Best in Energy – 14 March 2023

U.S./EU economies boosted by lower energy prices ($WSJ)

Global LNG market balance becomes less clear after 2027

European steelmakers restart selected blast furnaces

Russia/India crude oil flows and market price reporting

Philippines set for big rise in wind and solar generation

U.S. ethane consumption by petrochemicals makers

Silicon Valley recriminations over bank failure ($FT)

U.S. central bank’s favourable collateral loans ($WSJ)

U.S. INTEREST RATE traders no longer expect the central bank to lift rates further following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, with overnight rates expected to start falling from July onwards, as credit conditions tighten and force a slowdown in the economy. The path for interest rates over the rest of 2023/24 is now forecast to be much lower.

But the outcome of a financial failure is notoriously difficult to predict since it depends largely on confidence. Some failures are resolved quickly with little or no impact on the rest of the financial system and the real economy. In other cases, contagion occurs and the economic impact is significant:

EUROPE’s gas storage sites are 56.5% full, the second-highest on record for the time of year, well above the prior ten-year seasonal average of 36.3%. The end of the winter heating and inventory depletion season is now very near (with stocks usually hitting a minimum on March 30 ± 14 days):