MH Daily Bulletin: June 9

At M. Holland

M. Holland’s 3D Printing group offers a rapid response alternative for producing selected parts where resin availability is tight. For more information, email our 3D Printing team.
Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets.

Supply

Oil prices jumped 2% to a 13-week high Wednesday on signs of rising demand in the U.S. and China. 
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 0.2% at $121.90/bbl and Brent was flat at $123.60/bbl. 
U.S. natural gas prices fell over 6% Wednesday following an explosion at a Texas export facility operated by Freeport LNG, which could force more supplies to be kept domestically. The facility, which provides around 20% of U.S. LNG processing, will be down for three weeks. 

In mid-morning trading today, U.S. natural gas futures fell another 5.1% to $8.26/MMBtu. 
U.S. crude inventories rose by a surprise 2 million barrels last week, according to the federal government. At 416.8 million barrels, inventories remain some 15% below the five-year average for this time of year, while emergency crude supplies are at a three-decade low. 
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by a surprise 800,000 barrels last week as demand rose despite record-high prices. 
The average U.S. gasoline price hit a record $4.955 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA. 

Memorial Day gasoline consumption in the U.S. was 6% below pre-pandemic levels. 
British gasoline prices jumped the most in a day since the early 2000s on Wednesday and are now averaging the U.S. equivalent of about $8.60 a gallon. 
The UAE’s energy minister said efforts by OPEC+ to boost output are “not encouraging,” with the group’s output some 2.6 million bpd short of targets. Crude prices could continue rising as demand rebounds in China, the official said. 
More oil news related to the war in Europe:
• The U.S. is in talks with European allies about forming a buyers’ cartel to set a global cap on the price of Russian oil. 
• Europe could face energy rationing amid supply shortages next winter, the International Energy Agency said. 
• Reports suggest Russia’s Rosneft is not signing new crude deals with two Indian refiners due to a lack of supply. 
• Russia’s oil output could fall 18% by the end of 2023 due to sanctions, according to U.S. forecasts. 
• BP is shutting down a key oil pipeline to Georgia’s Black Sea coast this month, citing the safety of oil tankers in the Black Sea.
• Ukraine will halt all exports of coal, natural gas and oil to deal with domestic shortages this winter. 
Chevron’s CEO warned that consumers may start identifying high energy prices with the green energy push, hampering transition efforts. 
EU lawmakers failed to pass a massive overhaul of the bloc’s carbon market, throwing potentially stricter climate goals into jeopardy. Lawmakers did reach agreement to effectively prohibit the sale of new gas- or diesel-powered cars by 2035.
Environmental groups are criticizing India’s inclusion of coal development in a legislative package aiming to boost renewable energy. 
PG&E, the U.S.’s largest utility, unveiled plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2040 while still using natural gas to produce power. 
A proposed German law would more than double the land available for onshore wind development. 

Supply Chain

Dangerous heat will settle over 22 million people in the Southwestern U.S. for the next several days, with temperatures expected to break records and exceed 110 degrees in some locations. 
The Baltic Exchange Dry Index fell 4.1% Wednesday to the lowest level in over a month, as rates fall for all vessel segments. 
Ocean carriers with strong transpacific operations will see the highest earnings in the second half of 2022, Alphaliner predicts. 
CF Industries is closing one of its two British fertilizer plants and cutting hundreds of jobs due to high energy costs. 
Pakistan is shortening its workweek in an effort to reduce energy and fuel consumption. 
Fuel shortages are hampering logistics activity across the African continent. 
At least a dozen large U.S. battery storage projects have been postponed, canceled or renegotiated as labor and transport bottlenecks crimp supplies. 
An EU proposal to label lithium as dangerous for human health would make it harder to supply the metal to electric-vehicle makers, firms say. 
A major Toyota supplier asked employees to take a day of leave this month to accommodate Toyota’s production shortfalls. 
Intel will receive over $7 billion in subsidies for a new chip factory in Germany, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dropped expansion plans for the nation. 
Miami-based Ryder System rejected a takeover bid by an activist shareholder group. 
An Israeli supply chain firm gained its first major customer for stamp-sized tracking tags it attaches to shipments. 
Some firms are raising fees on costly returns following the pandemic’s burst in online shopping. 

New York-based Plug Power is building a new plant at Belgium’s Port of Antwerp-Bruges to produce 35 tons of green hydrogen per day by 2025. 
Talks to create a safe Black Sea lane for Ukrainian grain exports have stalled. 
Removing underwater mines near key Ukrainian ports could take months, according to the United Nations. 

