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Dorado Oil and Gas Projects Stalls as Santos Delays FID
Santos has effectively stalled plans for a Western Australian oil and gas project worth over A$3 billion ($1.87 billion), sending minority partner Carnarvon Energy's, shares tumbling on Tuesday.Carnarvon's shares closed about 23% lower, ending the day as the top loser on the local all ordinaries index, after the firm said Santos had dumped plans to buy an oil production and storage vessel at the Dorado project and expressed intentions against starting engineering and design work.Shares of Santos, which owns 80% of the Dorado project, ended 2.2% lower on Tuesday. Carnarvon and Taiwan's state-owned CPC Corporation own 10% each."After a detailed assessment of all relevant factors, Santos recommended to the joint venture that the development concept for Dorado be revisited after further evaluation of Bedout Basin resources," a spokesperson for Santos told Reuters.Santos' primary focus for 2025 remains delivering on its crucial Barossa and Pikka gas projects, it added. Its CEO Kevin Gallagher had warned in August and again at an investor briefing in November that the oil and gas major would put a high priority on shareholders returns.CPC Corporation did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a statement.The project's slowdown poses a major risk to Carnarvon, as its primary asset is its 10% stake in the Dorado project.The company has been, for some time, facing shareholder angst over its valuation, with the Australian Financial Review reporting last year that it had given its bankers the go-ahead to seek bids for the sale of the company or its assets.($1 = 1.6051 Australian dollars)(Reuters - Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
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First Anti-Offshore Wind Policies Hit US as New Administration Takes Over
President Donald Trump suspended new federal offshore wind leasing pending an environmental and economic review, saying wind mills are ugly, expensive and harm wildlife."We're not going to do the wind thing. Big, ugly wind mills. They ruin your neighborhood," he said.Without providing evidence, he said offshore wind projects were behind an increase in whale deaths off the U.S. East Coast in recent years.He added: "They're the most expensive form of energy that you can have, by far. And they kill your birds and they ruin your beautiful landscapes."A White House press release said Trump issued an executive action suspending offshore wind leasing from all areas of the U.S. outer continental shelf pending an environmental and economic review.The order is not expected to impact existing U.S. offshore wind projects being advanced by companies including Orsted, Avangrid, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and Dominion.The move stirred concern among wind power representatives, who said Trump's position jarred with Trump's promise to maximize national energy output."A national energy emergency requires us to unleash all necessary sources of American energy - including offshore wind," said Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward.Former U.S. President Joe Biden saw wind power as a vital part of his strategy to decarbonize the U.S. power sector to fight climate change and his government held multiple auctions aimed at developing big new projects.Trump's opposition to wind power represents an about-face from his first term, when his administration had also sought to encourage offshore wind development.The suspension came as Trump also laid out a sweeping plan to maximize U.S. oil and gas production while also withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate pact aimed at fighting global warming.(Reuters - Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Michael Perry)
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Dollar steady and stocks climb up with all eyes on Trump 2.0
World stocks increased on Tuesday and the dollar acquired after plunging the previous day as Donald Trump's go back to the White House brought combined messaging on tariffs and highlighted markets' twitching about trade policy. The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso bore the brunt of the market swings after Trump stated he was mulling enforcing 25%. tariffs on the neighboring nations as quickly as Feb. 1. Still, some financiers were eliminated that Trump did not. reveal a more detailed sweep of tariffs at the start of. his 2nd presidency, which supported a pull-back in the. 10-year Treasury bond yield. Markets are still soaking up the flurry of executive orders. released by Trump, but there is still a sense of relief in. basic, experts at TD Securities stated in a note. The MSCI index for world stocks climbed up. 0.7%, and U.S. shares were mostly higher. The S&P 500 index. added 0.9%, the Nasdaq rose 0.6%, and the Dow. Jones jumped 1.2%. A jump in the dollar had actually sent the Mexican peso sliding well. over 1% earlier, while the Canadian dollar toppled to a. five-year low of $0.689, although the selloff later moderated. somewhat. Jan Von Gerich, chief strategist at lender Nordea, stated. investors ought to not presume that U.S. tariffs have actually been averted. for excellent. We shouldn't get too brought away by this, the truth that he. didn't start with tariffs does not imply that they won't come. later, he stated. For the international equity market, I think it's all. about Trump now. European shares were silenced after Asia eked out little gains. overnight, with financiers and governments comforted by the reality. that the European Union and China have actually evaded tariffs in the meantime. Europe's continent-wide STOXX 600 index was 0.4%. greater while MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index. added 0.3%. The dollar index, which determines the currency versus. 