1.The U.S. economy grew at an unrevised 33.1% rate in the third quarter

Nov 25, 2020

The US GDP grew at an unrevised 33.1% annualized rate, the government said in its second estimate of third-quarter output, confirming the economy’s historic pace of expansion in the third quarter. The economy contracted at a 31.4% rate in the second quarter, while growth estimates for the fourth quarter are below a 5% annualized rate. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs cut its estimate to a 1.0% rate, from a 3.5% pace. JPMorgan expects GDP to contract at a 1.0% pace in the January-March quarter.

Source: CNBC

2.US oil and Gas rigs has increased this week

Nov 25, 2020

The US oil and gas rigs count rose 10, to 320 in the week upto November 25, energy services firm, Baker Hughes Co. said in its closely followed report on Wednesday. This week’s count was 482 rigs, or 60%, below this time last year. It is an increase of 24 rig count in November, and its fourth monthly rise in a row for the first time since December, 2018.

Source: Bloomberg

3.China increased oil imports from the US

Nov 26, 2020

China has accelerated its imports of crude oil, propane and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States since July. Over the first 10 months of 2020, China's purchases of U.S. crude oil, LNG, propane, butane, and other energy products totalled $6.61 billion, which was about 26% of the $25.3 billion target, according to Reuter’s calculations. China's crude oil imports from the U.S. hit a record 12.5 million tonnes through October, worth $3.88 billion.

Source: Reuters

4.OPEC is likely to stay away from an output hike

Nov 24, 2020

OPEC’s President has said on Thursday that the Group must remain cautious, with internal data pointing to the risk of a new oil surplus early next year, if the output is hiked in January. This has come after Iraq’s deputy leader criticized the Group this week, saying that the economic and political conditions of member countries should be considered, before they are asked to withhold production. The recent oil rally gives leverage to members, reluctant to go along, including Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.

Source: Reuters

5.Drop in inventories have pushed oil prices higher

Nov 25, 2020

Oil prices are up, as data showed a surprise drop in weekly U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude inventories fell by 754,000 barrels last week, government data showed, against a market forecast of a 127,000-barrel rise. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI, fell by 1.7 million barrels. Still, demand worries capped price gains, as U.S. weekly gasoline demand dropped by about 128,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8.13 million bpd, the lowest since June 2020.

Source: Reuters

6.India’s gold jewellery demand is expected to contract by 35 percent in volume terms this fiscal: ICRA

Nov 27, 2020

India’s gold jewellery demand is expected to contract by 35 percent in volume terms this fiscal, hit by the coronavirus pandemic and high prices, according to a report. The demand is likely to see a rebound in the second half of this financial year, after a poor performance in the first two quarters, ratings agency ICRA has said. Changed consumer social distancing habits, and limitations on social events, will slacken the pace of recovery.

Source: Moneycontrol

7.China’s economic recovery stabilises as exports, markets continue to boom

Nov 26, 2020

China’s economic recovery has stabilized in the month of November. As per Bloomberg, housing investments and purchases have rebounded strongly this year, after initially falling in the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19 in central China. The value of home sales was flat in the first three weeks of November, after rising 8.2% this year through the end of October, and helped propel investments and construction.

Source: Bloomberg

8.Worldwide copper production dropped 0.8% in the first eight months of 2020

Nov 25, 2020

As per the International Copper Study Group, world mine production fell about 4% in the months of April and May, due to COVID-19 restrictions, which resulted in temporary mine shutdowns, and reduced production levels. However, production started to recover by the end of May. The overall impact on the first eight months of the year saw production down 0.8%. Peru's production was one of the hardest hit, with a 16.5% decline in mine output over the first eight months of 2020.

Source: Reuters and ICSG