IIR Weekly Market Scorecard - Breaking Geopolitical News

Stay current with the latest geopolitical events, and more importantly, instantly connect to how these events may impact you and your business strategies.

IIR's Market Scorecard gives you the breaking news headlines from around the world, along with the directional impact to commodities, with expert indicators, and live links to IIR key research so you instantly have the details you need and make the right decisions.

For more information email us: iirteam@iirenergy.com

Wednesday, January 13th, 2021:

Event	MarCon*	IIR Comment	IIR Links	Outlet
China Reimposing COVID Lockdowns		“China is battling its biggest coronavirus outbreak in months, imposing lockdowns on hard-hit areas, quarantining more than 20 million people and urging citizens to forgo unnecessary travel as the Lunar New Year holiday approaches in February. The tightening, which comes during northern China’s coldest winter in a generation, underscores official skittishness nearly a year after authorities shut down the city of Wuhan to contain the initial outbreak.”	China Plans $2.23 Billion Worth of Pesticides and Agriculture Chemicals Project Kickoffs in First-Quarter 2021, an Industrial Info Market Brief	WSJ
Oil hitting 11-month high		“Oil hit an 11-month high towards $57 a barrel on Tuesday as tighter supply and expectations of a drop in U.S. inventories offset concerns over climbing coronavirus cases globally. Saudi Arabia plans to cut output by an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in February and March to stop inventories from building up. The latest U.S. supply reports are expected to show crude stocks fell for a fifth straight week”	Equinor Extending Life of Norway's Biggest Oil Field	CNBC
World vaccination push drawing criticism, concern		“Political leaders are promising that mass vaccination campaigns will see life return to normal, as a more contagious variant of the coronavirus spreads across dozens of countries, adding urgency to the race to end the pandemic. But vaccination efforts are rolling out slower than promised, raising doubts about an imminent way out of the crisis. In nations where vaccines have been authorized, criticism is mounting over shortages and delays to getting shots into people's arms. And solutions devised to stretch supplies -- from administering half doses to spreading out the time between two doses -- have raised concerns from some experts”	U.K. Green Lights Second COVID-19 Vaccine	CNN
Greening the world... Largest cement maker investing in solar, green roofs		“Cement maker LafargeHolcim has agreed to buy specialist roofing company Firestone Building Products for $3.4 billion, in the latest example of shifting priorities within the building industry. In a statement issued last week, LafargeHolcim — which is the world’s biggest cement manufacturer — said FSBP played “an instrumental role” in mitigating energy loss via the roofs of buildings. It’s agreed to purchase the company, which specializes in insulated, solar, “cool” and green roofs, from tire and rubber business Bridgestone Americas.”	French Cement Sector Gears Up for 2021 Maintenance Work, an Industrial Info Market Brief	CNBC
Weekly Recap: 1/6-1/13		Arm wrasslin’ ... On one side we have notable Strongman OPEC+… on the other is Mr. Indefatigable COVID Pandemic. Mr. Market and market fundamentals are seemingly wagering their bets on the Strongman. But alas, Mr. Indefatigable will likely not be denied, for before he was being ignored as a U.S. and Europe outbreak, but now he’s re-visiting Asia via China & Japan... Not to mention unique strains... And vaccine rollouts are still months away, even drawing criticism & concerns. Oy vey!! Was not this New Year supposed to be better...
*MarCon (Market Condition 1-5, with 5 being the highest impact) indicates directional bias or price effect for the relevant commodity (Oil, Natural Gas, Chemicals, etc.) and is graded by our team of experts here at IIR.