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Supply
Oil prices rose half a percent Monday on signs of higher demand for refined products. Diesel futures continued to rally, gaining 5% on low global supplies.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 0.5% at $104.70/bbl, Brent was down 0.4% at $107.20/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was up 8.4% at $8.11/MMBtu.
Swelling orders for new LNG-carrying vessels are on pace to crush last year’s $16 billion orderbook as global demand for the fuel grows and more U.S. export projects come online:
Chinese oil demand is down over 1 million bpd from the same time last year, analysts say.
OPEC likely remained more than 250,000 bpd short of its planned output hike for April, the fourth shortfall in five months. The group meets Thursday and is expected to keep a gradual output increase for June.
Pemex reported over $6 billion in first-quarter profit, the highest in 18 years as output stabilized with more onshore and shallow-water drilling.
India’s power demand is up 13% from March as century-high temperatures rock the nation’s electricity grid.
More oil news related to the war in Europe:
The EU may spare Hungary and Slovakia from a Russian oil embargo as it prepares to finalize its next batch of sanctions today.
Mitsui & Co., one of Japan’s biggest traders, will stay involved with a massive LNG project in Russia’s Far East it says is vital for Japanese energy supply. The firm tripled its full-year profit to $7 billion on the recent rise in energy prices.
BP took a $25.5 billion accounting charge related to its decision to exit Russian holdings, the biggest hit so far among firms pulling out of the nation.
Supported by a tax on energy firms, Italy unveiled over $14 billion in new fiscal support to help households and businesses manage rising costs, particularly for energy.
The British government is calling on North Sea producers to reinvest massive earnings into building more energy projects.
A global funding package is in the works to help low-income nations reduce dirty coal consumption after demand for the fuel surged during the pandemic.
New Mexico’s Calf Canyon wildfire, the U.S.’s largest blaze currently, spread to 120,000 acres Monday as 13,000 people prepared to evacuate in the state’s central-northern region. The fire is expected to spread further due to high winds, officials said.
The U.S. Purchasing Manager’s Index fell to 69.7 in April, a 16-month low, primarily on a drop in transportation capacity:
The ports of Seattle and Tacoma saw a 28.1% decline in first-quarter loaded exports from the same time last year, while imports hit an all-time high.
Export bookings at the Port of Shanghai are down more than 20% since mid-March. Cargo diversions are creating backlogs at the nearby Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan.
The Suez Canal saw a record $629 million in ship fees in April, up 13.6% from the same time last year on a 6.3% gain in ship volumes.
UPS will put RFID tags on packages at 100 facilities this year, eliminating millions of manual sorting scans each day.
The U.S. cut its outlook for global wheat trade by 3% this year as governments scramble to fill a void from the Black Sea region.
Soba noodles, an iconic low-cost dish in Japan, will see prices rise for the first time in a decade on shortages of Russian buckwheat.
Domestic Markets
The U.S. reported 81,644 new COVID-19 infections and 266 virus fatalities Monday. Cases are up in all but three states, with the daily average rising to 56,000 from just 25,000 in early April.
COVID-19 cases in California are up 30% the past week. The state’s population fell 0.3% last year due in part to high COVID-19 fatalities and a falling birth rate.
The ISM’s index of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to 55.4 in April, its lowest in two years, as sector employment declined sharply.
U.S. construction spending grew at a smaller-than-expected rate of just 0.1% last month on a slowdown in commercial construction:
Almost 90% of consumer-goods companies reporting quarterly earnings have logged profits above analyst estimates.
Mortgage borrowers paid 31% more in fees used to lower contractual interest rates last month, one of several methods homebuyers are using to combat decade-high rates.
The Ukrainian refugee count hit 5.5 million and continues to grow, according to the United Nations.
Mexican manufacturing activity remained in contraction territory for the 26th consecutive month, according to a purchasing manager’s index.
GDP in Hong Kong fell 4% in the first quarter from the prior year due to COVID-19 disruptions and moderating global demand.
Japanese manufacturing activity slowed last month as supply chain disruptions in China weighed on demand. China’s factory activity is contracting sharply:
Stellantis is putting $2.8 million into reconfiguring two Ontario plants to make new-model electric vehicles.
Used car prices in Germany jumped 17% in April as supply shortages hampered production of new vehicles at Mercedes and Volkswagen.