Oil Prices Head for Biggest Weekly Loss in Nine Months -- Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is down 0.5% to $95.46 a barrel.

--European benchmark gas is down 4.5% to 44.07 euros a megawatt-hour.

--Copper futures rise 1.1% to $12,834.50 a metric ton.

--Gold futures are down 0.7% to $4,784.80 a troy ounce.

TOP STORY:

Oil Prices Head for Biggest Weekly Loss in Nine Months

Oil prices are up this morning as traders size up the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire and brace for a hot CPI report.

But on a weekly basis? At long last, prices finally got some relief.

Both U.S. and Brent crude-oil futures are headed for their biggest weekly percentage slide in more than nine months, after this week's ceasefire agreement sent prices plummeting. Traders were initially hopeful that the agreement would send more ships transiting through the all-important Strait of Hormuz. Yet traffic remains at a trickle.

OTHER STORIES:

TotalEnergies, Aramco Refinery Shut After Being Damaged Amid Iran Conflict

France's TotalEnergies said a refinery complex jointly owned with the Saudi national oil company has been shut down after sustaining damage this week, the latest hit to crude production in the region as the Iran War continues to disrupt global energy supply.

The Satorp site was affected by incidents that occurred during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, causing damage to one of the refinery's two processing trains, the energy major said in a statement Friday. The Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co., or Satorp, is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, which holds a majority stake, and TotalEnergies, with a 37.5% interest. It is situated in Jubail in Saudi Arabia, close to the Persian Gulf.

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Saudi Arabia Says Recent Attacks Halted Operations at Several Energy Facilities

Recent attacks on Saudi Arabia have halted operations at several energy facilities in the kingdom, leading to oil output falling by about 600,000 barrels per day.

One Iranian attack hit a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline, currently the country's primary export outlet, leading to a loss of about 700,000 barrels per day in throughput, an energy ministry statement said. Output is the actual production capacity from oil fields, while throughput is the amount of oil a pipeline can move.

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See Which Ships Are Slipping Through the Strait of Hormuz

Ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz ticked up but remained a trickle on Thursday, two days after President Trump announced a temporary cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran.

According to data from ship-tracker MarineTraffic, hundreds of vessels remain in limbo in the waters surrounding the world's most important energy-shipping lane, stalled by the ongoing conflict. The data show these ships huddled around major ports, while a few crossed from one side of the strait to the other.

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When Gas Prices Rise, They're Hard to Bring Down. Here's Why.

Americans are staring down a harsh new reality despite the tentative cease-fire in the Middle East: $4 gasoline looks like it's here to stay.

Prices will likely take time to recede, even if President Trump's two-week pause on fighting holds. Drivers from Las Vegas to Seattle are now commonly shelling out $5 a gallon for gas, according to AAA, while prices in San Francisco and Los Angeles frequently top $6.

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Trump Says Iran Doing 'Very Poor Job' of Letting Oil Flow Through Strait

President Trump said Iran is "doing a very poor job" of letting oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!," Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. Earlier in the day, Trump warned Iran against collecting fees on ships passing through the waterway, where about 20% of the world's oil is transported.

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Japan to Release Extra Oil Reserves Amid Middle East Uncertainty

TOKYO-Japan plans to release an additional 20 days' worth of oil reserves starting in early May, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday as the government tries to stabilize energy prices amid volatility caused by war in the Middle East.

While the U.S. and Iran recently agreed to a conditional cease-fire, concerns remain surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy shipments that has been largely blocked following the conflict.

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The British Solar Startup Being Courted by Both China and the U.S.

With solar-power demand surging globally, a British startup is at the center of a high-stakes pursuit by two of the world's largest renewable energy players seeking a new form of the technology that harnesses more energy from the sun.

Oxford PV, which was spun out from the University of Oxford in 2010, produces solar cells that are coated with a layer of perovskite, a material that increases the power generated from an ordinary solar cell by at least 20%, according to the company.

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Fortescue Fast-Tracks Renewable-Power Network to Shield Against Energy Shocks

Australian iron-ore giant Fortescue outlined plans to speed up the development of its own renewable-power network in remote northwestern Australia as an energy shock from the conflict in the Middle East ripples globally.

