EUROPEAN COMMODITIES UPDATE: Crude rises following continued attacks on Russian oil and Hormuz tanker troubles

Crude Oil: WTI +2.6%, Brent +2.3%

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  Crude benchmarks surged higher in the early hours of the APAC session, seemingly spurred by reports of a Ukrainian strike on an oil depot and Kyiv’s mayor stating that Ukrainian air defences are in action against a massive Russian attack.


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  WTI and Brent spiked c. USD 2.0/bbl to a peak of USD 60.65/bbl and 64.86/bbl respectively before falling back lower to base of USD 59.26/bbl and USD 63.56/bbl.


• Most recently, the UKMTO reported an incident off the coast of UAE’s Khor Fakkan, with the incident believed to be state activity. This printed shortly after reports by Reuters, citing sources, that a Talara oil tanker was taken towards the Iranian coast by revolutionary guards. Future reporting will be watched closely due to the fact that this incident occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for oil tankers. Crude benchmarks gradually ticked c. USD 1.0/bbl higher following this report.


• Elsewhere, in the Middle East, the IDF is preparing to carry out a limited offensive operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to reports by Sky News Arabia.

Precious Metals: XAU U/C, XAG +1.0%

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  Spot XAU has oscillated in a USD 4159-4211/oz band throughout the APAC session and remained within these parameters as the European session gets underway. This comes following multiple Fed speakers hinting that the room for more cuts is limited, while Fed’s Kashkari stated he didn’t support the latest rate cut.


• The simultaneous drop in equities and XAU in Thursday’s session has started to worry investors that the yellow metal is losing its appeal as a safe haven. Recently, XAU has acted as a strong safe haven investment with strong fundamentals helping the metal surged to record highs in the past few months, but this correlation has seemed to wane in recent weeks.

Base Metals: 3M LME Copper -0.3%

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  Base metals have continued to weaken following Thursday’s risk-off conditions. 3M LME Copper held steady in a USD 10.86k-10.91k/t band throughout the APAC session before extending to a trough of USD 10.83k/t as risk sentiment continues to soar. Thus far, the red metal has bounced off session lows and is currently trading at USD 10.88k/t.

14 Nov 2025 - 10:25- MetalsGeopolitical- Source: Newsquawk