1. Biden signs $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law

Mar 11, 2021

President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law on Thursday, commemorating the one-year anniversary of a U.S. lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic with a measure designed to bring relief to Americans and boost the economy. The package provides $400 billion for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, an expansion of the child tax credit and increased funding for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

Source: Reuters

2. OPEC Expects Speedy Second Half Oil Demand Growth

Mar 12, 2021

Global oil demand is set to benefit from stronger economic recovery and vaccinations in the second half of this year, OPEC said on Thursday, adjusting higher its outlook for the second half of 2021 and raising slightly its full-year oil demand forecast. The cartel is much more bullish about the second half of the year, and raised its estimates for Q3 and Q4 demand. In the third quarter, OPEC now sees demand at 97.43 million bpd, up by 400,000 bpd compared to last month’s assessment. For the fourth quarter, global oil demand is expected at 98.91 million bpd, up by nearly 1 million bpd – 970,000 bpd – compared to the estimate in February.

Source: Oil price .com

3. China Splurges On Iranian Oil

Mar 11, 2021

Despite the U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports, China’s imports of crude oil from Iran in March are expected to more than double from February and reach around 856,000 barrels per day (bpd), which would be the highest estimated volume of Chinese imports of Iran’s oil in nearly two years. Buyers in China who import oil from Iran are reportedly buying the crude at a discount of $3 to $5 per barrel off the Brent Crude benchmark.

Source: Bloomberg

4. OPEC’s crude oil production fell by 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February

Mar 11, 2021

OPEC’s crude oil production fell by 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February, the cartel’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) showed on Thursday. According to secondary sources, which OPEC considers lawful for measuring production and compliance, total oil production averaged 24.85 million bpd in February 2021, a decline of 650,000 bpd compared to January. The MOMR revealed a fall in net production arrived even as regional oil production increased thanks to Iran, Libya, and Venezuela, three OPEC members exempted from the OPEC+ cuts. In addition, the biggest output boost came from Nigeria, which broadened production by 161,000 bpd to 1.488 million bpd.

Source: ETF Trends

5. Peru’s Copper production is forecast to bounce back by 10.4% in 2021

Mar 12, 2021

In 2021, the country’s copper production is forecast to bounce back by 10.4%, to reach 2.4 Mt, and then 3.1 Mt by 2024, equivalent to a compounded annual growth rate of 9.2% from 2021-2024. The growth will be largely supported by production from the existing portfolio of operating mines including Cerro Verde, Las Bambas, Toromocho, Antapaccay, and Constancia, as output recovers to pre-COVID-19 production levels. Most copper mining activities in Peru resumed at the end of Q2 2020, but a reduced workforce and other restrictions continued to hamper production levels in the subsequent quarters. Prior to COVID-19’s impact, copper production growth in Peru has been limited due to protests and strikes.

Source: Mining News

6. ECB Pledges to Ramp up Buying Speed to Contain Bond-Yield Impact

Mar 11, 2021

The European Central Bank pledged to ramp up its buying of government debt in coming months in a bid to contain rising bond yields that threaten to derail the region’s economic recovery. European bonds rallied, with Italy leading gains. Ten-year yields on the nation’s debt fell six basis points to 0.61%. Lagarde will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Frankfurt time to explain the decision in full. Policy makers are now committing to front load purchases, they still kept the overall size of the 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.2 trillion) pandemic bond-buying program unchanged. Officials held the deposit rate at -0.5%, and will continue providing long-term loans to banks.

Source: Bloomberg

7. China’s exports jumped 60.6% in dollar terms in the January-February period from a year earlier

Mar 07, 2021

China’s exports surged in the first two months of the year, reflecting strong global demand for manufactured goods and with figures partly skewed by the low base in 2020 when the economy was in lockdown. Exports jumped 60.6% in dollar terms in the January-February period from a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Sunday, well above the 40% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. In February alone, exports more than doubled from last year. Imports also grew strongly, climbing 22.2% in the first two months of the year from a year earlier, exceeding the 16% gain predicted by economists. 

Source: Bloomberg

8. US natural gas consumption in March to decline from February levels

Mar 09, 2021

EIA expects that U.S. consumption of natural gas will average 82.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2021, down 0.9% from 2020. The decline in U.S. natural gas consumption reflects less natural gas consumed for electric power generation because of higher natural gas prices compared with last year. EIA estimates that total natural gas consumption in February was the highest on record, at 111.8 Bcf/d, because cold weather affected much of the United States and increased natural gas demand for heating and power generation. However, EIA expects natural gas consumption in March to decline from February levels as temperatures return closer to normal. EIA expects U.S. natural gas consumption will average 81.6 Bcf/d in 2022.

Source: EIA