The Commodities Feed: Trump’s words offer relief to energy markets in Oil & Companies News 10/03/2026 Energy- Oil market relief The market is now aware of President Trump’s pain threshold on oil prices. ICE Brent surged as much as 28% at one stage yesterday, reaching just below $120/bbl. That came as upstream oil production in the Persian Gulf shut down with little sign of a resumption in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Yet reports that G-7 finance ministers were considering a significant release of oil from strategic reserves, along with comments from President Trump suggesting that the war might end soon, sent prices plunging later in the session. At one point, Brent traded towards $85/bbl. Trump’s words will only go so far. Ultimately, the market will need to see a resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz to sustain a move lower in oil prices. Failing that, we are unlikely to have seen the highs yet. Regarding a coordinated release of oil from reserves, the G-7 finance ministers did not make a decision yesterday. There are reports that the group will meet again today and could agree on a coordinated release of 300-400m barrels. This would be a record for coordinated releases. Back in 2022, 182m barrels were released in a coordinated response. When combined with independent releases, this increased to 240m barrels. The mere suggestion of this release has helped ease prices. However, tapping strategic reserves is a temporary fix that only offers short-term relief. A large stock release could affect the forward curve. It could put some pressure at the front end while offering support further along the curve, amid expectations that reserves will need to be replenished down the line. Trump also said his administration will ease oil-related sanctions on some countries until oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz return. While Trump didn’t provide details on which countries could see sanctions eased, reports indicate that his administration is considering easing oil sanctions on Russia. However, given that Russia has managed to circumvent sanctions relatively effectively in recent years, any easing will not materially increase supply. The return of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remains crucial. The longer flows remain constrained, the more upstream oil production will be shut in. This means it will take longer to ramp up output once flows resume. Since last week, there have been reports of production shut-ins from Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, and now even Saudi Arabia. Given the storage constraints facing Persian Gulf producers, they’re trying to manage supply by lowering output from fields, rather than abruptly bringing operations to a full stop at fields. Metals – Gold under pressure Gold came under renewed pressure as a stronger US dollar, and the move in oil prices reinforced expectations that interest rates may stay higher for longer. Oil’s move above $100/bbl revived inflation concerns, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to delay the start of rate cuts. The dollar’s rally is outweighing safe‑haven demand linked to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The precious metal also faced selling pressure thanks to its role as a source of liquidity during recent equity market sell‑offs. They had investors raising cash amid broader risk‑off conditions. While geopolitical risks offer underlying support, near‑term price action suggests macro forces are currently dominating. In industrial metals, aluminium