Oil prices were mixed in choppy trade on Tuesday as disagreement flared within producer cartel OPEC on who should cut how much production in a planned coordinated reduction to prop up prices.
Oil prices came under pressure on Monday as Iraq said it wanted to be exempt from an OPEC deal to cut production, though losses were capped by Iran saying it would encourage other members to join an output freeze.
Saudi Arabia has signaled that it may accept an oil deal that does not require Iran to scale back production, which is taken by Bloomberg News as a sign that Iran “has the edge” in its oil price war against the Kingdom.
But the improvement in incomes may actually help Republican nominee Donald Trump. The 19th century French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville observed that revolutions tend to occur in times of rising expectations.
The trade deficit increased because imports rose by $227.7 billion, while exports were up only $183.2 billion, with particularly sluggish oil and new-car exports. The trade gap with China hit its highest mark since last November, thanks to heavy imports of “Chinese-made computers, cell phones, and clothing,” per ABC News.
The growing and unprecedented crisis with U.S. cotton is indicative of the plight of all sectors in American production agriculture. More and more, on the turn rows of western and southern Texas, they grasp for a historical crisis by which to gauge cotton’s present situation in which the industry’s fundamentals are stressed. “The early ‘80s” is often muttered, but quickly dismissed, mainly because interest rates aren’t soaring as they were 35 years ago.
During a visit to Aramco facilities in Houston, the new Saudi Arabian oil minister confirmed a growing sentiment among market analysts in recent months: the global oil glut that crippled American energy producers is now over.
Talk of a production cap to stabilize oil prices seems like a distant memory now, as Iran continues ramping up post-sanctions production and Saudi Arabia cuts oil prices to Europe to compete.
Leading up to a crucial meeting for the global cartel next week, OPEC leadership has made plain that the price of oil is far too low to encourage investment and supply the global market in the longer term. The comments follow a variety of indicators beginning to signal a larger recovery.
It seems like only yesterday that the great hope of the oil market was that oil-producing nations, both inside and outside OPEC, would come together and cap production to bring prices back up. Now the chief executive of the Saudi national oil company says it will increase production, but he expects prices to start rising anyway.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz addressed his nation by television, announcing cabinet approval for the “Saudi Vision 2030” plan — in essence, the Kingdom’s plan to decouple its economy from oil.
The rally in oil prices over the past few weeks was based on hopes that oil-producing nations would agree to freeze production at a pivotal meeting in Doha, Qatar, but the talks collapsed without an agreement on Sunday.
The New York Times offered a new set of clues recently as to how Saudi Arabia is handling the ongoing collapse of global oil prices by looking at the Saudis’ effort to “reformat” their economy, becoming less dependent on oil.
Two Houston-based drilling companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within a 24-hour period ending Friday as the oil slump continues to take its toll on the sector at large. The firms plan to shed a combined $3.2 billion in debts to their creditors.
The oil market is a ticking financial time bomb that can send prices skyrocketing higher with just a small 2 percent reduction in supply.
USA Today reports: Iran is expected to raise the April Official Selling Price (OSP) of its flagship light crude oil to Asia to 25 cents above the Saudi’s similarly graded Arab light. This is the highest premium since 2011 and is
JAFFA, Israel – Saudi Arabia is planning to “nationalize” its economy due to the country’s mounting deficit, which is the result of plummeting oil prices, structural problems in the economy, and the Saudis’ ongoing involvement in the conflict in Yemen. Last year, Riyadh registered a $100
The crashing price of oil may be good for Americans on the road, but in some cases, it is bad for their jobs. As the price of oil collapses, jobs in Oklahoma City are now being lost, as Devon Energy Corp. has announced it is shedding up to 700 jobs.
It looks as if a cease-fire might be on tap for the Oil Wars, as Russia has reached a tentative agreement with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Venezuela to freeze oil production at current levels, to shore up falling prices.
The continuing drop in oil prices is negatively affecting tax revenues and economic numbers in Texas.
Reuters reports: “Wall Street tumbled on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hitting its lowest since February 2014 and deepening this year’s selloff as oil prices plummeted unabated.”
Ambassador Charles (Chas) W. Freeman, the former career US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, (US Foreign Service Retired), has outlined the Saudi Arabia position on the Oil Price Collapse. Ambassador Freeman served as President George H.W. Bush’s representative to Saudi Arabia from 1989 to 1992.
