Oil prices rose 3%-4% Monday as mounting civilian deaths in Ukraine raised pressure on Europe to ban Russian energy. Upward pressure also came from stalled talks to revive an Iran nuclear deal, which would allow a lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil.
In late-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 0.5% at $102.80/bbl, Brent was off 0.4% at $107.10/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was up 7.3% at $6.11/MMBtu.
A truce was negotiated for the first time in the seven-year conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, potentially spelling an end to escalating attacks that most recently led to damage to Saudi oil facilities.
Foreign demand for U.S. coal is surging as nations look to combat energy shortages, with prices rising 9% last week to their highest level since the mid-2000s.
Exxon Mobil expects to see its highest profit since 2008 in the first quarter, with total earnings nearing $10 billion. The firm also said it will invest $10 billion in its fourth and largest project off the coast of Guyana, one of its top bets for future production growth.
More oil news related to the war in Europe:Multiple signs suggest Russian oil and gas output is faltering as Western sanctions block exporters from placing some barrels. Suspicions heightened after the nation’s official provider of monthly output data failed to release a scheduled report on April 2, while other reports suggest Baltic Sea loadings are down sharply.
Container throughput in Shanghai is down 33% from a month ago, new data shows, as the government’s move to indefinitely prolong the city’s lockdown casts more uncertainty on global supply chains.
Ships would pay 8% more on average to traverse the Panama Canal under a new pricing system proposed by canal authorities.
At least 14 ships shut down after receiving tainted fuel from the world’s largest marine refueling hub in Singapore.
The vessel newbuild market is haywire, with containership orders rising 300% last year; LNG carrier orders hitting a record 86; newbuild prices rising at their fastest pace in two decades; and delivery times stretching to almost three years.
A broad group of logistics stakeholders is suing the Oakland Athletics over the proposed construction of a baseball stadium at the city’s port.
BNSF Railway paid almost $50 million last week for a 3,500-acre stretch of land in Phoenix, the site of its planned Western intermodal and logistics hub.
Three months after launching its dedicated freighter service with a single airplane, Air Canada, encouraged by promising cargo margins, is looking to buy at least seven more cargo jets by the end of 2023.
Maersk Drilling received over $107 million in recent contracts to provide ships to Shell for multiple drilling projects across the globe.
A coalition of global maritime operators aims to build two very large crude carriers that can operate on green ammonia by 2026.
More supply chain news related to the war in Europe:The EU plans to announce new sanctions on Russia, including bans on Russian coal and restrictions on Russian trucking and shipping carriers.
All of Russia’s waters are now designated “high risk” by London marine insurers, a move that will raise the cost of shipping and add to logistical pressures on Russia.
Production in Michigan of Ford’s Mustang and Chevrolet’s Camaro will shut down this week due to supply shortages, the automakers announced.
Canada’s budget proposal, set to be unveiled later this week, will likely include at least $1.6 billion to boost production of minerals needed for the electric-vehicle battery supply chain.
Spain announced plans to invest over $12 billion in boosting semiconductor production.
Advanced Micro Devices will purchase Pensando Systems for $1.9 billion to add to its services in the data-center market, which has grown sharply as companies embrace digital tools.
Chipotle’s plan to sell only humanely raised chicken by the end of this year has been put on hold due to supply shortages.
New COVID-19 cases are up 40% over the past two weeks in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, while smaller upturns have been noted in at least five other states.
Led by the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, COVID-19 cases are up 50% in Philadelphia over the past 10 days, prompting officials to recommend people return to wearing masks indoors.
Congressional lawmakers reached agreement yesterday on more than $10 billion in additional pandemic funding to expand purchases of antiviral pills and boost testing and vaccine manufacturing, among other provisions.
Recent studies suggest up to 40% of all COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S. occurred among people with diabetes.
The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on poor communities. Death rates in the nation’s poorest counties during the Delta variant surge were up to four-and-half times higher than the death rate in the richest counties, and the death rate in poor counties during the Omicron wave was up to three times higher.
Office availability in Manhattan reached a record-high 17.4% in February, while barely one-third of the Midtown office workforce has returned.
Orders for U.S.-manufactured goods fell 0.5% in February, the Commerce Department said Monday, the first decline in 10 months.
American consumers are buying staples in smaller quantities, switching to cheaper store-name brands and more rigorously hunting for deals as rising inflation permeates every part of the economy.
The average U.S. mortgage rate hit 5.45% this week, up more than a percentage-point from just a month ago. Real estate employment continues to boom despite the rise in rates, with 14,000 jobs added in March, higher than the 11,000 monthly average over the past year.
Shanghai’s lockdown was extended to all 26 million residents yesterday as more than 38,000 medical personnel were deployed for a round of mass testing, the nation’s largest medical operation since the shutdown of Wuhan in early 2020. The tests revealed more than 13,000 COVID-19 cases, prompting officials to extend the city’s lockdown indefinitely.
Daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea continue to swing wildly as the nation’s most recent virus wave slows down.
Taiwan is easing pandemic restrictions, despite a rising outbreak of the virus, in a bid to loosen pressure on the nation’s medical services.
GM is getting over $400 million from the Canadian government to help fund multi-billion-dollar investments at its two plants in Ontario, including one that will produce electric vehicles.
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