Oil prices continued their rally on Thursday, with Brent crude heading towards $120 a barrel, its highest level in nearly a decade, due to US sanctions on Russian refiners, shipping disruptions, and a drop in US crude stocks to their lowest level in years. Brent crude futures prices rose to …

Gold prices firmed on Thursday as investors remained cautious about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which also boosted demand for the safe-haven precious metal, while supply fears pushed palladium to a seven-month high. Gold prices consolidated in spot transactions at $1926.10 an ounce. US gold futures rose 0.4 percent …

The UK services sector activity expanded less than expected in February, the final report from IHS Markit confirmed this Thursday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was revised lower to 60.5 in February versus 60.8 expected and a 60.8 – last month’s flash reading.

A US Energy Information Administration report said on Wednesday that the US Strategic Crude Oil Reserve fell 2.4 million barrels last week to 580 million barrels, its lowest level since August 2002. At the crude delivery and storage center in Cushing, Oklahoma, stocks fell by 972,000 barrels last week to …

The European Union has removed seven Russian banks from the Swift messaging system that supports global transactions as part of its sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the Official Gazette of the European Union said on Wednesday. The banks, which will be given 10 days to phase out …

Oil prices jumped above $110 a barrel on Wednesday, extending their rally since Russia invaded Ukraine seven days ago, amid expectations that the market will remain in short supply for months following the imposition of tough sanctions on Moscow and the mass exodus of major companies’ investments in Russian oil …

The World Bank on Wednesday announced the suspension of all programs in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “hostilities against the people of Ukraine.” The multilateral development bank said it had not approved any new loans or investments in Russia since …

Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday cut Russia’s sovereign rating six notches to junk, saying Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine had made Russia’s debt-servicing uncertainty and would weaken its economy in a “massive shock” to its creditworthiness. Russia’s financial markets have plunged into turmoil over its attack on Ukraine, …

Ratings agency Moody’s said Thursday that it has downgraded Russia’s long-term and unsecured credit rating to B3 from Baa3, attributing this to tough sanctions imposed by Western countries on Moscow. The agency added that the ratings are still under review for a further downgrade.

OPEC+ has agreed to stick to its existing output plan which entails 400K barrel per day hikes to oil output quotas each month in April, Reuters reported citing sources. The meeting of OPEC+ member nation oil ministers has now ended, Reuters reported. OPEC+ did not discuss increasing output quotas at …