Last December, wholesale retailer Costco announced that they had sold over $100 million worth of gold in Q3 2023. "You've probably read about the fact that we're selling one-ounce gold bars. We sold over $100 million of gold during the quarter," sad CFO Richard Galenti. Now, Wells Fargo estimates that Costco "may now be running at" $100 million to $200 million per month in gold sales. "Our work suggests there has been significant interest given COST’s aggressive pricing and high level of customer... Читать дальше...
Via Metal Miner The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, with a modest 1.38% decline in steel prices from March to April. U.S. flat rolled steel prices continued to trade down throughout March. Meanwhile, HRC prices fell 8.35% to close the month at a new lower low. However, hot rolled coil prices traded up during the first week of April, returning to where they stood in early March. Steel Prices Flatten After Price Hikes Steelmaker price hikes throughout March offered a visible hurdle... Читать дальше...
U.S. inflation for March has surged more than anticipated thanks to soaring gas prices and top-dollar mortgage rates, creating concern that the Federal Reserve may scrap its plans for a rate cut in June. U.S. consumer prices increased 3.5% for the 12 months ended in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) released on Wednesday. The 3.5% increase for March compares to a 3.2% increase for the previous month. The primary driver of higher inflation for March was gasoline prices. Читать дальше...
At least three people have been reported dead and five more injured following an explosion at a hydroelectric plant in northern Italy, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, noting that at least four others remain missing in the accident in the latest update. “We are working, but with a few hopes of finding missing people alive,” a firefighter spokesperson told AP on Wednesday, adding that. “We are working in very complex and difficult conditions. The floor hit by the explosion was dry and... Читать дальше...
The Shell share price hit another all-time high this week as the company continued its positive run. The firm, already the largest by market capitalisation on the London Stock Exchange, saw its share price jump to a then all-time high of 2,832p on Tuesday morning, after chief Wael Sawan said the company was “undervalued”. The rally has continued today. The Shell share price has hit another all-time high above 2,860p. The jump followed additional comments from its former chief Ben van Beurden yesterday at a summit in Switzerland. Читать дальше...
Moscow is demanding that Russian producers step up gasoline and diesel deliveries to the domestic market and for exchange trading, TASS reported on Wednesday, after the Energy Ministry said Russian fuel market supplies are now stable. "Deputy Prime Minister asked oil companies to maximize deliveries of gasoline and diesel fuel to the domestic market and for exchange trading, and to proactively utilize capacities of refiners becoming free as a result of timely exports of oil products," the government. Читать дальше...
Back in February, crude tankers and product carrier company International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) predicted that tanker freight will remain healthy in the short and long term going forward, thanks to oil supply growth currently concentrated in the Atlantic Basin funneling into major oil demand centers in the East. "We expect a great run over the next few years, as mentioned regional imbalances of oil should continue to increase the need for tankers as growth in oil production coming from the West and... Читать дальше...
The biggest utilities in the United States expect exponential growth in electricity demand in the coming years from data centers and new technologies such as generative AI. So great is electricity consumption from data centers that U.S. utilities and regulators have raised significantly their forecasts for peak power demand in the coming decade. After more than a decade of flatlining power consumption in America, the AI boom and the chip and other tech manufacturing are leading to higher U.S. Читать дальше...
Crude oil prices moved lower today after the Energy Information Administration reported an estimated inventory build of 5.8 million barrels for the week to April 5. The authority also reported builds in fuel inventories. This compared with a build of 3.2 million barrels for the previous week, which also saw substantial drawdowns in gasoline and middle distillate inventories. A day before the EIA report, the American Petroleum Institute estimated a build of over 3 million barrels in crude oil stocks... Читать дальше...
Russia’s flagship crude grade, Urals, is currently being exported at a price of around $75 per barrel, per Argus Media data cited by Bloomberg—a price that’s $15 a barrel above the $60 price cap set by the G7 and partners if the oil is to be moved with the help of Western shippers, insurers, and financiers. The price cap mechanism set by the G7 and the EU says that Russian crude shipments to third countries can use Western insurance and financing if cargoes are sold at or below the $60-a-barrel ceiling. Читать дальше...
The Chinese government has granted direct subsidies of at least $3.7 billion (3.4 billion euros) to EV manufacturer BYD, which has been one of the main beneficiaries of China’s massive subsidies for green technologies, a German think tank that advises the government said in a new report on Wednesday. China has recently hiked direct government subsidies to some of the dominant Chinese green-tech companies, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, IfW, said in the report. For example, direct subsidies to the car maker BYD... Читать дальше...
Uncertainty about the pace of renewable energy growth with the U.S. presidential election approaching has pushed investors to withdraw money from funds invested in renewables stocks—so much that these funds booked the biggest quarterly withdrawal ever in the first quarter of the year. Exchange traded funds that invest in stocks of renewable energy firms saw a combined outflow of $4.8 billion during the first quarter, according to LSEG Lipper data cited by Reuters. On top of policy uncertainty in... Читать дальше...
The European Union’s decision to open an investigation into Chinese subsidies for its domestic wind turbine manufacturers is a discriminatory measure against China, Beijing said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President and Anti-Trust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that the EU is launching a new inquiry into Chinese suppliers of wind turbines. “We are investigating the conditions for the development of wind parks in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria,”…
U.S.-based private equity group EIG is considering as many as 20 potential deals in the midstream and renewable energy sectors in Brazil, after buying the only Brazilian operator in the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) industry, EIG’s head in Brazil, Flavio Valle, told Bloomberg in an interview. At the end of last year, EIG announced a deal to buy Ocyan Participações S.A., the only Brazilian FPSO operator, for $390 million. “The acquisition of Ocyan reflects EIG’s long-term, comprehensive…
Venezuelan authorities have arrested the country’s former oil minister, Tareck El Aissami on allegations of corruption. According to information released by the Venezuelan government and cited by the AP, El Aissami was arrested for a scheme that siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars in oil revenue from the state. The charges brought against the former official include money laundering, treason, and criminal association. El Aissami was oil minister until March last year when he announced his resignation... Читать дальше...
OPEC+ once again extended its oil production cuts this month. The decision was anything but unexpected and, unlike previous production policy announcements, it had the desired effect on prices. However, it could only work for so long. Soon, OPEC will need to make a decision. Last year, oil traders were almost exclusively focused on demand and threats thereof, especially in China. This year, they are beginning to understand that withholding 2.2 million barrels of oil daily while global demand actually rises will... Читать дальше...
Given its huge oil and gas reserves, strategically critical location in the heart of the Middle East, and its initial welcoming of the U.S. after the fall of President Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq has long been at the top of Washington’s list of countries in the region with which it wants a deeper working relationship. In many ways, the U.S.’s end of combat mission in the country on 31 December 2021 was regarding by the White House as a temporary tactical retreat, before a new diplomacy-led relationship could be forged. Читать дальше...
Latin America boasts abundant geothermal energy resources, offering a promising avenue for clean energy production, decarbonization of industrial processes and bolstering energy security. Despite these favorable conditions, only a fraction of its potential has been harnessed, with a mere 2 gigawatts electrical (GWe) currently utilized out of a total potential of 33 GWe. The bulk of this utilization comes from Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador, which collectively account for about 75% of the existing capacity. Читать дальше...
