Via Metal Miner Copper prices continued their breakout during March, rising 4.25%. Prices then formed a second higher high on March 15, followed by a new higher low on March 27. The rally continued throughout April as prices climbed an additional 7.59%. As of April 15, they stand at their highest level since June 2022. Source: MetalMiner Insights, Chart & Correlation Analysis Tool New Russian Sanctions Hit Copper, Aluminum, Nickel The UK and U.S. announced a new round of sanctions late Friday afternoon... Читать дальше...
In a bid to stabilize gas prices amid the upcoming summer driving season and Presidential election, the Biden administration wants to ensure that the United States remains on a steady economic course. White House economic adviser Lael Brainard emphasized the administration's commitment to maintaining gas prices within current ranges during a statement on Thursday, according to Reuters, without elaborating on how that would be achieved. In the past, steps to keep gasoline prices in check included... Читать дальше...
Geothermal energy is at the precipice of a major breakthrough in the United States. As technology rapidly advances, it’s seeming more possible than ever that the once niche energy production method could soon scale up for mass deployment in nearly any environment. Pilot projects are taking off across the country as federal funding rolls in for research and development of these new methods, but the future of geothermal remains mired in political uncertainty. While it currently enjoys bipartisan support... Читать дальше...
As the world anxiously awaited the outcome of Iran's large-scale attack against Israel, some Arab countries had already taken steps to blunt its impact. When the dust from the April 13 attack settled, the vast majority of the hundreds of drones and missiles launched by Iran had been shot down -- by Israel, its Western allies, and Jordan, despite its strong opposition to Israel's ongoing war in Gaza. At least two other Arab states -- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), which have been... Читать дальше...
China scooped up record volumes of crude oil imports from Russia in March, adding 790,000 barrels per day to its stockpiles, up from 570,000 bpd in January and February, Reuters’ Clyde Russell reported on Thursday, citing official Chinese import data. Beijing’s efforts to boost its strategic stockpiles is simultaneously skewing the country’s oil demand picture, with record imports of Russian oil contributing to a false picture of the country’s overall demand, Russell notes. First-quarter numbers... Читать дальше...
At the start of this week, following Iran's missile attack on Israel, oil prices inched up. The key word here was "inched". The attack was a first; it came from the fourth-largest oil producer in OPEC, and it targeted a country notorious for its military prowess. Yet prices only inched up rather than soaring. One could argue this was because the situation was apparently defused quickly, with neither of the sides willing to engage in an escalation, but this may only be part of the reason for oil prices' lukewarm reaction. Читать дальше...
While Petrobras is touting a potential start to drilling in an environmentally sensitive area offshore the mouth of the Amazon River, indigenous communities are increasingly opposing the exploration plans of Brazil’s state-owned oil giant, which has yet to receive an all-clear license to drill, Reuters reports, citing interviews with locals and memos and documents it has reviewed. After spending a decade selling off many assets outside Brazil, Petrobras is now shifting its strategy to portfolio diversification... Читать дальше...
Demand for gold is high, with Costco reportedly selling up to $200 million worth of gold bars every month in the United States.Gold is considered a unique asset due to its enduring value, historical significance, and application in various technologies like computers, spacecraft, and communications equipment. Commonly regarded as a “safe haven asset”, gold is something investors typically buy to protect themselves during periods of global uncertainty and economic decline. It is for this reason that... Читать дальше...
Kazakhstan, a non-OPEC oil producer part of the OPEC+ agreement, will consider building an oil pipeline in the Caspian Sea, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Thursday, quoting Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry. The country is also considering the construction of another oil pipeline from Atyrau to Kuryk in the medium term, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said in response to questions. “The possibility of constructing an oil pipeline across the Caspian Sea floor will also be studied,” the ministry added... Читать дальше...
Back in early 2018 when rumours were rife that then-U.S. President Donald Trump was going to unilaterally withdraw his country from the ‘nuclear deal’ with Iran, China moved to position itself to occupy the vacuum that would be left in Iran and Iraq, at the very heart of the Middle East. Beijing knew that Iran continued to wield enormous influence over neighbouring Iraq, and that both together were the biggest oil and gas prize in the entire region, in addition to being at the vanguard of the Shia strand of Islam. Читать дальше...
Renewable energy projects and emerging low-carbon technologies are more exposed to the current high interest rate environment globally, which could slow the pace of transition to clean energy, Wood Mackenzie said in a new report on Thursday. The rising interest rates in many major renewables markets in the past two years have significantly raised the cost of capital for new projects, the energy consultancy says. Global monetary policies are set to remain much higher in the coming decades than the... Читать дальше...
