Blog posts tagged by tag: oil prices

• There's no end in sight to the Venezuela crisis

  Venezuela, as a country, has seen better days. The economy is in particular disarray. As a result, in our latest LatinFocus Consensus Forecast report for Venezuela, we project the economy contracting 9.7% in 2016.

  The crisis doesn’t look like it will be ending any time soon. Along with the disaster that is the economy, political turmoil, which stems largely from the economic crisis, has caused much uproar among the masses and has left President Nicolás Maduro’s government scrambling to keep its stranglehold on power. 

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  Tags: Economic Growth (GDP), Inflation, oil prices, Venezuela

• 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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  Tags: Energy Commodities, Oil, oil prices

• 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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  Tags: Energy Commodities, Oil, oil prices

• 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.

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  Tags: Energy Commodities, Oil, oil prices

• 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.

  

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  Tags: Economic Growth (GDP), Energy Commodities, Infographic, Oil, oil prices

• 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. 

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  Tags: Energy Commodities, Oil, oil prices

• 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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  Tags: Agricultural Commodities, Base Metals Commodities, Commodities, Energy Commodities, Infographic, oil prices, Precious Metals Commodities