Released April 17, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
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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 |
| GDP data from China set to impact global oil markets |  |
Data due out from China this week will help set the tone for crude oil prices, though weakness elsewhere could create headwinds for any major gains, market analysts said. The bears outweighed the bulls last week, though prices were somewhat volatile day to day. "The market is anticipating a tighter supply and demand balance for the second half of this year," said Ann-Louise Hittle, the vice president for oil markets research at Wood Mackenzie. Recent gains in the price of oil, however, followed a dismal outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is fretting over a possible recession, and the International Monetary Fund, which said global economic growth over the next five years could be the slowest since 1990. |
Houston Chronicle | U.S. Natural Gas Injections, China Crude Oil Imports: Your Daily Energy News |
| Oil slips as recession fears loom over economic data |  |
Oil prices turned lower on Monday as investors mulled over a possible May interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which could dampen economic recovery hopes, though Chinese GDP data was expected to augur well for demand growth. ...."Crude futures were relatively rangebound as a fresh week began ... with the OPEC/non-OPEC output cuts announced a fortnight ago fully baked in", Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, said. "The oil complex continues to digest ongoing signs of a U.S. economic cool-down." |
FXEmpire | Saudi Arabia's Cement Sector Sees Growth |
| Why 5% interest rates might not derail the stock market or the U.S. economy |  |
Here's a thought for investors: If the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to 5% or more would that wreck the economy and stock prices? ....Doomsday investors, including hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer, have been warning against that outcome. Singer thinks a credit crunch and deep recession may be necessary to purge dangerous levels of froth in markets after an era of near-zero interest rates. ..."A 5% interest rate is not going to break the market," said Ben Snider, managing director, and U.S. portfolio strategist at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a phone interview with MarketWatch. |
MarketWatch | Mexico's President Lopez Obrador Announces Purchase of 13 Power Plants from Iberdrola |
| G7 coalition to keep Russian oil price cap at $60 per barrel | |
The Group of Seven (G7) coalition will keep a $60 per barrel price cap on seaborne Russian oil, a coalition official said, despite rising global crude prices and calls by some countries for a lower price cap to restrict Moscow's revenues. The G7 and Australia made the decision to maintain the cap over the past few weeks after a review of the $60 price - set in December with an aim to reduce Moscow's ability to finance its war in Ukraine, the official said on condition of anonymity... Coalition officials concluded the price cap was working to both limit Russian revenue while maintaining energy market stability, but said they would continue coordinating to ensure effective monitoring and enforcement, the official added. |
Reuters | What's Truly 'Clean'? Energy Industry Weighs Costs of Transition |
| The Energy Report: IEA Versus OPEC | |
Tensions are rising between the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC. While there has always has been tension between the IEA, which supposedly represent the interests of oil consuming countries and OPEC, a cartel that can restrict supplies, the tensions between the two organizations is at a fever pitch and the bad blood is boiling over the barrel. The IEA, in their monthly report, calls out OPEC for their recent production cut saying that OPEC is: "aggravating an expected oil supply deficit in second half of 2023 and boosting oil prices at a time of heightened economic uncertainty, even as industrial activity slows in the world's largest economies and production growth outside the alliance appears robust." OPEC for their part disagrees that producers outside the alliance are being honest brokers as far as keeping production high especially when here in the US the Biden administration is slowing down permits and the EPA is trying to force Americans out of their internal combustion cars and trucks. |
Investing.com | EIA: The Inflation Reduction Act Will Drive Down CO2 Emissions by 2050 |
| EPA proposes new tailpipe rules that could push EVs to make up two-thirds of new car sales in US by 2032 | |
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed ambitious new car pollution rules that could require electric vehicles to account for up to two-thirds of new cars sold in the US by 2032, in what would be one of the Biden administration's most aggressive climate-change policies yet. The tailpipe standards would also have the effect of cutting planet-warming pollution from cars in half. Transportation accounts for nearly 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US, according to the EPA. EPA Administrator Michael Regan called the regulations "the strongest-ever federal pollution standards for cars and trucks." |
CNN | Transportation is Getting Greener |
| Week 04/10/23 - 04/17/23 | |
Tug o' War in the extreme... between tightening supply & weakening demand... between Central Bank interest rates & Mr. Market... between the Russian Bear & G7.. between the U.S. Eagle & the Dragon.. between OPEC+ & the IEA... between a recession or an economic recovery... between authoritarianism & democracy... No one is yet sure which way it will all play out... exactly what will tip the scales in favor of the Bulls or the Bears... although many crystal balls are out... and many magic eight balls are being consulted with it all coming down to Outlook is Hazy... | ||
| *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. | ||||
