Commodities news

Even as Goldman Sachs warned that global oil demand could plunge by 18.7 million barrels per day in April, U.S. shale producer Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL) filed for bankruptcy. Whiting became the first major U.S. shale producer to seek Chapter 11 protection. Its board of directors attributed their decision to “the severe downturn in oil and gas prices driven by uncertainty around the duration of the Saudi / Russia oil price war and...

U.S. crude oil briefly broke the psychologically sensitive $20 level today as demand projections crumpled on fears that the coronavirus could affect economies for much longer than expected. At the time of writing U.S. crude oil was trading at $20.46, down $1.18 or 5.53%, after having touched a low of $19.86. Demand concerns Crude is caught, on the one side, in a price war raging between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and on the other, a collapse in glo...

Some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, from oil-rich countries, could dump more than $200 billion worth of stocks. According to JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, sovereign wealth funds across the globe lost around $1 trillion of funds invested in equities due to the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, high oil exporters, mostly located in the Middle East and Africa, are facing double trouble – extremely low oil prices...

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) plans to cut capital spending by more than $4 billion, or 20%, due to the collapse in oil prices and the coronavirus outbreak, the company said in a press release. “With an industry leading balance sheet and a flexible capital program, we believe Chevron is resilient and positioned to withstand this challenging environment,” said Chevron Chairman and CEO Michael Wirth. The oil giant announced it will slash “organic capital and...

Crude oil prices are currently trading 24% higher as the “black gold” races to post the best day ever following weeks of heavy losses. The commodity lost nearly 17% yesterday when it traded at the lowest level since 2002. Crude has been boosted by strong actions from the central banks worldwide to support the economies and business activity. “Crude was wildly oversold, with a Relative Strength Index which got below 14, the lowest I’ve ever seen f...

Crude oil prices are trading around 19% down on the day following a crash in demand amid the coronavirus outbreak, which is likely to significantly hamper the business activity around the world. The outbreak forces airlines to cancel countless flights as the global travel companies are on the brink of collapse. Moreover, there is an increase in supply after Saudi Arabia ramped up the production to make up for the losses due to low oil prices. Rus...

The Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, Anton Siluanov, said yesterday that the country’s budget deficit could go as high as 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 on current oil prices. Russia’s economy saw major harm due to the declining global oil prices, as well as the outbreak of the coronavirus. Siluanov said the epidemic caused more damage to the country’s economy as it made difficulties in transportation, trade, and touri...

Crude oil prices hit the lowest levels since August 2016 this week, after talks on deeper production cuts between OPEC and its allies finished without an agreement. On Friday, the price action closed nearly 10% lower to record one of the worst-performing days recently. OPEC+ talks collapse Investors were closely monitoring developments from Vienna last Friday, where OPEC+ – consisting of OPEC countries and its allies – met to discuss...

Crude oil prices trade nearly 8% lower today on the reports that OPEC+ have been unable to reach an agreement to cut production in order to cope with the coronavirus outbreak. Today’s low of $42.34 marks the lowest crude has traded since June 2017. Fundamental analysis: OPEC+ talks on the brink of collapse The meeting between OPEC and its allies – known as OPEC+ – is reportedly on the brink of collapse after a five-hour meeting today...

Mexico’s business sector has prepared a wide range of energy investments for the government, worth nearly $92 billion, as part of the plan to help the country’s declining economy to recover. According to the document examined by Reuters, over the 2020-2024 period Mexico will be working on 275 projects. The projects will cover power generation, storage, transportation, and natural gas production. The package, worth around 1.787 trillion pesos ($91...

Despite numerous efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration, the US farmers continue being hit by the escalating panic over Coronavirus. The killer virus has to date claimed thousands of lives globally, while interrupting business operations in one of the world’s largest economy, China. But the Asian nation isn’t the only severely affected country; the US, which has of today reported eleven deaths resulting from COVID-19...

Ben Dell is the founder and managing partner of Kimmeridge Energy Management, a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on the energy sector. When asked by Bloomberg’s Alix Steel how bad most of the energy sector has become amid falling oil prices, his answer can be summarized in one word: “uninvestable.” Lost Decade The energy sector has suffered from a “lost decade” as oil prices peaked north of $130 in the early 2010s and are now below $5...

Weeks after the Coronavirus outbreak, markets are still gripped with fears, triggered by stalled business operations in China, even as the government fights to contain a virus that has so far claimed more than 500 lives. The dwindling oil demand from China, the second-largest importer of the commodity, has exposed the level of reliance on the market by The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). JBC Energy, a research company, t...

Chinese investors on Monday returned to a market gripped by fear on the first trading day after the Lunar New Year break. The Coronavirus death toll has risen to at least 361 in China alone as of this morning, Aljazeera confirmed. China, the world’s biggest consumer of raw materials is the most hit, after the virus emanated from one of its industrial cities, Wuhan. As China’s markets reopened today at 9 am local time, the country&rsqu...

Happy Sunday Invezztors. ‘Uncertainty’ has become a common word in a market characterised by constant swings of global commodity prices.  As of Friday, Europe started decently before dropping, Asia was mixed, while the US futures were down. Brexit went down, and the UK is officially on its own, with some expressing concerns over the move. But while the Brexit was a success, it doesn’t end at that. Markets movements are set...

This month we’ve experienced rallies by several commodities following the phase trade deal between China and the US, boosting investor risk appetite and the equity markets. But since the Coronavirus Outbreak, precious metals have been taking the lead as investors scamper for haven assets such as gold, Iron-ore, Palladium, and Silver. According to Oxford Economics, analytics and forecasting firm: “Iron-ore and gold prices are currently...

Gold is among the few commodities whose prices were soaring as concerns over the Coronavirus Outbreak swept through the markets. As of this morning, the yellow metal was up about 20% higher than last year, as it trades close to $1,600 an ounce. A couple of other precious metals have rallied too, including silver and platinum. Meanwhile, Dow Jones is up 0.66% or 187 points. Investors have been playing around with the idea of gold touching the $2,0...