeared to dial down threats of imminent military action on Iran, while Asian markets were mixed after Wall Street edged lower the previous day. Oil prices dropped three percent after Trump said Wednesday, he would &quot;watch it and see&quot; on possible intervention in the Islamic republic, after he said he was told the killings of protesters there had stopped. Crude prices had surged over recent days as Trump talked about coming to the aid of the Iranian people over the crackdown on demonstrations, sparking concerns over possible disruption to global supplies. Extreme volatilitySilver plunged as much as seven percent after hitting a record high above $93.75 an ounce, after Trump held off slapping tariffs on critical minerals. Gold also dipped. &quot;The swings in commodities highlight the extreme volatility being fed by President Trump&#39;s mercurial policy style,&quot; said Garfield Reynolds, Markets Live Asia Team Leader at Bloomberg. But &quot;so far the declines for raw materials are still too small to seriously dent this year&#39;s substantial rallies&quot;, he said. &quot;There&#39;s plenty of potential that investors will be itching to pile back into commodities assets given how often they&#39;ve bounced back to fresh highs following occasional corrections in recent weeks,&quot; Reynolds added. Tokyo was down 0.4 percent at the close, cooling off after gains fueled by speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi would call an election to capitalize on strong public approval ratings. Takaichi&#39;s ruling party and a coalition partner said Wednesday she intends to dissolve parliament next week for a snap election, seen as a chance to push through her ambitious policy agenda. Sydney, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila and Singapore posted gains, while Wellington, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur were down. Shanghai and Hong Kong closed 0.3 percent down and Taipei ended 0.4 percent lower. After the closing bell, Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC said net profit for the fourth quarter jumped 35 percent year-on-year, beating forecasts as demand for artificial intelligence skyrockets. London opened on a 0.1 percent high as official data showed Britain&#39;s economy grew more than expected in November. South Korean won slides&nbsp;Traders were also watching South Korea -- with Seoul up 1.5 percent -- as the won&#39;s exchange rate slid towards its weakest level in 16 years. In a rare mention, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the won&#39;s depreciation was &quot;not in line with Korea&#39;s strong economic fundamentals&quot; and that volatility in the foreign exchange market is &quot;undesirable&quot;. The won gained as much as one percent after Bessent&#39;s comments, which he posted on social media after meeting Seoul&#39;s finance minister Koo Yun-cheol in Washington. &quot;Bessent&#39;s comments can support the won in the near term, but markets may have more influence if they feel the fundamentals and politics are still in a worsening trajectory,&quot; said Brendan McKenna, a strategist at Wells Fargo in New York. The mixed picture in Asia came after Wall Street stocks fell again Wednesday as investors shrugged off solid bank earnings and an increase in retail sales in November. Analysts noted investor unease about possible US interventions in Iran and Greenland, and Trump&#39;s threats to Federal Reserve autonomy, most recently in the Department of Justice&#39;s criminal probe of the central bank. Key figures at around 0800 GMT&nbsp;Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4% at 54,110.50 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3% at 26,924.24 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3% at 4,112.60 (close) West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.4% at $59.94 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.4% at $64.23 per barrel Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1630 from $1.1647 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: FLAT at $1.3433 Dollar/yen: FLAT at 158.56 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.58 pence from 86.68 pence New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1% at 49,149.63 points (close) London - UP 0.1% at 10,197.73

Oil prices drop three percent after Trump said Wednesday, he would ‘watch it and see’ on possible intervention in the Islamic republic, after he said he was told the killings of protesters there had stopped.

Oil plunges after Trump's Iran comments, Asian markets mixed

LONDON: Saudi Arabia, Russia, and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance are likely to agree to raise crude output when they meet virtually on Sunday, with analysts divided over the size of the expected hike. The meeting by the group of eight oil-producing countries, known as the &quot;Voluntary Eight&quot; (V8), comes as oil prices head for weekly losses and rumors of a possible output increase of up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) swirl. Angered by what it dismissed as &quot;wholly inaccurate and misleading&quot; media reports, the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) urged news outlets in a statement on Tuesday to &quot;exercise accuracy... in order to avoid fuelling&quot; market speculation. Experts had initially expected a production hike of 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) from November, which would mirror the October increase. But Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht cautioned that uncertainty remained, as &quot;the group has frequently surprised markets with swift production hikes in the recent past&quot;. Since April, the V8 group -- comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman -- has boosted production by 2.5 million bpd (mbpd) in total. The group has accelerated output increases at a pace that few had predicted at the beginning of the year, following a prolonged period during which producers sought to combat price erosion by implementing production cuts to make oil scarcer. Prices in declineBut in recent months, OPEC+ has shifted its strategy in a bid to regain market share in the face of competition from other countries, and &quot;with output from the United States, Brazil, Canada, Guyana and Argentina at or near all-time highs&quot;, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest monthly oil report. However, the IEA emphasized that the global demand outlook for crude &quot;remains largely unchanged&quot;, with growth of around 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) expected for both 2025 and 2026. The OPEC cartel was more optimistic in its latest projections for global oil demand, forecasting increases of 1.3 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2025 and 1.4 mbpd in 2026. According to Tamas Varga of PVM, signs of a &quot;long-awaited glut&quot; are now &quot;loudly knocking on the doors of our market&quot;. Against this backdrop, the possibility of a larger increase in the grouping&#39;s quotas has sent the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for crude oil, plummeting below $65 a barrel, a loss of around eight percent in a week. Russia in uncomfortable positionRussia, the second-largest producer in OPEC+, could oppose a significant increase in quotas from next month, amid concerns that it could cause crude oil prices to fall further. Following last month&#39;s decision, Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon explained that &quot;Russia depends on high prices to fund its war machine&quot; and, unlike Riyadh, the Kremlin has limited potential to increase production due to Western sanctions. Russia, which currently produces around 9.25 mbpd, has a &quot;maximum production capacity of 9.45 mbpd&quot; compared to around 10 mbpd before the war, Homayoun Falakshahi at Kpler told AFP. Moreover, Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have intensified since August, translating into &quot;rising crude exports from Russia, as the oil cannot be used domestically&quot;, and making Moscow even more dependent on selling its crude abroad, said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen of Global Risk Management.

Meeting of 'Voluntary Eight' countries follows reports that oil prices head for weekly losses and rumors of a possible output increase; urge news outlets to 'exercise accuracy' when reporting

OPEC+ meets with future oil production hanging in the balance

Web Desk

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Global oil prices fell to a two-week low on Thursday after an unexpected build in U.S. crude inventories and growing speculation that OPEC+ may raise output in their meeting on Sunday. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eight core members, often referred to as the &lsquo;Voluntary Eight&rsquo; (V8), are now weighing an output increase starting in October. The group includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A final decision is expected at the <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/opec-meets-with-future-oil-production-hanging-in-the-balance" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">OPEC+ meeting</a><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on Sunday. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This comes after their earlier cut production by 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), with the United Arab Emirates reducing a further 300,000 bpd to stabilize the market. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) crude oil stockpiles rose by 2.4 million barrels last week, which was unprecedented for analysts who were expecting a 2.0 million barrel draw.&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The American Petroleum Institute (API) also reported an increase, but only by 0.6 million barrels. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brent crude for October delivery closed at $68.12 a barrel on Friday, down 50 cents or 0.73%. The November contract, which is now the main one traders follow, slipped 53 cents or 0.78% to end the day at $67.45, as reported by Reuters.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eight core members are now considering an output increase in October, Reuters reported, with a final decision expected at the alliance&rsquo;s Sunday meeting. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such a move would represent a shift from their strategy adopted in April. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Analysts say the decision to increase quotas was aimed at regaining market share, following diplomatic pressure from United States President Donald Trump to reduce energy prices. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in January, Trump pushed for <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/oil-plunges-after-trumps-iran-comments-asian-markets-mixed" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">oil price reductions</a><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Past Comments&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">US President Donald Trump called on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce oil prices during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speaking to global leaders and business executives, Trump said he would formally request the oil-producing alliance to take action on energy costs. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;I&#39;m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil,&quot; Trump announced during the session. He added, &quot;You&#39;ve got to bring down the oil price, you&#39;ve got to end that war. They should have done it long ago; they&#39;re very responsible, actually, to a certain extent, for what&#39;s taken place.&quot; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump&rsquo;s comments come amid rising geopolitical tensions and ongoing efforts by the United States to curb Russian oil exports.&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His administration has recently imposed tariffs on countries like India for purchasing Russian crude and urged European allies to reduce energy ties with Moscow.

TOKYO: A man walks past an electronic quotation board displaying numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average (R) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on January 13, 2026. (File Photo by AFP/Kazuhiro Nogi)

Middle East

OPEC+ is likely to raise output in October, with Saudi Arabia, Russia, and others weighing a shift from earlier cuts; oil fell as US inventories rose ahead of Sunday's meeting.

Articles tagged with "Oil Prices"

Oil tumbles on Iran hopes, precious metals hit by stronger dollar

Oil plunges after Trump's Iran comments, Asian markets mixed

OPEC+ meets with future oil production hanging in the balance

OPEC+ expected to raise production levels in major strategic shift