Scotland is expected to abandon a key interim target on its road to 2045 net zero as the government is expected to scrap a goal for reducing emissions by 75% by 2030, BBC Scotland News reports. The Scottish government is expected to announce changes to its climate change plan later on Thursday, but it will keep the net-zero target for 2045, according to the BBC. Scotland has a more ambitious target to reach net zero than the UK, which – like most developed economies – strives for net zero by 2050. Читать дальше...
Europe’s new car sales fell in March for the first time this year, dragged down by a decline in electric vehicle (EV) registrations and the timing of the Easter holidays, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, ACEA, said on Thursday. All new car sales in the European Union car market dropped by 5.2% year-on-year to 1 million units in March, while passenger vehicle sales in Europe including non-EU members such as the UK and Norway fell by 2.8%, ACEA’s data showed. In the EU, new electric... Читать дальше...
India’s crude oil imports remained flat in the fiscal year 2023/2024 ended March 31, but the import bill of the world’s third-largest oil importer fell by almost 16% due to lower oil prices and record-high imports of cheaper Russian crude. Indian crude imports stood at 232.5 million metric tons in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, only marginally lower compared to the 232.7 million tons in imports in the previous fiscal year to March 31, 2023, data from the Indian Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning and... Читать дальше...
Crude oil exports from Iran hit the highest level in six years during the first quarter of the year, data from Vortexa cited by the Financial Times has shown. The daily average over the period stood at 1.56 million barrels, almost all of which was sent to China, earning Tehran some $35 billion. “The Iranians have mastered the art of sanctions circumvention,” Fernando Ferreira, head of geopolitical risk service at Rapidan Energy Group, told the FT. “If the Biden administration is really going to have an impact... Читать дальше...
Crude oil prices remained under pressure today despite the news that the U.S. will reimpose oil sanctions on Venezuela after a six-month pause. Countering this development, the EIA on Wednesday reported another weekly build in crude oil inventories that weighed on benchmarks as it brought the total oil in stock to the highest since June 2023, according to Bloomberg. As a result, Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate shed a couple of dollars per barrel each, with Brent ending up at around $87 per... Читать дальше...
Kinder Morgan expects demand for natural gas to increase palpably over the next six years the company said at the release of its first-quarter financial results. In it, the company reported a 10% increase in its earnings per share, even though these came a bit below analyst expectations, and an annual increase in net profit from $679 million in the first quarter of 2023 to $746 million this year. Income from Kinder Morgan’s gas pipeline played a big role in its first-quarter performance, the company said in its report... Читать дальше...
The oil price rally has lately lost some steam, with WTI for May delivery and June Brent futures slipping more than 5% since Friday after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released bearish weekly data that triggered demand concerns. According to the EIA, crude inventories rose 5.84 mb w/w and oil product inventories rose 6.57 mb; however, the builds relative to the five-year average were modest, at just 0.11mb for crude oil and 1.24mb for products. U.S. commercial inventories now stand 16.47mb below the five-year average... Читать дальше...
Hedge funds and other portfolio managers began to include a higher risk premium in their oil price trades early this month as tensions in the Middle East spiked. Money managers significantly boosted their long positions in crude oil and other major petroleum product contracts in the weeks preceding Iran’s drone attack on Israel this past weekend. As the geopolitical premium jumped before the attacks, raising buying in oil futures contracts, it’s not so surprising to see Brent Crude prices lingering... Читать дальше...
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains the fuel of choice for lower-carbon shipping, despite the rise in orders for vessels equipped with dual-fuel methanol and ammonia engines, according to Rystad Energy analysis. While question marks remain around just how environmentally friendly LNG is as a shipping fuel, its price competitiveness, abundant supply and well-developed infrastructure give it an advantage over the alternatives. This is particularly evident with LNG bunkering; fueling ships with LNG. Читать дальше...
While the whole world is watching the Arabian/Persian Gulf arena at present, amid lingering fears of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, a new crisis could be unfolding. According to statements from the Iranian news site Tasnim, which is semi-governmental but linked to the IRGC, Iran's navy is reportedly heading toward the Red Sea to protect Iranian commercial vessels navigating the already highly contested area. The deployment of additional Iranian navy vessels into the Red Sea, bordering not only Egypt... Читать дальше...
As the world heats up, several countries experiencing greater wildfires. Last year, Canada battled record blazes and despite getting them under control, several fires continue to rage out of site. The so-called ‘zombie fires’ are hidden beneath layers of snow and continue to burn at an unprecedented rate, raising fears of what will happen when the snow subsides. In 2023, Canada experienced a record year of wildfires that burnt through around 45.7 million acres of land, equivalent to around twice... Читать дальше...
