Oil is less than $60 again.. American and Asian indicators are mixed

Oil is less than $60 again: The Federal Reserve published the minutes of its meeting that took place last March,
yesterday, and although it did not carry anything new, it had an impact on the markets,
in addition to the official US, stocks report from the Ministry of Energy, which directly affected oil prices.

Every day, Evest follows developments in the economic arena and briefly reports them to you.

Oil is retreating

Standard oil prices fell today, Thursday after US Energy Department data showed a significant increase in gasoline inventories in the country last week.

According to the US Department of Energy, oil reserves have dropped sharply more than expected, which is good news for prices.

On the other hand, gasoline stocks rose sharply, which was also not expected.

Despite optimistic investor expectations about the outlook for the economy this year,
oil prices remain vulnerable to news of a continuing rise in COVID-19 infections, especially in Asia.

The most difficult situation remains in India, one of the largest importers of oil.

London Futures Exchange

The cost of June Brent crude futures on the London Futures Exchange was $ 62.81 a barrel,
which was $ 0.35 (0.55%) lower than the previous session’s closing price.

As a result of trading on Wednesday, these contracts rose by $ 0.42 (0.7%), to reach $ 63.16 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude oil

The price of US West Texas Intermediate crude oil for May on electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) reached $ 59.41 a barrel, which is $ 0.36 (0.6%) lower than the level at the close of the previous session.

On Wednesday, the value of these contracts rose by $ 0.44 (0.7%) to $ 59.77 a barrel.

And the US Energy Department announced, on Wednesday, that the country’s oil reserves decreased last week by 3.52 million barrels.

However, gasoline inventories rose by 4.04 million barrels, which was more than analysts had expected.

The rise in gasoline inventories raises concerns that the increase in Covid-19 cases may reduce demand expectations.

However, some analysts believe that the increase in gasoline stocks may be due to increased imports ahead of the summer travel season in the United States when demand for fuel usually rises.

rise in coronavirus cases

Meanwhile, the rise in coronavirus cases in some major countries continues to worry investors.

In addition, there are concerns about the situation around the AstraZeneca Coronavirus vaccine.

The UK Government Vaccination Advisory Group (JCVI) has recommended that people under 30 years of age not be vaccinated with AstraZeneca due to reported blood clots following vaccination, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded that the risk of blood clots should be listed as Rare side effects.

A delay in vaccination may partially reduce market optimism about northern hemisphere oil demand this coming summer.

Black gold prices have fluctuated in a narrow range during the past few weeks, with the virus blockade continuing in certain parts of the world, threatening the expected rise in travel during the summer holidays and the recovery of global demand.

Meanwhile, OPEC + producers plan to gradually increase shipments to the market in the coming months, and Iran has already raised exports ahead of the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, adding pressure on prices due to upcoming supplies.

Collectively equity markets rise in Asia … and the Nikkei retreats alone

Gains in indices dominate stock markets in Asia.

In China, the Chinese index rose 0.45 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 1.20 percent.

South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.27 percent.

India, the Sensex is up 0.67 per cent,
while in Japan the Nikkei 225 is slightly lower – 0.07 per cent.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed today 0.07% lower in its main index, the Nikkei,
due to concern over a recovery in COVID-19 cases in Tokyo and other parts of the country.

The Nikkei index

The Nikkei index ended the day 21.08 points lower, at 29,708.98 points,
while the broader Topix index lost 15.57 points, or 0.79%, to 1951.86 integers.

Tokyo stock market

The Tokyo stock market moved aimlessly throughout the day due to the search for deals in the technology sector after the declines in the previous days and due to concern among investors about the increase in HIV cases in Japan.

The day before, the highest number of infections had been recorded in two months across Japan, while today it was known that the Tokyo government was planning to re-tighten restrictions to try to contain the rise of the virus.

Video game company Nintendo advanced 1.5%, while Toshiba Group fell 0.44% after rising more than 18% the day before when it confirmed it had received a takeover bid from CVC Capital.

On the other hand, China is intensifying vaccination efforts after the number of cases there increased again in some areas.

Mixed trades on Wall Street

Wall Street concluded another choppy day of trading on Wednesday with a mixed ending to stock indices and another all-time high for the S&P 500.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 6.01 points to 4,079.95.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16.02 points, or 0.05%, to 33,446.26 points.

While the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 9.54 points, or 0.07%, to 13,688.84 points.

Wednesday

According to the minutes of the last monetary policy meeting on March 16-17 published on Wednesday,
Fed members stressed the improvement in the US economic outlook
while agreeing on the need to support the recovery through low-interest-rate policy and continued asset buybacks.

