Energy Update How will the crisis in Venezuela affect oil production? Continued weakness in Venezuela’s oil output this year should help the market to rebalance. In fact, the potential for further reductions in production represents an upside risk to prices. 11th May 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update US gasoline consumption to accelerate after weak start We expect growth in US gasoline demand to pick up over the rest of the year as employment and wages rise. What’s more, a trend towards purchases of used cars and light trucks should offset reductions... 9th May 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Four reasons why the weakness in oil prices won’t last long The recent weakness in oil prices is largely due to concerns over persistently high US stocks and growing production there. However, the headline US crude stocks number is a little misleading and US... 5th May 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update US natural gas prices to rise despite cooler summer Even with slightly lower-than-expected domestic demand this year, higher exports and lower supply should be enough to put some upward pressure on US natural gas prices. 25th April 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Will the shake-up of the Brent oil benchmark affect prices? We expect the change in the method for assessing the Brent global benchmark to have a negligible effect on the price of Brent going forward. Rather, we anticipate fundamental factors such as stronger... 24th April 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update How concerned should the oil market be about rising tensions? The increase in political tensions in the Middle East and North Korea had given oil prices a bit of a boost, but this already seems to have faded. Indeed, barring a dramatic escalation of the... 20th April 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Is the oil market as oversupplied as US crude stocks imply? Relentless growth in inventories of US crude oil caused prices to slump in March. However, the headline stocks figures are potentially a little misleading and we think that the market is probably... 10th April 2017 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Some wider implications of a rebound in shale activity Demand for tubular steel and distillates in the US is likely to receive a boost from the ongoing revival in oil drilling activity. This will be a factor supporting prices, at least in the US market. 6th April 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Trump ends the “war on coal” The prices of US natural gas and renewable power are likely to be far more important to the US coal industry than President Trump’s attempts to deregulate and revitalise it. 29th March 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Europe’s oil demand should continue to grow in 2017 Robust economic growth in Europe’s key economies should support oil demand this year. Indeed, a pickup in global economic growth is likely to help to absorb the excess oil supplies in the market which... 28th March 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update China’s coal demand to resume downward trend Cold weather and strong economic growth have supported coal consumption in China recently. But a slowing economy and strong growth in renewables should undermine demand later in the year. 23rd March 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Will OPEC extend its production cuts? Steadily rising crude stocks and falling prices have made it more likely that OPEC will prolong its production cuts beyond June. However, there are significant hurdles which will need to be overcome... 16th March 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Has the stability in oil prices come to an end? A return to more normal levels of volatility in oil prices seems likely over the next few months as investors question the effectiveness of OPEC’s production cuts. However, we still expect prices to... 10th March 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Surging supply to keep a lid on LNG prices The price of spot LNG in Asia has been in freefall in recent weeks as temporary supply outages have been resolved and demand has cooled. We expect prices to fall further given ongoing expansions to... 27th February 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Will a slowdown in efficiency gains curtail US shale oil output? Oil price increases following production cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries stand to be partially tempered by higher US shale oil output. Improved efficiency in the industry means that oil producers... 14th February 2017 · 1 min read
Energy Update Will a stronger dollar prevent oil prices from rising further? Strong growth in demand for oil and a reduction in stocks should push prices higher over the rest of this year. However, rising US interest rates and a stronger dollar are likely to act as headwinds... 9th February 2017 · 1 min read
