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Russia May Halt Monetary Easing If Oil at $40, Kremlin Aide Says

Russia’s central bank may pause its monetary easing cycle if oil prices fall to $40 a barrel, Kremlin economic aide Andrey Belousov said in an interview. “If the situation on the foreign-exchange market changes as a result of a significant drop in oil prices — to $40 a barrel, with fluctuations between $40 and $45 — then the central bank will probably halt the process of cutting the rate,” Belousov said by phone on Tuesday. The rout on commodities markets may force the central bank to change tack if it reignites inflation and further destabilizes the ruble, which is trading at a six-month low. Policy makers led by Elvira Nabiullina have lowered their benchmark interest rate by a cumulative six percentage points to 11 percent in five steps this year after an emergency increase in December. Belousov, a former economy minister who replaced Nabiullina as President Vladimir Putin’s aide […]

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London opening oil and gas doors

British government reviewing potential onshore leases in an effort to accelerate shale oil and gas development. Photo by David Gaylor/Shutterstock LONDON, Aug. 18 (UPI) — With a potential for growth in the fledgling shale sector, the British government said Tuesday it was expecting bidders for new onshore oil and gas acreage. "As part of our long-term plan to build a more resilient economy, create jobs and deliver secure energy supplies, we continue to back our onshore oil and gas industry and the safe development of shale gas in the U.K.," British Energy Minister Nick Bourne said in a statement. More than 100 sites could be available after review of environmental consultation laws. The industry’s regulator, Oil and Gas Authority, said around two dozen of those were formally on the auction block already. The government cautioned that no licenses were issued. Instead, the companies behind the 27 sites released will […]

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Scotland examines next steps after coal plant closure

The Scottish government blames British policies for pushing utility company to decide to close coal-powered plant next year. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 18 (UPI) — The Scottish government said Tuesday it was setting up a panel to look into the impact of the closure of the Longannet coal power plant, the country’s last. "ScottishPower’s decision to close Longannet in March 2016 is deeply regrettable and has far-reaching consequences for Scotland," Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said in a statement. "This is a worrying time for Longannet workers, and the Scottish government and its agencies will do everything possible to support the 230 directly employed staff who will be affected by this announcement." The utility said the combination of high carbon taxes and high transmission charges meant it had to shut down the coal plant by next year. With 46 years in service, Longannet is the […]

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Fighting Intensifies Along Eastern Ukraine Cease-Fire Line

Photo A house destroyed in heavy fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the village of Sartana, near Mariupol, in eastern Ukraine. Credit Sergey Vaganov/European Pressphoto Agency MOSCOW — Fighting between government forces and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine has escalated sharply in recent days, with each side blaming the other for the violence. At least nine people were killed in artillery strikes on Monday in villages and towns on both sides of a cease-fire line, and United States officials have said that one three-day period of fighting along the front last week was the most intense since a February cease-fire . Neither side has openly renounced the cease-fire, but European monitors of the accord say both have been pulling heavy weapons out of storage sites and putting them to use. The United States State Department blamed Russia and pro-Russian rebels for the uptick in violence. American […]

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A Must Read: Guest Post by Ian Walker – ”The End of the Fossil Fuel Age”

THE END OF THE FOSSIL FUEL AGE Big Oil, Saudi Arabia,the merchant banks and markets all think fossil fuel has had its day, a bold statement, where is the evidence for it? If you had been taking any notice you would have seen Big Oilhave been selling of their Oil Fields and getting out of the oil field asset ownership market since September 2011. Is what I am writing true? Why would they believe the Fossil Fuel Age has ended? It is basic due diligence to find out what the big players are doing. So do a Google search for any oil company name and the phrase ”Oil field” and the words divest or sell. You will see evidence like the following: SHELL Shell has been on a massive divestment strategy on its oil field assets, from Africa to the Far East since September 2011, though as it was […]

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U.S. oil prices near six-year lows as China weighs

A drop of diesel is seen at the tip of a nozzle after a fuel station customer fills her car’s tank in Sint Pieters Leeuw December 5, 2014. Wholesale petrol prices have slumped by 35.5 percent since reaching their peak for the year in June, but in more than half of European… U.S. oil prices fell toward six-year lows on Tuesday after stock markets tumbled in China, the world’s largest energy consumer, adding to worries about global fuel demand at a time of heavy oversupply. Chinese stocks fell 6 percent on Tuesday as the yuan weakened against the dollar, raising fears that Beijing may further devalue the currency. Such a move could decrease China’s consumption and import levels. Industrial metals, including copper, also traded near six-year lows, adding to bearish market sentiment. "That is dragging oil lower – it was in bearish territory to start with," SEB chief commodity […]

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Oil Price Starts the Week in the Red

The oil price kicked off the week in the red as the market remained under selling pressure, with U.S. oil prices dropping below $42 a barrel. On Friday, oil-field services firm Baker Hughes Inc. BHI 0.76 % said that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose for the fourth straight week. This added to fears on the market that the global glut of oil, which has battered prices since last year, isn’t going away anytime soon. “We have concerns about crude fundamentals and prices in the second half of 2015 and 2016,” analysts at Morgan Stanley MS 0.79 % said in a report. “As a result, we see Brent range-bound through [that period].” Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.2% to $48.61 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 1.7% at […]

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What might prompt a short-covering rally in U.S. oil price? Kemp

Hedge funds remained unusually bearish on U.S. oil prices last week even as the cost of WTI tumbled towards the lowest level since 2009. Hedge funds and other money managers held short positions in WTI-linked futures and options equivalent to more than 193 million barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Money managers had never held a short position that large before, except for a brief period in March, when U.S. crude stockpiles were rising fast and there were fears storage space would run out. More hedge funds expect prices to rise than the number predicting a fall, and the oil bulls have a larger position overall, amounting to nearly 310 million barrels. But the ratio of hedge fund long to short positions in WTI is just 1.6:1, down from 4.6:1 in the middle of May, and the lowest in almost five years ( link.reuters.com/vyk45w […]

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OPEC May Boost Oil Output to Record With Iran Back Amid Glut

(Bloomberg) — OPEC could potentially boost crude oil production to 33 million barrels a day, the most ever, after international sanctions are removed against Iran amid a global supply glut, according to the country’s OPEC representative. The global oil market is already in surplus by about 3 million barrels a day, with Saudi Arabia and Iraq responsible for OPEC’s oversupply in the past six months, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday, citing Mehdi Asali. Iran can boost output by 500,000 barrels a day within one week after sanctions are lifted, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said earlier this month. Crude has lost half its value in the past year as U.S. production jumped to the highest level in more than 40 years and Saudi Arabia had record output. Prices collapsed after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided on Nov. 27 to maintain production rather than sacrifice […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple