Today, as of 1:45 p.m. New York time, oil is down with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate off 1.65% to $43.45 and benchmark Brent crude lower by 1.86% to $44.95. U.S. stocks, which have followed oil recently, are lower as well. What else did you expect?
Hope just won’t die and the rumor won’t go away. Oil prices climbed today on rumors that the same 16 oil producing nations that on Sunday failed to strike a deal to cap production would meet again in Russia to strike a new deal. Russia has denied that any meeting is scheduled.
Today, just two days after the collapse of 16-nation talks to cap oil production Russia and Saudi Arabia are talking about boosting production to prevent the loss of market share to Iran. Just talk? Or the beginning shots in an oil producers war that could sweep up Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers before its over?
Who knows where oil prices would be today if Kuwait’s 13,000 members of the Oil & Petrochemical Industries Workers Confederation hadn’t gone on strike Sunday. The strikes has cut Kuwait’s crude output by 60%, or 1.7 million barrels a day. That has been enough to offset disappointment at the collapse of 16-nation talks to cap oil production at current record levels
Oil prices have RALLIED this morning on hopes–which spring eternal, apparently–that the April 17 meeting of oil producers will result in an agreement to freeze production at current record highs. But Iran has announced that it will continue to sell its oil at a discount to Asian customers in an effort to rebuild market share
Is this the death knell for the proposal to cap oil production at historical highs? On Friday, Saudi Arabia said that it would boost its own output if any other country, such as Iran, increased its production. The weekend brought data showing that Russia’s oil output in March rose to a new record high of 10.912 million barrels a day., according to the Energy Ministry
Ah, yes, volatility. The S&P 500 was down 12% for the year by mid-February. The index finished the quarter up 0.9% (as of 2:30 p.m. New York time today) after a 6.9% rally in March. Global stocks were up 7.1% in March but finished the quarter down 0.3%. Shanghai stocks rose 12% in March to cut the loss for the year to a mere 15%
At a speech in front of the Economic Club of New York today Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen pretty much quashed speculation that the Fed might raise interest rates at its April meeting. After such a strong reiteration of the Fed’s willingness to wait, the dollar fell, retreating 0.02% against the euro, and oil climbed
