Hedge funds purchased crude futures and options at the fastest rate for six months as portfolio managers became increasingly confident OPEC+ will postpone scheduled output increases until demand is stronger. The equivalent of 55 million barrels was purchased by hedge funds and other money managers in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts in the week to Oct. 22. Buying was concentrated in NYMEX and ICE WTI (+36 million barrels) and Brent (+20 million), with only minor adjustments in U.S. diesel (+2 million) and European gasoil (-4 million) ...

The crude oil market started the week of Oct. 26 lower as COVID-19 cases continued trending up in Europe and the US, while concerns of rising Libya output also capped sentiment recovery. At 0200 GMT, December ICE Brent crude futures were pegged at $41.10/b, down $1.33/b from the previous Asia close on Oct. 23, S&P Global Platts data showed. MIDDLE EAST CRUDE **Asian refiners have mostly purchased their requirements for December-loading sour crude barrels over the last two weeks. **Sentiment has improved amid a sudden uptick in buying interest from ...

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday that the worst was over for the oil market. “I guess the worst part is over,” Prince Abdulaziz said at the virtual India Energy Forum by CERAWeek when asked to comment on the status of the oil market recovery. “We are still vigilant. I think there is a big shift all together in terms of where we are today and where we were in April and May,” he said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including ...

Indian oil demand is recovering faster than expected, with gasoline consumption already at pre-pandemic levels, and the upcoming festival reason is expected to give a further boost to overall oil-product consumption, Indian Oil Corp. Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya told S&P Global Platts in an interview. While the country’s appetite for jet fuel would continue to suffer in the near term, Vaidya added that higher auto sales were supporting oil consumption. “Gasoline has already crossed the pre-COVID-19 levels, and diesel too is edging towards pre-COVID-19 levels. The festive season would give ...

Higher taxes imposed on Russia’s energy sector could make prolonged output curbs by OPEC and allied producers easier to stomach for Moscow’s energy majors. The new system of taxes, approved by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month to help Russia weather the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, make it more expensive for energy companies to boost production from mature oil fields and produce more heavy crude. That could make Russia’s energy sector more willing to accept tighter policies from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ...

European equities fell in early Tuesday trading as risk-aversion swept markets, with a resurgence of coronavirus cases threatening the global economic recovery and caution ahead of U.S. elections on Nov. 3. Wall Street had its worst day in a month on Monday, and Asian markets also fell overnight. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was down 0.1% at 0828 GMT, having erased some losses overnight after dropping to a 19-day low in the previous session. MSCI’s main European Index was at a one-month low, down ...

The U.S. dollar clung to gains on Tuesday, but other safe-haven currencies were mostly quiet as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of next week’s U.S. election, even as worries about a second wave of COVID-19 and economic impact rose. Monday saw the steepest stock market sell-off in a month and a bond rally, but foreign exchange market activity has remained relatively muted, with price moves in early Tuesday limited. That said, analysts warned investors were clearly cautious after the United States, Russia and France all hit new daily records ...

The outlook of the global economy is not as grim as expected. According to the research data analyzed and gathered by StockApps.com, there will be a 4.5% drop in global GDP in 2020 as opposed to the 6% global decline experts estimated in June 2020. On the bright side, an OECD Economic Outlook report for September 2020 forecasts a remarkable recovery by 2021, marked by a 5.0% GDP growth. In 2020, the Euro area will be one of the most adversely affected as its GDP will plummet by 7.9%. On ...

European monetary policymaker Pablo Hernandez de Cos on Monday called for cross-border banking consolidation in Europe to strengthen the European banking union and increase lenders’ geographical diversification. European banks are under growing pressure to join forces to deal with rising bad debts and record-low interest rates as they battle the fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic. “European transnational operations would be particularly positive and would also foster a potential bigger client base to share the burden of technological investments,” De Cos said at a financial event. He added however that ...

A collapse in transportation costs over the decades, especially by sea, led to the establishment of global supply chains and manufacturing networks, wherein a product is made across different countries. Mint looks at how this led to nations overstating their exports and imports. Where does most production happen? As Matthew C. Klein and Michael Pettis write in Trade Wars Are Class Wars: “Most of the world’s manufacturing takes place in one of the three cross-border manufacturing networks centred on the US, Germany, and China.” The intermediate goods, which go into ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell on Monday, on lower rates for capesize vessels. The Baltic index fell 13 points, or 0.9%, to 1,402. The capesize index fell 54 points, or 2.4%, to 2,207. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, slipped $445 to $18,304. Iron ore futures hit a four-week low on Monday, as China’s portside inventory piled up to its highest since February and worries about future demand ...

Upgrading the main engines of very large gas carriers to dual fuel technology using LPG to reduce sulfur emissions would cost more than three times that of retrofitting scrubbers, a senior Dorian LPG official said. Research and preliminary engineering studies by the company to upgrade the main engines of up to 10 of its VLGCs to dual fuel technology showed “significantly higher” capital expenditure than deemed necessary to justify the investment, the company’s chief financial officer Ted Young said. “Capital expenditure for dual fuel LPG upgrade is generally quoted at ...

The operator of an oil tanker stormed in the English Channel by British special forces thanked the authorities on Monday for their timely response, saying help was requested after seven stowaways who boarded in Nigeria turned hostile. Troops from the Special Boat Service, Britain’s elite naval special forces unit, boarded the Greek-operated Nave Andromeda near the Isle of Wight off southern England after the master of the ship said he was concerned about the safety of his crew. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorised the armed ...

Ship arrest is a complicated area of civil law which may well vary in different jurisdictions. In Cyprus, ship arrest is enforced by the Administration of Justice Act Part 1 of the Arrest Convention in 1952, as adopted by the United Kingdom, by virtue of Cyprus’ Constitution and section 29 of Law the Courts of Justice Act (14/60). In brief, a ship is arrested if legal action is taken against the ship itself – known as case of an action in rem, in order to enforce a maritime lien or ...

Amid the criticism of the results of the IMO intercessional GHG working group, the World Shipping Council urges member states to not lose sight of the ultimate goal of decarbonising shipping. A detailed proposal to get us there lies ready for MEPC 75. “Whilst it is easy to criticize the outcome of the intercessional, it is worth remembering that anything short of a global solution represents long-term failure on climate change. We need to stick with this hard work, but the task is urgent, and we must move further, faster. ...