Participants felt that consumers would benefit from recent stimulus packages,
as well as accommodative monetary policy.

However, most of the Corporation’s 18 leaders expect to keep key interest rates close to zero
until 2024 and do not plan to reduce the number of federal bond repurchases.

Central bank governors stressed that the recovery of the economy is still incomplete and uneven,
and more progress will need to be made before considering withdrawing the support measures adopted in 2020 in the face of the health crisis.

A good day for stock markets around the world.. Oil turns

A good day for stock markets around the world.. Oil turns: Trading has been resumed today,
after the Easter holiday in many countries, as oil has been able to restore the upward trend at a time when there was a major recovery for global stock markets.

Oil is trying to restore the bullish process

This indicates continued economic recovery

According to Monday’s data, the relevant indicators reached a record level.

the Iranian Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Former US President Donald Trump

Iranian nuclear talks

The situation in Wall Street

Prospects for a positive start in European markets

The situation is unstable in Asia

A volatile week for oil.. OPEC’s decisions support prices to rise again

A volatile week for oil: Crude oil witnessed a volatile week from March 29 to April 2,
as the week began on fall of prices, then it managed to rise after disruption of Evergreen in Suez Canal,
but it fell again and rises back during the last days of last week’s trading.

This happened after the last decisions of OPEC.

Oil reduces weekly losses and turns them into gains during just one day

OPEC’s decisions support oil

According to Reuters on Thursday

a decline by OPEC + will be just above 6.5 million barrels a day in May.

Factors supported oil prices

Positive dynamics for oil.. Asian stock markets are buoyant

Positive dynamics for oil.. Asian stock markets are buoyant: A few hours separate us from the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, as investors are waiting for a production decision in May, hoping that current levels of production will be maintained, or further cut to boost prices.

Oil turns high ahead of OPEC’s decision

March

OPEC Secretary-General Mohamed Barkindo

The White House

Asian Exchanges rise

American and Asian indices are in the red area..Losses extend to everyone

American and Asian indices are in the red area..Losses extend to everyone:

As US Joe Biden’s statements supported stock markets before,
they are negatively affecting them today, as investors are waiting for hearing a $ 2.25 billion plan to stimulate infrastructure.

Biden is planning for a big tax increase and issuing more treasury bonds.

This matter makes investors worried.

Evest is daily following up developments in global markets.

Oil rebounds slightly high waiting for OPEC’s decision tomorrow

Crude oil rebounded before OPEC + meeting today, as the group will decide its own production policy.

Alliance is expected to be cautious about increasing supply, given short-term concerns about demand.

Oil prices slightly rose today’s morning, as North Sea Brent recorded $ 64.44 a barrel.

This is 24 cents more than the previous day.

The price of US crude with West Texas Intermediate mark rose by 29 cents to record $ 60.84 a barrel,
after falling by 1.6% on Tuesday.

After the situation returned to its nature in Suez Canal,
which was closed by a giant container ship for some days,
the focus has become on meeting major oil-producing countries.

OPEC + delegates will meet on Thursday for discussing their production policy.

A default meeting of OPEC+ countries will be held to decide production policy,
as oil suppliers of this alliance will decide volumes of production in May.

OPEC + estimates that a surplus of crude oil was formed in oil markets during the Covid-19 pandemic,
but it may decline during the next quarter of the year.

Analysts expect that OPEC’s alliance will maintain its cautious stance on increasing supply
due to short-term concerns regarding demand.

Until now, main defender of OPEC’s cautious approach was Saudi Arabia,
one of the two main leaders of the group, along with Russia.

Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that, given risks to consumption still posed by closure,
a conservative position should be adopted.

He also added that high prices would not lead to a coordinated increase in the supply of rock oil producers in the United States.

Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco company, a state-owned oil giant, is expected to raise the official sale price of Arab Light crude for May deliveries by 30 cents a barrel, in line with an average estimate prepared by refining companies.

The upward amendment continues despite a continued flow of Iranian oil to China,
in addition to the difficult circumstances of many Asian refineries.

Data, as well as economic expectations, continue to refer to a recovery,
which by its turn promises good for oil demand.

In Asia, the official Chinese production index, above expectations,
rose 51.9 in March. Next week, IMF will update its global growth expectations-supported by better ones
of the United States and China- with warning of a continuing closure that may slow recovery.

In recent weeks, crude oil has been declined, making up for quarterly growth,
besides the hard-line situation in some parts of the world before the widely expected recovery in demand.

Tighter closures in parts of Europe have been revealed.

Road traffic and fuel consumption figures have been retreated, while in the United States,
IHS Markit data show that gasoline sales have fallen by 16%.

In addition, rising the value of the dollar has had a negative impact on the prices of the main commodities.

