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South Korea's consumer prices grew by more than 2% in September, returning to the 2% range after one month, largely due to rising prices of essential food items, data showed Thursday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.1 % from a year earlier last month, South Korea's (Yonhap) news agency said, citing data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea's 2% target for four consecutive months through April before slowing to 1.9% in May. It then climbed again, staying above 2% in both June and July, before slowing down to 1.7% in August. The service sector continued its upward trend, posting a 2.2% on-year gain. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, went up 2% in September, accelerating from August's 1.3% growth.

Oil prices rose on Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak and rebounding from 16-week lows. Brent Crude futures gained 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $65.50 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.92 a barrel. On Wednesday, Brent and WTI both lost about 1%, with Brent closing at its lowest since June 5 and for WTI since May 30. Crude inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels to 416.5 million barrels in the week ended on September 26.

Gold prices surged to a record high on Wednesday, driven by investor demand for safe-haven assets after the official start of the US government shutdown and as soft labor data bolstered expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold was up at $3,873.46 per ounce. Bullion logged about 12% rise in September, making it the metal's sharpest monthly rise since August 2011. US gold futures for December delivery gained 0.4% to $3,888.80. Elsewhere, spot silver was steady at $46.64 per ounce, platinum held its ground at $1,573.76 and palladium fell 0.4 % to $1,252.25.

Gold prices rose further to hit a fresh high on Tuesday and were poised for their best month in 14 years, as fears of a potential US government shutdown and growing expectations of further US interest rate cuts boosted demand for the safe-haven metal. Spot gold was up 1% at $3,869.75 per ounce. Bullion has risen 11.4% so far in September, on track for its best month since August 2011. US gold futures for December delivery gained 0.4% to $3,872. Spot silver was steady at $46.95 per ounce, platinum eased 0.2% to $1,597.58, and palladium fell 0.8% to $1,259.02.

Gold prices rose on Monday to hover near an all-time high, supported by a weaker dollar and growing expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue with interest rate cuts later this year. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $3,776.72 per ounce. Bullion hit a record of $3,790.82 last week. US gold futures for December delivery were steady at $3,806.20. Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.6% to $46.26 per ounce, platinum climbed 2.2% to $1,602.45 and palladium gained 0.8% at $1,279.68.

Oil prices held steady in early trade on Tuesday after rising in the previous session, as market participants contemplated potential supply disruption from Russia. Brent Crude futures edged up 4 cents to $67.48 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.32, up 2 cents. On Monday, Brent settled up 45 cents at $67.44 while WTI settled 61 cents higher at $63.30.

Gold prices remained steady on Monday as investors awaited a widely expected rate cut by the US Federal Reserve this week, while profit-taking and a firmer dollar kept gains in check. Spot gold held its ground at $3,642.65 per ounce.US gold futures for December delivery were down 0.2% at $3,680.20.Elsewhere, spot silver was up 0.1% at $42.20 per ounce, platinum gained 0.5% to $1,397.59, and palladium rose 0.2% to $1,197.88.

Oil prices climbed in early trade on Monday, trimming some of last week's losses, after OPEC+ agreed to slow the pace of output increases from October amid expectations of weaker global demand. Brent Crude gained 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.84 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 30 cents, or 0.5%, to $62.17 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell more than 2% on Friday as a weak US jobs report dimmed the outlook for energy demand. They lost more than 3% last week. Under the new OPEC+ decision, eight member countries will lift production by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) starting in October, far below the monthly increases of about 555,000 bpd for September and August, and 411,000 bpd in July and June.

OilOil prices fell on Friday as a weak US jobs report dimmed the outlook for energy demand, while swelling supplies may grow further after Opec and allied producers meet over the weekend. Brent crude futures settled at $65.50 a barrel, down $1.49. US WTI crude finished at $61.87, down $1.61.On Wednesday, Reuters reported that eight Opec+ producers would consider raising production further at a meeting on Sunday. US crude inventories rose 2.4mn barrels last week, rather than falling as analysts expected. US nonfarm payrolls increased by only 22,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 79,000 in July, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday.The weak jobs report will put pressure on the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. Expectations are growing that Opec+ – the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia – will decide at Sunday's meeting to push more barrels into the market to regain market share.The group would be starting to unwind a second layer of output cuts of about 1.65mn barrels per day, or 1.6% of world demand, more than a year ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told European leaders on Thursday that Europe must stop buying Russian oil. Any cuts to Russia's crude exports or other disruption to supplies could push oil prices higher.GasAsian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices held steady last week as regional demand remained muted, while a gas supply deal between Russia and China is seen curbing future LNG shipments from the top Asian importer.Industry sources estimated that the average LNG price for October delivery into Northeast Asia was $11.30 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up slightly from $11.15 per mmBtu the previous week. Meanwhile, following the first unloading of an LNG cargo from Russia's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in China, Beijing and Moscow this week signed agreements to increase gas supply via the existing Power of Siberia pipeline, and to construct the Power of Siberia 2, though they have yet to agree on pricing.China is sending a clear geopolitical signal that it is willing to receive more Russian gas, reducing LNG dependency from other sources from 2027 and influencing the profitability of other LNG producers. In Europe, the Dutch TTF hub settled at $11.02 per mmBtu, recording a weekly gain of 2.6%. Continued supply growth from the US helped to offset the decline seen from Nigeria. This also comes at a time where imports into Europe have seen slight declines as subsided heatwaves and easing fears over storage added further bearish tailwinds into the market. The US arbitrage to Northeast Asia via the Cape of Good Hope narrowed significantly last week, only marginally incentivising US cargo deliveries to Europe.This article was supplied by the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.

Oil prices extended losses for a third consecutive session in early trading Friday as markets awaited the outcome of an OPEC+ meeting scheduled for Sunday that will discuss the possibility of further production increases.Brent Crude futures fell 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $66.77 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $63.29. At the upcoming meeting, OPEC+ members will weigh an additional output hike in October. Such a move would begin to unwind a second tranche of production cuts totaling about 1.65 million barrels per day, equivalent to 1.6% of global demand, more than a year ahead of schedule.The group currently accounts for roughly half of the world's oil supply. On the supply side, US crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 2.4 million barrels last week as refineries entered seasonal maintenance. Analysts had forecast a 2-million-barrel draw, while data from the American Petroleum Institute indicated a smaller build of around 600,000 barrels.

FIFA will kick off a multi-phase ticket sale process for the 2026 World Cup this month with initial single seat prices as low as $60 for group-stage matches and as high as $6,710 for the final.Those prices will fluctuate based on demand, and fans will be able to buy single-game tickets, venue-specific tickets and team-specific packages, world football's governing body said Wednesday as it announced a schedule for the first phase of sales.Forty-eight teams, the biggest field in World Cup history, will play in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19 next year.Fans who have a Visa card can register for a FIFA ID on the body's website to enter a presale draw to be held September 10-19.Those selected through the randomized presale draw can then apply to purchase tickets starting October 1.Sales will be capped at four tickets per person per match, and no person can purchase more than 40 for the entire tournament.Further ticket sales will be launched in the coming months, with registration for phase two expected to take place October 27-31 for sales from mid-November to early December.Phase three will begin shortly after the tournament draw is held in Washington on December 5 and fans can submit applications for specific matches.Closer to the tournament, fans will be able to buy remaining inventory on a first-come, first-served basis.FIFA said in a statement it planned to offer additional products such as supporter tickets for fans who want to sit with others backing the same team, and conditional supporter tickets for fans who want to reserve a place in potential knockout rounds.FIFA will also launch an official resale platform.

Market EyeTracking weaker oil prices, the Qatar Stock Exchange Wednesday fell more than 41 points and its key barometer retreated below 11,200 levels as foreign funds hurriedly squared off their position.The telecom, industrials and real estate counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.37% to 11,142.37 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,212 points.The foreign individuals were seen increasingly net sellers in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated to 5.4%.About 61% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main bourse, whose capitalisation eroded QR3.49bn or 0.52% to QR664.85bn, mainly on small and microcap segments.However, the Gulf institutions were seen net buyers in the main market, which saw as many as 3,122 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR7,490 trade across seven deals.The local retail investors were increasingly bullish in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the rise.The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Arab individuals were increasingly net buyers in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index shed 0.37%, the All Share Index by 0.4% and the All Islamic Index by 0.27% in the main market.The telecom sector declined 0.71%, industrials (0.64%), realty (0.48%), banks and financial services (0.37%), insurance (0.36%) and transport (0.26%); while consumer goods and services was up 0.05%.Major shakers in the main market included Estithmar Holding, Commercial Bank, Al Mahhar Holding, Meeza, Mazaya Qatar, QNB, Baladna, Industries Qatar, Ezdan, Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar and Milaha.In the junior bourse, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, Mannai Corporation, Qatar Islamic Bank, QIIB, Inma Holding and Widam Food were among the gainers in the main market.The foreign institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR43.06mn compared with net buyers of QR10.76mn the previous day.The foreign retail investors’ net profit booking increased marginally to QR0.66mn against QR0.41mn on September 2.However, the Gulf institutions were net buyers to the extent of QR11.81mn compared with net sellers of QR6.07mn on Tuesday.The local retail investors’ net buying strengthened significantly to QR11.65mn against QR2.15mn the previous day.The Arab individual investors’ net buying expanded substantially to QR10.86mn compared to QR3.91mn on September 2.The domestic funds turned net buyers to the tune of QR8.63mn against net profit takers of QR10.75mn on Tuesday.The Gulf individual investors’ net buying increased marginally to QR0.77mn compared to QR0.4mn the previous day.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure for the third straight session.The main market saw a 57% jump in trade volumes to 134.27mn shares and 54% in value to QR401.92mn on more than doubled deals to 30,365.In the venture market, a total of 0.69mn equities valued at QR1.87mn changed hands across 107 transactions.