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Hedge funds’ bullish exposure to U.S. oil near five-year low

The flow of crude oil is seen in a container while an oilfield worker works on a drilling rig at an oil well operated by Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Cabrutica at the state of Anzoategui April 16, 2015. Hedge funds and other speculators have slashed their bullish exposure to U.S. crude to the lowest in nearly five years, trade data showed on Friday, as local drillers continue to add rigs and pump at full throttle despite a global oil glut. U.S. crude prices posted their largest monthly decline since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday, ending down 21 percent, as global demand continued to trail production by about 2 million barrels. Corresponding with the price tumble, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed money managers’ net long position in U.S. crude futures and options at the lowest levels since […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Natural Gas Prices Slide to 3-Week Low on Milder Weather Forecasts

By Timothy Puko Natural gas prices sank to a three-week low on Friday, as cooler weather forecasts convinced traders that summer demand won’t be enough to absorb near-record production. The front-month September contract lost 5.2 cents, or 1.9%, in price to $2.716 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It is the market’s lowest settlement since July 8. A two-day slide turned what had been a decent month for natural gas into its worst since January. Futures ended the month down 4.1%, with all the losses coming Thursday and Friday. Weather forecasts for the coming weeks show heat dissipating and large parts of the country likely to get cooler-than-normal temperatures. In the spring, prices had rallied about 20% from a three-year low, but that was partially dependent on expectations that hot weather would cause power plants to burn off high supplies of natural gas to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Options market sees oil price fall despite OPEC confidence

The OPEC logo is seen at OPEC’s headquarters during a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2015. OPEC policymakers seem confident in a sustained recovery of oil prices from this year’s lows as demand improves, but the derivatives market is geared for an alternative scenario: a fall below $50 a barrel by the end of the year. The level of volatility in the market, a broad measure of risk sentiment that determines the price of an option, has been edging higher. And for oil derivative contracts expiring in December, volatility has touched its highest in nearly four months, particularly for deeply bearish sell-options. Typically, December is when producers and consumers hedge their future requirements, prompting volatilities to rise. But it is also when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) holds its twice-yearly meeting. OPEC’s secretary-general said on Thursday the group expects increasing oil demand […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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OPEC Oil Production Falls as Iraqi Output Slips From Record

OPEC crude output declined this month as Iraqi production slipped from a record in June. Output by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decreased 362,000 barrels to 32.107 million a day this month, according to a Bloomberg survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. Last month’s total was revised 335,000 barrels higher, to 32.469 million a day, because of changes to the Saudi, Kuwaiti, Angolan and Nigerian estimates. Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, relapsed into a bear market this week on speculation that the global supply glut will grow. OPEC agreed on June 5 to retain its collective output target of 30 million barrels a day, a level that it’s exceeded for 14 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Prices are going to remain under pressure because output is near record levels in several OPEC countries,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraqis protest over Baghdad heatwave power cuts

Protestors blame government corruption for the powercuts Hundreds of Iraqi protesters have taken to the streets of Baghdad to protest against power shortages as the country experiences a heatwave. They blamed government corruption for a lack of investment in infrastructure. On Thursday, the government declared a four-day public holiday after temperatures broke 50C (122F), with appeals for people to save power. Blackouts are common during the summer as Iraq’s electricity grid struggles to deal with the extreme temperatures. Analysts say that the country’s grid was severely damaged by US bombing during the 2003 invasion. The infrastructure has also been repeatedly targeted by insurgents. In some areas of the country it is common to have only a few hours of electricity each day. The government has admitted that at peak times during the summer it will only be able to provide half the country’s required power. On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Venezuela governor: 1 killed during supermarket looting

AP Photo/Fernando Llano CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A man was killed and dozens were arrested Friday as a mob looted a supermarket in an industrial Venezuelan city, Bolivar state authorities said. In announcing the looting, Gov. Francisco Rangel pushed back against opponents of Venezuela’s socialist government who attributed the unrest to widespread scarcities of basic goods across the oil-rich nation. He said more than two dozen people were arrested in connection with the looting in the southeastern city of Ciudad Guyana and added that there was no excuse for the behavior. "No one is starving," he said. Rangel also suggested to the television station Globovision that the looting might have been driven by people with "political motives." Tensions are running high in Venezuela as the country gears up for December legislative elections. Local newspaper Correo del Caroni said the dead person was a 21-year-old vendor had been shot in […]

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Venezuela: Troops Suppress Riots in San Felix

One man was killed and 15 people were arrested when a group of people looted businesses and attacked state-owned vehicles in San Felix, Bolivar state, Ultimas Noticias reported July 31. Unconfirmed reports indicated that up to 60 people were arrested. The National Guard deployed armored vehicles to San Felix, and the looting has reportedly subsided. The riots occurred in the midst of high inflation and food shortages as a result of the country’s economic 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
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Beer shortages loom in Venezuela as troops occupy Caracas warehouse

The head of Venezuela’s liquor store federation has warned beer production has reached ‘zero hour’ amid widespread shortages in raw materials. Photograph: Fernando Llano/AP Venezuela’s largest beer manufacturer is shutting some of its breweries, blaming a lack of imported barley, as its parent company remains locked in a wider dispute with the country’s government. The federation of beer brewers announced on Thursday that the beer-making subsidiary of Empresas Polar would suspend operations at two of its six plants owing to the shortage. Polar is Venezuela’s largest privately held company and distributes a majority of the country’s beer. Venezuelan troops, meanwhile, occupied a Caracas warehouse complex used by Empresas Polar and Nestlé, workers and company officials said on Thursday. The government says the land is needed for housing for the poor. A Nestlé spokesman, Andres Alegrett, said the company had been informed by the facility’s owner that the area was […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. oil drillers add rigs despite crude prices collapse: Baker Hughes

Stacked rigs are seen along with other idled oil drilling equipment at a depot in Dickinson, North Dakota June 26, 2015. U.S. energy firms added 5 oil rigs this week after putting 21 rigs into service last week, the most in over a year, despite a collapse in U.S. crude prices from recent highs in June, data showed on Friday. That was a sign some drillers followed through on plans to add rigs announced in May and June when U.S. crude futures were averaging $60 a barrel. U.S. crude futures so far this week however have traded around $48.Drillers added oil rigs in two of the four major U.S. shale oil basins, with three in the Permian in West Texas and eastern New Mexico and one in the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana. They cut one rig each in the Eagle Ford in South Texas and the Niobrara […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple