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Wraps & Blogs

Wraps & Blogs
Commodities Wrap: Crude plummets on Middle East peace
Evolving trade barriers and geopolitical shifts in the Middle East impacted price levels across primary energy infrastructure and industrial metal supply chains. Primary market movements were driven by a realignment of crude logistics as commercial shippers adjusted transit routing around the Strait of Hormuz, alongside changes in battery metal spot markets following downstream manufacturing adjustments.Crude oil (Brent US$72.30/bbl; WTI US$69.23/bbl)The international oil tape recorded a substantial downward recalibration, with Brent crude falling 23.87% over the month to trade at US$72.30/bbl. The price reduction followed a peace agreement signed by United States President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which reopened the Strait of Hormuz and halted regional military operations. Wood Mackenzie subsequently cut its Brent oil price forecast to US$78 per barrel for the next year. Upstream operators including ExxonMobil and Chevron sustained production rates to capture seasonal summer product demand.Natural gas & LNG (US$3.28/MMBtu)U.S. Henry Hub futures maintained a baseline of US$3.28/MMBtu. U.S. infrastructure operators maximised cross-border pipeline and liquefaction flows to absorb subterranean stora
Wraps & Blogs
Azzet Unpacked: Iran on the clock as markets see chips fly
Hormuz peace talks, a 60-day countdown, Keir Starmer's tearful exit from Downing Street, Micron's record-shattering quarter, Alphabet's AI researcher exodus, Chevron locking up 20 years of West Texas gas, and the United States banks collecting their annual clean bill of health from a test they had a hand in writing - not a bad haul for five trading days. All the top moves, shakes, and red-hot takes from Azzet's editorial team are right here in your weekly business wrap every Friday (26 June 2026).MondayU.S. and Iranian negotiators sat down at Switzerland's Bürgenstock resort for the first formal round of talks under the fragile interim memorandum, Trump threatening fresh military strikes on Truth Social throughout. The two sides agreed to a 60-day roadmap toward a final deal, mediators Pakistan and Qatar confirming a High Level Committee and a Lebanon deconfliction cell had been established alongside a direct Hormuz communications channel. Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 smashed the franchise's opening weekend record with a US$160 million domestic debut and a $312 million global haul - the largest single-weekend gross of 2026. Keir Starmer's hold on Downing Street was looking increasingly untenable, with dozens of Labou
Wraps & Blogs
Commodities Wrap: Copper braces for tariff shock
The week’s defining developments featured a dramatic structural shift in oil markets following a highly volatile United States-Iran diplomatic negotiation sequence that culminated in weekend disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz, alongside massive supply-side friction in the copper complex ahead of an imminent Washington tariff deadline.Crude oil (Brent US$80.12/bbl; WTI US$76.55/bbl) The international crude tape registered historical intra-week swings as a tentative diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran briefly deflated prompt speculative risk premiums. The market consensus reversed sharply over the weekend after regional escalations prompted a temporary commercial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, keeping prompt physical deliveries highly sensitive to maritime infrastructure checks. Upstream operators like ExxonMobil and Chevron continue to run elevated production profiles to meet summer driving drawdowns, but paper trading desks remain on high alert as inventory balances face structural disruptions.Natural gas & LNG (US$2.90/MMBtu) As U.S. Henry Hub futures maintained a defensive but steady posture, domestic infrastructure providers expanded cross-border export flows to balance unseasonably high subterranea
Wraps & Blogs
Azzet Unpacked: Hormuz opens, Intel punches to new record
The four-month war between the United States and Iran moved towards resolution after the two countries signed an interim memorandum of understanding, the Strait of Hormuz swung back open, and crude, aluminium, and the geopolitical risk premium all copped the same gut punch. Up the other end, Musk's SpaceX stole the runs with the biggest float in U.S. history, the opening salvo in a trillion-dollar listing season this week's Compute Economy series reckons is funded by a tight circle of firms passing the same money around.MondayWall Street finished firmly in the green, the Dow tacking on 0.7% to 51,202 points, as Musk's record-smashing SpaceX float and rising hopes of an Iran truce carried the whole tape higher. Washington and Tehran shook hands on ending their nearly four-month war, agreeing to lay down arms on every front and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the formal signing pencilled in for Switzerland. Part one of the Compute Economy series called Musk's rocket maker a data centre wearing a rocket, its idle Grok kit quietly turned into a compute-rental earner nobody at the company set out to build. American consumer sentiment found its feet as petrol prices backed off four-year highs, finally giving households a b
Wraps & Blogs
Commodities Wrap: Ceasefire sends crude, aluminium down
