Новости за 22.04.2024

Armenia and Azerbaijan are engaged in a convoluted peace process in the Caucasus. But they are still tangled in a bitter fight in The Hague. Over several days of hearings in mid-April, the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ), based at the Dutch seat of government, weighed the merits of an Azerbaijani motion claiming the ICJ does not have jurisdiction over a three-year-old suit brought by Armenia. That suit demands that Azerbaijan face judgment for an array of war crimes, including... Читать дальше...

Via Metal Miner Month-on-month, the Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) rose by 8.25%. However, shortly after April 1, precious metal prices, particularly gold and silver, began surging as investors flocked to purchase as many gold bullions as possible. The reasons for this newfound “gold rush” include inflation hedging, anticipation of interest rate cuts, and geopolitical uncertainty. Indeed, these factors continue to send investors flocking to the classic precious metals safe haven. Читать дальше...

With Venezuelan oil sanctions set to be reimposed and state-run PDVSA oil company buyers and suppliers under orders to close out transactions in line with sanctions by the end of May, the country is now working to shift its oil sales to digital currency.  Using Tether, pegged to the U.S. dollar, PDVSA is seeking to hasten the use of digital currency for oil export transactions to avoid having revenues from oil sales frozen in foreign bank accounts, Reuters reported on Monday, citing three unnamed sources. Читать дальше...

If Iran decides to respond to a suspected Israeli strike on its territory on April 19, it might not have to pull its punches like it did the last time. Tehran's telegraphed barrage against Israel last week was written off by many as a failure. But Iran has many arrows in its quiver should its standoff with Israel continue to escalate. Experts say that Iran has more sophisticated weaponry at its disposal, can bring its proxies into the fight, and, unlike its attack on April 13, can utilize the element of surprise. Читать дальше...

Just a week after the Iraqi federal government announced it was repairing its own oil pipeline to Turkey, which would override a Kurdish oil pipeline that has been offline amidst a three-way diplomatic dispute between Baghdad, Erbil and Ankara, Iraqi media report that OPEC is urging Baghdad to resume Kurdish oil exports to Turkey.  According to Kurdistan24 news agency, citing an unnamed source in the Iraqi Federal Oil Ministry, OPEC has requested that Iraqi Federal Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani... Читать дальше...

There is always the possibility that Israel now does “take the win” as U.S. President Joe Biden advised Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, albeit before Israel launched missile and drone attacks on nuclear- and military-related facilities in Iran’s Isfahan province and in its East Azerbaijan provincial city of Tabriz. There is also the possibility that if Israel does this, then Iran might desist from further direct attacks on Israel from its own territory, after it did so for the first time... Читать дальше...

Back in September last year, Bloomberg reported that refineries around the world were struggling to keep up with demand for diesel fuel. That imbalance led to soaring diesel prices, with the fuel gaining 60% in Europe and topping $140 per barrel in the U.S. At the time, there were warnings that economic activity roaring back after the pandemic and the 2022 energy crunch would lead to a diesel fuel shortage and drive higher inflation. Only that didn’t happen. Because since then, diesel prices have... Читать дальше...

A 26% plunge in coal mining weighed on Poland’s industrial output in March 2024, casting a shadow over the expectations that the biggest emerging-market economy in Europe would grow by the expected 3% this year. Coal mining output slumped by 25.9% year-over-year in March, contributing to a 6% decline in Poland’s industrial production last month, government data showed on Monday. This was the steepest decline in Poland’s industrial output since April 2023, per Bloomberg’s estimates. It was also much... Читать дальше...

By John Liu, Zhu Lin and Abhishek Vishnoi, Bloomberg Markets Live reporters and strategists China’s most promising industries are facing a growing threat of trade restrictions from Western governments, blurring the outlook for stocks that have the potential to fuel the nation’s market growth. The sectors under scrutiny by Europe and the US are as wide-ranging as electric vehicles, wind and solar projects, medical devices and chips, but have one thing in common: they are of strategic importance to... Читать дальше...

Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom had to shut down more than two dozen producing wells during the spring floods in the Orenburg region to keep the gas-producing wells from flooding, the local Gazprom unit said. River and floodwaters rose early this month in the Orenburg region in southwestern Russia near the Ural River in the worst flooding in the area in 80 years. Water levels in the Ural jumped well above the river’s bursting point.       To avoid flooding of operating wells, Gazprom’s local…

Saudi oil giant Aramco is proceeding with plans to boost its downstream presence in its most important export market, China, with discussions to buy a minority stake in a Chinese petrochemical company. Aramco has entered into discussions with Hengli Group Co., Ltd. regarding the potential acquisition of a 10% stake in Hengli Petrochemical Co., subject to due diligence and required regulatory clearances, the Saudi firm said in a statement on Monday. Hengli Petrochemical International Pte. Ltd and... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden is announcing on Monday $7 billion in grants to help more than 900,000 low-income households install residential solar power, the White House said. President Biden will mark today’s Earth Day by traveling to Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, and is expected to highlight the Administration’s progress “in tackling the climate crisis, cutting costs for everyday Americans, and creating good-paying jobs,” the White House said. The $7 billion in grants will come... Читать дальше...

Despite a new package of sanctions against Iran targeting financial institutions, ports, vessels, and refineries that knowingly process Iranian oil shipments, the U.S. Administration is unlikely to “strongly enforce” the restrictions in an election year, Amrita Sen, founder and research director of Energy Aspects, told Bloomberg Television in an interview. “I think all sanctions are sanctions on paper, with anything that remotely causes oil prices to go up, I don't believe they will enforce it strongly,”... Читать дальше...

Tesla is expected to report for the first quarter of 2024 its lowest quarterly profit margins since early 2017 amid a price war in the electric vehicle sector and a slowdown in demand, analysts say. Elon Musk’s EV manufacturer is set to release its financial results for the first quarter on April 23 and gross margins are expected at their lowest in years, the Financial Times reports. Dan Levy, an analyst at Barclays, expects Tesla to have also booked “modestly negative” free cash flow, FT notes.... Читать дальше...

If tensions between Iran and Israel lead to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz this would cause a surge in crude oil and liquefied natural gas prices. The warning comes from analysts with Indian Motilal Oswal Financial Services. The firm acknowledged that de-escalation efforts would help avoid a price spike but noted the importance of the Strait of Hormuz, which currently handles 21 million barrels daily in crude and other liquid energy cargos. In the event of a closure, finding alternative routes... Читать дальше...

A wildfire in the vicinity of Fort McMurray in Alberta has prompted the local authorities to issue a warning that local residents must be ready to evacuate if the fire continues expanding. That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported that the fire was raging near a town 25 miles from Fort McMurray. The report recalled that eight years ago another wildfire forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of locals and the suspension of some 1 million barrels of oil in daily production. There were production... Читать дальше...

Crude oil prices began the week with a loss as fears of an escalation between Iran and Israel dissipated. The latest events in the Middle East appear to have convinced traders there is no immediate danger of an all-out war, so they are unloading their oil positions. This brought Brent crude down below $87 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate to below $83 per barrel. This is bad news for Saudi Arabia, which needs oil prices close to $100 per barrel to balance its budget, according to a new estimate by the International Monetary Fund... Читать дальше...

A couple of days ago, we reported that scores of beleaguered solar companies in Europe are fleeing the continent amid intense competition from China and setting up shop in the U.S., thanks to the latter’s favorable solar and clean energy policies. Notably, Swiss solar module maker Meyer Burger has announced plans to wind up panel production in Germany and move to the United States after failing to garner support from the German federal government. Similarly, battery company Freyr has stopped work... Читать дальше...

The price of carbon dioxide on the European Union’s emissions trading markets, ETS, has taken a bad tumble. On the face of it, this is good news—it means industries covered by the scheme are emitting less. But in this case, fewer emissions mean less money for the transition. Earlier this year, the price per carbon permit on the ETS dropped to the lowest in over two years, at 55 euro, equal to some $58. The drop came as a surprise to ETS architects and supporters in Brussels, who had plans for much... Читать дальше...