Equinor Beats Q1 Earnings Expectations as Oil and Gas Output Jumps
by Tsvetana Paraskova
25 Apr 2024 at 2:45am
Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) reported on Thursday consensus-beating earnings for the first quarter of 2024, driven by higher production in Norway and rising oil prices. The Norwegian energy major booked an adjusted net income of $2.84 billion for Q1, down by 27% on the year due to lower natural gas prices in Europe this year. But the result beat the company-provided analysis consensus forecast of $2.04 billion.     Adjusted pre-tax operating income of $7.53 billion also fell year-over-year, by 37%, but again beat the?

U.S. Solar Manufacturers Press Biden to Impose Tariffs on Asian Imports
by Irina Slav
25 Apr 2024 at 1:43am
A group of large solar panel producers from the U.S. have petitioned President Biden with a call to impose import tariffs on panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The reason: low prices that are killing the petitioners? reason to exist. "America's solar manufacturing industry is on the cusp of tremendous growth that will create jobs and change the trajectory of our clean energy transition for decades to come,? the petitioners, grouped in the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, said.?

Refinery Fires Force Mexico to Reverse Its Plan to Cut Oil Exports
by Charles Kennedy
25 Apr 2024 at 12:30am
Mexico has changed a plan to curb oil exports as fires at two Pemex refineries have affected local demand for the commodity. According to Pemex employees who spoke to Bloomberg, the company had notified some U.S. buyers of its crude that it could offer additional cargos for May. Earlier this month, reports said Pemex would reduce the rate of exports in order to feed local refineries, with Reuters putting the size of the cut at 436,000 barrels daily. For May, the export reduction was seen at 330,000 barrels daily. The reduction in oil exports?

Mining Giant BHP Makes Takeover Offer for Anglo American
by Irina Slav
24 Apr 2024 at 11:23pm
Mining giant BHP has made an all-share offer for fellow major Anglo American. If completed, the deal would be the biggest one in the mining world in years. Anglo American described the offer as ?unsolicited, non-binding and highly conditional,? according to the Financial Times, and added that there was ?no certainty that any offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made?. If Anglo agrees to BHP?s offer, the deal would also consolidate the global copper market in one fell swoop at a time?

Standard Chartered: Global Oil Demand Will Pick Up Strongly In May And June
by Alex Kimani
24 Apr 2024 at 5:00pm
Oil prices have held steady week on week despite a significant inventory build in U.S. crude two weeks ago, which was countered by a draw in U.S. crude stockpiles for the week ending April 19th. Next to this, traders have become less concerned about a potential supply disruption in the Middle East.  The crude inventory build at the middle of the month triggered fears that oil demand could be weakening; however, Standard Chartered estimates that global inventories will increase by only 74,000 barrels per day in the month?

China Is Winning The Race for Affordable EVs
by Tsvetana Paraskova
24 Apr 2024 at 4:00pm
While U.S. and European automakers struggle with weaker demand for electric vehicles, China is churning out a growing number of small and cheap EVs that are taking over the domestic car market and other markets in Asia. Affordability has been a key driver of consumer choices when buying a car. The average consumer in the U.S. and Europe has yet to afford an EV manufactured by a Western carmaker. That's not the case in China, where generous government subsidies have helped EV manufacturers make many models priced on par or even lower than gasoline?

$2-Trillion Funding Gap Casts Shadow over Energy Transition
by Irina Slav
24 Apr 2024 at 3:00pm
Investments in the energy transition are falling way short of what is needed for its success. The fresh warning comes from BlackRock, which said annual investments in the shift away from hydrocarbons need to almost double from their current record levels. But it?s getting less likely this would ever happen. In a new edition of its Investment Institute Transition Scenario, the bank said that moving the transition forward would require more money from both public and private sources and that, for its part, would require ?alignment between?

What to Expect From Xi Jinping's Upcoming Eurotrip
by RFE/RL staff
24 Apr 2024 at 2:00pm
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Hungary, Serbia, and France on a high-profile tour in early May, marking his first trip to Europe since the pandemic. Here's what to watch. Finding Perspective: The trip will be rich in symbolism and comes at a crucial time with Russia advancing on the battlefield in Ukraine, escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels, and potential fallout from November's U.S. election. Against this backdrop, Xi will be looking to repair some of the damage done to the relationship with Europe since his last trip?