Domestic Markets

The U.S. reported 210,091 new COVID-19 infections and 1,194 virus fatalities Wednesday. 
COVID-19 cases in Texas are up 31% the past two weeks. 
Alaska will end its COVID-19 state of emergency July 1. 
New York state agencies will no longer require unvaccinated employees to test weekly for COVID-19. 
COVID-19 vaccinations for children under age 5 could roll out as soon as June 21 following FDA approval. 
Fewer than half of fully vaccinated Americans are also boosted against COVID-19, a sharply lower rate than the U.K. and Canada. 
Nearly six times more U.S. children and teenagers died from COVID-19 in one year than from the flu. 
COVID-19 patients may be 25% more likely to develop a psychiatric disorder four months after infection, according to an Ohio State University study. 
First-time jobless claims jumped 27,000 last week to 229,000. 
A widely followed GDP gauge from the Atlanta Federal Reserve suggests the U.S. could head into recession territory as soon as the second quarter. 
Announced M&A deals in the U.S. soared in April and May to almost $80 billion. 
U.S. mortgage applications, a proxy for demand, fell 6.5% last week to their lowest level in 22 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

About 28% of U.S. home sales in March were paid in cash, the highest level since 2014. 
After seeing the highest out-migration among U.S. metro areas during the pandemic, in-migration to Manhattan is now surging past pre-pandemic levels despite soaring home and rent costs. 
More manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices, a practice dubbed “shrinkflation.” 
Finance chiefs at major retailers are struggling to forecast quarterly sales as companies navigate ongoing uncertainty over shipping and consumer demand. 
Campbell Soup joined Kellogg and Kraft Heinz in raising its annual sales forecast on expectations of more price hikes and easing logistics constraints. 
Intel joined the string of other tech companies putting a freeze on new hiring as it seeks ways to cut costs. 
Spirit Airlines postponed its Friday stockholder meeting as it courts takeover bids from rivals Frontier Group and JetBlue. 
Used-car prices rose 0.7% in May, the first increase in five months. 
More automakers are backing the U.S. administration’s efforts to restore California’s ability to set its own strict vehicle emissions standards. 
A group of Trader Joe’s employees in Massachusetts will hold a union election, joining a string of U.S. retail workers organizing for higher pay and better benefits. 
The U.S. Interior Department will phase out single-use plastic products on public lands by 2032, including at national parks. 

International Markets

Global COVID-19 cases dropped 12% and fatalities dropped 22% last week, according to the World Health Organization. 
A week after lifting many COVID-19 restrictions, Shanghai will lock down a district with 2.7 million residents for mass testing Saturday.  
Chinese officials are worried that wind gusts will bring COVID-19 into the country across its border with North Korea. 
Aiming to maintain its rigorous COVID-19 controls, major Chinese cities have built tens of thousands of testing sites within a 15-minute walk of each other. 
Taiwan reported a record 159 COVID-19 fatalities Wednesday, while new infections crossed 80,000. 
New COVID-19 cases in Israel are rising as officials consider giving out a fifth vaccine dose. 
Ontario will end most of its remaining mask mandates Saturday. 
Germany will drop COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for incoming travelers starting August 31. 
Japan will require that tourists wear face masks and take out medical insurance against COVID-19 as the nation begins reopening its borders this week. 
South Korea lifted quarantine requirements for unvaccinated travelers who test negative for COVID-19 upon arrival.
More news related to the war in Europe:
• Some Russian airlines are considering relocating to Turkey to avoid crushing Western sanctions. 
• A rule change in Britain will allow stricter enforcement of sanctions against firms doing business with Russia.
• Russian consumer inflation hit an annual 17.1% in May, slightly lower than April’s rate. 
The European Central Bank is expected to end a key pandemic bond-buying program and map out its plan to raise interest rates for the first time in more than a decade when it meets today. 
Japan’s beleaguered currency is nearing its weakest level in 24 years after falling for five days straight. 
Poland’s central bank hiked its main interest rate 75 basis points to 6%, a 14-year high. 
Budget European airline Wizz Air says a lack of airport staff is causing higher costs and major disruptions to its flight schedules. 
Cupra, Volkswagen’s Spanish subsidiary, plans to release three new electric vehicle models by 2025. 
A Chinese internet company’s concept electric vehicle is fully autonomous, has no door handles and can be fully controlled via voice recognition. 
The price tag of global food imports is expected to total $1.81 trillion this year, surpassing last year’s all-time high by $51 billion. 
Hundreds of millions of people will be affected by higher annual flooding due to rising water levels across the globe this century: