Oil prices steady as market weighs Trump tariff threats and US stocks build
Brent crude futures for September , set to expire on Thursday, rose 4 cents, or 0.05%, to $73.28 a barrel by 0812 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September also rose 4 cents, or 0.06%, to $70.04.
Both benchmarks chalked up 1% gains on Wednesday.
"We're looking for more clarity on the nature of new tariffs or implementation of sanctions on Russia," said Harry Tchiliguirian at Onyx Capital Group.
The U.S. President's history of imposing policies and then changing them a few days later has resulted in traders and analysts hesitating to price them in, Tchiliguirian added.
Trump said he would start imposing measures on Russia, including 100% secondary tariffs on its trading partners, if it did not make progress on ending the war in Ukraine within 10-12 days, moving up an earlier 50-day deadline.
The U.S. has also warned China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, that it could face huge tariffs if it kept buying.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions on more than 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities and vessels, stepping up the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign after bombing Iranian nuclear sites in June.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels to 426.7 million barrels in the week ending July 25, driven by lower exports, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a draw of 1.3 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels to 228.4 million barrels, far exceeding forecasts for a draw of 600,000 barrels.
"U.S. inventory data showed a surprise build in crude stocks, but a bigger than expected gasoline draw supported the view of strong driving season demand, resulting in neutral impact on the oil market," said Fujitomi Securities analyst Toshitaka Tazawa.
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Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
We recommended this stock in 1964 and we're buying it again today
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The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Millennial women were told to chase our dreams. That's left us burnt out, broke and dreaming of a rich patron
A couple of weeks ago, I came across an Amy Poehler joke in which she sums up the different generational experiences of money: 'Boomers are all about money. Gen X is like: 'Is it all about money?' Millennials ask: 'Where is the money?' And gen Z is like: 'What is money?'' It made me laugh – but it also hit a nerve. It felt painfully accurate and oddly comforting. Maybe it's not just me. I'm a millennial, and financial insecurity has been a theme in my life for a while. But recently, it's grown louder, and I literally can't stop asking: 'WHERE IS THE GODDAMN MONEY?' I used to ask nicely. After all, I was raised to be a grateful, polite millennial – the kind who believed that magic always happens outside your comfort zone and therefore did unpaid internships in her 20s and sent thank-you emails after being underpaid. But no more. Hence the capital letters. I'm raging. Maybe it's because I'm approaching 40. 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Over dinner recently with three friends – two men and one woman, all about my age – we started talking about money worries. The woman, a talented sculptor, said she had been feeling deeply anxious. She thought it was partly hormones, but more than that, it was existential. She was considering retraining, maybe going into teaching – anything to build a more stable life. At one point, she turned to me and asked: 'How do you do it?' I said: 'I juggle three things at once.' Meanwhile, the two men nodded sympathetically. They work in the arts – but both have full-time jobs and permanent contracts. One just bought a plot of land. The other has tenure. The women are freelancers. The men are secure. Is it our fault? Couldn't we just do what they did? I don't think so. Our economic system doesn't just undervalue women's work. It depends on it. It relies on our flexibility, our unpaid labour, our creative output, our willingness to 'make it work'. 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You need to find a hedge fund manager!' I thought of that meme – 'I'm looking for a man in finance' – and rolled my eyes. But she wasn't wrong. A wealthy and steady partner is the most reliable pension plan for many women. I don't want a husband, though. What I secretly long for is a patron. The 18th-century kind. Someone who says: 'I believe in your work. Go write. Don't worry about anything.' Or, more realistically: universal basic income. And a proper educational system for the next generation of women. One that teaches them how to handle money, so they don't fall into the same trap. Seriously: can someone explain to me why we didn't learn about compound interest, mortgages, tax brackets and pensions in school? Isn't financial literacy a basic part of education, if the goal is to raise well-equipped adults? Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion I've worked my heart out for more than a decade. I've built a body of work I'm proud of. And yet, I still get nervous opening my banking app. Still avoid deep financial talk. Still don't fully understand the German tax system. I fell for the silly belief that talking about money is obscene. Sometimes I want to slap myself for not having made smarter choices. For not having planned, protected myself by investing or talking to experts. Instead, I kept dreaming about a life filled with interesting encounters, stories, intellectually stimulating conversations. And honestly, there's still a part of me that cherishes that softness. To be a European millennial now – in our late 30s – means witnessing the erosion of the ideals we grew up with, yet still holding on to something tender. Maybe naive. Maybe vital. We were promised a lot and trained for little. And perhaps this vulnerability – this capacity to imagine a different, less materialistic world – is not only a weakness. It might be a strength, of a playful sort. In Istanbul, my current place of residence, people buy gold. I own some gold jewellery – some pieces were gifts, others inherited. I don't like most of them and rarely wear them. But with gold prices soaring, I've been looking at them differently. Gold is finite, after all, which means it keeps its value. Unlike stocks. My plan: take these items to a friend in the Grand Bazaar who deals in gold. There's something almost magical about the idea of turning my few rings and necklaces into gold plaques – a quiet stash I can cash in quickly, to be kept in a velvet pouch that would look like a fairytale treasure chest. A reminder of how much I'm still clinging to a world of fantasy. And maybe that's the whole trick. Keep going. Keep improvising. Because our boomer parents told us to follow our passion. And now? We're melting down our jewellery. Carolin Würfel is a writer, screenwriter and journalist who lives in Berlin and Istanbul. She is the author of Three Women Dreamed of Socialism
Reuters
29 minutes ago
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Indian equity benchmarks slip at open as US unleashes fresh tariffs
Aug 1 (Reuters) - Indian benchmarks opened marginally lower on Friday after the United States slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs and reiterated 25% duty on imports from India. The Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab fell 0.14% to 24,734.9 points and the BSE Sensex (.BSESN), opens new tab lost 0.14% to 81,074.41 as of 9:15 a.m. IST. Twelve of the 16 major sectors declined at the open while the broader smallcaps (.NIFSMCP100), opens new tab and midcaps (.NIFMDCP100), opens new tab traded flat. The benchmark Nifty and Sensex (.BSESN), opens new tab fell as much as 0.9% on Thursday, but pared some losses to end 0.4% lower as investors viewed the United States' 25% tariff on India as a pressure tactic and hoped for lower rates once negotiations conclude. The negotiations between the two countries are continuing, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, after announcing tariffs on India. U.S. increased tariffs to 35% from 25% on Canada, a top trading partner, and set duties at 20% for Taiwan and 19% for Thailand. ($1 = 87.5700 Indian rupees)