China's Steel Market Tactics Under Scrutiny as Steel Demand Increases
by Metal Miner
24 Apr 2024 at 1:00pm
Via Metal Miner New China tariffs may soon change the country?s steel market tactics. China continues to sit on a stockpile of steel, and it has no idea what to do with most of it. The exception, however, seems to be dumping it into foreign markets for cheap under the guise of ?exportation.? China remains unable to use the bulk of this steel for its own infrastructure needs due to a decline in consumption and a stagnating economy. Therefore, export seems to be the best way out. This is especially beneficial as steel production?

Gas Prices Likely to Keep Falling Ahead of Peak Driving Season
by Charles Kennedy
24 Apr 2024 at 12:30pm
With election-year prices at the pump a key campaign factor for U.S. presidential hopefuls, new projections indicate that the typical spring price spikes, which culminate in the Memorial Day driving weekend, will fall back earlier than previously anticipated. According to AAA, the nationwide average price for a gallon of gasoline on Wednesday was $3.66, down from 3.667 on Tuesday, and the same as a week ago, despite the springtime surge that generally precedes Memorial Day weekend and the peak driving season.  GasBuddy?s Patrick?

Fossil Fuels Hit All-Time Low in UK Electricity Generation
by OilPrice.com
24 Apr 2024 at 12:00pm
Fossil fuels have provided the lowest amount of UK electricity for a one-hour time period on record. Energy think tank Carbon Tracker today said that on Monday, April 15th, just 2.4 per cent of UK electricity came from fossil fuel sources. Throughout the whole of last year, there were only 16 half-hour periods where coal and gas provided less than five percent of electricity and just five periods in 2022. For 2024 so far, however, there have been 75 half-hour periods where this criteria has been met. Just six years ago, there were no instances?

OPEC Would Open Arms to Namibia, Encourages Investors to Consider
by Charles Kennedy
24 Apr 2024 at 11:30am
OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said in a statement on Wednesday that the group is looking forward to the prospect of a partnership with Namibia, the hottest new oil frontier after Guyana, with new discoveries lining up and first production of 2.6 billion barrels planned for 2030.  "We are excited about the potential of the Namibian OPEC partnership and stand ready to offer support at this crucial juncture," Al Ghais said in a pre-recorded message at an international energy conference in Namibia. "We are enthused by the discoveries?

Central Asian Economies in Limbo As China Fails To Find Its Feet
by OilPrice.com
24 Apr 2024 at 11:00am
China?s fiscal woes are likely to drag on economies across the Caucasus and Central Asia over the next two years, the World Bank is forecasting.  The Bank?s economic update for 2024-25 says the entire area spanning Europe and Central Asia faces ?multiple headwinds,? including China?s ?lackluster recovery? and ?moderating? commodity prices. ?With heightened geopolitical risks and substantial policy uncertainty, investment growth ? could weaken further, especially if progress?

China's Coal Prices Set to Soar, Industry Experts Predict
by Julianne Geiger
24 Apr 2024 at 10:30am
China's coal market is poised for a significant uptick in prices, according to fresh insights from the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association (CCTD). General Manager Han Lei of CCTD's research department highlighted that domestic thermal coal prices have surpassed 800 yuan ($110.41) per metric ton, which is seen by many in the industry as marking the bottom for the year. Current coal market dynamics suggest a trend of stabilization and resurgence in prices. Despite expectations for relatively flat coal output this year compared?

China's Capital Flight Could Fuel Bitcoin?s Next Rally
by OilPrice.com
24 Apr 2024 at 10:00am
Last October, when we pointed out that China's FX outflows had just hit a whopping $75BN - the single biggest monthly outflow since the 2015 currency devaluation - we concluded that the "unfavorable interest rate spread between China and the US will "likely imply persistent depreciation and outflow pressures in coming months", or in other words, September's biggest FX outflow in years is just the beginning, and very soon - in addition to geopolitics and central banks - the world will also be freaking out about the capital flight out of China...?