Japan shares closed lower on Wednesday, hurt by chip-related stocks, as concerns about rising COVID-19 cases ahead of the Olympics dampened sentiment. The Nikkei index fell 0.96% to close at 28366.95 points, while the broader Topix index fell 0.86% to 1937.68 points. Chip-related stocks tracked the decline in the Philadelphia …

German industrial production fell 0.3% in May for the second month in a row, according to data released Wednesday, July 7, in a new indication of supply bottlenecks slowing the recovery in Europe’s largest economy. The German Federal Statistical Office said industrial output fell by 0.3%, unlike Reuters polls that …

Gold prices consolidated on Wednesday, July 7th, near the psychologically important $1,800 an ounce level, supported by lower US Treasury yields, while investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting for more indications on its monetary policy outlook. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,797.84 an ounce, after hitting …

Saudi Arabia decided to raise the official selling prices for the month of August for all oil crudes designated to be sold to Asia. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, set the August official selling price for its Arab Light crude at $2.70 a barrel, above the Oman/Dubai average …

After talks that lasted for two days, the OPEC+ meetings ended without an agreement, as the group’s ministers canceled talks related to production after a dispute that erupted last week when the UAE objected to a proposed extension of production restrictions for an additional eight months, but in return it …

The Kremlin spokesman said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans for the time being to hold contacts with top OPEC+ officials after another round of talks between major world oil producers collapsed on Monday. “The work is continuing. It is necessary to make a decision,” Dmitry Peskov told …

The German ZEW headline numbers for July showed that the Economic Sentiment Index worsened more than expected to 63.3 from 79.8 previous while missing estimates of 75.2. The Current Conditions sub-index firmly recovered to 21.9 in July as against -9.1 recorded in the previous month and 5.0 expectations.

Gold prices rose 1% on Tuesday after it crossed the $1,800 barrier, supported once again by a weak dollar, as investors’ eyes turned to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting to elicit more indications about the monetary policy decision. Spot gold rose 0.8 percent to $1,805.51 an ounce …

Oil prices jumped to their highest levels in several years, and saw US crude reach its highest level since 2014, after OPEC + producers disagreed about plans to increase supplies in the face of rising global demand. Brent crude jumped 62 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $77.78 a barrel after …

European shares fell in early trading after gains over three sessions, as a jump in commodity shares was offset by weak trading in Asia and a sudden drop in industrial orders in Germany. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.1%, with auto stocks recording the biggest decline. Data showed that …