IIR's January 23 Market Scorecard Brings You Breaking Geopolitical News

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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
China, Russia remain focus for oil, but keep an eye on products		The song remains the same for the price of oil, with both Chinese and Russian developments as the main driving factors, but attention may shift this week to refined products, analysts said. The price of crude oil was volatile last week, with strong morning rallies disappearing by midday in most cases. The market looks uncertain. Rallies on positive data from China have been quickly offset by recessionary fears elsewhere. In Europe, central bank officials vowed to stay the course on aggressive rate hikes, while British inflation remains in double-digit territory. But the U.S. job market remains resilient against various headwinds.	Houston Chronicle	IIR's January 16 Market Scorecard Brings You Breaking Geopolitical News
Rally Stalls in Thin Trade, but China Demand Outlook Offers Support		Although the rally is waning early Monday, it's still hovering near a one-month high reached last week, with bullish traders hanging on to their long positions in anticipation of stronger growth out of China. Commodity analysts at ANZ said in a note last week that data shows a solid pick-up in travel in China after COVID-19 curbs were eased. They reported a 22% jump in road traffic congestion so far this month from a year earlier in the country's 15 key cities. The news is impressive enough to underpin oil prices, but in order to fuel a strong rally, investors would like to see a jump in factory output.	FXEmpire	U.S. Rig Count, German LNG Terminal: Your Daily Energy News
Oil market braces for fresh turmoil as EU prepares to cut off Russian diesel		The EU is on the brink of effectively severing ties with its biggest external diesel supplier when sanctions on imports of refined fuel from Russia take effect early next month. The move, which will be co-ordinated with a G7-backed global price cap on Russia's refined fuel sales from February 5.... One senior oil trader at a European commodities house said there was the prospect of a "s--t show" developing in oil markets in the coming weeks, due to the logistical challenges involved, when China's reopening of its economy is expected to boost demand.	Financial Times	World Wonders About Crude Oil and Product Supply
Europe's 'moderated' winter affects global energy market		Europe's "moderated" winter has caused the global energy market to "settle down a bit" amid Australia's current energy price crisis, Lead Writer of The Australian Graham Lloyd says. "We've started the new year pretty much where we left off last year - with a bit of confusion and uncertainty in the energy markets," Mr. Lloyd told Sky News Australia. "The impact of the government's interventions won't be known for a long time and it will really decide the relations between the industry and the government and that'll be what matters."	Sky News	'Known, Unknown' Factors Roil Oil Prices, Frustrate Forecasters
Davos 2023: Big oil comes in from the cold on energy transition		A different type of energy transition has taken place at this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting. Unlike 2021's COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, where oil and gas executives were personae non gratae, fossil fuel chiefs and renewable energy bosses sat cheek by jowl in Davos. Tejpreet Chopra, who heads one of India's clean energy firms Bharat Light and Power, was surprised to be invited to a side-event with more than 60 top oil and gas executives. "The course of this transition will have to take a more inclusive approach until we all get to the finish line of where we all want to be," he told Reuters. This shift, partly triggered by the energy crunch after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been front and center in Davos.	Reuters	World Contends with Energy Transition & Transformation
Week 01/16/23 - 01/23/23		A Dragon's Lunar New Year - As like the Western New Year, the Lunar one unfolding in the Asian world portends a Dragon's (China's) re-opening, which will greatly increase demand and subsequently roil the energy markets. Much volatility will ensue. And, on top of the Dragon opening its hungry maw - in a few weeks the G7 is seeking to impose sanctions on refined products out of The Bear (Mother Russia). So one is best advised - in this "..energy transformation world car.." to hold on tight to the panic bar/oh sh-t handle as this is going to be "..quite the crazy ride.." early in this Lunar New Year. The markets might "..flip.." a few times making "..traders' cast iron stomachs.." a bit queasy...
*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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