IIR's March 11 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
Netanyahu vows to defy Biden's 'red line' on Rafah		Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he intends to press ahead with an invasion of the city of Rafah on the southern border of the Gaza Strip in defiance of United States President Joe Biden, who has warned such an offensive would be a "red line." Amid signs of increasing frustration with Netanyahu, the U.S. president told MSNBC on Saturday that he opposed an escalation of the conflict into Rafah, and that he could not accept "30,000 more Palestinians dead."	Politico	China Crude Oil Imports, YPF Shale Investment: Your Daily Energy News
Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin's forces launch drone attack as Zelensky slams Pope 'raise white flag' comment		Russian forces launched an overnight drone attack on the southern Odesa region in Ukraine as president Volodymyr Zelensky hit back at Pope Francis's call to negotiate with Russia. Ukrainian air defences shot down 15 out of 25 Russian drones launched in an overnight attack on the southern Odesa region, but an infrastructure facility was hit, regional officials said on Monday.	Independent	More than 200 U.S. Terminals Prep for Second-Quarter Maintenance
Crude Oil News Today: Stabilizing Despite Wavering China Demand Issues		Crude oil prices are currently showing a steady trend, maintaining nearly flat levels after earlier declines. This movement corresponds with decreases in Treasury yields and a weakening U.S. Dollar. This stability contrasts with last week's trend, where Brent fell 1.8% and WTI 2.5%, primarily due to concerns about reduced demand from China, a major global oil consumer. China's economic health directly impacts crude oil demand. The recent slowdown in China's demand, evidenced by softer import data, is a key concern for traders.The ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict and increasing tensions in regions involving Russia, including Moldova, are closely watched for their potential impact on global oil supply.	FX Empire	U.S. Begins Slow Recovery from Heavy Refinery Maintenance Season
Saudi oil giant Aramco posts 25% fall in full-year profit		Saudi Arabia's state oil giant Aramco reported a 25% decline in profit to $121.3 billion in 2023, down from $161.1 billion in 2022. The result still represents Aramco's second-highest ever net income. The earnings come after the Saudi government transferred an additional 8% of Aramco shares, worth $164 billion, to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. "The year-on-year decrease can be attributed to lower crude oil prices and volumes sold, as well as reduced refining and chemicals margins, partially offset by a decrease in production royalties during the year and lower income taxes and zakat," Aramco said in a statement.	CNBC	U.S. Manufacturers Boost Capital-Spending Expectations, but Federal Policies Threaten that Growth
Natural Gas News: Futures Tumble Amid Warm Weather and Low Demand		U.S. natural gas futures are experiencing a notable decline on Monday, influenced by weather conditions and market trends. Recent weather patterns, especially warmer-than-expected temperatures, have significantly impacted natural gas demand. NatGasWeather is forecasting mild conditions across most of the U.S. for March 11-17, leading to very low demand. These conditions are expected to persist, with only a temporary spike in demand anticipated around March 17-20 due to colder weather. In response to the falling prices, major industry players have slashed production. Output in the Lower 48 states dropped to around 100.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), a decrease from February's 104.1 bcfd average. Chesapeake Energy plans a 30% reduction in 2024 production, and EQT has curtailed nearly 1 bcfd of production through March.	FXEmpire	Texas A&M Forest Service: Power Lines Involved in Igniting Texas Panhandle Wildfires
Vopak, Air Liquide to jointly develop Singapore ammonia and hydrogen infrastructure		Tank storage firm Vopak (VOPA.AS) said on Monday that it has signed an agreement with industrial gas company Air Liquide to develop and operate infrastructure for ammonia import, cracking and hydrogen distribution in Singapore. The companies will look at developing low-carbon ammonia supply chains in Singapore, including ammonia cracking facilities, storage and handling infrastructure at Vopak's Banyan terminal, as well as distributing low-carbon hydrogen through a hydrogen pipeline network, Vopak said. "As Singapore gears up for receiving and handling ammonia for power generation and bunkering, cracking of ammonia into hydrogen presents an additional application to help the industry shift to lower carbon feedstock," Rob Boudestijn, president at Vopak Singapore, said. The company also recently announced it will convert part of Singapore Sebarok terminal for marine biofuel blending.	Reuters	Louisiana Blue Ammonia Project Gets Offtake Agreement
Week 03/04/24 - 03/11/24		Springing forward into troubled waters as tensions seemingly boil over both in the Middle East as well as Eastern Europe with expectations that escalation of these wars could be imminent. Meanwhile, economic woes continue to plague China, which the world looks to to bolster energy demand. Likely why OPEC+ extended its cuts this past week as realization is slowly setting in that 2024 is not going to witness much - if any - global economic recovery as struggles also persist in the Eurozone. So all eyes turn to the troubles brewing with the Russia-Ukraine war as well as the Israel-Hamas war, expecting more geopolitical risk premiums in energy commodity market pricing.
*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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