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The unprecedented 9.7m bpd output cut announced by OPEC+ will merely reduce the oversupply of oil in the second quarter. But assuming full compliance, and an involuntary drop in North American production, the market could fall into a deficit later in the …
14th April 2020
There is huge uncertainty about the outcome of Thursday’s OPEC+ meeting. For what it’s worth, we suspect that a large and unconditional output cut is unlikely. Even if we are wrong, we think a sizeable output cut would merely put a floor under prices …
8th April 2020
Gasoline stocks likely to remain high The latest US weekly data clearly showed the negative impact on oil demand of measures to contain the coronavirus. Further stock builds are likely in the near term, despite falling domestic production . The EIA’s …
Natural gas prices have reached historic lows in recent weeks, with US natural gas (Henry Hub) last week plumbing depths not seen since 1995. The near-term outlook for natural gas is bleak, but prices are likely to pick up in the second half of the year …
7th April 2020
Overview – Despite the prospect of a massive Saudi Arabian-led production cut, the price of oil has remained low in recent weeks amid a coronavirus-related collapse in demand. By contrast, coal and natural gas prices fared relatively better. This was due …
6th April 2020
Oil prices have surged by about 30% in recent days after President Trump said that a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia to jointly cut oil production would come in a “few days”. We are sceptical that a deal will be agreed and, even if it is, we don’t …
3rd April 2020
The latest leg-down in oil prices is not so surprising given that demand is collapsing at a time of rising supply. We think oil prices will only pick up if, as we expect, economic activity revives later this year . Oil prices slumped again in early …
30th March 2020
The coronavirus is disrupting global economic activity by much more than we had previously thought. As a result, we now expect global oil demand to fall by 6.5% in 2020 to just under 94m bpd . Measures to contain the coronavirus have reduced global oil …
27th March 2020
Refinery throughput to collapse and lift crude stocks US crude stocks rose a touch last week. We expect bigger increases in the coming weeks given that refineries have announced plans to curb output in response to the virus-related slump in product demand …
25th March 2020
While the price of Brent has dropped by nearly 60% since January, agricultural prices have so far held up comparatively well. Although we wouldn’t rule out agricultural prices falling further, the recent divergence in prices reveals that the relationship …
24th March 2020
Earlier this week, the virus-related economic disruption and the prospect of a surge in OPEC+ supply pushed the Brent-WTI price spread near to zero. Although it has since rebounded, we think the spread will disappear by the end of this year. And by 2021, …
20th March 2020
OPEC+’s decision to abandon output constraint has been a factor behind the ongoing slump in oil prices. In our view, higher OPEC+ supply will weigh heavily on US shale output, prices and the risk premium in the oil price . With the oil market’s attention …
19th March 2020
Crude stocks look set to rise further The latest US stocks data went largely unnoticed today as prices continued to plunge on concerns about the spread of coronavirus. But, for what it is worth, we expect stocks to climb in the coming months owing to a …
18th March 2020
Overview – Energy prices have crashed in recent weeks as the coronavirus has disrupted economic activity and reduced demand. Meanwhile, on the supply side, OPEC+ failed to agree to deepen its oil output cuts. We suspect that energy prices could fall …
16th March 2020
OPEC output to increase from April OPEC production slumped in February owing to supply disruption in Libya. However, given that the current output agreement expires in March and with no replacement deal, we expect OPEC+ oil production to rise from April . …
11th March 2020
Oil prices have crashed by about 40% since end-January owing to the coronavirus-related demand shock and the collapse of OPEC+ output restraint. Following previous oil price crashes (2008 and 2015-16), prices rebounded quickly, but we do not think that …
10th March 2020
Against a backdrop of a coronavirus-related slump in demand, Saudi Arabia appears to have abandoned efforts to balance the oil market and is instead aiming to protect market share. Its pledge to significantly raise production from April will result in a …
9th March 2020
Crude stocks are gradually rising US crude stocks continued to edge higher this week as a rise in domestic crude output and lower refinery activity offset a fall in net imports . Product demand remains healthy for now, but if COVID-19 takes greater hold …
4th March 2020
We expect OPEC+ to agree to an emergency output cut of an additional 1m bpd for at least three months at its meeting later this week. This should, at a minimum, put a temporary floor under prices . OPEC and its allies, including Russia, are set to meet in …
In light of the accelerating spread of the coronavirus – and the economic disruption that is likely to follow – we are pulling down our GDP growth forecasts for Q1 and Q2 of this year. Growth is likely to rebound over the second half of the year, but most …
2nd March 2020
We think that, at least initially, the energy proposals of a Democratic President would support oil prices by curbing supply more than demand . All the major Democratic candidates disagree with the pro-fossil fuel agenda of President Trump, and they all …
28th February 2020
Coronavirus to weigh on US crude exports US crude stocks rose last week. That said, exports could drop soon if coronavirus-related port disruption spreads across Asia, which would put upward pressure on stocks . The EIA’s weekly US Petroleum Report, …
26th February 2020
While the price of US natural gas (Henry Hub) has slumped on the back of coronavirus-related concerns, it has fared better than natural gas prices elsewhere. And given the low exposure of US LNG exporters to areas affected by the virus, we expect Henry …
21st February 2020
Some signs of improvement in gasoline demand US crude stocks rose a touch last week despite a slump in net imports. Looking ahead, we expect strong growth in US exports together with a recovery in economic activity to push down crude stocks this year . …
20th February 2020
LNG prices should recover from their current coronavirus-related lows by end-year. But given the significant oversupply in the market, prices are likely to remain historically weak . We had always expected average LNG prices to fall this year owing to …
