Major Products Draws Send Oil Prices Higher Crude oil prices climbed today, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA, reported another weekly build in crude oil inventories of 1.1 million barrels. That compared with a build of 1.6 million barrels for the previous week. The authority also reported major draws in fuel inventories for the…
Espionage: South Korea to inspect all Port Cranes bought from China The South Korean government is planning to inspect every port crane supplied by China. This is because the U.S. government recently pointed out that cranes built by Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC) may be used for espionage purposes. At present, a total of…
The South African Reserve Bank targets inflation of between 3% and 6%. South Africa’s central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised rates by a smaller than forecast 25 basis points in January as it lowered its economic growth forecasts over the crippling power cuts. The bank, which has raised interest rates at its last eight…
NMDPRA Unveils Six New Regulations for Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Industry in PIA …Threatens to Sanction Violators The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has unveiled six regulations that would guide the operations of companies in the oil and gas industry to conduct transactions in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act….
South Africa February Inflation Higher than Forecast as Power Cuts Bite …Inflation rose to 7.0% yr/yr in February from 6.9% in January …Power cuts in South Africa may be fuelling price hikes -analyst …Central bank targets inflation of between 3%-6% South Africa’s inflation rose slightly more than expected in February, a further indication that rolling…
Fitch Upgrades Ghana Local Currency Debt Rating to CCC Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday upgraded Ghana’s long-term local-currency issuer default rating to ‘CCC’ from ‘restricted default’, after the country started settling payments on outstanding local bonds following a domestic debt restructuring. Ghana defaulted on most of its $29 billion external debt last year, as interest…
Robust EV Demand Sends Argentina’s Mining Exports to a 10-Year High Exports of mined commodities from Argentina hit the highest in 10 years in 2022 driven by demand for EV battery metals, notably lithium. Argentina made $3.86 billion from mined commodity exports last year, Reuters reported, citing government data, with lithium exports alone skyrocketing by…
Russia becomes China’s Biggest Oil Supplier Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as China’s biggest oil supplier with refiners taking advantage of cheap barrels to feed rebounding demand in Asia’s biggest economy following the end of Covid Zero. The Asian nation imported 7.69 million tons of crude from Russia last month, or 2 million barrels a day,…
Why the Brent Price Plunge hasn’t Attracted Asian Buyers Asia continues to prefer buying cheaper Russian oil and hasn’t turned to Brent-linked cargoes from the Atlantic Basin despite the recent 10% slump in Brent oil prices, which has narrowed Brent’s premium over Middle Eastern benchmarks to the lowest in over two years, traders told Reuters….
South Africa to wrap up current hikes with last 25 Bps on March 30 South Africa’s Reserve Bank will raise interest rates for the last time in this cycle by 25 basis points on March 30, in anticipation of slower inflation and a weak economy due to power disruptions, a recent Reuters poll found. A…
