Entries from Chemicals & The Economy tagged with 'Saudi Arabia'
Oil prices fall as West, Saudi, pressure Iran
Oil markets have weakened significantly since they fell out of their major 'triangle' formation earlier this month. WTI is already within the forecast $60-80/bbl range although, as the chart shows, Brent still maintains a $10/bbl premium at $90/bbl. Of course,...
Oil slips back into the triangle, as QE3 is postponed
Remarkably, crude oil prices are continuing to trade in their triangle formation. As the chart shows, they tried to break out higher in recent weeks. But there was no follow-through. The high-frequency traders were clearly hoping the US Federal Reserve...
China's PE market down 2.5% in H1
China's surging demand led the chemical world out of recession and into boom territory. Its 53% increase in polyethylene (PE) demand between 2008 - 2010 (up 6.2 MT), was typical of the support it provided. But H1 2011 has not...
Oil markets prepare for post-QE2 world
The decision by S&P, the ratings agency, to put the USA's AAA debt rating on review is a potential game-changer for US economic policy. It means that policymakers can no longer pretend the $5trn they have spent over the past...
High oil prices, financial speculation, worry IEA
The IEA (International Energy Agency) is now very worried about the impact of today's high oil prices on the global economy. Their chart above highlights the problem for the USA and EU. If oil prices average $100/bbl in 2011, then...
China tightens lending: Saudi may pump more oil
Recent days have seen some signs that the tectonic plates under current chemical and polymer markets may be starting to shift. The most important has been the rapid rise in inter-bank lending rates in Shanghai. As the chart shows from...
Shell sees "supply revolution" in natural gas
Natural gas markets, so important in relation to chemical feedstock availability and pricing, are undergoing major change as we transition to the New Normal. The Middle East, which had been in surplus, is now moving to a more balanced position...
Oil prices continue to plateau
Last year, OPEC meetings led to newspaper headlines. But today's session in Vienna seems to have slipped off the radar. Yet the oil market remains as important as ever to chemical companies. As the chart shows, the prime driver for...
OPEC seeks to hold oil prices
OPEC Oil Ministers, meeting today, have achieved 80% compliance with their announced production quotas. This is much higher than normal, and owes a lot to the hard-ball tactics played by Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer, in initially allowing...
IMF says "demand has collapsed", sees "deflation risk"
A year ago, the International Monetary Fund rightly warned that the world was facing a "serious economic slowdown". This week, it has updated its forecasts, and now "expects the global economy to come to a virtual standstill in 2009". This...
Saudi cuts oil output below OPEC quota
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, now seems to be moving to Phase 2 of its efforts to achieve a $75 - $100bbl price range. As the blog noted in early December, the Saudis' initial tactic was to play...
IEA revises down oil demand
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has cut its estimate of expected global GDP growth in 2009 to just 1.2%. It therefore expects the world to record its first back-to-back annual decline in oil demand since 1982/3. It says oil production...
Middle East liquidity dries up
In the soccer world, the UAE has been making headlines this week. It is proposing to fund the first-ever £100m ($150m) transfer - of the Brazilian player, Kaka, to Manchester City. But behind the scenes, the collapse of the oil...
Saudi plays hard-ball on oil prices
A month ago, with WTI at $70/bbl, the blog suggested that: "If refiners are forced to cut runs for December, then it would be hard for OPEC to cut its own production quickly enough to compensate. In that case, a...
OPEC cuts production, worries about demand
Two main factors weigh on oil markets. The first, as PetroMatrix note in their latest weekly report, is that speculative players in virtually all commodity markets are being forced to deleverage their positions, and so "the bottom will be dependent...
OPEC tries to hold $70/bbl oil
OPEC has called an emergency meeting for 18 November to discuss measures to combat collapsing oil prices. But as the blog noted last week, by then they could be looking to defend $50/bbl. And it seems Saudi Arabia agrees. Market...
OPEC says oil market 'over-supplied'
This morning, the blog is awarding itself a pat on the back. This is because, almost alone, it forecast in mid-July that oil prices 'could easily fall $50/bbl to $100/bbl' in the absence of any military action on Iran. And...
OPEC output, Chinese oil demand, hit records
OPEC's oil output hit an all-time record in July at 32.8Mbd, due to higher volumes from Saudi and Iran. The Saudi increase to 9.55Mbd was in line with their pledge at the Jeddah summit in June to raise output to...
Israel's training exercise worries oil markets
The US has now confirmed what oil traders have been suspecting - that Israel is preparing for a bombing raid on Iran's alleged nuclear facilities. According to Bloomberg and the New York Times, around 100 Israeli aircraft took part in...
A new 'North-South dialogue'
I've read several reports on the outcome of the Jeddah oil 'summit', and still feel no wiser than last week:...
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