13th February 2020
Bearish report dampens optimism slightly US crude stocks increased again last week owing almost entirely to a surge in net imports. However, despite this bearish report, oil prices are still up 3% today in part on the back of optimism that the coronavirus …
12th February 2020
Deeper cuts not a done deal OPEC production fell sharply in January, but this was mainly the result of supply disruptions in Libya and Iraq. Otherwise, there was little indication in the latest OPEC monthly report that the group will rush to deepen output …
The economic disruption caused by the coronavirus means that we now expect the oil market to be in a surplus in Q1 2020, as opposed to the deficit that we had previously envisioned. However, providing that the virus is contained, we think that demand will …
11th February 2020
The risk premium in oil price has fallen in recent years … … despite heightened tensions in the Middle East We expect this premium to remain low as non-OPEC production continues to rise In this Energy Watch , we look at how geopolitical tensions in the …
7th February 2020
Few surprises to be found US crude stocks rose again last week in line with the seasonal norm. While small falls in US product stocks suggest demand is holding up, it would take a surge in US consumption to even go some of the way to offset the slump in …
5th February 2020
Overview – Energy prices slumped in January owing to concerns about the hit to demand from the coronavirus outbreak. The evolution of the epidemic over the coming weeks will determine how lasting its impact will be on energy prices. For now, we are …
Overview – Provided that the coronavirus is contained, a gradual pick-up in global economic growth at a time of constrained supply should set the scene for higher oil prices in 2020. In contrast, we expect the average prices of natural gas and coal to …
30th January 2020
Our analysis suggests that it is difficult to square the coronavirus-led sell-off in oil markets with the fundamentals. Instead, we think the move is rooted in a marked deterioration in investor sentiment which, if signs emerge that the virus is being …
29th January 2020
Stocks may remain elevated for a while yet US crude stocks rose last week owing in large part to lower refinery activity. Crude stocks may remain high for some time in light of high gasoline inventories, but we expect them to ease back later in the year …
After last year’s collapse, a continued decline in the price of European coal is likely Low natural gas prices and a weak economy will weigh on coal prices in the short term And decarbonisation efforts will push down prices in the long term European coal …
24th January 2020
Recovery in US economic growth to push down stocks this year US crude stocks declined last week despite a drop in exports and refining activity. We think that crude inventories will begin to fall more rapidly later this year as economic growth recovers …
23rd January 2020
There has been a muted response in commodities markets to the signing of the Phase One trade deal between the US and China, perhaps because the good news was already priced in. That said, it may also be a reflection of the fact that China’s promises to …
16th January 2020
Crude and product stocks to fall back later this year US commercial crude stocks fell, mainly because of a drop in net imports. We expect crude inventories to decline further through the course of the year as US exports creep higher and the economy …
15th January 2020
OPEC output to remain low OPEC production fell again in December, led once more by Saudi Arabia. We continue to think that OPEC will maintain its production restraint for the remainder of 2020 to support prices . The OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), …
We think that oil prices will rise in 2020, as the market moves into a small deficit. In contrast, we expect natural gas prices to fall owing to strong supply growth and for this, in turn, to dampen coal prices . Last year, we forecast that the global …
10th January 2020
Following the recent rise in US-Iran tensions, we estimate that the risk premium in the oil price briefly turned positive. After all, prices rose without there being any disruption to the physical supply of oil. However, regardless of what happens to the …
9th January 2020
Overview – The easing of US-China trade tensions and the escalation of US-Iran geopolitical tensions has caused oil prices to surge in recent weeks. In contrast, the prices of natural gas and coal have slumped owing in part to ample supply of natural gas. …
Slump in crude exports not a cause for concern The surprise build in US crude stocks last week was mostly the result of a plunge in exports. At the same time, while product stocks increased again, we expect this trend to reverse through the course of the …
8th January 2020
Surging exports to continue to weigh on US stocks US commercial crude stocks fell sharply last week as exports soared and there was a step-up in refinery activity. We expect exports to remain high given constrained OPEC+ output. In contrast, product …
3rd January 2020
The oil price has jumped today on the back of the US assassination of a powerful Iranian military leader. Given the backdrop of improved investor sentiment in the oil market, prices could remain elevated. That said, regardless of geopolitical events, we …
US commercial crude stocks remained high in 2019 owing principally to strong domestic production and increased Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) releases. Looking ahead, we think that a further rise in export growth and higher domestic demand will reduce …
20th December 2019
ESG rules won’t significantly deter investment in International Oil Companies (IOCs) or reduce fossil fuels production. Instead, output is likely to be guided by underlying oil prices, which we expect to fall over the medium-term. We suspect that price …
19th December 2019
If enacted, we estimate that the Trump Administration’s reported proposals for altering fuel efficiency standards in automobiles will mean that US gasoline consumption will be around 0.3m bpd higher than would otherwise be the case by 2026. This would be …
18th December 2019
Our new oil demand proxy provides a timely indication of the health of global oil demand, and lends insight into whether it is demand, or other factors, that is driving prices at any given time. We find that expectations for future oil demand and supply …
13th December 2019
Gasoline and distillate demand to diverge US commercial crude stocks rose last week, while gasoline inventories surged on the back of a drop in demand. We expect inventories to rise further in the first quarter, as economic growth remains muted . The …
11th December 2019