Russia fully behind the OPEC production cut

Malcolm Graham-Wood Independent Analyst

The Russian Energy Minister has this morning in an interview on CNBC said that they are fully behind the Opec initiative to cut production. He said that Russia ‘is reducing production in stages’ and that by the end of April would have reached their target of 300/- b/d and that the cut is up to 200/- b/d at the moment. Overall the picture looks good too, Reuters claim that Opec production is down to 32.01m b/d which shows a 93% degree of ‘adhesion’ and getting better. If these are your yardsticks for the oil price then, at least in the short term it is time to close off those bearish bets, they are exposed.

Yesterday’s inventory stats were a mixed bag but for choice better than market expectations. Crude stocks built but not by as much as expected, 867/- vs f/c of 1m barrels was certainly tolerable for the market. Products drew big time again, gasoline was down 3.7m barrels against expectations of 1.9m and distillates fell 2.48m b’s, twice the guess. With April on the doorstep and time for refiners to step up to the plate it would be a reasonable guess that throughput will rise and increased runs will draw more crude.

Author

Malcolm Graham-Wood

Independent Analyst

Malcolm Graham-Wood started his City career as a trainee analyst at Wood Mackenzie and then cut a swathe through a number of broking houses, all the time building up his knowledge and love of the upstream oil and gas industry incl

EUR/USD: US Dollar to remain pressured until uncertainty fog dissipates

Unimpressive European Central Bank left monetary policy unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting. The United States first-tier employment and inflation data is scheduled for the second week of February. EUR/USD battles to remain afloat above 1.1800, sellers moving to the sidelines.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold: Volatility persists in commodity space

After losing more than 8% to end the previous week, Gold remained under heavy selling pressure on Monday and dropped toward $4,400. Although XAU/USD staged a decisive rebound afterward, it failed to stabilize above $5,000. The US economic calendar will feature Nonfarm Payrolls and Consumer Price Index data for January, which could influence the market pricing of the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook and impact Gold’s performance.

Week ahead: US NFP and CPI data to shake Fed cut bets, Japan election looms

US NFP and CPI data awaited after Warsh’s nomination as Fed chief. Yen traders lock gaze on Sunday’s snap election. UK and Eurozone Q4 GDP data also on the agenda. China CPI and PPI could reveal more weakness in domestic demand.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.