Energy Watch Central and extreme scenarios for coal and natural gas In this Energy Watch, we look at what the war in Ukraine means for the thermal coal and natural gas markets in 2022 . Under our central scenario based on existing Western sanctions, we think Russian... 23rd March 2022 · 8 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Cost of FX policies rising in Nigeria, fuel price cap in SA? Evidence is building that Nigeria’s unorthodox exchange rate policies are fuelling inflation and increasingly damaging economic activity. Meanwhile, the authorities in South Africa are reportedly... 18th March 2022 · 8 mins read
Commodities Weekly Volatility to linger in commodity markets Commodity prices remained extremely volatile this week. After all the supply fears associated with the war on Ukraine, a rising number of COVID-19 cases in China raised concern about both demand and... 18th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi, China and renminbi oil sales Were Saudi Arabia to accept renminbi for its oil exports to China, it would be a symbolic move but it would also run into a number of economic practicalities, especially given that the Kingdom could... 18th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Energy Data Response US Weekly Petroleum Status Report US commercial crude stocks rose last week but remained historically low for the time of the year. Demand took a tumble and will probably struggle to rise much further with gasoline prices so high. 16th March 2022 · 2 mins read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Mar.) Although OPEC oil production rose in February, it remained well below target. And while OPEC left its 2022 oil demand and supply forecasts unchanged, it hinted at revisions due to “geopolitical... 15th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Higher oil prices, SA’s terms of trade and fuel inflation The latest economic data suggest that South Africa’s recovery has gained ground, and some sectors will benefit from elevated metals prices caused by the war in Ukraine. But at a macro level, a... 11th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly US-Venezuela ties, Brazil fuel price hike A meeting this week between officials from the US and Venezuelan governments could be the first step on a long road towards sanctions being lifted on the country. That would be necessary for Venezuela... 11th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Oil embargoes and asset returns: lessons from 1973-74 If the Russia-Ukraine war escalated, we would expect some of the recent patterns in relative asset market performance to continue to echo those during the 1973-74 oil crisis. That said, we wouldn’t... 11th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Commodities Weekly Still a bumpy road ahead for commodity prices The seemingly unstoppable rise in commodity prices gave way to sharp corrections this week, though the big picture is that prices remain extremely elevated. We suspect commodity prices will continue... 11th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update The war in Ukraine and Saudi oil policy Saudi Arabia has so far resisted pressure from the US to raise oil production in order to dampen prices but, with Russian oil production and exports set to be disrupted, we think that a move in this... 11th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Global Markets Update Assessing the risks to the S&P 500 from high oil prices The war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian oil trade have increased oil prices by as much as 40% so far this year, but we don’t think higher energy costs will derail the US stock market as they might... 11th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Energy Update Can Russia evade sanctions on its crude exports? Even if the West bans crude imports from Russia entirely, the Iranian experience suggests that there will still be ways for Russia to get its oil onto global markets. But any workarounds would take... 11th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Soaring energy prices will slow consumption growth In our base case, soaring energy prices and pass-through of higher energy input costs to manufactured goods will knock off 1.5%-pts from households’ disposable income. While the still high savings... 11th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Energy Update An extreme scenario for oil prices Russia’s oil production is set to decline over the course of this year under the weight of Western sanctions, but the scale of the decline will depend on the extent of the sanctions. In this Update... 10th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Weekly Russian energy sanctions, non-Gulf external strains build The US and UK embargoes on Russian energy exports could open the door for the Gulf countries to raise oil production more quickly and implement their long-term strategies of capturing market share... 10th March 2022 · 6 mins read
