Tag: durable goods orders

Best in Energy – 14 February 2023

[MUST READ] U.S./China sanctions lessons

Russia’s crude is likely selling above quoted prices

Russia’s oil output unaffected by sanctions ($BBG)

U.S. SPR to sell 26 million barrels in second quarter

U.S. coal-fired generator retirements to accelerate

Russia’s gas exports in search of new markets

Global freight rates fall on excess capacity ($BBG)

High-altitude balloon monitoring systems ($WSJ)

Pakistan plans to shift from costly gas back to coal

Hedge funds cash in on coal investments ($FT)

Singapore slows new investment into China ($FT)

U.S. DURABLE GOODS orders for nondefense capital equipment excluding aircraft (a proxy for business investment) were up by +5 % in December 2022 compared with December 2021. Orders are reported in cash terms; with inflation running faster than 5%, the volume of new business was down in real terms. Even in nominal terms, however, orders have been flat since the middle of 2022, confirming the merchandise side of the economy has run out of momentum:

Best in Energy – 8 April 2022

China struggles to suppress outbreak (trans.)*

China manufacturers hit by outbreak ($WSJ)

EU bans Russia coal imports from August 2022

Japan plans to wind down Russia coal imports

Russia’s oil and diesel export blending ($BBG)

LME stocks fall to multi-decade low ($BBG)

LME zinc inventories set to deplete rapidly

Shell’s hedging related outflows of $7 billion

Russia/Ukraine war and removing sanctions

White House invokes defence production law

Coal buyers scramble for Russia replacements

* Xinhua’s lead article on the coronavirus outbreak in Shanghai illustrates the scale of the challenge, with more than 100,000 cases in the latest outbreak in the megacity, as well as the government’s decision to stick with the “dynamic clearing” zero-coronavirus suppression strategy.

BRENT’s six-month calendar spread has fallen to a backwardation of less than $5 per barrel from a record high of more than $21 a month ago, as the pledge by IEA members to offer 240 million barrels of oil from government-controlled strategic reserves over the next six months has eased traders’ concerns about short-term availability:

U.S. MANUFACTURERS reported new orders for nondefense capital equipment excluding aircraft were up +11% in cash terms in the three months from December to February compared with the same period a year earlier. But growth has decelerated significantly with nominal orders advancing at an annualised rate of only +6.48% in the latest three months, the slowest increase since July 2020, when the economy was emerging from the first wave of the pandemic and lockdowns:

IF YOU would like to receive best in energy and my research notes via email every day, you can add your email address to the circulation list here: https://eepurl.com/dxTcl