Best in Energy – 31 March 2023

Iraq/Kurdish regional oil revenues dispute

U.K. hydrogen residential trial hits hurdles

U.S. crude oil exports hit record high in 2022

U.S. banking – a slow-motion crisis? ($WSJ)

Vitol reports record $15 bn profit in 2022 ($FT)

U.S. FINANCIAL CONDITIONS have tightened modestly following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and several other financial institutions. Overall conditions were close to the long-term average on March 24, after being quite relaxed at the end of January 2023. Risk appetite is still relatively high but standards for credit and leverage have tightened, according to a plethora of indicators used by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to compile its National Financial Conditions Index:

CHINA’s manufacturers reported a widespread increase in business activity for the second month running in March. The official purchasing managers’ index was 51.9 (93rd percentile for all months since 2011) in March after 52.6 (96th percentile) in February. Business activity is rebounding rapidly after the exit wave of the pandemic severely disrupted activity in December and January: