Full tankers idle as crude scrapes back near $40

Brent crude has doubled in price over the past six weeks, pulling back from the brink and the unprecedented step of negative US crude prices.   With Chinese demand increasing and the new OPEC cuts, with the extension being discussed right now, it has managed to drag prices to just under $40.   Meanwhile queues …

Oil tries again to accentuate the positives

Brent crude was unchanged at $37.84 a barrel, in the first day of trading in the contract with August as the front month. WTI crude futures for July delivery were at $35.53 a barrel, up 4 cents, or 0.1%, by 0629 GMT. OPEC+ is set to discuss a short extension of its current output cuts, …

Ship Shape: The End of the Road

One thing that has confusingly held true up to now was that, against all the trends of many other commodities and market, iron ore kept on rising. It has been the black sheep of the markets, standing there, teeth gritted, weathering the storm that had swept away many other markets. However, just as other markets …

Shine, shine, shine a light

We are seeing History in the making when the European Union announced its 750 billion- Euro ($824 billion) recovery package, aimed at boosting economic growth and creating a swathe of new jobs. The capital injection will have global financial markets breathing a sigh of relief, following the commitment from China at the Two Session to …

House Set to Back China Sanctions Amid Rising Tensions With U.S

The House of Representatives is poised to give final passage Wednesday to legislation that would sanction Chinese officials for human rights abuses against Muslim minorities, the latest in a series of moves by Congress and the White House to put pressure on the Beijing government. The measure was approved by unanimous consent in the Senate …

U.S. Mulls Sanctions on Chinese Officials, Firms Over Hong Kong

The U.S. is considering a range of sanctions to punish China for its crackdown on Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said, as the Trump administration weighs whether to declare the former colony has lost its autonomy from Beijing. The Treasury Department could impose controls on transactions and freeze assets of Chinese officials and …

Crude buoyed by Russia cuts, gasoil spreads flat

The crude market was buoyed by comments from Russia reporting its oil output had nearly dropped to its target of 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June under its supply cut deal with OPEC.   After a bank holiday yesterday and quiet trading, counterparties have come into the market this morning with …

Shale production tumbles as VLCC armada heads east

Oil production from the top seven shale regions in the U.S. is set to tumble to levels not seen since 2018 as drillers scale back in response to the recent price collapse, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude output from seven major shale formations expected to fall by a record 197,000 barrels per day in …

Commodities Bounce Back on Chinese Stimulus Anticipation and Vaccine Hopes

Freight prices jumped on Monday with front month Capesize futures up over 10% on anticipation of a large stimulus package out of China later this week. This created a knock-on effect into the smaller vessels with the Panamax front month futures up over 5%. Oil futures performed well with a USD 3.00 move higher, as …