Oil gains on damage to Russian infrastructure

Today’s headlines

What’s happening: Crude prices rose this morning following news of attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s oil infrastructure.

What happened: The US and Russia failed to reach an agreement to end the ongoing war and ease the sanctions on Moscow.

Oil prices rose despite oversupply concerns triggered by the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) report on US inventories.

Why it matters: Ukraine’s military intelligence said on Wednesday that the country had hit the Druzhba oil pipeline in the central Tambov region in Russia. This is the pipeline that sends oil to Hungary and Slovakia.

Meanwhile, the Russian government announced that it had failed to reach a breakthrough in the deal proposed by US government representatives to end the war.

Data released by the EIA on Wednesday showed US crude, gasoline and distillate stockpiles gained last week, raising oversupply concerns. Crude inventories jumped 574,000 barrels in the week ended November 28, much higher than market estimates of a decline of 821,000 barrels.

Gasoline inventories climbed by 4.52 million barrels, compared to market expectations of a gain of 1.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose 2.1 million barrels, also topping estimates of a gain of 0.7 million barrels.

Strength in the US dollar limited the gains in oil prices, as a higher greenback makes commodities more expensive for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, rose 0.1% to 98.97 this morning.

Brent crude added 17 cents, or 0.3%, to reach $62.84 per barrel this morning, while WTI crude climbed 22 cents, or around 0.4%, to $59.17 per barrel.

Both crude contracts had recorded gains on Wednesday, with Brent crude adding 0.4% and WTI crude rising 0.5%.

In other commodities trading, gasoline rose 0.1% to $1.8296 and heating oil rose by 0.1% to $2.3022, while natural gas fell 0.3% to $4.982 this morning.

What to watch: Investors will pay attention to the talks between the US and Russia, as an agreement would lift sanctions on Russia’s major oil companies, including Rosneft and Lukoil.

The EIA’s report on natural gas stockpile change (1930 UAE Time) will be released today. US natural gas inventories declined by 11 billion cubic feet in the week ended November 21.

The markets today

Salesforce in focus today after releasing its third-quarter results

Context: Shares of Salesforce gained in after-hours trading on Wednesday following better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Details: Salesforce has been investing billions of dollars in its AI agent platform on expectations of growing enterprise demand.

Salesforce’s revenue surged 9% year-over-year to $10.26 billion in the latest quarter, although this slightly missed consensus estimates of $10.27 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at $3.25 per share, topping Wall Street expectations of $2.86 per share.

Salesforce closed the quarter with RPOs (remaining performance obligations) worth $29.4 billion, representing 11% year-over-year growth.

“Our Agentforce and Data 360 products are the momentum drivers, hitting nearly $1.4 billion in ARR — an explosive 114% year-over-year gain. We now have over 9,500 paid Agentforce deals and 3.2 trillion tokens processed, underscoring our leadership in building the Agentic Enterprise and driving real outcomes,” CEO Marc Benioff said.

Salesforce guided to fourth-quarter revenues of $11.13-$11.23 billion, higher than market expectations of $10.90 billion. The company projected adjusted earnings of $3.02-$3.04 per share, versus consensus estimates of $3.04 per share.

Salesforce raised its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to $41.45-$41.55 billion, higher than market estimates of $41.25 billion. The company also lifted its adjusted earnings outlook to $11.75-$11.77 per share, above market projections of $11.37 per share.

How shares responded: Salesforce’s shares gained 1.8% to $243.00 in extended trading hours on Wednesday, following the release of quarterly results. The stock has lost around 9% over the past month.

What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring AI adoption, which could provide a further boost to the company’s overall results ahead.

Other Markets: US trading indices closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 up by 0.86%, 0.30% and 0.20%, respectively.

The news shaping the markets

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that his representatives are preparing for meetings in the US. The news sent the RUB/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.

Australia’s household spending surged 1.3% in October, accelerating from 0.3% growth in the previous month. Personal spending growing at the strongest pace since January 2024 lent support to the AUD/USD forex pair.

Spain’s consumer confidence indicator fell to 78.7 in October from 81.5 in the previous month, which sent the EUR/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.

Canada’s S&P Global services PMI declined to 44.3 in November from 50.5 in the previous month. Services activity falling to its lowest level since June exerted pressure on the CAD/USD forex pair.

Brazil’s S&P Global services PMI jumped to 50.1 in November from 47.7 in the previous month. Services activity moving back to the expansion zone sent the BRL/USD pair higher in forex trading this morning.

What else to watch today

Eurozone’s HCOB construction PMI (1230 UAE Time) and retail sales (1400 UAE Time), France’s HCOB construction PMI (1230 UAE Time), Germany’s HCOB construction PMI (1230 UAE Time), Italy’s HCOB construction PMI (1230 UAE Time), South Africa’s current account (1300 UAE Time), UK’s new car sales (1300 UAE Time), S&P Global construction PMI (1330 UAE Time), CPI expectations (1330 UAE Time) and output price expectations (1330 UAE Time), US initial jobless claims (1730 UAE Time) and continuing jobless claims (1730 UAE Time) as well as Canada’s Ivey PMI (1900 UAE Time).