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A US military supply ship fired Monday at a small boat in the Persian Gulf after it came too close, apparently killing one person on board, two US officials said.

Gold can be a star performer for investors in 2012, just as falling imports of the metal into India undermine the trade in Dubai, a leading precious metals expert says. Jeffrey Rhodes, Global head of Precious Metals and CEO, INTL Commodities, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), predicts that gold prices will threaten to reach $2,000 per ounce this year, but ultimately fall just short of the mark.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to take action to lower the high price of oil, which has risen to around $125 a barrel, with laden supertankers set to arrive in the US in the coming weeks. Saudi Arabia said yesterday it will work "individually" and with the other petrol-rich Gulf states to return prices to "fair" levels. The country indicated earlier this year that $100 a barrel was the ideal oil price. The price of oil slid this morning in London as a result, with Brent crude trading down as much as 1pc at $124.40. Oil prices have climbed to $127 a barrel this year, just $20 short of their all-time high, as tighter Western sanctions on Iran threaten to choke off the country's exports. Prices also took a hit this morning after China increased retail fuel prices for the second time in two months, increasing concern that demand in the country - the world's second-largest oil consumer after the US - will decline. Saudi Arabia has reportedly hired 11 supertankers capable of carrying 2m barrels of oil each in the last few days, which will set off for US ports in the...

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s largest crude exporter, said Arab Light crude sold to Asia will be priced at a premium of $2.80 a barrel to the regional benchmark for April loading compared with $1.55 for March.

Hours before the pipeline explosion the FT published this, which is summarised below by a news summary service. It specifically mentions the oil terminal: 08:38 Saudi oil output capacity in focus -FT The FT reported that Saudi Arabia's oil export terminal, the world's largest, has witnessed an uptick in activity over the past two weeks, suggesting Riyadh is ramping up oil production as looming sanctions by the EU and US disrupt Iran's crude exports. The increase in output by Saudi Arabia, which is expected to continue over the next few months, will test the country's production capacity at levels not seen since the late 1970s. According to IAE estimates, the combination of strong domestic demand and a shortfall in Iranian exports could push Saudi production above 11M bpd, reducing its cushion of spare capacity to just 1M bpd, the lowest since early 2006 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The article said with inventories of crude held by industrialized nations at their lowest in four years, and the lowest in 15 years in Europe, Saudi Arabia's spare capacity is one of the last remaining buffers in the market. While an increase in Saudi production could push down prices, some...

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