Losses extend to Japanese and Chinese Exchanges

Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down for the first time in five sessions in a row on Wednesday,
following Wall Street’s trend on the previous day, against the backdrop of another increase in US bond yields for 10 years,
which reached 1.77%.

It is the highest level in 14 months, before falling overnight.

Nikkei index lost 0.86% to record 29178.80 points, while Broader Topix index fell by 1.21%, to trade at 1954 points.

Tokyo lost affected by the banking sector after Mitsubishi had announced a loss of $ 300 million with regard to the collapse of the ArChegos Hedge fund.

On Tuesday, New York Stock Exchange closed in the red area,
affected by the 10-year appreciation of US bonds and strength of the dollar against other major currencies.

On Tuesday, the dollar exceeded the 110-yen barrier for the first time since March 2020.

Investors in Tokyo were also taking a wait-and-see stance before US President Joe Biden announces details of his massive infrastructure investment plan, expected to be announced today.

In Japan, industrial production also fell by (-2.1% in a month)

more than expected in February, following a strong recovery in January,
according to preliminary data released on Wednesday morning.

In Hong Kong, Hang Seng Index fell by 0.28%,
while Seoul declined by 0.3%, but Sydney retreated by 0.8%.

Shanghai closed down by 0.43% and the Shenzhen index closed down by 0.52%,
despite the fact that China’s manufacturing index rose above expectations to $ 51.9 in March.

US main indicators are trading down

Major US indexes closed down. Dow Jones index fell by 0.31% to close at 3,3066.69 points.

Standard and Poor’s 500 indexes decreased by 0.32% to record 3958.55 points,
while the Nasdaq index slipped by 0.11% to reach 13045.39 points.

Investors are waiting to hear about the $ 2.25 billion plan to stimulate infrastructure and work which US President Joe Biden must reveal today, as well as to monitor effects on inflation.

It is a potential option that could have negative implications for stock prices.

Biden plans to a substantial tax increase and more treasury bonds, which make investors worried.

US Oil Inventories Increased By 3.91 Million Barrels

US Oil Inventories Increased By 3.91 Million Barrels: The American Petroleum Institute (API) announced yesterday, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, that crude oil inventories rose by 3.910 million barrels for the week ending March 26th.

Analysts had expected an inventory increase of only 107,000 barrels,
which is much lower than the actual increase for this week.

In the previous week, the API reported that oil inventories reached 2.927 million barrels,
while analysts had expected an increase of 272,000 barrels.

The API also announced that gasoline inventories decreased by 6.012 million barrels in the week ending March 26, in addition to a decline in inventories of the previous week, which reached 3.728 million barrels.

Analysts had expected an increase of 730 thousand barrels for this week.

Weekly Oil Prices

Oil trading prices decreased the day before the publication of the American Petroleum Institute data,
as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell $ 0.96 before midday, and it was trading at $ 60.60 a barrel,
while the benchmark Brent crude price decreased $ 0.78 and was trading at $ 64.20 a barrel.

At midday, after the publication of the American Petroleum Institute data,
the WTI crude index was trading at $ 60.46, while Brent crude was trading at $ 64.02.

Factors That Affected Oil This Week

Prices returned to a state of instability this week, due to an expected delay in oil shipments through the Suez Canal.

And the OPEC meeting on Tuesday, which saw its members agree to review oil demand estimates for this year based on the push of Saudi Arabia, stated that the number used by OPEC is very high.

OPEC did not announce the official oil demand figure.

Energy Production Rates This Week

Daily oil production in the US rose to 11.0 million barrels in the week ending March 19,
according to the latest data released by the Energy Information Administration.

Distillate stocks also witnessed an increase in inventories this week by 2.595 million barrels for this week,
after an increase of 246 thousand barrels last week.

Cushing’s inventory numbers rose by 904,000 barrels. 

UAE Launches Its Oil Futures

The UAE potentially made history today when it sounded the starting pistol for its Murban crude oil futures,
to be traded on the brand new ICE Futures Abu Dhabi exchange.

The price of oil reached $ 63.93 a barrel after midnight GTM, according to Reuters,
and the UAE hopes it will become a regional benchmark, adding that 2,132 contracts of 1,000 barrels each were traded at that time, according to ICE’s Twitter account.

The move by the United Arab Emirates is one of its attempts to revolutionize the oil trade in the Middle East.

Per a Bloomberg report, the introduction of the futures removes the restraints that until now kept the spot market for oil closed off for large Middle Eastern producers, who either sold their crude directly to refiners or to the foreign companies operating their fields.

This, Bloomberg noted, prevented buyers from reselling the oil or profiting from arbitrage deals.

“If successful — and I think the chances are good — Murban futures could be a pivotal moment for the Middle East crude pricing,” according to Vandana Hari, founder of Singapore-based Vanda Insights.

If “a sizable chunk of the Middle Eastern crude trades freely in the spot market,”
other Middle Eastern producers may follow suit with their own futures.

There are two benchmark contracts in the Middle East right now: the Dubai benchmark,
operated by S&P Platts, and the DME (Dubai Mercantile Exchange) Oman.

The Murban contract is tied to the most popular crude oil grade produced by Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC.

Physical delivery of the oil bought under this contract will be made at the port of Fujairah in the UAE.

To ensure sufficient physical supplies for delivery, the Abu Dhabi producing company,
ADNOC, invested $ 900 million in building a storage space for 40 million barrels near the coastal city.

Every day, ADNOC produces approximately 2 million barrels of jam.

Suez Canal Crisis with Oil Tankers

The Suez Canal crisis prompted the Cheniere LNG tanker and the Shell oil tanker to reroute
as the Suez Canal is still blocked by the Ever Given containers.

On Saturday, CNBV reported that at least ten tankers and containers for crude oil and liquefied gas have been diverted,
and the number is expected to increase, according to CNBV, citing data from MarineTraffic and Calberdat.

According to MarineTraffic, There are more than 200 ships stuck in the Suez Canal.

The Results of the Suez Crisis

The Suez Crisis incident led to a rise in oil prices last week after it became clear that the liberation of Ever Given,
one of the largest container ships in the world, could take more than a week.

There are also about 3.6 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products passing through the choke point every day.

As a result, the price of both Brent benchmark and West Texas Intermediate crude rose on Thursday by more than 4%,
but it began to decline on Friday due to the rise in the US dollar and factors related to the global epidemic,
in addition to the smaller quantities of oil sent by Middle Eastern producers through the Suez Canal compared to the other choke points. 

If the impact of the Suez Crisis on oil prices is limited, it is costing global trade a lot.

According to experts at the insurance company Allianz, global trade may suffer a loss ranging between 6 and 10 billion dollars per week from the accident, with the annual trade growth falling by 0.2% to 0.4 %.

For every day the channel closes, it causes a loss of trade of $ 9.6 billion.

The latest reports say “Ever Given” has been successfully re-floated,
but efforts are still underway to get the ship out of the canal.

Venezuela Buys Coronavirus Vaccines with Oil

Nicolas Maduro, head of the troubled South American country that houses the world’s largest oil reserves,
said on Sunday that Venezuela could pay oil for “Covid-19” vaccines.

He added that Venezuela was struggling with the collapse of its economy and oil production even before the spread of the epidemic.

But the crisis exacerbated with a drop in oil prices in 2020 while Venezuela continued to struggle to reverse the decline in its oil production.

Crude oil exports have also decreased dramatically since the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports in early 2019, which prevented US refiners from importing oil from Venezuela.

“We are ready and prepared for oil for vaccines, Maduro added,” but we will not beg anyone.”

He also stated that Venezuela has two options to purchase vaccines under the WHO (COVAX) mechanism to deliver vaccines to poor countries.

The first option is to unfreeze Venezuelan funds and accounts, and the other is the oil-for-vaccines plan.

Venezuela’s exports of crude oil and refined products fell in 2020 to their lowest level in 77 years,
as the United States continues to escalate sanctions against the Maduro regime and anyone has found a deal with it.

A prospective meeting for OPEC and hedge fund ArChegos dominates markets

A prospective meeting for OPEC: Rescue teams at Suez Canal were able to float the stuck ship less than a week ago.

This made investors turn their attention to other events, including what happens to hedge fund ArChegos.

Evest is following up daily on what happens to the economic arena and transfer it directly to you.

Oil investors are waiting for OPEC meeting amid negative tradings

Today’s morning, International oil prices show weak negative dynamics,
as investors continue to assess supply and demand prospects before OPEC + meetings.

June futures price for North Sea crude oil mix declined by 0.17%, to record $ 64.81,
while futures for May fell also by 0.17% to record $ 64.87.

The cost of West Texas Intermediate futures for May fell by 0.1% to reach $ 61.50 a barrel.

Suez Canal

The situation began to return to its nature again in Suez Canal.

For several days, a giant cargo ship stuck in Suez Canal prevented passing dozens of ships from one of the most important waterways.

Osama Rabie, head of Canal authority, said that first ships had begun their track at an early hour of Monday evening.

Accordingly, more than 100 ships were supposed to leave their waiting positions by morning to cross Suez Canal.

However, according to information received from shipping companies, it may take days before the waiting list is fully resolved.