President Obama is not alone in wielding governmental power to clamp down on carbon-emitting energy. While he weaponizes the Environmental Protection Agency to take on coal-powered energy, potentially shutting down hundreds of coal-fired power plants, Alberta’s new socialist NDP government is pushing ostensibly environmentally-minded policies against oil on shared premises of combating “climate change.”
The Mexican peso on July 20th continues it fall and it broke 16 to 1 US dollar. An economic and political stable Mexico is essential for the United States and Texas. Over the past year the Mexican peso has been weakening. A year ago it was 12.97 to the US dollar; 6 months ago 14.66; one month ago 15.34; and July 20th 16.02. On July 22, the peso exchange rate is 16.09.
President Obama celebrated his monumental agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, adamantly defending the lengthy process that blew by several deadlines before finally concluding on Monday. “America negotiated from a position of strength and principle,” Obama said in an
Over the past year the Mexican peso has been falling. A year ago the peso stood at 12.94 to the US dollar; six months ago, 14.75; one month ago, 15.49; and on June 30th 15.73.
OPEC’s attempt to over-produce crude oil for export to crush prices and bankrupt the American shale-fracking oil boom has failed, according to a draft OPEC long-term strategy report seen by Reuters ahead of the cartel’s policy meeting in Vienna on June 1st.
Nigerian officials reached a preliminary agreement with multinational oil firms to pay back the $800 million Nigeria owes the oil suppliers in an effort to bring an end to the country’s dire fuel shortage.
After a year in which the oil price plummeted and the industry adjusted to a period of global oversupply, an analyst has claimed that the world is running short of oil.
HOUSTON, Texas – In spite of low oil prices, there were still 94,700 in attendance at the 2015 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) at NRG Park in Houston May 4-7. The OTC reports that these attendance numbers still represent the sixth-largest gathering in the conference’s 47-year history.
U.S. economic growth stalled out in the first quarter of 2015 as the domestic energy boom caused a short-term collapse in capital spending, large lay-offs in the oil industry, and a 15 percent jump in the exchange rate of the US dollar. A pattern of slowing GDP just before a consumer spending boom takes off is consistent with what happened the last time a big rise in U.S. crude oil production tanked gasoline prices beginning in 1986.
The Venezuelan government will begin rationing electrical supplies this week in response to high demand triggered by heat. Public employees will only have to work six hours a day until further notice, and police units will be sent to inspect private businesses to ensure they only use their allotted amounts. Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Arreaza blamed the measures on climate change.
HOUSTON, Texas – Despite a sharp downturn in the price of oil, Houston remains the top Texas city for the sales of luxury homes and ranks fifth in the nation. This ranking was reported from Coldwell Banker Previews International’s spring 2015 luxury market report by Paul Takahashi with the Houston Business Journal.
Iran, which has had its oil exports restricted between 2012 and 2014 by economic sanctions so its exports were virtually cut in half, would likely increase its imports if the U.S. and the other P5+1 nations make a deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Their increased exports might cause American gas prices to dip, leaving consumers happier until the Iranian nuclear program becomes operational.
Putin’s return leaves more questions than answers for Russia; The talking points of the Russian and Chinese internet trolls; Oil prices continue to crash
We will finally learn, after more than 40 years of not knowing, what the free market supply/demand price of crude truly is. This knowledge will make it harder for secretive governments and corporations to manipulate prices in the future, while strengthening domestic production to weather supply shocks in the future.
In 2014, GDP growth bounced back in the spring and summer from a tough winter, but in the fourth quarter, it fell off to 2.6 percent. History indicates the country should be doing a lot better—simply, too many prime working-age Americans are despondent and have permanently dropped out of the workforce.
The government of Venezuela, believed to be the most oil-rich nation in South America, is considering raising gas prices to keep the national economy afloat, though such a move could spark protests and unrest in a nation already rife with political tension.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has died aged 90 after suffering with pneumonia for the last few weeks. The king ruled Saudi Arabia since 2005 and has been credited with bringing in moderate reforms to the conservative Muslim country. He
HOUSTON, Texas – Nine thousand workers are set to be laid off by Texas-based oil giant Schlumberger. The oil tool services company said it must fire 9,000 workers because of plummeting crude oil prices and a slow-down in 2015 production and exploration. The employee reduction comprises about 7.5 percent of the company’s 120,000 global labor force.