Fortescue has brought forward plans for a standalone, high-voltage network designed to power its mammoth Pilbara iron-ore operations "by a couple of years" as the company races to eliminate fossil fuels--particularly diesel--from its operations, Fortescue's chief of metals and operations, Dino Otranto, said Friday.

MARKET TALKS:

Oil-Sensitive Stocks Jump, Defense Dives in Market Pivot as Cease-Fire Optimism Picks Up -- Market Talk

1043 GMT - Stocks that would benefit from lower oil prices and an opening of the Strait of Hormuz turn to sharp gains in midmorning European trade as faith grows that a fragile U.S.-Iran cease-fire would hold. Traders may be looking through both sides' brinkmanship and taking an optimistic view on weekend negotiations to end the conflict, XTB's Kathleen Brooks writes. Airline Wizz Air is up 11.5% while German industrial groups Siemens and Heidelberg Materials gain 3% and 4.25%, respectively, after pivoting at around 0915 GMT. Conversely, defense stocks fall sharply. Rheinmetall is 5.9% lower while Hensoldt slides 5.5% following a similar about-turn. French defense group Thales also drops, with the stock down 3.1% for the session. ([e-mail])

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EU Should Plan Cross-Border Electricity Links, Spanish Grid Operator Chief Says -- Market Talk

1041 GMT - The European Union, not national governments, should be responsible for planning more cross-border power lines, says Beatriz Corredor, chairwoman of Spain's electricity-grid operator Redeia. Spain and Portugal need more electricity interconnections with the rest of Europe through France in order to boost their renewable-energy exports to the continent, she tells the European Pulse Forum in Barcelona. Some countries oppose cross-border interconnections in order to protect their own energy markets, she says. "Even France, which is a nuclear power, needs our renewables sometimes," she adds. ([e-mail])

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Oil Importers' Credit Ratings Vulnerable Amid Energy Supply Constraints -- Market Talk

1028 GMT - The credit ratings of countries which are significant oil importers face a risk of credit-rating downgrades due to energy supply constraints and high prices, AXA Investment Managers' Chris Iggo says in a note. Oil prices have been high since the start of the Middle East war due to supply disruptions caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route. Investors await the outcome of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran this weekend on the possibility of a permanent solution to the conflict. ([e-mail])

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Palm Oil Ends Lower Amid Mixed Exports Data -- Market Talk

1025 GMT - Palm oil futures closed lower amid mixed exports data. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for June delivery fell 108 ringgit to 4,535 ringgit a metric ton. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board said Friday that the country's palm oil exports rose 41% on month in March. The significant increase in March exports may weigh on inventory levels, which could decline over the next one to three months on low production, said Citi analyst Gan Huan Wen in a note. However, palm oil demand appears to be softer so far in April, with cargo surveyor Amspec Agri Malaysia estimating that Malaysia's palm oil exports during the April 1-10 period fell 31% on month. ([e-mail])

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Supply Relief from Persian Gulf Will Take Weeks to Materialize, Goldman Says -- Market Talk

0854 GMT - Persian Gulf oil buyers might have to rely on domestic storage and alternative supplies for another month even if flows through the Strait of Hormuz ramp up in the coming days, analysts at Goldman Sachs say. Because of long shipping times, any improvement in shipping conditions will take weeks to be felt materially. A journey from the Persian Gulf to major importers takes about three to four weeks on average, according to Goldman. ([e-mail])

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Europe Can't Forget Urgency to Invest in Energy Resilience, Moeve CEO Says -- Market Talk

0842 GMT - Europe shouldn't forget the urgency to secure its supply of energy felt in recent weeks due to the war in Iran and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, Maarten Wetselaar, chief executive officer of Spanish energy company Moeve, tells the European Pulse Forum event in Barcelona. Moeve--formerly known as Cepsa and owned by the United Arab Emirates' investment company Mubadala and U.S. private-equity firm Carlyle--has kicked off construction of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley development in southern Spain. However, Wetselaar says Europe needs a hydrogen pipeline connecting southern Spain with Germany. ([e-mail])

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China Might Weather Oil-Price Shock Better Than Regional Peers -- Market Talk

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04-10-26 0844ET