US crude hit its highest level since 2014 on Monday amid rising concerns that Venezuela's oil output could fall further following the country's presidential election and potential sanctions on the OPEC-member nation.
The Australian share market has closed steady, with strong gains by the healthcare and utilities sectors countering yet another fall by Telstra and weakness among the banks and miners.
Esperance-based FGS Contracting and a company director have been fined more than $300,000 over the serious injuries sustained by one of the company's workers in 2016.
Former Business News 40under40 winner Sally Capp has been elected as Melbourne’s lord mayor, joining a growing list of past winners who have gone on to bigger things since claiming the award.
Vocus Communications has appointed former Optus boss Kevin Russell as managing director and chief executive, three months after Geoff Horth quit the broadband provider in the wake of an earnings warning.
Australian shares have opened lower, dragged down by the banks and after all three major US stock indexes posted a weekly loss as the markets grappled with US-China trade talks.
Gold prices rebounded on Friday, as the US dollar eased after Italian political tension sparked a sell-off in the country's bond markets and investors sought a safe haven in bullion.
Oil prices fell on Friday, but Brent crude marked its sixth straight week of gains, boosted by plummeting Venezuelan production, strong global demand and looming US sanctions on Iran.
Australian shares have closed weaker as mining and banking stocks lost ground, despite the energy sector and vaccines giant CSL giving the local market a shot in the arm.
Business News’ index of 30 Western Australian stocks hit an all-time high this week, helped by solid gains by copper miner Sandfire Resources, oil and gas giant Woodside Petroleum and engineering and construction contractor Monadelphous Group.
Oil prices climbed above $US80 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since November 2014, before retreating on a stronger dollar and climbing US output to end unchanged.
Oil prices have gained ground, shaking off the effects of a strengthening dollar, after an inventory report showed US crude and petrol stocks fell more than expected.
Australian shares have opened slightly higher, shrugging off a fall on Wall Street overnight, helped by overnight gains in oil prices and a lift in mining stocks as the Aussie dollar falls
The Australian dollar is lower after US stocks fell almost one per cent, amid worries about US-China trade relations and the release of disappointing US retail spending figures.
Oil prices settled a shade firmer after retreating from multi-year highs hit early in the day on Tuesday, supported by concerns that US sanctions on Iran are likely to restrict crude exports from one of the biggest producers in the Middle East.
Gold slid more than one per cent on Tuesday, falling for a third day to hit its lowest this year as a rise in US borrowing costs pushed up the US dollar and overshadowed the impact of strife in Gaza.
