Saudi Oil Exports Dropped in March: down from 7.307 to 7.235 mbd

The crude oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of the commodity, have fallen from 7.307 to 7.235 mbd in March, according to the data provided by the OPEC on regular basis. The fall is significant in light of the war in Ukraine, because analysts expected a steep spike from …

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Saudi Aramco's profit surges by 81% in Q1

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, reported a massive 81% increase in profit during the first quarter this year, thanks to the high oil prices. It went past another milestone last week by dethroning Apple as the most valuable company in the world - for a brief period. Despite the obvious sens…

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High energy prices and inflation: will the onset of the hurricane season make things worse?

The impact of the surging crude oil prices, exacerbated by the steep rise in the price  of the LNG, liquified natural gas, on the global economy is now all too clear and the policymakers are scrambling for solutions before it reaches the point of no-return. In inverse proportion to the skyrocketing i…

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Volatility in Crude Oil Markets: is concern over the Chinese economy, a major factor?

The volatility in the energy markets continues amidst growing uncertainty over the global economic growth, despite the catastrophic impact on the world from the Covid-19 virus clearly behind us. As far as the crude oil markets are concerned, there was a significant fall in the prices on Tuesday, whe…

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Russian Victory Day Parade did not push the crude oil price

The price of crude oil did not spike in the wake of the Russian Victory Day parade on Monday, in stark contrast to media speculations about declaring all-out-war against Ukraine. The combination of the impressive military marches and display of the latest military hardware, including the dreaded ICB…

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High crude oil prices: perfect catalyst- exponential rise in gas prices

The price of LNG,  liquefied natural gas, has gone up by over 100% since February this year and in the presence of such an increase, any hope of oil prices coming down at pumps just remains a distant dream. We have been told, both by irrefutable statistics and reliable analysts, that a recession is m…

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Oil Price: API reports a significant US crude inventory draw - exceeding its own estimate

Amidst mushrooming uncertainties, the API, American Petroleum Institute, reported a significant draw of the US crude inventories during the last week, exceeding its own estimate for the period - 1.167 million barrels. Analysts hope that the data from the EIA, US Energy Information Administration, wi…

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Crude oil prices: factors beyond producers' grasp

As the price of crude oil shows no sign of abating, the risk of a global recession has increased alarmingly, according to economists. With the conflict between Russia and Ukraine showing no sign of coming to an end soon, the supply side of the oil equation is not going to improve at all in the curre…

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Oil price: no sign of falling below $100

Despite the crude build in the US, consistently confirmed by two reports in the past two days, the price of crude oil shows no sign of losing momentum in its upward trend. Both API, American Petroleum Institute, and the EIA, US Energy Information Administration, released data that shows a crude buil…

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Is Russian rouble defying sanctions - after all?

The unexpected recovery of the Russian rouble by more than 42% in one month has, undoubtedly,  left the decision makers in the West in an uncomfortable lurch, especially when the expected outcome was the exact inverse.  Making matters worse for the policymakers, the anticipated oil and gas revenue b…

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US crude oil stocks drop - unexpectedly!

The US crude oil stocks fell by 4.496 million barrels, defying the prediction of a crude oil build of 2.233 barrels, according to the API, American Petroleum Institute.  Analysts anticipated yet another build, in line with the huge crude build reported last week - 7.757 million barrels, while taking…

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What drives the oil and gas prices down - against all odds?

The price of crude oil and LNG, liquefied natural gas, started falling on Tuesday - quite unexpectedly. In fact, the crude oil market braced themselves for the polar opposite, especially in light of the new major offensive by Russia in the east of Ukraine. As of 16:30 GMT, the price of WTI, Brent and…

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Crude oil prices: no sign of coming down - any time soon!

It is now clear that the release of SPRs, strategic petroleum reserves, is not a magic wand in reversing the steep rise in crude oil prices; the movers and shakers of the markets simply know that the release is just a drop in the ocean, just to earn a psychological victory for political reasons bef…

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