6 peers, was flat at 108.01. It had actually previously risen to 108.79, although it failed to make. back the 1.2% it lost on Monday in its most significant everyday fall because. November 2023. The euro ended the session flat at $1.04200, after. jumping 1.42% a day previously. BOND YIELDS DIP AS CHINA HOLDS ON Lots of investors and foreign capitals had actually expected tariffs to. be among a raft of executive orders Trump signed in his very first. day in office. The dollar has actually increased about 5% because Trump won the Nov. 5. election, partially as investors have braced for comprehensive. levies that would likely injure America's trading partners. As. such, a more measured statement from Trump on Monday with. regard to tariffs knocked the U.S. dollar over night. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was down 4.7. basis points on Tuesday at 4.558%. They were nevertheless still up around a portion point. because the Federal Reserve started cutting rates in. mid-September, reflecting a strong economy and decreasing. potential customers for big Fed reductions this year. Chinese stocks were stable as Trump largely avoided. conclusive threats versus the nation's exports, although he. warned he might impose tariffs if Beijing failed to approve a. U.S. offer to be a half-owner of short-video app TikTok's U.S. service. It's part of a transactional method, stated Timothy. Graf, head of macro technique for EMEA at State Street. It's much better news than simply slapping 60% or 100% tariffs on. something, but something is going to be coming, I would think. China's CSI 300 index was unchanged while Japan's. Nikkei 225 climbed 0.32%. Oil costs fell on Tuesday as financiers assessed Trump's. strategies to increase U.S. energy production, in addition to the delay on. tariffs. Brent crude was down 0.8% at $79.50 a barrel, while. U.S. crude was 2.3% lower at $75.90 a barrel.
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Trump's EV rollback not anticipated to reduce cravings for critical minerals
U.S. President Donald Trump's rollback of electric automobile targets may momentarily sluggish demand for lithium and other important minerals, however is not likely to obstruct the mining industry in the middle of surging international EV need, analysts and market leaders said. Trump on Tuesday withdrawed predecessor Joe Biden's 2021 executive order that sought to make sure half of all new cars offered in the U.S. by 2030 are electrical. Car manufacturers had actually been positioning for a jump in EV demand due largely to that Biden move. Trump's order caused shares of Japanese automakers, South Korean battery makers and Australian, U.S. and Chinese lithium miners to slip. However even if EV need cools in the world's second-biggest automobile market, analysts and industry experts expect traction somewhere else to more than compensate. Trump has planned other regulatory changes to cut off assistance for EVs and charging stations. He also intends to enhance procedures blocking imports of automobiles and battery materials from China. Whenever people remove subsidies or advantages ... it's. a damage to the demand situation, said analyst Glyn Lawcock at. Barrenjoey, an Australian financial investment bank. ( But) ultimately. need will still grow even if the U.S. is a bit slower under. Trump. Australian lithium manufacturer Liontown Resources. said the global transition to EVs was underway, with or without. the United States. Longer term, I simply don't believe it will be an issue on. need, Antonino Ottaviano, Liontown's CEO, stated on a Tuesday. expert call. Much of the EV industry's growth happens in China,. accounting for 11 million sales or 65% of the market, compared. with North America, which represents 20% of the marketplace,. Liontown executives stated on the call. Meanwhile, the remainder of the world already accounts for 1.3. million EV sales and is growing at 27% year on year, a. trajectory that will see it become more significant than the. whole North American market in less than 2 years, the. Liontown executives added. That development capacity is something Chinese EV manufacturers. are chasing given they are locked out of the U.S. market due to. 100% EV tariffs imposed by Biden. Grid-scale batteries that keep days' worth of electrical power. are increasing in popularity across the world, for example. Important. metals are likewise utilized to build many consumer electronics also. as computer system servers needed to power the expert system. market. Albemarle, the world's largest lithium company,. decreased to talk about Trump's order. Arcadium, a lithium manufacturer about to be bought. by Rio Tinto and the International Lithium Association. trade group, was not immediately available for comment. Rio Tinto likewise decreased to discuss Trump's order, but its. CEO Jakob Stausholm told the World Economic Online Forum on Tuesday. that he is bullish on the white metal. Lithium demand will probably go up another 5 times over. the next 15 years, so a lot more lithium jobs will need to. be constructed, Stausholm told the forum in Davos, Switzerland,. including that he has actually owned an EV for more than nine years. It's simply a much better cars and truck than an internal combustion. engine, Stausholm included. David Klanecky, CEO of independently held battery recycler. Cirba Solutions, anticipates U.S. demand for critical minerals to. dive by 2030 due to the demand not simply for EVs, however for myriad. electronics. Beyond any target rollbacks, miners stated they believe steps to wean Western manufacturers off Chinese materials. will underpin assistance for their metals. We anticipate procedures taken to develop supply chain self-reliance. from China ... to have a much higher effect than the rollback. of an official target for EV sales, stated Darryl Cuzzubbo, CEO of. Australian rare earths developer Arafura. There is a tipping point looming for electrical automobiles at. which targets and incentives won't be required to encourage. take-up..
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Dollar rebounds and stocks climb with all eyes on Trump 2.0
World stocks increased on Tuesday and the dollar got after plunging the previous day as Donald Trump's return to the White House brought mixed messaging on tariffs and highlighted markets' jerking about trade policy. The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso bore the force of the market swings after Trump said he was mulling imposing 25%. tariffs on the nearby countries as soon as Feb. 1. Still, some investors were eased that Trump did not. reveal a more comprehensive sweep of tariffs at the start of. his second presidency, and that supported a pull-back in the. 10-year Treasury bond yield. Markets are still absorbing the flurry of executive orders. launched by Trump, however there is still a sense of relief in. basic, analysts at TD Securities said in a note. The MSCI index for world stocks climbed up. 0.7%, and U.S. shares were primarily higher. The S&P 500 index. added 0.8%, the Nasdaq increased 0.7%, and the Dow. Jones leapt 1%. A dive in the dollar had actually sent out the Mexican peso sliding well. over 1% earlier, while the Canadian dollar toppled to a. five-year low of $0.689, although the selloff later moderated. somewhat. Jan Von Gerich, primary strategist at lending institution Nordea, said. financiers must not presume that U.S. tariffs have been prevented. for excellent. We should not get too carried away by this, the reality that he. didn't begin with tariffs doesn't mean that they will not come. later, he stated. For the worldwide equity market, I believe it's all. about Trump now. European shares were silenced after Asia eked out little gains. overnight, with financiers and governments comforted by the reality. that the European Union and China have evaded tariffs in the meantime. Europe's continent-wide STOXX 600 index was 0.4%. higher while MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index. included 0.3%. The dollar index, which determines the currency against. 6 peers, was flat at 107.95. It had earlier risen to 108.79, although it stopped working to make. back the 1.2% it lost on Monday in its most significant everyday fall given that. November 2023. The euro increased 0.14% to $1.04295, after leaping. 1.42% a day previously. BOND YIELDS DIP AS CHINA HOLDS ON Lots of investors and foreign capitals had anticipated tariffs to. be among the raft of executive orders Trump checked in his first. day in office. The dollar has increased about 5% because Trump won the Nov. 5. election, partly as investors have actually braced for wide-ranging. levies that would likely harm America's trading partners. As. such, a more measured announcement from Trump on Monday with. concerns to tariffs knocked the U.S. dollar overnight. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were down 3.6 basis. points on Tuesday at 4.558%. They were nonetheless still up around a percentage point. since the Federal Reserve began cutting rates in. mid-September, showing a strong economy and dwindling. potential customers for big Fed decreases this year. Chinese stocks were consistent as Trump largely stayed away from. conclusive dangers against the nation's exports, although he. warned he could impose tariffs if Beijing failed to approve a. U.S. deal to be a half-owner of short-video app TikTok's U.S. business. It becomes part of a transactional methodology, said Timothy. Graf, head of macro technique for EMEA at State Street. It's much better news than simply slapping 60% or 100% tariffs on. something, however something is going to be coming, I would think. China's CSI 300 index was unchanged while Japan's. Nikkei 225 climbed 0.32%. Oil costs fell on Tuesday as financiers examined Trump's. strategies to increase U.S. energy production, along with the hold-up on. tariffs. Brent crude was down 1.2% at $79.19 a barrel, while. U.S. WTI crude was 2.3% lower at $76.10 a barrel.
