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Natural Gas Rises a Third Day on Forecast for Falling Stockpiles

Natural gas increased for a third day on speculation the U.S. government will report a record drop in stockpiles after last week’s cold weather. Futures for February delivery rose as much as 1.4 percent to $4.333 per million British thermal units in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and were at $4.315 at 4:18 p.m. Singapore time. The contract climbed 5.5 percent yesterday, the most since April 29, to settle at $4.274. The volume of all futures traded was about 13 percent above the 100-day average. Prices are up 2 percent so far this year. Gas inventories probably fell by 303 billion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 10, Citi Futures Perspective said before Energy Information Administration data on Jan. 16. That would surpass the biggest-ever decline of 285 billion on Dec. 13. Stockpiles totaled 2.817 trillion cubic feet on Jan. 3, 10 percent below the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Hard-Liners in Iran Offer Mild Praise for Interim Nuclear Agreement

Iranian hard-liners on Monday cautiously welcomed the completion of an interim nuclear agreement that will provide Tehran with some relief from Western economic sanctions in return for a suspension of certain nuclear activities for six months. “This is the first step toward a cease-fire,” Rasoul Sanaeirad, a political assistant to the Revolutionary Guards, told the semiofficial Fars news agency on Monday. “It seems the Americans are determined to overcome the atmosphere of conflict.” The agreement was reached on Sunday after seven weeks of negotiations over the details on how to put in place the compromises in principle outlined in November by Iran and the so-called P5-plus-1, the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. The agreement will now officially be carried out next Monday. According to the Obama administration, Iran will get around $7 billion in sanctions relief that will be doled out over the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iran deal progress dampens push for new U.S. sanctions bill

President Barack Obama is more likely to win his battle with the U.S. Congress to keep new sanctions on Iran at bay now that world powers and Tehran have made a new advance in talks to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Despite strong support for a bill in the Senate to slap new sanctions on the Islamic Republic, analysts, lawmakers and congressional aides said on Monday that the agreement to begin implementing a nuclear deal on January 20 makes it harder for sanctions supporters to attract more backers. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, was one of several of the 59 co-sponsors who said there is no clamor for a vote any time soon. "I want to talk to some of my colleagues. I’m encouraged and heartened by the apparent progress and certainly the last thing I want to do is impede that progress. But […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fighting Among Rebels Boosts Syrian Regime

The Assad regime is gaining ground as it takes advantage of infighting between Syrian opposition groups, in a sign of how the rise of extremists could tip the balance in the three-year-old civil war. Pro-regime forces have consolidated recent gains in and around the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s economic hub. These forces are also geared up to recapture more territory around the city, in a potential major setback for rebels after 18 months of battles to oust the regime from parts of the city that have remained under its control. In one area, moderate rebels late last week succeeded in forcing extremists from Naqareen, northeast of the city. That withdrawal enabled pro-regime forces to move in against a weakened rebel contingent on Sunday. Pro-regime forces are also preparing for an assault on rebels in the nearby Sheikh Najjar area—a sprawling industrial district, said a resident and opposition activists. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Egypt referendum: Vote to begin amid tight security

Egyptians are to vote in a referendum on a new constitution, which could pave the way for fresh elections. The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under Islamist President Mohammed Morsi months before he was ousted by the army. Correspondents say the military wants a strong "Yes" vote as a popular endorsement of Mr Morsi’s removal. Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has since been designated a terrorist group, has called for a boycott. A huge security operation is being mounted amid fears of violence. The interior ministry says 200,000 police officers, 150 central security units and 200 combat groups are being deployed around polling stations on both days of voting. Egyptian soldiers stand guard outside a school being used as a polling station Advertisements in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Panama Canal expansion project: Have American fears come true?

A view of Panama canal construction work on August 20, 2013. The US has a lot riding on a successful expansion of the Panama canal More than four years ago, when Panama awarded the lucrative contract to expand its inter-oceanic canal to a mostly European consortium, the United States was not pleased. An American company whose bid was unsuccessful, Bechtel, thought the winning tender would barely pay for pouring the concrete and that the consortium would probably try to renegotiate the price at some stage during the construction process. Some might argue that those American doubts have been justified, especially in view of the ongoing economic row between the European consortium and the Panamanian government agency that runs the waterway. The spat has threatened to bring work to a grinding halt , unless the two parties manage to resolve a $1.6bn (£1bn) dispute over cost overruns. A series of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Petrovietnam Suspends Venezuela Oil Production

Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, or Petrovietnam, has suspended production of crude oil at a block in Venezuela, citing a tough economic conditions. "Basically, we are just slowing things down, and we haven’t decided to withdraw from the project yet," said Pham Ngoc Khue, head of the investment and development division of PVEP, the Petrovietnam unit that jointly operates the Junin-2 block in Venezuela’s Orinoco belt with Petróleos de Venezuela SA. "The investment environment there is not suitable for us right now—and even for several other foreign investors," Mr. Khue said Tuesday. PVEP previously said the project started producing oil in October 2012, with an initial target of 200,000 barrels of crude a day by 2016. The block is Petrovietnam’s only operation in Venezuela. A Petrovietnam official said on condition of anonymity that skyrocketing inflation in Venezuela makes the cost of doing business there too high. Consumer prices in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China's power consumption accelerates in 2013

China’s electricity consumption, a key indicator of economic activity, rose 7.5 percent year on year in 2013, the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday. Electricity used in 2013 stood at 5.32 trillion kilowatt hours, according to a statement on the administration’s website. The growth rate is 2 percentage points higher than that in 2012. In breakdown, the service sector consumed 10.3 percent more electricity than a year earlier, the industrial sector 7 percent more, while power used by the agricultural sector was 0.7 percent more than a year earlier, the statement said. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China’s economy expanded by 7.7 percent in the first nine months of 2013, higher than the government’s full-year target of 7.5 percent. Figures on China’s annual economic performance are due to be released next Monday.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s power consumption accelerates in 2013

China’s electricity consumption, a key indicator of economic activity, rose 7.5 percent year on year in 2013, the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday. Electricity used in 2013 stood at 5.32 trillion kilowatt hours, according to a statement on the administration’s website. The growth rate is 2 percentage points higher than that in 2012. In breakdown, the service sector consumed 10.3 percent more electricity than a year earlier, the industrial sector 7 percent more, while power used by the agricultural sector was 0.7 percent more than a year earlier, the statement said. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed China’s economy expanded by 7.7 percent in the first nine months of 2013, higher than the government’s full-year target of 7.5 percent. Figures on China’s annual economic performance are due to be released next Monday.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple