Wednesday, 12 April 2023

Crude oil prices struggle to break free from static shell!

Crude oil prices struggle to break free from static shell!
The move of production cuts made by the OPEC+, branding it as a ' precautionary measure ' has not been successful in pushing the crude oil price up, apart from creating an understandable, initial stir in the markets at the  beginning of the last week. The failure appears to be consistent with …

Thursday, 6 April 2023

OPEC+ production cuts failed to excite the oil markets

OPEC+ production cuts failed to excite the oil markets
The price of crude oil, despite going up by almost 6% on Monday morning, thanks to the abrupt production cuts announced by the OPEC+, lost it momentum again as the days wore on.  As of 11:00 GMT, the prices of WTI and Brent were at $79.48 and $84.56 respectively. The OPEC+ announced on Sunday that th…

Monday, 3 April 2023

Why did the members of the OPEC+ change their hearts suddenly?

Why did the members of the OPEC+ change their hearts suddenly?
The sudden announcement by the OPEC+ - OPEC plus Russia - took us, the mere mortals, by surprise and it was a bolt from the blue, indeed.  The prominent members of the group announced that they would opt in for voluntary cuts in crude oil production from May; the numbers are not insignificant and th…

Friday, 24 March 2023

Oil price keeps falling as the influence of Chinese spark on the wane!

Oil price keeps falling as the influence of Chinese spark on the wane!
The price of crude oil continues to fall as the increased demand from China did not buckle the trend, something that was anticipated by a large number of analysts. Falling banking stocks in Europe over the state of Credit Suisse dealt a further blow to the beleaguered markets this week. In addition,…

Friday, 17 March 2023

Banking crisis weighs heavily on the crude oil markets

Banking crisis weighs heavily on the crude oil markets
The significant fall of crude oil price on Wednesday that was attributed to the troubles in the banking sector, slightly eased on Thursday, as the Swiss Central Bank came forward to throw a financial lifeline to Credit Suisse bank for its survival. Credit Suisse, the second largest Swiss bank, is a …

Wednesday, 8 March 2023

Oil prices show no sign of irreversible recovery, defying model based predictions

Oil prices show no sign of irreversible recovery, defying model based predictions
The price of crude oil remains in the volatile territory, despite the encouraging news on the Chinese factory activities, indicated by its long-waited Manufacturing Managers' Purchasing Index, known as the PMI; it has gone up by 2.6% in February, relative to what it was in January, 2023. Investo…

Wednesday, 1 March 2023

China's heightened industrial activities temporarily lift the mood in crude oil markets

China's heightened industrial activities temporarily lift the mood in crude oil markets
China's manufacturing activity in February, judging by its latest data on manufacturing purchasing managers' index, the PMI, has beaten forecast and recorded an impressive record - 52.6%. It is the most reliable gauge of manufacturing activity in China and an index above and below 50% indica…

Wednesday, 22 February 2023

Crude oil prices continue to remain static as crude inventories build

Crude oil prices continue to remain static as crude inventories build
The price of crude oil has remained static during the first three days of this week, completely in line with the recent trend. As of 16:20 GMT, the price of WTI, Brent and LNG, liquified natural gas, recorded $74.62, $81.31 and $2.19 respectively - hardly a significant deviation from the recent, res…

Thursday, 16 February 2023

Why did the US crude stocks go up so high in a week?

Why did the US crude stocks  go up so high in a week?
The US crude stocks have gone up in an unprecedented way during the past week, defying the estimates of the seasoned analysts, leaving the crude oil markets in a state of confusion, at best and a state of panic at worst.  On Tuesday, the API, American Petroleum Institute, released its weekly data th…