Category:

Oil’s Rebound Lifts U.S. Stocks, but More Obstacles Lurk

ENLARGE U.S. stocks recovered last week amid hopes that the fall in oil prices might finally be over. The market has been closely tied to oil since 2015 began, so more-stable oil prices would help ease investor concerns. Money managers warned, however, that plenty of other hurdles lurk that could trip up already high-priced stocks in weeks to come, including concerns about corporate earnings and interest rates. As if that weren’t enough, nothing guarantees that oil prices will keep rising, adding another element of uncertainty. In recent years, Federal Reserve cash injections into financial markets have helped cushion the blows from these normal market forces, but the Fed is removing that protection. The Fed ended its bond-buying program last year and is preparing to push interest rates higher this year, so stocks could stay jumpy, said Seth Masters, chief investment officer at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, which oversees $76 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Oil dips after weak Chinese trade data

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude prices slipped on Monday as a slump in Chinese imports pointed to lower fuel demand in the world’s biggest energy consumer, outweighing falling U.S. oil rig counts and signs of healthy U.S. growth. China’s trade performance slumped in January. Exports fell 3.3 percent from a year earlier while imports tumbled 19.9 percent, highlighting a deepening slowdown. Global benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 for March was down 25 cents at $57.55 a barrel by 0845 GMT after rising as high as $59.06 earlier in the session. U.S. crude CLc1 was up 15 cents at $51.84 a barrel, having hit a session high of $53.40. While overall Chinese crude import figures remained high, analysts said signs of a slowdown were weighing on prices. "Opportunistic buying waned in January as a combination of weak demand, high inventories and tight credit conditions impacted import demand," ANZ bank said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Tehran Says Now Is the Time for a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program

ENLARGE Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday that the opportunity to reach a deal on Iran’s nuclear program must be seized. Photo: Reuters MUNICH—Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Sunday that now is the time, and perhaps the last chance, for six world powers to seal a final nuclear deal with his government. But Western officials said progress in talks remains slow, and Tehran is resisting their key demand for a significant reduction in Iran’s enrichment activities. Mr. Zarif met twice with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry this weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. He also held talks on Saturday with other foreign ministers from the six-power group with which Tehran negotiates over its nuclear program. Mr. Zarif said that while it wouldn’t be the end of the world if a nuclear deal proved elusive, a final […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran Presses for Progress in Nuclear Negotiations

MUNICH — As consultations continued here on a possible new cease-fire arrangement with Russia and Ukraine , Iran ’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said on Sunday that Tehran does not favor another extension of the talks on limiting its nuclear program and expects economic sanctions to be quickly lifted if an accord is reached. “Sanctions are a liability; you need to get rid of them if you want a solution,” Mr. Zarif told a security conference. “This is the opportunity to do it, and we need to seize this opportunity,” he said of the long effort to forge an agreement. “It may not be repeated.” The nuclear talks have already been extended twice and face a late March deadline for hammering out the main outlines of an accord. The deadline for completing a detailed agreement is the end of June. With a Republican-led Congress in Washington, an extension […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Iran’s Khamenei hints ready to accept fair nuclear deal as talks proceed

DUBAI/MUNICH (Reuters) – Iran’s paramount leader suggested on Sunday he could back a fair nuclear accord with world powers in which neither side got everything it wanted, boosting Iranian negotiators under fire from hardliners at home opposed to rapprochement with the West. "I would go along with any agreement that could be made. Of course, I am not for a bad deal. No agreement is better than an agreement which runs contrary to our nation’s interests," clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement issued by his office carried by ISNA news agency. But in a message that appeared to back up the conciliatory approach of President Hassan Rouhani, who revived diplomacy with Western powers soon after his landslide election in 2013, Khamenei said: "As the president (has) said, negotiations mean reaching a common point. Therefore, the other party … should not expect its illogical expectations to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya: Strike Closes Another Oil Export Port

Hariga, an oil export port in Tobruk eastern Libya, has been shut down because of a security guard strike, a port official said, Al Arabiya reported Feb. 8. Hariga was the last functioning export port aside from two offshore fields. Before closing, it exported around 120,000 barrels per day. The guards went on strike the morning of Feb. 7, saying they had not been paid. Libya is in middle of a power struggle between two governments , and the effect on the oil industry has led to a budget crisis. Stratfor provides global awareness and guidance to individuals, governments and businesses around the world. We use a unique, intel-based approach to analyze world affairs. Copyright © 2015 Stratfor Global Intelligence, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 221 West 6th Street Suite 400 – Austin, TX 78701, USA unsubscribe from this list     update subscription preferences | forward email […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Chevron Unit Said to Cut Output From Saudi-Kuwaiti Oil Fields

Oil workers on a Chevron drilling platform near the Saudi Arabian border in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and Kuwait, the group’s third-biggest member, will join other OPEC states to assess market conditions and production levels at a June 5 meeting in Vienna. Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images (Bloomberg) — Crude production dropped 20 percent since October at a venture that a Chevron Corp. unit operates in the Wafra fields, which Kuwait is developing with Saudi Arabia, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Daily output dropped to 180,000 barrels from about 200,000 barrels last month and 225,000 barrels in October, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. Two rigs are halted and more may be idled in the coming months because Saudi Arabian Chevron Inc. faces problems operating wells due to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Two bombs in Baghdad kill 15 civilians: sources

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – At least 15 people were killed in two bombings in and around Baghdad on Monday, police and medical sources said, the latest in a string of deadly attacks to hit the Iraqi capital in the last two weeks. A suicide bombing at a security checkpoint in the Shi’ite neighborhood of Kadhimiya killed 13 civilians and wounded more than 30 others, the sources said. The neighborhood is home to one of the holiest shrines in Shi’ite Islam and is the regular target of such attacks. Two people were later killed when a bomb went off on a main street in a northern suburb, police and medical sources said. No person or group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings. Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that seized large parts of northern and western Iraq last year, regularly targets Shi’ite neighborhoods in the capital. At least 37 people were […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

New Mideast Oil Refineries Could Stir Up Fuel-Market Dynamics

Shell’s oil refinery in Singapore has been under pressure. ENLARGE Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images SINGAPORE—The startup of two huge oil refineries earlier this year in the Middle East is set to shake up fuel markets from Asia to Europe as the oil-producing region expands its influence beyond just exporting vast amounts of unprocessed crude. The projects, together with a third large refinery that began operating in Saudi Arabia last year, are expected to process 1.2 million barrels of oil a day at full capacity in the next few months, equivalent to slightly more than 1% of the world’s total oil-refining capacity. They will produce a variety of oil products from diesel fuel to gasoline and jet fuel, with diesel making up for more than half the output. Once up and running, the refineries should have considerable competitive advantages, thanks to new technology, cheap crude-oil feedstock and proximity to markets […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Nigeria Postpones Elections, Saying Security Is a Concern

DAKAR, Senegal — Nigeria ’s election agency on Saturday night put off a closely contested presidential election after weeks of pressure to postpone it from the ruling party, which analysts say was facing potential defeat for the first time in more than 15 years. The move is sure to anger the opposition, which has been arguing against a postponement, and inflame its supporters in a volatile electoral environment. The election, originally scheduled for next Saturday, will now be held March 28, the election agency head told a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, late Saturday night. The elections official, Attahiru Jega, after days of what were reportedly heated meetings with the government, cited “security” concerns for the delay. He said that Nigeria’s top military men — themselves close to the government — refused to ensure that security would be “guaranteed” if the vote went ahead as scheduled. The country’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple