Crude prices fell 2% Thursday after the EU failed to agree to a Russian energy boycott and reports surfaced that storm-damaged pipelines in the Black Sea could resume flows faster than expected.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 1.8% at $110.30/bbl, Brent was down 1.8% at $116.90/bbl and U.S. natural gas was up 1.6% at $5.49/MMBtu.
EU leaders will unveil a plan today to jointly buy more U.S. gas as they seek to cut reliance on Russian fuels. U.S. exporters have already shipped record volumes of LNG to Europe for three straight months.
Canada aims to boost oil and gas exports by 300,000 bpd this year to help nations distancing themselves from Russian energy.
Germany, Poland and Italy firmly rejected Russia’s demand to pay for Russian gas in rubles, creating uncertainty about some orders. Britain is considering the measure.
Germany unveiled a second relief package to provide cash to households and subsidize fuel costs to help consumers cope with surging power and heating costs. The nation’s utilities are calling for an automatic emergency support system triggered if gas imports suddenly decline.
U.S. fuel oil imports from the Middle East are set to rise to 17% of April purchases from 5% last year as refiners look to make up lost Russian supplies.
Uzbekistan plans to increase natural gas production more than 20% by the end of the decade but will keep most of the extra output at home, despite rising European demand.
Record high diesel prices are particularly hurting independent truckers and smaller fleets as shippers push back on rate increases.
Over 2.9 million tons of cargo passed through Los Angeles International Airport last year, up more than 20% from the previous year and shattering the previous record.
The U.S. administration will make available another $2.9 billion in infrastructure dollars next week for port and freight projects.
Construction is finished on Navistar’s new $250 million San Antonio commercial truck plant, which can produce 110 vehicles per day, including electric models.
Maersk signed a five-year deal with Sweden’s Einride to electrify at least 300 heavy-duty trucks for use in the shipper’s North American warehousing, distribution and transport business.
The U.S. Postal Service doubled its orders for electric vehicles yesterday alongside a new $3 billion order for 50,000 vehicles made by Oshkosh.
Sumitomo Electric Industries, a Japanese maker of wire and optical fiber cables, is transferring auto parts production from Ukraine to Romania and Morocco.
The White House is warning of impending global food shortages while urging countries to drop trade restrictions that could limit food exports. Fertilizer costs are four times higher around the globe than they were in 2020.
U.S. oat production declined almost 40% last year on a record-low harvest, with effects rippling through the global food supply chain.
Domestic Markets
The U.S. reported 44,134 new COVID-19 infections and 1,033 virus fatalities Thursday.
Widespread immunity from the U.S.’s record number of COVID-19 infections last winter could blunt a possible surge of the more transmissible BA.2 subvariant, officials say. Cases of the so-called “stealth” subvariant jumped 130% in Los Angeles last week.
New York City public schools saw over 1,400 new COVID-19 infections last week, the biggest weekly gain since the peak of Omicron in January. The city administration said it would not rehire the roughly 1,400 unvaccinated workers who were fired earlier this year.
Cornell University elevated its pandemic warning level to yellow as it experiences a renewed uptick in COVID-19 infections.
Wyoming and Mississippi have the U.S.’s only COVID-19 vaccination rates below 60% of eligible residents.
Free COVID-19 testing for uninsured Americans ended yesterday as federal pandemic relief winds down.
U.S. core capital goods orders fell 0.3% in February, the first decline in a year following a 1.3% gain in January, while new orders for durable goods unexpectedly fell for the first time in five months:
S&P Global’s composite purchasing managers index for U.S. services and manufacturing activity is at an eight-month high of 58.5 so far in March, while a measure of input prices accelerated to a near-record 76.8.
The average U.S. mortgage rate hit 4.42% this week, the highest level since January 2019. Declining mortgage applications suggest the U.S. housing boom will cool over the coming months, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics.
The percentage of new vehicles leased has dropped to 19% of overall auto sales, the lowest level since 2009, due to a severe shortage of dealer inventories.
The U.S. announced a new package of sanctions on Russian elites, lawmakers and dozens of defense companies yesterday. Similar measures were taken by the U.K.
The World Health Organization warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought COVID-19 vaccinations there to a halt and decimated the nation’s healthcare system.
The United Nations lowered its forecasts for global economic growth this year from 3.6% to 2.6%, with much of the slowdown pegged for the eurozone. An index of European services and manufacturing activity fell by a point to 54.5 so far in March.
Yesterday, Mexico’s central bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point to 6.5%, the highest level of the pandemic and its seventh consecutive rate hike.
Our next Plastics Reflections Web Series is Wednesday, March 30 at 1:00 pm CT. This event focused on the current and future state of the North American plastics industry will feature panelists from Business Publishing International, Jabil (Inc), LyondellBasell and M. Holland. Click here to learn more and register.
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.
For all COVID-19 updates and notices, please refer to the M. Holland website.