Investors are looking forward to OPEC + meetings on both Wednesday and Thursday to assess possible solutions for the oil cut deal.

The Meeting of the OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) will be held on March 31,
while the entire OPEC + Alliance meeting is scheduled for April 1.

According to an OPEC source

According to an OPEC source, Saudi Arabia is willing to accept the extension of its current production restrictions until the end of June.

In addition, given its current unfavorable epidemiological situation,
it was prepared to prolong voluntary unilateral cuts in production.

Analysts expect that OPEC + to stick to tighter crude oil production limits for another month,
with caution about oil prices this week.

While expectations of no change in OPEC + production have already been largely estimated by many analysts,
but there is a risk that members may still agree to relax oil supply restrictions.

After the previous OPEC + meeting- in early March- alliance’s producers were expected to support oil markets with additional crude oil, but OPEC and other producers chose not to increase supplies, given the ongoing threat of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Statistics on US commercial oil reserves

Statistics on US commercial oil reserves for last week are also expected to be released on Wednesday by the Department of Energy in the country.

Analysts believe that stocks will show growth for the sixth week in a row- by 0.4 million barrels to reach 503.1 million barrels.

Expectations for a strong European opening

Global exchanges regained strength after yesterday’s shock related to faltering hedge fund ArChegos.

This morning, all European indicators point to a rise, as Milan Stock Exchange may rise by 0.5%,
while London Stock Exchange may rise by 0.62%.

Frankfurt Exchange may rise by 0.59%, while Paris may rise by 0.46%.

The situation in Asia is differentiated

Major Exchanges in Asia and the Pacific were closed off without a certain direction,
focusing on the long Easter weekend amid a continual spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tokyo Stock Exchange index rose by 0.16%, as Japan’s Nomura Bank was strongly hit by the collapse of the US Fund,
which closed at – 0.65%, after recording a historic decline of – 16.3%, Yesterday.

The broader Topix index remained below 2,000 points, down by 0.87%.

Shanghai index rose by 0.33%, while the Taiwan index rose by 0.485%, but the Seoul index rose by 1.12%.

Sydney Stock Exchange declined by 0.9%.

In Hong Kong, Hang Seng Index rose by 1.21.

Indian Stock Exchange rose by 1.8%, but it didn’t close its doors yet.

Talk is still going on for hedge fund in Wall Street

On Monday, in Wall Street, there were minor changes in the focus of attention, as hedge funds pulled capital into the spotlight.

This by its turn led to big sell-offs for some of the stocks late last week.

Dow Jones index realized a historic record in spite of banks’ weakness.

Dow Jones Industrial Index rose by 98 points, or 0.30%, at its close to record 33,171.37 points.

This is a new record for this indicator.

Standard and Poor’s 500 indexes fell by 0.09% at the end of the day to record 3971.09 points.

Nasdaq Composite index lost 0.60%.

The session closed at 13095.65 points.

Banking companies

Banking companies all over the world, assess their exposure to hedge fund withdrawals.

Sources say that fund is ArChegos Capital Management.

Analysts say that equity investors are clearly concerned after reports of forced liquidation of hedge fund ArChegos Capital.

Goldman Sachs’ stock retreated by 3%.

Bloomberg stated that Goldman informed shareholders that any losses it might suffer as a result of the withdrawal of ArChegos Capital Management were likely to be minimal.

JPMorgan and Wells Fargo lost 1.5% each, while Citi dropped by 2%.

Last week

Last week, Discovery stocks were recovering from pressure. On Friday, this company lost 27%.

On Monday, its stock rose by more than 2%.

ViacomCBS index retreated by 5%.

This company also lost 27% on Friday.

This includes selling shares of these 2 companies by ArChegos Fund.

Boeing

Boeing grew by more than 3%, following the announcement that Southwest Airlines would order another 100 of 737 MAX model.

Twitter

Twitter earned 3%, after Trust’s upgrading to recommend its shares with “Buy” from “wait”.

Investors are preparing to increase fluctuations in a short leave week because of changes in portfolios and other senior investors at the end of this quarter.

Analysts say that the recent rapid rise in bond revenues can push funders to make significant amendments to their investment portfolios.

A collective rise in Asian indices.. Oil is back down again

A collective rise in Asian indices: Rescue efforts have finally been able to float the giant container ship in Suez Canal,
which remained stuck for more than 4 days.

This made all world markets waiting for what is happening.

As some say some people’s disasters are other’s benefits.

Oil succeeded to rise taking advantage of stopping navigation in Suez Canal following this accident,
but it returned to retreat again after the crisis has been ended.

Evest is following up on all developments in the financial arena and relays them to you daily.

