Best in Energy – 10 May 2022

U.S. gasoline and diesel prices hit record nominal highs

Germany/Qatar gas negotiations hit by disagreements

China’s gas consumption and imports decline ($WSJ)

Germany fears economic hit from gas disruption ($FT)

EU drops planned ban on shipping Russian crude ($FT)

China avoids surge in consumer price inflation ($WSJ)

U.S. INTEREST RATE traders have started to anticipate a slowdown in the business cycle that will bring inflation under control and then encourage the central bank to start trimming interest rates slightly to support growth later in 2023. Policy-controlled short-term rates are expected to peak at 3.00-3.25% by August 2023, up from 0.75-1.00% currently, before dipping slightly at the end of 2023 and into 2024.

The implied trajectory is consistent with inflation under better control by mid-2023 and a slowdown in the business cycle that will cause the central bank to shift its focus to supporting growth. A similar pattern occurred during previous interest rate tightening and “soft-landing” cycles in 1966/67 and 1994/95.

As a result, the U.S. Treasury yield curve between two-year and ten-year notes has started to steepen slightly, usually a sign of an impending business cycle slowdown that will eventually cause the central bank to reverse some of its expected interest rate rises:

Published by

John Kemp

Energy analyst, public policy specialist, amateur historian