IIR's September 3 Market Scorecard Brings You Breaking Geopolitical News

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Stay current with the latest geopolitical events, and more importantly, instantly connect to how these events may impact you and your business strategies.

Event	MarCon*	IIR Comment	Outlet	IIR News
Middle East Crisis As Israel's Rifts Widen, Netanyahu Remains Defiant		When Israel's largest union began a strike on Monday, building on the largest anti-government protests since the start of the war in Gaza, the group hoped to persuade the government to swiftly agree to a cease-fire. Within hours, its effort fizzled as the union - which represents 800,000 Israelis - complied with a court order to end the strike. And the day ended with a defiant speech from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he refused to compromise in the negotiations with Hamas and implicitly rebuked the protesters for straining Israel's social cohesion.	New York Times	Texas Gas-Fired Projects, U.S. Oil Demand: Your Daily Energy News
Russian missiles target Kyiv on first day of school year		Russia has fired a barrage of missiles at Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, hours before thousands of children returned to school for the first day of the academic year. The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, says a water treatment plant and the entrance of a metro station used as a shelter were hit. Two schools and a university were also damaged. Russia's forces last month advanced on 477 sq km (184 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory - the biggest monthly increase by Moscow since October 2022 - according to data from the Institute for the Study of War analysed by AFP. Meanwhile, in Russia's Kursk region - where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion on 6 August - progress has slowed with Kyiv most recently claiming to control 1,294 sq km (500 sq miles) of territory, including 100 settlements.	BBC	The Return of the Atlantic Tropical Season -- Possible Development Over the Next Month
Oil drops more than 3% after media report of potential end to Libya dispute		Oil prices dropped more than 3% on Tuesday after Bloomberg News reported that a deal was imminent to resolve a dispute that has halted Libyan production and exports, pushing prices to their lowest since around the beginning of the year. The news of more crude supply possibly returning to the market came as prices had already fallen on the belief that demand was being undercut because of sluggish economic growth in China, the world's biggest crude importer.	Reuters	Energy Price Trends Follow U.S. Inflation in Move Lower
European markets fall as sentiment turns wary; UK retail sales gain in August Dollar nudges at two-week highs; yen back in focus Gold gains as attention turns to U.S. payrolls data		European stocks were lower Tuesday, continuing a lackluster start to September trading. Investors are continuing to consider the outlook for interest rates and markets. Markets have fully priced for the Federal Reserve to begin interest rate cuts in September, with the central bank's next meeting set for Sept. 17-18. A slew of U.S. data is due this week, including the purchasing managers' index, factory orders, jobless claims, nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate. Investor's focus has now shifted to Friday's U.S. payrolls report in particular as ISM surveys, JOLTS job openings and ADP employment report are also on traders' radar for clues on the Fed's rate cut path.	CNBC	Dallas Fed: Energy Jobs Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
Natural Gas News: Traders Eye $2.252 Resistance as Prices Rebound - Will It Hold?		U.S. natural gas futures saw a slight increase on Tuesday as counter-trend buyers continued to push prices higher, building on last week's low of $2.021. Despite the recent price recovery, the market continues to grapple with bearish pressures stemming from last week's developments. U.S. natural gas futures fell by 3.45% last week, driven by concerns over storage surpluses and weaker-than-expected weather-related demand. In addition to rising storage levels, strong natural gas production continues to weigh on market sentiment. Despite some production cutbacks from major players like EQT and Coterra Energy, U.S. output remains steady at approximately 101 Bcf/day.	FX Empire	Freeport LNG Restarting After Unexpected Shut Down
The implications of Philippines-Vietnam security ties for Southeast Asian geopolitics		The Philippines and Vietnam are claimants to the protracted maritime boundary disputes in the South China Sea. While both Southeast Asian neighbours have overlapping claims, a more contentious and shared concern lies in the growing advantage that China possesses in the region in terms of economic and military capabilities. Moreover, as Beijing claims over 80 percent of the disputed maritime domain, it continues to translate its material capabilities into provocative policies to undermine the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) at the expense of the sovereignty and sovereign rights of both Southeast Asian nations. However, despite a common adherence to UNCLOS to address disputes and a shared concern over China's expansionism, Manila and Hanoi have often pursued independent approaches to dealing with China's expansionism.	Observer Research Foundation	Plastic Resins Rebirth through Recycling: A Sustainable Future in Southeast Asia
Saudi Aramco Continues to Pursue Downstream and LNG Deals		The world's largest crude oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, continues to be on the lookout for acquisition opportunities in the downstream and LNG, a senior executive told Reuters in an interview. In recent years, the Saudi oil giant has been pursuing deals to expand its international downstream presence, especially in demand centers such as Asia. Despite the fact that Aramco has boosted cooperation with automotive groups to produce alternative fuels, the Saudi firm is not done with M&As in global refining and LNG, seeking additional outlets for its crude and an expanded presence in the international LNG trading market.	OilPrice	Another Inconvenient Truth and the Empowering of the Energy Transition
Week 08/26/24 - 09/03/24		Mass protests in Israel, Schools attacked, Labor strikes averted. Welcome to the week after the Stateside Labor Day holiday. Israel erupted in protests - as well as a short-lived union strike - over the weekend to try and pressure the government into a cease-fire resolution. Russia is moving beyond targeting just energy infrastructure as they launch attacks on civilian infrastructure such as schools, universities and metro stations. It seems the Libyan dispute is being resolved and those barrels will not be out of the markets for long, and also a rumor on the street has it that OPEC+ will be bringing back supply by years end. And, this Supply is returning as yet more economic woe is heard from China; so one wonders how Demand will be shaping up? Will the Western World - namely the U.S. - with its Central Bank policies be able to prop up demand in these energy markets? Or will it continue to be geopolitical risk premiums as wars grow more tense in Eastern Europe and the Middle East? Or will the Bears be pushing the Bulls to the sidelines come the holidays?
*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.

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