Blog posts tagged by tag: Energy Commodities
Coal: The story of the world's most abundant fossil fuel
We’re back with another post in our commodities explainer series. This time we take on coal, a commodity that has received a lot of attention in recent years; mostly negative attention because of its effects on the environment. Fossil fuels are referred to as dirty fuels for industrial purposes and power generation, and coal is thought to be the dirtiest of them all. With so much attention placed on the environment in recent years, largely due to the climate change issue, coal has taken much of the flack. Nonetheless, coal is projected to continue to be produced and consumed at a healthy rate in the next few decades despite its bad rap. In this post we give you a comprehensive overview of coal:
Are uranium prices making a comeback?
Uranium, the silvery radioactive metal, is a very important element because of its use in generating electricity in nuclear power stations. As the world moves on from the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power may be making a comeback and consequently, so may uranium prices. Nonetheless, the price is currently down around 25% from the same time last year having plummetted over 40% in 2016 according to a report by Frik Els of Mining.com. A uranium supply glut and falling demand along with negative sentiment based on a series of events in early 2017 has kept the price low, but analysts are becoming bullish on the medium and longer-term outlooks for uranium despite the metal still technically in a bear market.
OPEC deal: Will OPEC comply? Who will really benefit?
The OPEC deal is done and the news sent oil prices soaring yesterday. The deal, which is designed to curb record-high global oil inventories, has been mooted as a possibility since last February when prices dropped to their lowest prices in over a decade.
It’s taken almost a year, but the deal is done, overcoming disputes between the cartel’s three biggest producers, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. The deal, which also includes non-OPEC member Russia, represents the first time in 8 years that OPEC agreed to cut oil production and the first time Russia, one of the largest oil producers outside of the cartel, has agreed to cut production in 15 years.
The Oil Price Roller Coaster
Crude oil prices are notoriously volatile and perhaps never more so than this year. So, if you're going to ride the oil price roller coaster, download a free copy of our FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast Commodities report to stay ahead of the curve here.
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How will energy commodities perform this year?
As the second quarter of 2016 begins and those of us located in the northern hemisphere move out of winter and into spring, a sense of hope starts to creep in as the days become longer and lighter after months of darkness and cold. However, unfortunately for many, the low-commodity-price environment does not seem to be changing much with the seasons. Energy commodities, in particular, are continuing to see low-prices, which is why we have created a new infographic depicting our latest price forecasts for Brent Crude Oil, WTI Crude Oil, Thermal Coal, and Natural Gas, which are available in our FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast Commodities report along with price forecasts and analysis on 29 other commodities in the energy, agricultural and metals sectors.
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What is really going on with oil prices?
As commodity prices have fallen globally over the last year, the one commodity that has stood out from the rest, which is often the case, has been crude oil. OPEC oil prices fell to a 14-year low on 20 January with the OPEC oil basket falling to USD 22.5. Many have cited the oversupply of oil as the reason for the price plummet, as well as uncertainty over the global economy resulting in decreased demand. The laws of supply and demand say that as supply increases and demand decreases, prices decrease. Despite the gradual decrease in prices over the last year, oil producing countries have continued with output at record high levels to gain as much market share as possible on competitors. The competition for market share even among fellow OPEC members was evident as production continued at record highs. Since February, however, a potential deal between Russia and key members of OPEC, including the unofficial leader Saudi Arabia, to freeze oil production at January output levels was announced to try to combat the low-oil price environment and stabilize prices at a higher level. Negotiations to finalize the deal happen in Doha on 17 April, but those ended without an agreement, despite many believing a deal was a foregone conclusion before the meeting even took place.
2019 Economic Outlook for the Top Oil Producing Countries
Over a year since the OPEC deal to cap oil production was announced, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the latest news and forecasts on oil prices and how top oil producing countries’ economies are performing in light of it all.
What is the Difference between WTI and Brent Crude Oil?
Crude oil has had an eventful year thus far, with prices falling to historic lows, long-awaited production cuts that never happened, wildfires, and now Brexit has brought oil prices back into the media limelight. With that in mind we have written a little blog post here on the differences between Brent and WTI crude oil. If you are curious as to what sets various crude oils apart, especially Brent and WTI, this blog post will shed some light on the differences as well as explain a bit about the Crude Oil futures markets and what role Brent and WTI play in the global oil commodity trade. But, before getting into the specifics of Brent and WTI, it might be helpful to first go through what quality metrics differentiate crude oils from one another.
FocusEconomics Launches Commodities Report with Price Forecasts for 33 Raw Materials
We are pleased to announce the publication of the new Commodities Consensus Forecast report. The report includes the latest price forecasts for 30 commodities in the energy, metals and agricultural sectors from leading local and global economic institutions, such as BMI Research, Goldman Sachs, Oxford Economics, Deutsche Bank and HSBC, to name just a few.
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What impact could the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran have on Africa’s major oil exporters?
As Iran ordered a ramping up of production by 500,000 on Monday, Persian tankers were already filling their hulls with millions of barrels of low-sulphur crude, destined mostly for European markets. Although there are some factors restricting the accessibility of Iranian crude to foreign markets, especially given that U.S. institutions are still barred from Iranian oil transactions, Iran will want to regain market share it has either lost, or never had access to. This will most likely translate to more supply of high-quality hydrocarbons and downside pressure on prices.
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