All posts tagged: Gulf

Dollar firm near 18-month highs, as Gulf unrest, US inflation keep investors on edge

Dollar firm near 18-month highs, as Gulf unrest, US inflation keep investors on edge

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON, Oct 12 : The dollar traded around its highest in a year and a half on Monday, as an escalating Middle East conflict kept investors wary ahead of key US inflation data later this week that could shape the outlook for interest rates. Oil prices were volatile after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis stepped up strikes on Saudi Arabia, and two tankers were attacked over the weekend.  Brent crude futures were down 0.5 per cent at $104 a barrel, under a touch of pressure after Sunday’s announcement from US President Donald Trump about an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. The futures price is still nearly 45 per cent above where it was before the war started, while prices on some physical markets are double those levels. The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six others, was up 0.2 per cent at 102.43, just below last week’s 18-month highs. Weekly data from the US markets regulator shows investors have been adding to their bullish positions in the dollar, which rose to around $36 billion in the week …

Hurricane Isaias Slams Gulf Coast, Knocks Out Power To 830,000 As Major Refineries Are Spared

Hurricane Isaias Slams Gulf Coast, Knocks Out Power To 830,000 As Major Refineries Are Spared

Published by Jenni Sidey

Hurricane Isaias knocked out power to about 830,000 homes and businesses across Florida, Alabama, and Georgia and disrupted oil and natural gas operations in the Gulf of America, but the good news: it narrowly missed major refineries. The Category 2 hurricane made landfall near Destin, Florida, at 8:30 local time, with sustained winds of 105 miles per hour before weakening into what the National Hurricane Center calls a “post-tropical cyclone.” Strong winds damaged roofs, toppled trees and downed power lines, while flooding was reported across Florida and Alabama. Gulf oil production fell sharply late in the week as Isaias forced offshore platform evacuations and drilling rig relocations. A slight eastward shift in the storm’s track spared Chevron’s Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi, reducing the risk of a major refining disruption. The focus today now shifts to damaged infrastructure assessments and the pace of offshore production restarts.  According to the utility tracker website PowerOutage, 430,000 customers in Florida are without power, 300,000 in Alabama, and another 106,000 in Georgia. Torrential rain and tropical storm conditions were expected to …

Hurricane Isaias: Watch Gulf Coast webcams as landfall looms

Hurricane Isaias: Watch Gulf Coast webcams as landfall looms

Published by skeptic

Hurricane Isaias is making its way toward landfall on the Gulf Coast late tonight or early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The storm strengthened to Category 3 on Friday morning as it continued to push its way toward shore, the National Hurricane Center confirmed. Spaghetti models predict the storm to make landfall somewhere between Gulf Shores, Alabama and Fort Walton Beach, Florida, according to storm tracking site Cyclocane. Spaghetti models are collections of storm-tracking forecasts that plot the storm’s path and are overlaid on a map to provide a rough consensus on its track. It’s important to realize that, regardless of where the storm makes landfall, Hurricane Isaias is a large storm with hurricane-force winds extending up to 30 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 185 miles, according to the 8 a.m. ET NHC forecast. As the storm pushes in toward land, Hurricane Isaias’ arrival can be watched in real-time via cams along the Gulf Coast. We’ve gathered a collection of webcams that are livestreaming now. Pensacola, Florida webcams The YouTube channel …

“Small Disruption Now Has Outsized Price Consequences”: Jefferies Warns As Hurricane Takes Aim At US Gulf Energy

“Small Disruption Now Has Outsized Price Consequences”: Jefferies Warns As Hurricane Takes Aim At US Gulf Energy

Published by Jenni Sidey

Isaias has strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane in the overnight hours and is forecast to intensify further before making landfall along the US Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. Nearly two-thirds of Gulf of Mexico crude production is already shut in, while roughly 500,000 barrels a day of refining capacity is at risk. The disruption comes as a global refining crisis has pushed US gasoline and diesel prices into uncomfortable territory for consumers ahead of the midterm elections. While the supply impact is expected to be temporary, even brief refinery outages could tighten already constrained fuel inventories and add pressure to pump prices. Jefferies consumer staples analyst Kaumil Gajrawala warned on Thursday morning: “A small disruption now has outsized price consequences. The second-order effect is freight cost, which favors asset-light models like KO (Buy), where bottlers carry the fleet and fuel exposure.” US WTI prices rose as much as 5.6% on Thursday as oil/gas firms evacuated offshore platforms, moved drilling rigs, and prepared for port closures that could disrupt crude deliveries to major …

LNG Buyers Scramble For Conflict-Free Supplies Beyond Gulf As War Rejiggers Global Energy Flows

LNG Buyers Scramble For Conflict-Free Supplies Beyond Gulf As War Rejiggers Global Energy Flows

