IIR's July 29 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
Israel strikes 'deep inside' Lebanon after deadly attack		As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were granted the authority Sunday to decide the manner and timing of a response to the alleged attack by Hezbollah on the town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, according to the prime minister's office.	ABC News	U.S. Rig Count, Pemex Quarterly Loss: Your Daily Energy News
Zelensky visits Kharkiv frontline as Putin threatens Cold War-style missile crisis		Putin said if Washington deployed long-range missiles in Germany, it would do the same, in a threat echoing the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 which saw Russian nuclear weapons aimed at the US from Cuba. ...Germany vowed it would "not be intimidated" by Putin's threat to station long-range missiles in striking distance of the West. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones flew a record 1,100 miles to a base in Russia's Arctic far north in order to strike a supersonic long-range missile carrier. The ambitious raid on the Olenya airfield in Murmansk saw the drones operating just 200km from the Finnish border, officials said.	Independent	Drill or Chill? Biden's Withdrawal May Make Election Energy Choices Clearer
Oil prices stabilise after Golan Heights attack		Oil prices were stable on Monday as fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East after a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights balanced demand concerns to put a floor under last week's price losses. "Despite renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the lack of any supply disruptions limits any positive price reaction," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. The Brent and WTI benchmarks lost 1.8% and 3.7% respectively last week on sagging Chinese demand and hopes of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.	Reuters	High Crude Prices, Low Motor Fuel Demand Hurt U.S. and European Refiner Margins
Yen holds steady ahead of BOJ and Fed policy decisions		The yen held steady on Monday, with sentiment still fragile following the Japanese currency's best weekly rally since late April on the back of shifting interest rate expectations and a stock-market sell-off. Traders are now looking ahead to policy decisions by the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve, both on Wednesday, for further direction. Rising speculation for a BOJ interest rate hike this week has helped buoy the yen, with the Fed also widely expected to set the stage for a September rate cut.	CNBC	EDF Loses out to Korea's KHNP for Czech Nuclear Project
Natural Gas Price Forecast: Steady as Market Tests Critical $2.00 Support Level		Natural gas futures are trading steady on Monday, with the market poised to test critical support levels. Last week's sharp decline has set the stage for a potential breakthrough of the $2.00 psychological barrier, with the February 2024 bottom of $1.907 emerging as the next possible target. Production estimates remain robust at around 101 Bcf/d, maintaining the supply abundance that has been weighing on price recovery. This oversupply situation continues to overshadow positive industry sentiment, including Baker Hughes' reported strong orders for natural gas and LNG equipment. Variable weather conditions across the country are contributing to market uncertainty. While some regions face high temperatures, others enjoy milder conditions, creating an uneven landscape for cooling demand.	FX Empire	Low Gas Prices Snuff Canadian Output
China's solar dominance not an issue		China produces most of the world's solar panels. However, this concentration of industry should not be particularly concerning. Electrification of everything via solar and wind eliminates vulnerability to disruption of fossil fuel supply for vehicles, heating & cooling, industry and aviation. Solar confers a high degree of economic resilience to trade disruption by getting rid of fossil fuels. Solar is effectively unconstrained by cost, land availability, materials availability, or environmental and social impact. No other energy technology can match this. If solar panel supply from China abruptly ceased it would be an annoyance rather than a crisis.	PV Magazine	Xcel, DP Energy Receive Key Permits for Minnesota, Alberta Solar Projects
Can the World Kick Its Addiction to Plastic?		Global plastic production has increased dramatically over the last century, leading to widespread pollution and environmental damage. Several governments are implementing policies to reduce their dependence on plastics, such as bans on single-use plastic products and taxes on virgin resin. Over 170 countries joined a treaty to bring an end to plastic pollution, expected to be launched by the end of 2024. The treaty addresses the lifecycle of plastics, considering production through to waste management. It aims to promote sustainable production and consumption and encourage a circular economy for plastics. The hope is to solve the plastics problem within a generation. By committing to the treaty, Winnie Lau, the director of the Preventing Ocean Plastics project at the Pew Charitable Trusts, believes "we can solve this problem and cut plastic going into the environment by 80% by 2040."	OilPrice	Asia Stretches Its Dominance into Synthetic Rubber Production
Week 07/22/24 - 07/29/24		Is there now a Middle East regional conflict brewing as Israel retaliates deep into Lebanon after an alleged Hezbollah attack? Mr. Oil Market - for the moment - does not believe so as prices remain muted indicating little fear of supply disruption. Instead, his eyes and ears are more on economic indicators and pending Central Bank news out of Asia and the U.S. this week. China's economic woes have weighed on the energy complex for much of this year, and an anticipated U.S. Fed announcement of rate cuts in September could bolster both the economic and energy markets into the end of this year. A year's end where much of the world will be watching the U.S. Election results as a harbinger of what could lie in store - geopolitics, economics and fundamentals.
*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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