Oil falls again after success in floating Suez Canal’s ship

Crude oil prices retreated by more than 2%, after succeeding in removing the giant container ship,
which closed the world trade route of the Suez Canal.

Brent crude oil price for a contract of May 2021 delivery by $ 1.38 or 2.1% to record $ 63.19 a barrel.

Similarly, West Texas Intermediate crude for the May delivery contract fell by $ 1.48 or 2.4% to reach $ 59.49 a barrel.

Reuters

A source from Reuters said that as of yesterday, the stranded Ever Given container ship,
was able to float and it will be inspected before being transported.

Service provider Inchcape Shipping said that the 400-meter longship was restored to its floating condition
in the early hours of Monday and it will be secured.

However, it was not initially clear to know when the important waterway could be opened to pass again.

Suez Canal plays an important role in transporting crude oil.

Hundreds of other container vessels, bulk tankers, and oil tankers remain at both ends of the channel.

However, news of the rescue crew’s success to immediate transport of the container ship led to a sharp drop after trading at a slight decline in morning dealings.

Oil prices have significantly fluctuated in recent days as traders and investors are trying to assess the impact of blockage of major trade crossing points and effects of the widest closure to stop infections of Coronavirus in most parts of Europe.

According to analysts

According to analysts, volatility will continue, as by looking at last week’s fluctuation,
Brent crude seems to be ready to move towards a minimum level of $ 60.00 to $ 65.00 a barrel,
while US oil is likely to fall to the bottom between $ 57.50 to $ 62.50 a barrel.

Prices have somewhat been supported by expectations that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will keep production levels low when they meet this week.

Standard and Poor’s Global Platts quoted some analysts as their expectations that OPEC + or Saudi Arabia would not take risks and they will bring more oil to market.

Last month, OPEC + countries unexpectedly withdrew diluted production restrictions in April.

This time, Goldman Sachs analysts also don’t expect a change in production,
while Citigroup experts believe that OPEC +may tighten restrictions of production.

Data from American oil services company Baker Hughes, released last Friday,
showed that a number of oil and gas platforms operating in the United States has been risen by 6 units to 417 last week.

In terms of demand, the tense situation regarding Coronavirus in many countries remains a burden.

The infection situation is worsening, especially in large states of the European Union.

This threatens to impose additional restrictions on public life, which by its turn will affect the economy and demand for oil.

The number of new Covid-19 infections increased all over the world for the fifth week in a row.

The collective rise in Asian indicators

In Asia, stock markets are moving in the right direction.

Tokyo stocks rose amid optimism regarding corporate results and recovery of the American economy.

Chinese stock markets also rose after rising in profits of Chinese industrial companies emerged during the first two months.

MSCI index rose by 0.1%, while the Japanese Nikkei index in Tokyo rose by 1%, but in Hong Kong, Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4%.

Shanghai and Shenzhen indexes rose by 0% and 8%in a row. Indian Mumbai BSE Sensex index rose by 1%.

Wall Street ends week rising

US President Joe Biden announced a new target of distributing 200 million vaccines for the Covid-19 virus during his first 100 days in office.

As of Friday, 100 million doses against Coronavirus have already been given since he entered the White House.

Friday’s session concluded with a rise in main indicators of Wall Street,
as Standard and Poor’s 500 indexes rose by 1.7%, while the Nasdaq index rose by 1.2%.

US banking sector positively reacted to Fed’s permission to resume repurchasing shares and profits distributions from June or this year.

It is supposed to return to normal working hours on Wall Street, hours after shifting to summer timing in Europe.

The opening will return again at 3:30 pm, and it will close at 10 pm.

Dallas Federal Reserve Board’s Manufacturing Activity Survey for March will be released today.

Traders are waiting for the publication of the US Jobs Report for March,
National Bank’s annual figures, and market response to President Biden’s massive investment plan.

Britain strongly faces the Covid-19 virus… Expectations for DAX to rise

Despite the development of the third wave of Coronavirus in Europe,
the British Deputy Minister of Health announced that as of September,
the oldest and most vulnerable people will get the third dose of vaccines,
which is to strengthen their immunity, especially to variants of vaccines.

However, this did not prevent expectations of British Footsy index opening declined by 0.12%,
while expectations indicate rising in the German DAX index by 0.06%, and French CAC by 0.11%.

Mixed feelings for oil traders.. Suez Canal accident may continue to support prices

Mixed feelings for oil traders: Global oil prices have differently closed in this week’s dealings.

The current world oil price is still around $ 60-65 a barrel.

Mixed sentiments

Oil prices continue to fluctuate at the beginning of 2021, as at the beginning of March, they reached their highest levels for more than a year,
but in recent days they returned to decline again.

