LiveWire

In the past two weeks, the likes of BP Plc, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have said they will increase share buybacks and payouts, confident the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is over. The rise in commodities -- crude’s up around 40% this year -- is bolstering their bottom lines even as some scale back exploration and new production. It’s different for Aramco. The company, based in Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia, kept its dividend unchanged last year, even as oil prices plunged and it needed to sell debt to meet the commitment. Source: Bloomberg

As the spread of the coronavirus dampens the outlook for industrial commodities, platinum fell to a seven-month low, while a Federal Reserve member signaled the central bank is on track to remove stimulus. Platinum slid as much as 1.8% to $1,008.89 an ounce, the lowest since Dec. 23. Source: Bloomberg

WTI crude futures were trading around $68 a barrel, the lowest since July 21th, as surging stocks contributed to concerns over a bleak demand picture. Last week, the EIA Petroleum Status Report revealed a surprising increase in US crude stockpiles, the largest increase since the first week of May. In addition, the highly contagious delta version of the coronavirus is causing a spike in cases in both the US and China, impacting demand during the peak summer driving season and reducing air traffic. Source: Trading Economics

WTI crude futures were around $17.4 a barrel, down for the third day in a row, amid fears that the rapid roll out of the Delta variant of the Covid-19 in major consuming countries will reduce gasoline demand. Source: Trading Economics

Following news that a group of commercial and development banks is creating measures to hasten the shutdown of Asia's coal-fired power stations in order to fulfill climate commitments, coal futures fell below $140 a tonne in August. In July, coal futures hit $150 a tonne. Source: Trading Economics