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Japan seen posting record trade deficit in January as import bill soars

Japan is expected to post a record trade deficit in January as a weak yen pushes up the cost of imports and as export demand slows in a cautionary note about the economic outlook, a Reuters poll showed. The trade deficit, which is forecast to swell to 2.5 trillion yen ($24.5 billion), would provide further evidence that a weak yen alone cannot boost exports as many Japanese manufacturers have shifted factories overseas. A record trade deficit would also suggest that overseas demand may not be strong enough to offset the negative impact of a scheduled sales tax increase in April, meaning policy makers may have to consider other ways to stimulate the economy. "The trade deficit may not expand further, but Japan’s terms of trade are likely to continue to deteriorate, so you can’t say things will start to get better," economists at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Why gasoline could spike 10 percent in the near future

Gasoline could jump anywhere from 15 to 40 cents a gallon over the next several months, but it could be one of the cheapest summer driving seasons in several years. GasBuddy.com predicts that more expensive gasoline is on the horizon, as refiners go into annual maintenance mode for the shift to summer fuels. Regular gas has averaged $3.30 per gallon so far this year, the cheapest opening 45 days since 2010 and 6 cents below last year’s price. But GasBuddy forecasts the national average will rise by 15 to 40 cents per gallon by Easter Sunday—April 20. Part of the reason is due to what it describes as an “extensive” refinery turnaround schedule, already underway on the Gulf Coast. Two major northeast refineries on the Delaware River are also down for maintenance and the Irving refinery in St. John, New Brunswick, a big […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil-by-rail deliveries up for week ending Feb. 8

U.S. rail delivery of petroleum and petroleum products was up 0.7 percent last week from the same period in 2013, the American Association of Railroads said. The AAR said 13,717 carloads of petroleum and petroleum products, or about 9.6 million barrels of oil, were delivered on the rail system for the week ending Feb. 8, up from the same time last year and nearly 3.8 percent more than the preceding week. Since Jan. 1, 85,793 carloads, or about 60 million barrels of oil, were delivered on the U.S. rail system, an 8.7 percent increase from the same period last year, the AAR said Thursday. Industry officials say the increase in U.S. crude oil production is outstripping the existing pipeline capacity, forcing some energy companies to turn to rail as an alternate transit option. The AAR’s rail count excludes deliveries from the Canadian National Railway […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil industry welcomes Landrieu to Senate energy chair

The American Petroleum Institute said Sen. Mary Landrieu , D-La., will ensure U.S. energy security through "smart policies" as Senate energy committee chair. Landrieu took the gavel Wednesday from Sen. Ron Wyden , D-Ore., to become chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee. An advocate for the oil industry, API President Jack Gerard said he looks forward to working with the Louisiana senator. "We look forward to working with Sen. Landrieu on smart policies that will strengthen American energy security and harness the full economic potential of domestic oil and natural gas production," he said in a statement Wednesday. Landrieu said in a statement Wednesday she would help stimulate the U.S. "energy revolution" by encouraging an increase in domestic energy production and expanding infrastructure with the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Canada. Critics of the energy industry cried foul over her appointment. Last week, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Train carrying Canadian oil derails, leaks in Pennsylvania

A 120-car Norfolk Southern Corp train carrying heavy Canadian crude oil derailed and spilled in western Pennsylvania on Thursday, adding to a string of recent accidents that have prompted calls for stronger safety standards. There were no reports of injury or fire after 21 tank cars came off the track and crashed into a nearby industrial building at a bend by the Kiskiminetas River in the town of Vandergrift. Nineteen of the derailed cars were carrying oil, four of which spilled between 3,000 and 4,000 gallons of oil, Norfolk Southern said. The leaks have since been plugged. The two other derailed tank cars held liquefied petroleum gas. The train, which originated in Chicago, was destined for an asphalt plant in Paulsboro, New Jersey, owned by NuStar, a NuStar spokeswoman said. The clean-up was under way on Thursday as a heavy winter storm gathered pace, leaving […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Scotland says independence will make it a reliable energy partner

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said Thursday independence will give Edinburgh a chance to boost renewable energy trade with its neighbors. Ewing told an investment conference in Belfast a "strong and diverse" Scottish economy will be an asset for neighboring countries if voters say yes to a late 2014 referendum for independence. The Irish-Scottish Links on Energy Study, a joint effort examining offshore interconnected electricity, and other projects like it "can help Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland deliver our huge off-shore renewable energy potential including wind, wave and tidal," he said. Ewing said Ireland last year received $1.3 billion worth of Scottish exports and "so much more" would come through independence. Scotland has one of the most ambitious renewable energy programs in the world. It was cleared this week to develop a research center for offshore wind technology after U.S. real estate mogul […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Eurozone economic recovery gains traction on back of improved GDP

The eurozone’s recovery gained a little traction in the final quarter of 2013, with the currency bloc’s economy expanding by 0.3 per cent on the back of stronger-than-expected growth in the region’s two largest economies. Eurostat, the commission’s statistics bureau, on Friday published figures showing growth had edged up from 0.1 per cent in the third quarter by slightly more than the 0.2 per cent expected by economists. The figures will boost hopes that economic conditions in the bloc are steadily improving after the region became engulfed by a sovereign debt and banking crisis. The Eurostat figures were published hours after it emerged that Germany, the bloc’s economic powerhouse, had expanded 0.4 per cent, beating forecasts of 0.3 per cent growth. The German data, published by the Federal Statistics Office, were up from 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter and ahead of its preliminary estimate published last month […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil’s Acronym-Troika Sheds Light on Market

The oil market’s three wise men have spoken. The acronym-troika of the IEA, OPEC and the EIA each treat the world to their monthly reports on consecutive days—once they have all read the runes, the theory goes, then the world should have a better idea of what’s what in oil. That week is this week—the pronouncements have been passed down from on high. So what have we learned? A driver refuels at a gas station in Dijon, France. Global oil demand will rise faster than expected this year, both the IEA and OPEC forecast, with the developed economies of Europe and the U.S. the focus of growth. Agence France-Presse/Getty […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Peak Oil: More Facts Ruining Happy Talk

THE PREMISE Population is a sensitive subject, but it is noteworthy that by 2050, oil supply will have fallen to a level able to support less than half the current population in its present way of life [1] Oil buyers apparently know the Western world’s economic recovery will boost consumption, since growth and oil use are aligned. That’s not all. They also know that the math doesn’t work: Prices can’t go into gradual, long-term decline, or even stay flat, when the world’s conventional oil fields are in fairly rapid decline. Exotic production – oil sands, biofuels, natural gas liquids – are supposed to fill the gap. But this so-called unconventional production is highly expensive and quite possibly insufficient to cover the drop off in cheap, conventional production. Prices will rise to the point that demand will have to level off or fall. [2] […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Futures Slip in Asian Trade

Crude-oil futures fell in Asian trading hours Thursday, with Nymex West Texas Intermediate dropping below $100 a barrel after settling higher for six of the last seven trading sessions. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $99.66 a barrel at 0624 GMT, down $0.71 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.36 to $108.43 a barrel. Nymex crude was reacting to mixed oil-inventory data. U.S. crude-oil inventories rose 3.3 million barrels last week, the fourth weekly gain for domestic crude supplies, Energy Information Administration data showed. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 2.5 million-barrel increase in stockpiles. However, oil stocks at the delivery point for Nymex in Cushing, Okla. posted its largest weekly decline since July, falling by 2.7 million barrels on the opening of an extension of the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple