Commodities & Futures News

By Marc Frank

Oil traders will stay fixated on global growth prospects in the week ahead, after prices got hammered last week by worries that the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute will drag on global growth and, by extension, erode energy demand.

This week precious metals traders will be focusing on Wednesday’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting for its impact on the U.S. dollar, which heavily influences gold’s performance.

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar Petroleum (QP) is looking to invest at least $20 billion in the United States over the coming few years, its chief executive told Reuters, after the Gulf Arab state quit OPEC, freeing Doha from potential legal risks in the United States.

By Agnieszka Barteczko and Bate Felix

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh praised OPEC on Saturday for what he said was the producer group's ability to reach agreement despite intense internal political differences.

(Reuters) - Motiva Enterprises has preliminarily been chosen by the government of Curacao to operate the 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery, replacing Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, local media said on Saturday.

By Agnieszka Barteczko and Bate Felix

By Nina Chestney

By Chris Prentice

Yo-yo days are back in oil, with the market falling as much in a day as it rose previously, as global growth fears offset bullish energy fundamentals, if any.

It had to be one safe-haven or the other and the dollar triumphed at the expense of gold on Friday as signs of slowing growth in China sparked risk aversion across the globe.

(Reuters) - U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a second week in a row this week, prolonging a move by drillers over the past month to reduce the number of active rigs after crude prices collapsed in October and November.

Yo-yo days are back in oil, with the market falling as much in a day as it rose previously, as global growth fears offset bullish energy fundamentals, if any.

By Chris Prentice

Oil prices fell on Friday as signs of slowing growth in China dampened hopes for demand and investors opted to take profit after a surge a day earlier.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil is prepared in the event China removes tariffs on U.S. soy, which had driven down prices for the oilseed in Chicago and driven up the premiums over U.S. prices paid for Brazilian beans, outgoing Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Friday.

By Collin Eaton (NYSE:ETN)

By Jessica Jaganathan

Oil prices fell on Friday in Asia after a 3% jump in the previous session on suggestions that global supplies could balance by the middle of next year.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Oman will be cutting oil output by 2 percent from January for an initial period of six months, according to a letter sent to customers of Omani oil by the country's oil and gas ministry, which was seen by Reuters.

(Bloomberg) -- As China steps back into the U.S. crop markets, American prices for corn and soybeans are on the mend amid optimism over demand. At the same time, rival producers like Brazil and Canada may start to lose out if the U.S. and China are able to strike a long-term trade deal.

By Muyu Xu and David Stanway

By Luc Cohen

A surprise inventory drawdown at the delivery hub for U.S. crude futures, along with suggestions that global supplies could balance by middle of next year, combined into a 3% rally for oil on Thursday, though some traders said the gains may not last due to the mediocrity of the data.