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Brazil taps COP30 head, warns of Trump's influence on climate talks
Brazil's newly nominated head of the planned 2025 COP30 environment summit in the Amazonian city of Belem alerted on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's. decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Arrangement. would cast a shadow over the talks. We are still examining President Trump's statements,. but there is no doubt they will have a substantial effect on. preparation for COP30, Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago told. press reporters on Tuesday quickly after he was named to the post. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 pact right after. taking workplace for a second non-consecutive term on Monday,. eliminating the world's most significant historical emitter of greenhouse. gases from global efforts to combat climate change for the second. time in a decade. The move adds to difficulties Brazil was already set to deal with. as COP30 host, including tough conflicts over financing the. energy transition in establishing countries and the brand-new pledges to. minimize emissions countries have promised to make. Correa do Lago said there are still numerous courses of dialogue. with the U.S., despite Trump's latest relocation, keeping in mind the country. is still a member of the United Nations climate convention, a. online forum of dialogue in between countries about global climate policy. The announcement of the COP30 head is the starting point for. the Brazilian government to set up the management structure that. will perform settlements for what likely will be among the. most difficult conferences in recent years. In his new role, Correa do Lago will work as the primary. facilitator and mediator between country delegations at the. November summit. The presidency is considered necessary to the success of the. conference, in which leaders from nearly every country on the. world will work out how to keep international warming listed below. devastating levels, after 2 years of record heat. Correa do Lago's choice by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. marks a return of the conference's leadership to the hands of. authorities with a history of operating in climate policy. He has been Brazil's negotiator at worldwide climate tops. given that 2023, a function he likewise had between 2011 and 2013, and has. worked in climate diplomacy and sustainable development because. 2001. Both Azerbaijan, which hosted the conference last year, and. the UAE, the host in 2023, designated authorities who worked in. state-owned oil companies to lead the summit. Brazil is also facing steep difficulties to get the city of. Belem, in the Amazon rain forest, prepared to welcome 10s of. countless individuals in November. In the next couple of months, the city will require to a minimum of. double the variety of beds available in hotels and other. lodging. Lula, who has actually pledged to end logging in the. Amazon, has actually attached much of his political capital on the global. stage to the success of the conference in Belem, the 2nd most. populous city in the area. Sources in the government told Reuters that Correa do Lago. was the very best prospect for the position, because he is not just. familiar with all climate settlements however likewise has connections. with all sectors included within the government itself. He was responsible, for instance, for fixing the deadlock. in between rich countries and establishing ones in the G20 climate. negotiations in Rio de Janeiro, which threatened to immobilize the. summit communique in 2015.
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GRAPHIC -Trump's go back to the White House: Market winners and losers
U.S. President Donald Trump's. go back to the White House has actually been met both relief and. dissatisfaction throughout world markets as investors try to exercise. what the next four years will bring. The approach will be chaotic, unpredictable, spur of the. minute and driven by Trump himself, stated Russel Matthews,. senior portfolio manager, international macro at RBC BlueBay Asset. Management. Here's a take a look at some of the winners and losers emerging. from Trump's very first 24 hr in workplace. 1/ NAME CALLING Calling out Canada and Mexico as possible targets for. tariffs took an even more toll on their currencies, which fell. dramatically following Trump's inauguration speech. Bets on the Mexican peso or other tariff-exposed. emerging market currencies were too risky, stated Fidelity. International multi-asset manager Becky Qin. It is so binary and so depending on the dollar, she stated. The policy unpredictability is too high. Goldman Sachs strategists stated they see a 70% likelihood of. Trump striking China with 20% tariffs however said the chances of him. satisfying his promise for 25% import levies on Canada and Mexico. were low. The dollar is trading near its strongest levels versus. Canada's currency in almost five years, with the so-called. Loonie also weighed down by economic weakness and rate cut. expectations. Markets have swung towards bets that China will not allow. its securely controlled currency to weaken to counter heavy U.S. tariffs. Experts still anticipate a 5% to 6% visit year-end. Fidelity's Qin stated she had a position that would profit if. the offshore yuan damages even more against the dollar,. which might be one of the couple of trades that shines if aggressive. tariffs alarm markets. 