IIR's April 15 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
Most U.N. Security Council members condemn Iranian attack, urge 'restraint'		The U.N. Security Council met Sunday to discuss Iran's first direct military attack on Israel, its decades-long foe. A majority of the Security Council members, including the United States, condemned the attack, urging Middle Eastern leaders to avoid escalation of the six-month Israel-Gaza war. In its overnight attack, Iran sent more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel but did not cause major damage or injuries because a U.S.-led coalition destroyed most of the projectiles. Ambassadors for Iran, Syria, Russia and China criticized the support of the United States and other countries that helped shoot down the drones and missiles.	Washington Post	U.S. Coal Exports, Permian Earthquake: Your Daily Energy News
Iran's attack on Israel could be bad for Russia's war in Ukraine		Iran's attack on Israel on Saturday is bad not only for the Middle East but also for Russia's war in Ukraine as new fault lines emerge between Moscow and Tehran. Michelle Grisé, a senior policy researcher at RAND, an American think tank, described in a commentary how a broader conflict in the Middle East could impact Russia. "Although it has been argued that Moscow benefits from chaos in the Middle East - diverting Western attention and resources from Ukraine - it stands to lose a great deal if the Israel-Hamas conflict escalates into a wider war," Grisé wrote.	Business Insider	Gasoline Gets Political, But Voter Memory is Short
Ukraine's military chief warns of 'significantly' worsening battlefield situation in the east		Ukraine's military chief on Saturday warned that the battlefield situation in the industrial east has "significantly worsened in recent days," as warming weather allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh push along several stretches of the more 1,000 km-long (620-mile) front line. According to Syrskyy, Russian forces have been "actively attacking" Ukrainian positions in three areas of the eastern Donetsk region, near the cities of Lyman, Bakhmut and Pokrovsk, and beginning to launch tank assaults as drier, warmer spring weather has made it easier for heavy vehicles to move across previously muddy terrain.	AP News	IIR Tracks More than $1.7 Billion Worth of U.S. Firearms, Ammunition Projects
Oil slips as risk premium eases after Iran attack		Oil prices drifted lower on Monday, with the market downplaying the risk of broader regional conflagration after Iran's weekend attack on Israel. Oil benchmarks had risen on Friday in anticipation of Iran's retaliatory attack, with prices touching their highest since October. Iran saying it considers its retaliation to be over has lowered the geopolitical temperature, said Kpler analyst Viktor Katona, while John Evans at oil broker PVM said the Iranian drone and missile attack was "about as telegraphed a world event that people can remember".	Reuters	Enterprise Cleared for Major U.S. Oil Export Terminal
IEA downgrades oil demand growth forecast as prices heat up on elevated Middle East tensions		The International Energy Agency on Friday downgraded its forecast for 2024 oil demand growth, citing "exceptionally weak" OECD deliveries, a largely complete post-Covid-19 rebound and an expanding electric vehicle fleet. In its latest monthly oil market report, the IEA said it had revised down the forecast by around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.2 million bpd. The global energy watchdog said it expected the pace of expansion to decelerate even further to 1.1 million bpd next year "as the post-Covid 19 rebound has run its course." "We're seeing the surge in [electric vehicle] sales, especially in China and also in Europe, really taking into gasoline demand, but also in the United States," Toril Bosoni, head of the oil industry and markets division at the IEA, told CNBC's "Street Signs Europe" on Friday.	CNBC	Chinese-Made EVs Dominating European Market
Natural Gas News: Traders Seek Support Base Amidst High Storage Levels		U.S. natural gas futures are slightly down as traders seek to establish a support base. Despite an attempted breakout above the 50-day moving average last week, factors such as favorable weather, low LNG demand, and significant storage builds have stalled upward trends. The market reacted sharply to last Thursday's EIA report, which recorded a storage build exceeding expectations by more than 10 Bcf, causing a drop in prices. The weather forecast predicts mild conditions with temperatures ranging from 50s to 80s Fahrenheit across the U.S., suggesting continued light demand for the next week.	FX Empire	LNG Remains Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Banks Unwilling To Finance $5 Trillion Global Nuclear Development		After decades of being treated as the black sheep of the energy universe, nuclear energy is enjoying a renaissance in the U.S. and many Western countries thanks to the global energy crisis. Back in December, at the COP28 summit, 22 countries including the US, Canada, the UK, and France pledged to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050 (from 2020 levels). Last month, 34 nations, including the United States, China, France, Britain, and Saudi Arabia, committed "to work to fully unlock the potential of nuclear energy by taking measures such as enabling conditions to support and competitively finance the lifetime extension of existing nuclear reactors, the construction of new nuclear power plants and the early deployment of advanced reactors." ... But nuclear's revival might be dead in the water with lenders balking at financing what they consider a high-risk sector. Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency convened the first ever nuclear summit in Brussels. Unfortunately, bankers appeared unwilling to finance the $5 trillion the IAEA estimates the global nuclear industry needs for development until 2050.	OilPrice	India's Welspun to Invest Big in Green Hydrogen, Ammonia
Week 04/08/24 - 04/15/24		It is likely going to be a taxing week for the Western World - especially the United States - as diplomatic talks will be unfolding to determine paths forward for the wars in the Middle East as well as Eastern Europe. In the Middle East the question on everyone's mind is, "Is escalation imminent?" Speaking to Eastern Europe, Russia is mobilizing preparing for a Spring advance; however, the Western World - in particular the United States - is not yet providing the support in terms of "money and ammunition" that Ukraine is requesting to repel such an advance. Therefore, more geopolitical risk premium could find its way into energy markets, although at the moment Brent is back under $90 as its supposed run to $100 has stalled.
*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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