By Naveen Thukral, Emily Chow and Nina Chestney

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) -Commodities from oil and gas to metals and grains dropped on Wednesday as the dollar rallied and victory for Republican Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election stoked concerns about tariffs and economic growth.

Trump recaptured the White House by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, following a campaign of dark rhetoric that deepened the polarization in the country.

Oil prices fell by more than 1% on pressure from the U.S. dollar rally, which was set for its biggest one-day rise since March 2023 against major peers. [USD/]

Investors believe Trump’s presidency will bolster the dollar as interest rates may need to remain high to combat inflation that would stem from new tariffs.

A stronger U.S. dollar makes greenback-denominated commodities such as oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Precious metals also fell, with gold sliding to a near three-week low, while lost more than 2%, making it the worst performer of the base metals complex.

“Gold will be torn between the risk of rising inflation, potentially slowing the pace of U.S. rate cuts, as tariffs are rolled out and continued demand for safe haven assets,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said.

Commodity prices started to fall overnight as traders started to price in the likelihood of a Trump win.

“This scenario is expected to bring about the promised tariffs on imported goods, particularly targeting China, potentially triggering a new wave of trade tensions and economic disruptions,” Hansen added.

However, Trump could renew sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, removing oil barrels from the market, which would be bullish, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Iran exports about 1.3 million barrels per day.

Benchmark European gas prices also fell by nearly 3% amid concerns about gas supplies and Trump’s stance on the Middle East conflict and Russia-Ukraine war.

China’s industrial metals and steel industries could face headwinds as Trump has pledged to impose blanket 60% tariffs on Chinese goods to boost U.S. manufacturing.

“China’s steel prices will undertake more downward pressure if Trump wins the election, and domestic steelmakers may face even more severe losses,” said Ge Xin, deputy director at Lange Steel Research Centre. 

“This is because Trump will be more aggressive in terms of measures against China.”

The copper market was pricing in the possible roll-back of U.S. electrification initiatives, including subsidies for electric vehicles, which would dampen demand.

Agricultural commodities were also hit, with soybean futures in particular trading lower. Wheat and corn were seen as less exposed to renewed trade tensions with China.

A stronger dollar makes U.S. grain more expensive overseas, while tariffs proposed by Trump could disrupt U.S. agricultural trade, with soybeans particularly reliant on sales to leading importer China.

There are also fears that China could respond with retaliatory measures, potentially reducing U.S. exports of key crops and creating downward pressure on prices.

Shares in European clean energy companies also fell as Trump has vowed to scrap offshore wind projects through an executive order on his first day in office.

DUBAI (Reuters) – Since leaving office in 2021, former President Donald Trump and several of his allies have continued to engage with the most powerful and wealthy Gulf countries, forging multi-million dollar business deals and engaging in quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

Below are some of the meetings and deals forged between Trump, who has claimed victory in the 2024 presidential election, his allies and the Gulf:  

*Trump hosted Qatar’s ruling emir and the UAE president separately at his Mar-a-Lago residence and private club in September on the sidelines of their official visits. 

*Several times since Trump left the White House, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, discussed U.S.-Saudi diplomacy with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de-facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS. Kushner attended the 2022 soccer World Cup in Qatar. 

*The Trump Organization, Trump’s company, has forged business deals with key allies in the region, spanning the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. 

*The Trump Organization announced in July it was teaming up with Saudi luxury international real estate developer Dar Global to build a Trump-branded tower in Dubai. 

*London-listed Dar Global also announced in July it was working with the Trump Organization to develop a Trump Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

*In 2022, Dar Global signed a deal with the Trump Organization to use the Trump brand for its $4 billion project in the Gulf state of Oman that includes a golf course, hotel and villas.

*Other key Trump allies have also maintained business ties with Gulf powers since leaving office in 2021.

*Dina Powell McCormick (NYSE:), who served various roles within the Trump administration including a stint as a deputy national security adviser, was among Wall Street veterans hired to work on Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:)’s first IPO in 2019. Now an executive at merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners, she attended Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative conference in October 2024, a flagship event aimed at deal brokering.

*Ken Moelis (NYSE:), a one-time banker for Trump and the founder and chief executive of investment bank Moelis & Company, was also among those tapped to work on Saudi Aramco’s first IPO. Moelis attended Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative conference in October 2024.

*Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive who was U.S. Treasury secretary during the Trump administration, has been a frequent visitor to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE since leaving office in 2021. The fund Mnuchin established, Liberty Strategic Capital, received backing from Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and SoftBank (TYO:)’s Vision Fund. 

*Congressional investigators say Saudi Arabia has invested $2 billion in Jared Kushner’s private equity fund, Affinity Partners, which he set up after leaving the White House. Wealth funds in the UAE and Qatar have also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the fund, according to The New York

Times. 

*Eric Trump, one of the former president’s sons, told the Financial Times in July that the Trump Organization wanted to pursue more deals in the Middle East. 

*Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, traveled to Oman and Dubai in June. 

Investing.com– Oil prices fell Wednesday, weighed by a surge in the dollar after Republican Donald Trump was elected president as well as a bigger than expected build in U.S. inventories. 

At 07:30 ET (12:30 GMT), fell 1.6% to $74.35 a barrel, while fell 1.6% to $70.83 a barrel. 

Trump returns to the White House

Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States, returning to the White House for a second four-year term. 

The Republicans have also taken a majority in the Senate, the upper chamber of the US Congress, and were also on track to win the House of Representatives, raising the possibility of a Republican sweep in the 2024 elections.

Such a scenario would present an easier path for Trump to enact major policy changes, which many have seen as inflationary, boosting the US currency. As a result the US dollar was on course for its biggest single-day uptick since March 2020 against its other major currency pairs.

A stronger U.S. dollar makes commodities denominated in the greenback, such as oil, more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Additionally, a Trump presidency could see policies that may further pressure the Chinese economy, weakening oil demand in the world’s top crude importer.

US inventories grow more than expected – API 

Data from the , released on Tuesday, showed U.S. oil inventories grew 3.1 million barrels in the week to November 1, much more than expectations for a build of 1.8 mb.

Product inventories – gasoline and distillates – saw small draws.

The API data usually heralds a similar reading from , which is due later on Wednesday. The reading spurred some concerns that U.S. fuel demand was cooling, especially as the winter season approaches. 

U.S. production is also expected to have remained near record highs of over 13 mb a day, keeping supplies in the country relatively high.

But U.S. oil production is expected to face some disruptions in the coming days, especially as energy firms began evacuating workers in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Storm Rafael, which is expected to make landfall in Louisiana later this week. 

The storm strengthened into a category-1 hurricane on Tuesday. 

Busy week continues 

Oil prices were sitting on some gains in recent sessions, after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, delayed plans to begin increasing production this year. 

Beyond the US election, the focus this week is on a meeting of China’s National People’s Congress, where Beijing is widely expected to outline more plans for fiscal spending.

A is also due on Thursday, with the central bank widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)