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Energy – Fed key for short term price direction Sentiment in the oil market has improved with ICE Brent settling a little more than 1% higher yesterday. The market is more optimistic following China’s Politburo meeting, where there were promises for more support measures for the domestic economy. However, up until now, there haven’t appeared to be any actual policies that have been announced. Overnight, the API also released US inventory numbers which showed that US crude oil inventories increased by 1.32MMbbls, whilst crude stocks at Cushing fell by 2.34MMbbls. ...

DCE iron ore futures market still rose . the main contract closed 866. an increase of 1.76% throughout the day.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 1.319 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending July 21. Analysts had expected a drop of 1.969 million barrels for the week. The API reported a decline of 0.797 million barrels in the previous week. Oil prices gained on Tuesday. The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery added 89 cents to settle at 79.63 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Source: Xinhua

The Opec+ bloc is taking adequate measures for the stability of the oil market, the UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said in India as market analysts argued that voluntary oil production cuts by oil exporting countries might keep crude oil prices elevated and impact demand. “I believe what we are doing in Opec+ is adequate and we are addressing that (demand and supply). We are doing this on behalf of all producers around the world and for the benefit of balancing demand and supply for all the consumers as ...

The price of Russia’s flagship Urals oil blend averaged $56 per barrel in the second quarter and traded almost 30% below the benchmark Brent blend, the Russian central bank said in its review. It was also around 29% below the average price in April-June 2022. The Group of Seven leading Western economies, along with the European Union and Australia, agreed on Dec. 5 to ban the use of Western-supplied maritime insurance, finance and brokering for seaborne Russian oil priced above $60 per barrel as part of Western sanctions on Moscow ...

Stocks around the world fell on Wednesday as caution reigned ahead of an expected U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate rise later in the day that may see rates go up to their highest since the global financial crisis. European stocks fell as much as 0.3% in early trading, with indexes in Germany and France slipped 0.2% and 1.1% respectively. The Fed’s July decision will be announced later on Wednesday following a two-day meeting. The benchmark rate is expected to be lifted to a range between 5.25% and 5.5% – roughly ...

The dollar hovered close to a two week high on Wednesday ahead of an expected U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate rise later in the day. Traders also awaited policy decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) this week. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, edged 0.17% lower to 101.14, but was close to a two week high touched on Tuesday. Money market traders see a quarter point hike from the Federal Reserve later on Wednesday as a near certainty, ...

China’s new central bank governor Pan Gongsheng brings with him the reputation of a firefighting technocrat, signalling growing concerns among the country’s leadership over systemic risks in the $57 trillion financial sector. Pan, who came to prominence fighting capital outflows last decade, will be tasked with stabilising a faltering yuan, steering the world’s second-largest economy away from deflationary pressures, and fending off mounting risks of financial instability. A drop of more than 6% in the yuan over the past six months has raised concerns over capital outflows. A downturn in ...

With the Federal Reserve steaming toward another interest rate hike this week, policymakers face a choice over how much weight to put on recent economic data that has made hoped-for outcomes on inflation and unemployment seem more likely while also posing a risk the economy is too strong to keep prices in line. Since the U.S. central bank’s policy meeting in June, inflation has slowed more than expected towards the Fed’s 2% target, with many analysts arguing a cycle of moderating price hikes is underway and should continue without further ...

Stressing the “higher for longer” to counter market rate cut speculation A 25bp hike is a done deal. More relevant is what the European Central Bank will signal as its next steps. Given the surprisingly dovish remarks by some of its most hawkish members, a renewed commitment to future hikes – as we have seen in past meetings – seems unlikely. Switching to greater data dependency for the meeting ahead will be viewed as mildly dovish and could see markets nudge down hike expectations, which are close to fully discounting ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, extended declines on Tuesday pressured by lower demand for panamax and supramax vessel segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell by 5 points or 0.5% to 962, its lowest in more than seven weeks. The capesize index edged up by 2 points to 1,424. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes carrying commodities such as iron ore and coal, increased by $11 to ...

Major Greek ship owners have turned their sights towards bulkers, making big moves of late. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “the strategies of major/traditional owners usually have a knock-on effect on mid/small owners who tend to adopt them or at least seriously consider them in their own strategies. Having witnessed a resurgence in Dry NB orders placed by Greeks since the beginning of the year, led by owners such as Dynacom, Danaos, TMS, Sea Traders, Safe Bulkers, Meadway, Byzantine, Neda, Century Bulk Carrier, etc., it is ...

A commitment to support the private sector’s growth, issued jointly by China’s State Council and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on 19 July, provides a strong signal of the authorities’ efforts to improve confidence within the business community, says Fitch Ratings. However, the impact of the policies on investment and economic growth will depend on how this approach is executed and the detailed policies implemented to support the policy goal. The increased emphasis on support for privately owned enterprises (POEs) comes as officials seek to boost ...

An upturn in global coal trade looks likely in 2023, after a pause last year. Trade volume may approach the peak seen four years ago. But pessimism about the longer term trend still overshadows the view ahead, amid an international push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by shifting energy use towards cleaner alternatives. Prospects for coal trade are an important element of the outlook for the dry bulk freight market. Coal comprises well over a fifth of all global seaborne dry bulk trade’s volume, employing many sizes of bulk carrier ...

British manufacturing orders declined in July at the weakest rate this year, while expectations for increases in selling prices cooled further, an industry survey showed on Tuesday. The Confederation of British Industry’s monthly balance of new orders rose this month to -9 from -15 in June, the highest reading since December and above its long-run average of -13. Its gauge of output for the past three months also turned positive for the first time this year as optimism – based on a quarterly reading of the CBI survey – rose ...