2/ ROLLER COASTER The euro and sterling rallied over 1% on Monday, notching. their best one-day gains since late November versus the dollar,. cheered by Trump's choice to not instantly enforce tariffs. Yet, Tuesday's falls in European currencies recommended the. relief rally was currently over. ING currency strategist Francesco Pesole said if more days. pass without Europe being clearly pointed out in Trump's tariff. remarks, the euro might benefit. That assistance may, nevertheless, show rather short-term as. things can-- as we found out yesterday with Canada and Mexico--. modification abruptly on protectionism, and the euro remains usually. unattractive from a variety of macro principles, he said. ABN AMRO devalued its year-end euro/dollar projection to. $ 0.98 from $1, indicating a 5% weakening from present levels . 3/ HOPE VERSUS FEAR European equities posted their worst efficiency on. record versus Wall Street last year but have acquired more than 3%. so far in January as investors judged pessimism about economic. growth and U.S. tariffs to have gone too far. European stocks attracted their 2nd largest allocation. from big investors in 25 years this month, BofA's most current worldwide. fund supervisor survey showed. Amelie Derambure, senior multi-asset supervisor at Europe's. biggest investor Amundi, said the group had actually raised its view on. European stocks from negative to neutral on assessment grounds. and favoured European banks for their relatively low exposure to. tariffs. And in spite of U.S. policy risks, Citi financial experts expect euro. area economic growth of 1% this year, up from 0.8% in 2024, as. ECB rate cuts improve business investment and consumer costs. European stocks most exposed to U.S. trade policy suffered. on Tuesday, nevertheless, with shares in automakers Stellantis. , Volkswagen and BMW all. slipping. 4/ DRILL, INFANT, DRILL Trump has promised to increase U.S. oil and gas production,. fill tactical reserves and export American energy all over. the world. U.S. oil costs have actually reacted appropriately. U.S. unrefined futures have actually fallen nearly 5% in the last. three trading days, while Brent unrefined shed about half as. much for the same period. The United States is already the world's biggest manufacturer of. crude oil, representing around 12% of overall supply. It is likewise. a significant exporter, with some 4 million barrels a day. However it deals with competitors. The OPEC+ group of significant. exporters, that includes Russia, wants to eliminate self-imposed. supply cuts, but is worried about slack international demand. On the other hand, Trump's strategies to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian. imports might harm U.S. refiners, who depend on their neighbour. for about 20% of their barrels. 5/ OUT IN THE COLD Especially, cryptocurrencies, which skyrocketed as Trump's Nov. 5. election win raised hopes of a more regulatory-friendly. environment, suffered a setback as his very first set of policies. made no recommendation to the property class. On Tuesday, bitcoin, the world's largest. cryptocurrency, was up 3% to $106,070, well off the record high. of $109,071 touched hours before the inauguration on Monday. Trump launched a cryptocurrency of his own on Friday which. rose from less than $10 on Saturday morning to as high as. $ 74.59 before giving up a few of its gains on Monday to trade at. $ 39.22, according to cryptocurrency price tracker CoinGecko. Trump's inaugural speech disappointed those who had hoped he. would kick-start a sea-change in U.S. policies towards crypto,. which could lead the way for more selling, analysts said. Others. stated a few of his staffing choices were a positive sign. Trump has tapped two crypto-friendly figures - Mark Uyeda, a. Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange. Commission, to be acting chair of the company, and former SEC. Commissioner Paul Atkins to run the agency on an irreversible basis.
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Norway's Cognite shifts HQ to U.S., co-founder states at Davos
Norwegian industrial software company Cognite strategies to move its head office to the U.S. this year to gain access to fastergrowing markets in North America, Asia, and the Middle East, its cofounder John Markus Lervik told Reuters on Tuesday. Lervik told the Reuters Global Markets Forum that Europe's. regulative environment was hindering growth. We are doubling down in the U.S., and with the new. president's concentrate on financial investment, we're growing additional. strongly, with over 100 open positions, he stated. Donald Trump's second presidency, marked by trade hazards. and sweeping executive actions, positions fresh threats for European. players as tariffs and regulatory changes loom large. Lervik stated he had had concerns about Europe's growth for a. decade, and hoped tailwinds in the U.S. would prompt European. regulators to take action also. I believe Ursula (von der Leyen) just stated earlier today that. she wants to minimize regulations, he stated. Cognite is majority-owned by Norwegian commercial investment. corporation Aker ASA, which also manages the oil and. gas firm AkerBP. Accel, TCV and Saudi Aramco are among. financiers given that its creation in 2016. The company sells software application that aggregates and analyses. industrial information to clients including AkerBP. Speaking together with Lervik, AkerBP's chief digital officer. Paula Doyle said smarter regulation or deregulation would be. essential for Europe's players to progress in. commercializing innovation and software. We know that Europe hasn't had the ability to make the strides. into technology and software compared to ... the U.S., Doyle. said. Following Saudi Aramco's purchase of a 7.4% stake in the. company, Cognite's evaluation has been approximated at $1.6 billion.
