Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets.
Supply
Oil fell 0.5% Wednesday as markets weighed competing signals for supply tightness.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were up 0.2% at $73.13/bbl, Brent was down nominally at $78.26/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was down 2.3% at $2.13/MMBtu.
U.S. crude stocks fell by 7.5 million barrels last week, the biggest drop in four months, according to the Energy Information Administration. Inventories are about 6% above their five-year average for this time of year.
U.S. oil and gas activity stalled in the first quarter as production gains slowed and the outlook among drillers turned negative, according to a survey by the Dallas Fed.
U.S. natural gas production grew 4% last year, with three regions accounting for about 60% of all output:
Oil companies offered a combined $264 million for drilling rights in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, the region’s first auction in more than a year.
Benchmark natural gas prices in Europe rose for a third day Wednesday as strikes in France reduce the country’s supply.
Norway’s DNO ASA, which pumps about a quarter of Kurdistan’s crude exports, began idling its oil fields in the region after Iraq shut down a critical pipeline in a dispute with Turkey.
Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil firm, signed a new supply deal with Indian Oil Corporation that will significantly boost Russia’s crude deliveries to the country.
Chinese oil and gas giant CNOOC reported record profit of $20.6 billion last year, almost double the 2021 level.
Unseasonably warm weather and plummeting natural gas prices have tanked coal prices, with Central Appalachian coal down 57% from the beginning of the year. Renewables surpassed coal for the first time ever last year as a source for power generation.
Spanish oil firm Repsol is investing $217 million into a domestic plant that will convert cooking oil into sustainable aviation fuel.
Supply Chain
A BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed near Raymond, Minnesota, today, sparking a fire and forcing the evacuation of nearby residents.
Supply chain snags may be easing for retail-focused industries but remain stubbornly persistent in important sectors such as autos, machinery, defense and construction, experts say.
The vast majority of investment in self-driving technology in recent years has gone to passenger cars rather than truck and delivery vehicles.
Domestic Markets
Initial jobless claims rose modestly to 198,000 last week but remained near record lows, indicating a robust employment market.
U.S. imports fell 2.3% in February even as retail inventories jumped 0.8%.
U.S. retail sales are expected to grow at a slower pace this year as consumers react to fears of a recession, according to the National Retail Federation.
The White House is expected to propose tougher rules on midsize banks this week after regional lenders Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank failed.
The nation’s 25 largest banks saw an inflow of $120 billion in the week following the SVB collapse, while the rest of the banking industry saw outflows of a record $108 billion.
Ratings agency Moody’s expects the U.S. credit profile to see only limited impacts from recent turmoil in the banking sector.
U.S. pending home sales rose 0.8% in February, the third straight monthly increase to the highest level since last August.
U.S. mortgage refinancings climbed to a six-month high last week, fueled by several weeks of falling borrowing costs.
New mortgage applications were also 2.9% higher, the fourth week of increases:
A court ruled that spouses of foreign workers with H-1B visas may also work in the U.S., a win for tech firms.
Several big U.S. firms are scaling back investments in the online-only “metaverse” world amid weak demand and poor returns for the technology.
Electronic Arts will lay off about 6% of its workforce and reduce office space, becoming the first major video-game maker to announce job cuts.
United Airlines reached a preliminary contract agreement with over 30,000 ground workers, pushing the airline’s shares up Wednesday.
ICU Medical, a U.S. medical device-maker, teamed up with a private equity firm to challenge GE Healthcare in its pursuit of a potential $8-$9 billion deal to purchase two businesses from Medtronic.
Snack food companies are encountering formidable obstacles in developing environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic snack bags, from costs to preservative qualities to aesthetics.
International Markets
Russia’s retail sales fell 7.8% in February, while industrial output dipped 1.8%, both signs of a slowing economy. The country’s corporate profits also fell 21.3% in January, new data shows.
Melting ice in Antarctica is dramatically slowing water flow through the world’s oceans, new research shows, a pattern that could severely hurt the global climate.
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