Here are five things you need to know this morning
Gold seen as potential safe haven amidst war in Iran: Gold prices rise as investors seek safety amid escalating tensions in the Middle East but remain below US$5,400 a troy ounce due to a strong dollar. In early trading, futures in New York are up 0.3 per cent to $5,329.40. “Without a clear consensus on how long the conflict and the associated premium will last, markets will shelter in safe-haven assets like gold,” analysts at BMI say. The U.S. dollar index, however, is up 0.4 per cent to 98.83, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for overseas buyers. Meanwhile, expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates to curb inflation pressures stemming from the conflict weighed on prices in the previous session, triggering a selloff, market participants say.
Markets stressed by Iran crisis: Stocks fell and bonds deepened losses as the war in Iran entered its fourth day with no sign of de-escalation, heightening fears of a lengthy disruption to energy markets and a surge in inflation. S&P 500 futures tumbled 1.7 per cent. European and Asian equity benchmarks headed for their worst two-day drop since April. Brent crude rose more than eight per cent to top US$85 a barrel for the first time since July 2024. European gas added 41 per cent to Monday’s gains as the world’s largest LNG export plant in Qatar remained shut.
Countries inquiring about Canadian LNG: Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says he’s starting to get calls from countries about how Canadian energy producers can fill the gap amid the conflict in Iran, which is driving up oil and gas prices. “The world right now is feeling incredibly insecure as a result of this weekend,” Hodgson said in an interview with CBC News. “So we’ve already seen an uptick in inquiries about how quickly Canada can expand its clean and conventional energy exports.” Hodgson did not say which countries were calling, but he acknowledged that it could take some time for Canadian producers to respond. “You don’t change the amount of production of LNG or oil in days,” he said.
LNG Rich Canada gets first shipment ever of Australia LNG: For the first time ever, Australia has shipped liquid natural gas to Canada. It was delivered to Canaport’s LNG import terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick last week according to Bloomberg. With demand for the super-chilled fuel weak in Asia currently, Australia took the rare move to ship a cargo more than 25,000 km to eastern Canada. Imports by the world’s biggest LNG importer, China, fell by 11 per cent in 2025. China is a key market for Australian LNG along with Japan and South Korea. Australia is the third largest exporter of the super-cooled gas behind only the US and Qatar. Despite vast natural gas reserves in western Canada, the country lacks the infrastructure to move it east.
New green projects in Nova Scotia gets new backer: EverWind has secured a US$175 million (CAD$240 million) strategic investment from Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit, the infrastructure credit investing business that is part of Nuveen, a global asset manager with $1.4 trillion in assets under management. The investment will advance construction of EverWind’s 650+ megawatt onshore wind portfolio and support delivery of the Point Tupper Green Fuels Project, positioning Nova Scotia as a major clean energy producer and exporter.
