Energy News
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The former CEO of one of the United States’ top oil companies fired back Tuesday on the Federal Trade Commission’s allegations that he had colluded with OPEC to boost fuel prices — contending the agency “unjustly smeared” him. Lawyers for Scott Sheffield, the former chief executive of Texas-based Pioneer Natural Resources, filed paperwork demanding that the ...
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A wind farm in Scotland will pay £33.14 million ($42.3 million) to UK energy regulator Ofgem for breaching energy market rules. Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd., broke rules when it charged excessive prices to reduce its output to ease pressure on the grid, “pushing up costs for consumers,” Ofgem said in a statement. The action follows a Bloomberg ...
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When Storm Isha hit Northern Ireland and northern Britain in January 2024, wind gusts of almost 100mph caused widespread damage to property. This strong extra-tropical cyclone also influenced both the insurance and energy sectors. Isha resulted in damages which required the insurance industry to pay out approximately €500 million (£427 million). That’s a ...
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Extending the dismal pace of US economy growth (if not outright contraction) observed in last month's Beige Book, which was validated by the sharp drop in Q1 GDP growth which tumbled to just 1.6% from more than 3% in Q4 and is expected to slide further to 1.3% tomorrow, moments ago the Fed published its latest Beige Book, which found that while economic ...
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As OPEC+ members are discussing their production policy for the rest of 2024, the group has also re-opened a debate over each producer's capacity to pump oil. These oil production capacities will become the basis for any output quotas under the OPEC+ deal for 2025, which has prompted several producers to push for higher estimates of their capacity. In ...
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Under regulations which came into force in July 2013, Japanese reactors have a nominal operating period of 40 years. One extension to this - limited to a maximum of 20 years - may be granted, requiring amongst other things, a special inspection to verify the integrity of reactor pressure vessels and containment vessels after 35 years of operation. The ...
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Extending the dismal pace of US economy growth (if not outright contraction) observed in last month's Beige Book, which was validated by the sharp drop in Q1 GDP growth which ...
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Out of 26 banks surveyed by Bloomberg there are 16 going for a 25bp rate cut by the Bank of Canada on 5 June, versus 10 favouring the BoC keeping the overnight lending rate at 5%. ...
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A People's Bank of China deputy governor: • Bank will coordinate relationship between short-term tasks and long-term goals, stable growth and risk prevention, and internal and ...
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National economic activity continued to expand from early April to mid-May; however, conditions varied across industries and Districts. Most Districts reported slight or modest growth, while two noted no change in activity. Retail spending was flat to up slightly, reflecting lower discretionary spending and heightened price sensitivity among consumers. Auto sales were roughly flat, with a few Districts noting that manufacturers were offering incentives to spur sales. Travel and tourism strengthened across much of the country, boosted by increased leisure and business travel, but hospitality contacts were mixed in their outlooks for the summer season. Demand for nonfinancial services rose, and activity in transportation services was mixed, as port and rail activity increased whereas reports of trucking and freight demand varied. Nonprofits and community organizations cited continued solid demand for their services, and manufacturing activity was widely characterized as flat to up, though two Districts cited declines. Tight credit standards and high interest rates continued to constrain lending growth. Housing demand rose modestly, and single-family construction increased, though there were reports of rising rates impacting sales activity. Conditions in the commercial real estate sector softened amid supply concerns, tight credit conditions, and elevated borrowing costs. Energy activity was largely stable, whereas agricultural reports were mixed, as drought conditions eased in some Districts, but farm finances/incomes remained a concern. Overall outlooks grew somewhat more pessimistic amid reports of rising uncertainty and greater downside risks post: FED BEIGE BOOK: PRICES INCREASED AT A MODEST PACE OVER THE REPORTING PERIOD. post: FED BEIGE BOOK: OVERALL OUTLOOKS GREW SOMEWHAT MORE PESSIMISTIC AMID REPORTS OF RISING UNCERTAINTY AND GREATER DOWNSIDE RISKS. post: FED BEIGE BOOK: NATIONAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CONTINUED TO EXPAND FROM EARLY APRIL TO MID-MAY. HOWEVER, CONDITIONS VARIED ACROSS INDUSTRIES AND DISTRICTS. post: FED'S BEIGE BOOK: EMPLOYMENT ROSE AT A SLIGHT PACE OVERALL. EIGHT DISTRICTS REPORTED NEGLIGIBLE TO MODEST JOB GAINS,AND THE REMAINING FOUR DISTRICTS REPORTED NO CHANGES IN EMPLOYMENT.
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post: SWISS NATIONAL BANK'S JORDAN: REASONS TO BELIEVE THE NATURAL RATE OF INTEREST HAS INCREASED OR MIGHT RISEJordan: The natural rate of interest (r*) as a reference point for monetary policy - a practitioner's view Ladies and gentlemen I am delighted to be here today in Seoul to address such a distinguished audience. I would like to thank Governor Rhee for inviting me to give this keynote speech. The topic of this year’s Bank of Korea International Conference – ‘The Evolution of the Natural Interest Rate and Its Implications for the Global Economy’ – could not have come at a better time. Monetary tightening over the past two years has lifted policy rates and longerterm interest rates from their historical lows. There are reasons to believe that some of the structural drivers of real interest rates have also changed direction in recent years. A lively debate has emerged on whether real interest rates will return to their pre-pandemic levels, or whether they will remain higher because the natural rate of interest, r*, has increased.1 Over the past years, r* has become an important reference point for monetary policy. The difference between the real interest rate and r* gives a measure of a central bank’s monetary policy stance. Therefore, r* estimates help in evaluating different monetary policy options. However, the measurement of r* is subject to high uncertainty. Today I would like to focus mainly on how policymakers can nevertheless make use of r* estimates in practice. In the first part of my remarks, I will briefly review the developments in real interest rates over the past decades. I will then turn to the concept of r* itself. In the second part, I will discuss how policymakers can use r* in practice to assess the monetary policy stance, and in particular, how they can deal with the inherent uncertainty in r* estimates. Here I will draw especially on the Swiss National Bank’s experience.
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The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® rose in May to 102.0 (1985=100) from 97.5 in April (a slight upward revision). The Present Situation Index—based on consumers' ...
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video Natural gas continued to strengthen on Wednesday, following a successful test of support around the 200-Day MA earlier in the week. The high of the day was 2.85 and it was reached on a gap at the opening of the session. It provided a retest of resistance around recent highs. Last Thursday a trend high of 2.92 was reached before sellers took charge ...
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As many readers already know, commodities are priced in US dollars on the global market. Therefore, a rising US dollar – which we’re seeing this week – means it takes fewer greenbacks to buy a given amount of a commodity such as a barrel of oil, and the US dollar price of that commodity falls – something we’re definitely NOT seeing this week when it comes ...
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RoboMarkets: upcoming changes to the trading schedule (the Memorial Day in the US and the Late May Spring Bank Holiday in the UK)22.05.2024 / 08:00Dear Clients and Partners, Please note the upcoming adjustments to the trading schedule. Holiday: the Memorial Day in the US and the Late May Spring Bank Holiday in the UK Dates: 27/05/2024 - 28/05/2024 This ...