IIR's January 30 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
How the Fed and OPEC+ will influence oil prices this week		Crude oil prices this week will likely react to the upcoming rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve and decisions from the OPEC+ group, but don't discount a renewed geopolitical risk premium coming from Russia, analysts said. Crude oil prices have been a bit range bound during the latter half of January, with an increase in demand from China balancing recessionary concerns in Western economies. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, struggled to hit the $83 per barrel mark after a late week rally fizzled out during the Friday session.	Houston Chronicle	Bears, Bulls Argue Over China's Effect on 2023's Oil Markets
Oil slips as rate hikes loom and Russian flows stay strong		Oil slipped on Monday as looming increases to interest rates by major central banks and signs of strong Russian exports offset rising Middle East tension over a drone attack in Iran and hopes of higher Chinese demand. Investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, followed the day after by half-point increases by the Bank of England and European Central Bank. Any deviation from that script would be a shock. "The risk-off cautious mood in the market ahead of the central bank meetings is hurting risk assets, including oil," said City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta.	FXEmpire	IIR's January 23 Market Scorecard Brings You Breaking Geopolitical News
It's a key week for the stock market. If you're not nervous, you should be		Investors have got the jitters as a big week unfolds - several central bank meetings including the Fed, earnings from Apple and Amazon.com, and jobs data. Yikes. Any investor out there who isn't nervous, perhaps should recheck his gut, says our call of the day, from Standard Chartered's global head of research, Eric Robertsen. "We do not expect an extreme economic hard landing, but we think the proverbial Goldilocks scenario is too optimistic," Robertsen told clients in a Sunday note, adding that they are "now turning cautious on risky assets."	MarketWatch	World Contends with Energy Transition & Transformation
Saudi Arabia may lower crude prices to Asia for 4th straight month		Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, may trim prices for crude grades sold to Asia for a fourth straight month in March, amid low physical oil premiums, as oversupply worries linger despite expectations of demand recovery in China. State oil company Saudi Aramco may lower the official selling price of its flagship Arab Light crude by about 30 cents to Asian clients for March-loading cargoes, a Reuters survey of four refining sources showed.	Reuters	U.S. Rig Count, German LNG Terminal: Your Daily Energy News
Iran says drone attack on military site in Isfahan was thwarted		The Iranian defence ministry says it has foiled a drone attack on a military facility in the city of Isfahan. The ministry said the site suffered only minor damage, though this has not been independently verified. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying Israel was behind the attack. Israel has not commented. The purpose of the site is unclear, though reports suggest it could be connected to missile production.	BBC	Middle East Chemical Industry Sees Sharp Rise in Investments
Current Climate: Sea Level Rise Will Lead To Faster-Than-Expected Flooding On The Coasts		One of the most well-known impacts of climate change is rising sea levels, and already coastal areas have started making plans to handle the flooding that will come with rising ocean waters. But new research published this week finds that those plans might need to accelerate, as the scientists behind it found that the flooding impacts of increased sea levels are likely to happen faster than previously thought. Not because of any change in carbon emissions, but because of better technologies.	Forbes	IEA: Hydrogen Investment Needed to Stem Climate Change
Week 01/23/23 - 01/30/23		It's all in the Economics - all eyes - & yes optics - are on the financial markets this week as the energy commodity markets look for direction as we step into the second month of this New Year. For we continue to see-saw back-and-forth like on a teeter-totter at a playground. We are Up! with yet more tight supply and increasing demand - especially out of China as the Dragon re-awakens. Nope we are Down! because of economic jitters and recessionary pressures. What will the Central Banks do? Is the supposed "..economic strength.." out of the U.S. enough to prop up the world markets? Tune into the market news this week to find out, while yet keeping an eye on rising tensions in the Middle East.
*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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