Saudi Arabia cuts crude oil costs for Asia amidst nascent demand recovery: Russell
It's constantly appealing to attempt and overanalyse modifications in the crude oil market and Saudi Arabia's choice to cut its main costs for Asian clients to the lowest level in four years is one such example.
Saudi Aramco, the state-controlled oil business of the world's biggest oil exporter, stated on Sunday it is lowering the official market price (OSPs) for refiners in Asia, which buy about 70% of the kingdom's crude.
The OSP for the benchmark Arab Light grade for January-loading cargoes was reduced to a premium of 90 cents a. barrel over the Oman/Dubai average, down 80 cents from a premium. of $1.70 for December.
This is the lowest premium for Arab Light since January. 2021, at a time when global need was weak as an outcome of the. COVID-19 pandemic.
The lowering of Saudi OSPs is frequently viewed by market. experts as an indication of two things, namely weak need and an. effort to regain market share from rivals.
There is certainly a case to be produced both of these. elements.
There is little doubt that demand in Asia has actually been. disappointing in 2024, with it all but particular that the. continent's imports will decline this year from 2023.
For the very first 11 months of 2024 Asia's imports were 26.58. million barrels per day (bpd), according to data assembled by. LSEG Oil Research Study.
This is down 310,000 bpd from the 26.89 million bpd for the. first 11 months in 2023.
However, there are some indications that need has picked up,. with LSEG information showing November imports at 27.05 million bpd,. the greatest in six months and up practically 1.0 million bpd from. October's 26.06 million bpd.
The gain was led by China, with LSEG showing the world's. most significant oil importer saw arrivals of 11.77 million bpd in. November, up from 10.57 million bpd in October.
It could be argued that the Saudi choice to cut OSPs for. January is to try and guarantee that this nascent recovery in. need continues.
The lower OSPs may also show that the U.S. dollar has. strengthened in recent weeks, suggesting that lower oil costs in. dollars aren't fully reflected in regional currencies in key Asian. buyers.
Since the recent peak in Brent futures of $81.16 a. barrel on Oct. 7, the cost in U.S. dollars has decreased 12.4%. to end at $71.12 on Dec. 6.
Nevertheless, in Chinese yuan terms it is just down 9.7% over the. exact same duration and in Indian rupees by 11.6%.
MARKET SHARE
The view that Aramco is trying to gain back market share by. reducing OSPs is likewise popular, but not necessarily one that. withstands analysis.
Saudi Arabia is the greatest provider to Asia and has actually seen. its market share recover in recent months.
From a low of 16.7% of Asia's imports in August, Saudi. Arabia's share has risen to 20.8% in September, 18.3% in October. and 21.0% in November.
Russia, the 2nd most significant supplier to Asia, has actually seen its. market share go from a 2024 high of 15.8% in June to 14.5% in. September, 15.7% in October and just 12.9% in November,. according to LSEG data.
Perhaps the most significant element driving Aramco's decision to. lower its OSP is the requirement to keep its oil at competitive levels. versus competing grades.
This isn't a concern for the bulk of Middle Eastern crude,. which tends to price off movements in Aramco's OSPs.
But it is more of an element for crudes that price versus. Brent, such as those from West Africa.
The premium that Brent commands over Middle East criteria. Dubai has actually been narrowing in current months, meaning Brent is. ending up being less expensive on a relative basis.
The premium << DUB-EFS-1M > dropped to $1.08 a barrel on Dec. 6, the lowest since Sept. 30 and down from a recent peak of. $ 2.39 on Oct. 4.
By decreasing its OSPs for Asia, Aramco keeps its crude. pricing more competitive with grades from exporters such as. Angola and Nigeria.
The views revealed here are those of the author, a columnist. .
(source: Reuters)