Energy markets ended the week of 19–25 October with Brent crude at a more than five-month high, while precious metals extended their decline. Eurozone business activity growth slowed, and the central banks of Russia and Kazakhstan diverged on rates.
Oil & Gas
Brent futures settled at US$116.72 per barrel on 23 October, up 3.1% on the day, while WTI settled at US$103.27, up 3.8%, according to Rio Times; Reuters described the move as a more than five-month high (Kitco/Reuters). EIA data showed US commercial crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels in the week to 16 October, about 3% below the five-year average; gasoline stocks fell by 3 million barrels (OilPrice.com).
Supertanker rates from the US Gulf Coast to Asia eased to about US$60 million per voyage from early-October peaks of up to US$80 million, and Asian orders for US crude for November delivery fell by about 50% from September (OilPrice.com).
In European gas, front-month TTF rose to €92.30/MWh on 23 October, its highest level since December 2022, while EU storage stood at 74.62% on 22 October against a five-year average of about 86% (OilPrice.com). Eni reported third-quarter adjusted net profit of €2.8 billion, up 125% year on year, and announced a €1.3 billion extraordinary dividend alongside a buyback raised to €3.8 billion (OilPrice.com).
Metals
Spot gold fell to an intraday low of US$3,986.50/oz on 23 October, its lowest since 20 July, and was down 3.5% for the week at the time of reporting, as higher energy prices lifted expectations of tighter US monetary policy. Silver and platinum also declined (Kitco/Reuters). LME copper closed the week at US$14,415 per tonne, down 1.23% (Rio Times).
On the project side, Newmont put the cost of the Red Chris block cave expansion in British Columbia at US$4.2–4.8 billion, targeting commercial production in 2033 (The Northern Miner). Rio Tinto approved a $1.9 billion investment in the 20 Mtpa Kangwinan bauxite project in Queensland, with first production planned for 2029 (Mining Technology). Bannerman Energy and CNNC Overseas approved construction of the US$353 million Etango uranium project in Namibia, targeting first production in 2028 (The Northern Miner).
Data centers: AI & mining
Nebius secured a US$3.5 billion one-year senior secured facility from Citi to fund data center development and GPU procurement (DCD). In Spain, engineering firm Krolmap plans a €1.5 billion, 225 MW campus in Belchite, Aragón, combining renewables, storage and cogeneration to reduce grid dependence (DCD).
In bitcoin mining, the seven-day average network hashrate returned to about 1 ZH/s, its highest since early March, even as listed miners redirect capacity to AI and HPC. Core Scientific ended an equipment agreement covering 15 EH/s as it shifts toward high-density colocation (TheEnergyMag).
Economy: EU
The HCOB flash eurozone composite PMI fell to 51.9 in October from 53.1, a four-month low; services eased to 51.7 and the manufacturing PMI to 52.4. Manufacturing input price inflation was the steepest since May, driven by energy, fuel and transport costs (S&P Global). Eurostat data showed euro area government debt rose to 88.8% of GDP in the second quarter from 88.4% in the first, and to 82.9% across the EU (Eunews).
Economy: CIS
The Bank of Russia kept its key rate at 14% on 23 October and raised its 2026 inflation forecast to 7.1–7.6% from 6–7%; consumer prices were up 6.2% year to date. The next board meeting is on 18 December (Reuters via Yahoo Finance). The National Bank of Kazakhstan cut its base rate to 15.75% from 16.25% the same day, as annual inflation slowed to 9.3%; its next decision is due on 4 December (Kursiv).
What to watch
- 27–28 October: US Federal Reserve policy meeting (Kitco/Reuters).
- 28–29 October: ECB Governing Council monetary policy meeting, with a press conference on 29 October (ECB).
- 1 November: Meeting of seven OPEC+ countries on production levels (Reuters via The Moscow Times).