Brent oil price rose by 0.06%, compared to last week’s closing to record $ 64.57.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude is still down 0.73% to reach $ 60.97 a barrel this week.

These figures are below the highest levels recorded in early March when Brent crude exceeded $ 70 a barrel
and West Texas Intermediate crude also exceeded $ 66 a barrel

This week

This week, at its worst, West Texas Intermediate crude fell to $ 57 a barrel, while Brent crude recorded $ 62 a barrel.

Divergence in oil prices has occurred in line with conflicting market reactions, amid mixed market morale this week.

The first feeling is the re-imposition of closures in Europe, as this closure will of course reduce demand in the region.

The third wave of Coronavirus and implementation of new barriers and restrictions on moving will be the main reasons
why oil prices have been fallen by more than 7% during recent days.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, witnessed the largest increase in Covid-19’s cases since January.

Meanwhile, in the United States of America, the distribution of vaccines tends to be faster than in other countries,
but health experts fear that spring break travel activities will lead to an increase in Covid-19’s infections in the country.

The second feeling is that the US dollar has been strengthened again.

US dollar recorded its new highest level in four months against Euro, as US response to the epidemic continued to outstrip Europe.

The rising price of the dollar makes oil priced in dollars more expensive for holders of other currencies.

On Wednesday tradings, oil prices jumped by 6% during one day

Suez Canal cargo ship

This time, it was caused by an accident on the Suez Canal cargo ship.

The crew who tried to drag the ship described it as a whale on the beach.

Reuters quoted Peter Berdovsky, CEO of Boskalis (one of the rescue teams),
saying: “We can not rule out that these (rescue efforts) may take weeks.

It depends on the evolution of the situation”.

Suez Canal is not a local route, but it is the most crowded channel in the world, as it connects Asia and Europe.

If the ship is not passed from there, it will have to go a long way to take more time and money.

This talk is just about oil and not about other products whose trades rely on Suez Canal as the main route.

There are already over 200 large container ships trapped in the sea channel,
causing longer shipping times and overcome costs of course.

Suez Canal accident and oil

On Friday, a sturdy by the German Insurance company “Allianz”,
showed that the cost of global trading due to a siege of a commercial ship for the Suez Canal was estimated,
between $ 6 billion and $ 10 billion a week.

On Friday. Sea traffic congestion caused by transport vessel Evergreen-operated by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen-
has been overridden-200 vessels were outside Suez Canal.

Some of them began to adjust their routes, while an attempt to liberate the vessel of more than 400 meters in length and 224,000 tons,
which was suspended on Wednesday in the Suez Canal because of a sandstorm and severe winds was unsuccessful.

This led to cutting off the vital route through which 10% of world trade at least, passes.

Experts point out that freeing this cargo ship could take up to a week, in the best cases.

They also warned of possible structural damage to this vessel.

Europe’s largest insurance company

Analysis by Allianz, Europe’s largest insurance company, revealed that each week of closure represents a decrease of 0.2% to 0.4%, a point in annual growth of trade.

This study said: “The problem, is that the siege imposed on Suez Canal is the last straw of global trade.

Delivery times of suppliers have been extended since the beginning of the year,
and now they are longer in Europe than they were during the top of Covid-19 pandemic”.

Freight rates for tankers carrying Petroleum products have almost been doubled since this accident.

The global supply chain for all types of products has also been disrupted.

For example, IKEA, the world’s largest furniture seller, has about 110 containers stuck in Suez Canal.

European companies are in a similar situation.

White House announced that President Joe Biden’s administration is already analyzing the impact
of this incident on energy markets and it will respond to this situation if necessary.

The assistance of the United States

White House spokeswoman, Jane Basaki said: “We offered the assistance of United States to Egyptian authorities to help in reopening of Suez Canal.

Military sources have indicated that a team of experts from the US Navy will be dispatched on Saturday
if this was requested by Egyptian Government”.

They added that the United States was also willing to offer safety advice for shipowners who decided to avoid Suez Canal,
which could expose them to high-risk piracy areas.

On Friday, oil prices rose more than 4%, after the failure of an attempt to remove the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal.

In Europe, Standard Brent crude rose by $ 2.62 to record $ 64.57 a barrel,
while West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $ 2.41 to close at $ 60.97 a barrel.

Of 39.2 million barrels a day of crude transported by sea in 2020,
1.74 million barrels passed through Suez Canal, according to Kpler company data.

Oil is stable after a sharp increase yesterday.. Asian stocks are in the green area

Oil is stable after a sharp increase yesterday: Markets have witnessed several developments,
the most notable is reducing oil losses yesterday after oil was close to falling below the $ 60 level.

Asian stocks are on a major recovery today, as markets have witnessed a rise in most Asian indices.