Published by Jenni Sidey

Since the early days of the US-Iran conflict, we have tracked the rewiring of global energy flows. That theme continues today and is accelerating as LNG buyers seek supplies and shipping routes well beyond the Gulf. Before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of global LNG trade transited through the Strait of Hormuz, concentrating risk at a single chokepoint. That vulnerability is now driving buyers to rejigger supply networks.  At last week’s Gastech annual conference and exhibition for natural gas and LNG in Bangkok, Thailand, Reuters cited energy executives, government officials, buyers, traders and investors who discussed the urgency of securing new supplies from conflict-free areas, largely because the Hormuz chokepoint has become a major liability.  Asian governments are pursuing longer-term supply security, while producers and trading houses are broadening their supply networks to include safer regions worldwide. “A lot of governments are thinking not just diversification of the suppliers, but diversification of supply routes,” Sue-Ern Tan, the head of the International Energy Agency’s regional cooperation center in Singapore, said at Gastech. Bangladesh, which previously relied on Qatar for most …

Oil falls on increased Gulf supply and hopes for US-Iran talks

Oil falls on increased Gulf supply and hopes for US-Iran talks

Published by Sam Flores

PERTH, Sept 23 : Oil prices drifted lower on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia began restoring crude supply on a critical pipeline to the Red Sea and on hopes for a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran war through talks at the UN in New York. Brent crude futures fell 7 cents, or 0.07 per cent, to $99.18 a barrel as of 0119 GMT while West Texas Intermediate futures fell 35 cents, or 0.39 per cent, to $90.17 per barrel. While US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that he could “annihilate” Iran, he also said his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held productive talks with mediators of Iran to end the war. “I think there’s a lot of momentum for them to make a deal,” Trump said. Optimism around improved supply and a push to end the nearly seven-month conflict drove benchmark Brent down to close below $100 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since September 8. “The market is currently feeling more constructive about the global oil supply picture than it …

Oil falls to two-week low as Gulf supply outlook improves

Oil falls to two-week low as Gulf supply outlook improves

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON, Sept 22 : Oil prices fell to a two-week low on Tuesday as prospects for Gulf supplies improved, with Iran signaling it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and Saudi Arabia set to resume exports from its Red Sea port of Yanbu. The Brent crude futures November contract was down $2.11, or 2.1 per cent, to $98.23 a barrel at 1151 GMT. The WTI October contract, which expires on Tuesday, lost $2.48, or 2.59 per cent, to $93.30 a barrel. The more actively traded November contract was down $2.36, or 2.55 per cent, at $90.01 a barrel. Brent November, WTI October and WTI November futures all touched their lowest levels since September 8. Iran can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday. The official said the Iranian delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York has full authority to revive diplomacy with the US. Hamad Hussain, senior climate …

14-Country Maritime Defense Alliance Moves Closer To Deploying To Red Sea, Gulf Of Aden

14-Country Maritime Defense Alliance Moves Closer To Deploying To Red Sea, Gulf Of Aden

Published by Jenni Sidey

With Saudi shipping traffic in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait under unprecedented peril, the recently-launched Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition is moving closer to deploying ships to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced on Friday.  Formed on July 30 at the initiative of Saudi Arabia, the Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition comprises 14 countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti, and Somalia. Representatives from 41 countries and the European Union, including 154 naval officers and officials, attended the coalition’s fourth planning meeting at the Saudi Western Fleet Command in Jeddah. Representatives of the countries that comprise the new Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition at their Friday meeting in Jeddah (Saudi Defense Ministry) “The Alliance is currently working on integrating capabilities and preparing for operational implementation and actual presence in the maritime operations area, following its achievement of the Initial Operational Capability stage,” the Saudi Defense Ministry said. The undertaking is organized to encompass joint training, intelligence-sharing, and — most importantly — maritime security operations. The entity is …

China does not need to replace the US in the Gulf | Opinions

China does not need to replace the US in the Gulf | Opinions

Published by Sam Flores

China’s diplomatic calendar this year reflects its growing international weight. A succession of prominent leaders has travelled to Beijing, including those from the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, South Korea, Pakistan and Jordan. The recent visit by Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani to China, as well as visits by high-level officials from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia earlier this year, confirm Beijing’s expanding role in the Gulf. The region, which has traditionally aligned with the US, is seeing growing competition between the two powers. But this rivalry does not mean that China is seeking to replace the US. It is approaching the region through trade and technology – something that fits into the Gulf’s own economic and development interests. The US model China does not want The US remains the Gulf’s most important external military partner. Its defence partnerships, intelligence ties, weapons systems, naval capabilities, and military presence remain central to regional security. For years, Washington has measured Chinese influence against its own military …