Global commodities market faced distinct macro-driven adjustments for the week ending 16 June 2026. The week’s defining developments featured energy benchmarks tumbling on news of a potential reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, while gold found renewed support as global inflation anxieties moderated ahead of a crucial slate of central bank decisions.Crude oil(WTI US$81.35/bbl; Brent US$87.30/bbl) The active oil tape registered highly volatile downward movement as geopolitical risk premiums softened dramatically on news of the United States-Iran diplomatic breakthrough. Reports confirmed that while the agreement anticipates a lifting of the Iranian port blockade and a 60-day fee-free transit window, physical supply recovery will likely take months to materialise. Shipping lines remain highly cautious, requiring clear verification that the waterway is entirely free of mines before executing large-scale transits, forcing the physical market to rely on drawing global inventories and elevated U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases to buffer immediate deficits.Natural Gas & LNG(North Asia LNG US$17.98/MMBtu) Seaborne gas and LNG spot benchmarks tumbled as the prospect of resolving Middle Eastern transit

Wraps & Blogs
Azzet Unpacked: Volatile week for AI infrastructure businesses
Wall Street spent the week lurching between air strikes and earnings calls, with the Iran-Israel ceasefire fraying just as the SpaceX initial public offering finally landed at a record US$1.77 trillion valuation. Inflation data out of Washington gave incoming Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh a headache before he has even sat through his first meeting, with consumer and producer prices both posting their hottest annual readings in more than three years. Throw in a $10.6 billion pharma deal, the public release of Anthropic's most capable model yet, and a reminder that the AI boom runs on helium as much as it does on chips, and the gap between the market narrative and the underlying mechanics has rarely looked wider. The ceasefire held up about as well as you'd expect when one side was lobbing missiles at the other's airport. Wall Street ignored all of it, setting fresh records as money poured into anything GPU-adjacent, with every major tech company racing to announce it was building more compute than the last. All the top moves, shakes, and infrastructure stakes from Azzet's editorial team unpacked right here in your weekly business wrap every Friday (12 June, 2026).MondayThe U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May,
Wraps & Blogs
Commodities Wrap: Weekend supply shocks pump up crude
The global commodities market faced distinct macro-driven adjustments for the week ending 5 June 2026. A muscular United States dollar combined with climbing Treasury yields to trigger an aggressive paper asset liquidation across the industrial and precious metals markets. The week’s defining developments featured Brent crude sliding below US$94 per barrel as short-term geopolitical risk premiums softened across international exchanges, and LME aluminium consolidating near a four-year peak amid acute physical delivery tightness.Crude Oil (Brent US$93.09/bbl; WTI US$89.50/bbl) The seaborne oil tape registered notable downward movement as speculative long positions unwound late in the session. Reports from the U.S. Energy Information Administration confirmed that while global oil inventories are drawing down, rising Middle Eastern supply expectations have pulled Brent futures nearly 18 per cent lower than their previous monthly peaks. Upstream producers like ExxonMobil and Chevron are sustaining elevated production profiles, but macroeconomic headwinds have temporarily chilled the immediate geopolitical risk premium. While the broader market outlook anticipates a cooling in oil prices later this summer, crude exper
Wraps & Blogs
Azzet Unpacked: Rockets and records rock the business week
The ceasefire held up about as well as you'd expect when one side was lobbing missiles at the other's airport. Wall Street ignored all of it, setting fresh records for a third straight session as money poured into anything GPU-adjacent, with every major tech company racing to announce it was building more compute than the last. SpaceX set the price on the largest IPO in history, Anthropic filed confidentially for a potential trillion-dollar listing, and Berkshire's Greg Abel marked the post-Buffett era with a US$8.5 billion homebuilder deal. Aluminium hit a four-year high, Australia printed below-consensus GDP growth of 0.3% for the March quarter, and Washington dressed up its latest tariff salvo as a forced-labour enforcement action. All the top moves, shakes, and IPO takes from Azzet's editorial team unpacked right here in your weekly business wrap every Friday (5 June, 2026).MondayDell closed up 32.8% - its best session on record - after Q1 revenue of $43.84 billion, an 88% jump driven by a 757% spike in AI server sales to $16.1 billion. Talks between the U.S. and Iran continued through intermediaries even as Tehran's state media claimed comms had gone dark, with Trump pushing back on Truth Social while Brent cru
Wraps & Blogs
Commodities Wrap: Aluminium hits 4yr peak on squeeze
For the week ending 29 May, a muscular United States dollar and spiking yields triggered a broad paper liquidation. The week’s standout developments were London aluminium soaring to a four-year high on physical delivery squeezes, and a sharp precious metals correction following an inconclusive Trump-Xi Beijing summit.GoldThe yellow metal remained under pressure as macro traders adjusted to the implications of an extended restrictive monetary regime. Bullion's near-term momentum has been dulled by hawkish Federal Reserve repricing alongside a sharp climb in the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield. Institutional desks recently lowered their annual price forecasts due to a temporary slowdown in investor client interest. However, long-term support persists as emerging market central banks continue to accumulate physical bars for reserve diversification. Price: US$4,552.26/ozSilverSilver values dipped significantly, tracking the broader liquidation sweeping through safe-haven assets. The prompt tape was heavily impacted by macroeconomic changes following the trade summit in Beijing, given that more than half of global silver output is tied to industrial supply chains. Long-cycle buyers are noting that the silver-to-Dow ratio