Every day, Evest is following up on all developments in markets and relays them to you.

Oil retreats again after a good day of gains

Oil prices decreased after new closures caused by Coronavirus had led to reviving concerns about demand for Petroleum products, and amid the accident of a stuck oil ship in the Suez Canal, whose locomotive was tried to be pulled.

Brent crude futures for May delivery fell to record $ 63.08 a barrel or 2.06% on Thursday morning.

West Texas

At the same time, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May fell by 2.27%, to trade at $ 59.79 a barrel.

European countries

With low prices, it was concerned that actions taken in European countries,
especially in the range of fighting the new strain of Coronavirus “Covid-19” epidemic, would affect oil demand.

While the risk of a surge in the Covid-19 epidemic in addition to fears of a new wave that causes taking new measures in many countries, particularly in Europe, but continues to have a negative impact on prospects for oil demand recovery.

While vaccinations of the Covid-19 epidemic continue in many countries, especially in European ones, difficulties in the safety of the vaccine and its supplies, as well as banning of exporting vaccine by some countries, may increase tension in the oil market.

Increase in US commercial crude inventories

On other hand, a higher than expected increase in US commercial crude inventories,
which is the world’s largest oil consumer, supported downward prices.

US commercial crude stocks rose by 1.9 million barrels last week compared to the previous week,
according to US Energy Information Administration (IEA) data.

Market expectations showed an increase of about 900,000 barrels.

On other hand, 13 million barrels of crude oil’s transmitting was stopped because of landing a giant container ship in Suez Canal in Egypt, which is one of the world’s most important waterways.

This caused a quick rise in prices. Development, which disrupts global oil trading can somewhat limit low prices.

Sea route between Europe and Asia

A huge container ship suspended in Suez Canal for more than a day,
but it partially recovered due to canceling a ban for the fastest sea route between Europe and Asia,
according to an announcement by the port agent on Wednesday.

A 400-meter giant container ship by Panama flag which stopped across the canal during a severe sandstorm has blocked traffic in both directions.

More than 150 vessels have been accumulated at the entry of Suez of Red and the Mediterranean Sea.

On Wednesday, the price of oil rose by 6%, by the same percentage as its falling on Tuesday,
due to a ship’s disorder in Suez Canal, which by its turn may lead to stopping crude oil supplies in the region.

Brent crude oil also rose by 5.6% to record $ 64.17 a barrel after a similar decline during the previous session.

The rising of prices was also supported by US data regarding a resumption of refining activities,
which indicates that refineries had largely been recovered from the sudden cold wave in Texas during February.

Brent crude oil prices

On Wednesday, Brent crude oil prices rose by 5.6% to record $ 64.17 a barrel after a decline of 5.9% during the previous session.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil

On Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil also rose by 5.5% to reach $ 60.96 a barrel,
while on Tuesday, the same crude fell by 6.2%.

These increases seem to make the market stable, which has been declining since the start of this month,
due to concerns regarding new quarantine procedures and the slow space of vaccinations in Europe.

Variation in performance of Wall Street indicators

Yesterday, US stock markets closed a weak day, as Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq indexes fell,
while the Dow Jones Industrial index stagnated.

Yesterday, all US three major indexes positively started trading, but then, they turned strong.

In the end, Standard and Poor’s index fell by 0.55%, while the Nasdaq index was finally decreased by 2%,
but the Dow Jones index was stable.

Technology companies’ performance was weak, but cruise ship stocks have also retreated after US Epidemiological Authority ruled that ships travel restrictions would remain in place until November 1.

Tesla’s shares

Tesla’s shares almost retreated by about 5%but cruise companies had passed a large bad day,
the weak performance is largely due to the fact that, according to the decision released by US epidemiology,
travel restrictions on ships will remain valid until November 1.

On other hand, oil companies’ stocks have been risen after stopping a cargo ship that stopped traffic in Suez Canal,
which plays a major role in freight traffic.

This incident led to delaying the delivery of about 13 million barrels of oil.

Positive moves for Asian stock markets

Performance of Asian markets was often well, as the Japanese Nikkei index rose by 1.1%,
while the Kospi index rose by 0.4%, but the Australian stock market rose by 0.2%.

Singapore stock index rose by 03%.

However, Shanghai and Hong Kong Exchanges witness a retreating in their indexes.

US futures indicators are expected to rise, while DAX future index rose by 0.2%.

DAX index may start weak

Epidemic concerns and closure extension in Germany seem to be weighing on leading German indicators.

According to expectations, today DAX index will start at a decline of 0.24% to record 14,575 points.

This is still only 1.5% below its highest levels of 14,804 points, which it reached last week.