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As Asia and Europe compete for supplies, US crude prices have reached record highs.
Industry sources say that spot premiums for U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude have reached all-time highs due to the fierce competition for supplies between Asian and European refiners to replace Middle Eastern oil flow disruptions caused by the Iran War. Europe is the biggest importer of U.S. oil, but the competition has increased as Asian buyers are searching for supplies from the Americas and Africa to Europe to replace Middle Eastern crude that cannot move through the Strait of Hormuz. Sources and analysts say that the increase in crude oil prices is driving up costs for refiners and increasing losses on both continents. This puts severe pressure on companies, including state-owned ones, who are required to produce fuel by governments for national security. In a note from April 3, Paola Rodriguez Masiu, Rystad's chief oil analyst, said that Asian refiners are aggressively bidding for every barrel of the Atlantic Basin. 'EVERY ?DAY THERE'S A NEW PRICE' The traders reported that the offers for WTI Midland crude to be delivered to North Asia on July's?very large crude carrier? had a?premium of $30 to $400 per barrel depending on which benchmark was used. One trader put the premium at 34 dollars a barril over Dubai quotes, while another said it was $30 above Brent dated. Two other traders said that offers were closer to $40 a barron above the August ICE Brent base. These levels are higher than the premiums paid by Japanese refiners, including Taiyo Oil, for WTI crude in late March and early April. One of the traders stated that "every day, there is a new price", adding that Asian refiners are facing?severe loss due to the premiums. One trader suggested that refiners should reduce their crude runs and buy products, if they are offered. The spot premiums increased after the WTI monthly spread reached its largest backwardation Thursday. Backwardation is when the current month's prices are higher than future months. The U.S. Gulf Coast has also seen a surge in demand for tankers due to the wider discounts offered on U.S. Crude Oil compared to Brent, which is the global benchmark. This has reduced vessel availability and pushed up freight rates. On Thursday, the bids for WTI?Midland to be delivered to Europe reached a record premium of nearly $15 per barrel compared to Brent dated. According to Rodriguez-Masiu, "At the current physical differentials as well as freight rates, European refiners who buy spot crude cannot make any money by running these barrels through their system."
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Blues aim for two-game sweep against NHL's best Avalanche
Most teams find it difficult to defeat the Colorado Avalanche, but to do so twice in a single season is like climbing Mount Everest. The St. Louis Blues will have to 'climb that mountain' Tuesday night, when they host the Avalanche for the second half of a two-game home-and-home series. Robert Thomas's first career hat-trick was completed with 2:50 left in the third quarter, helping the Blues win 3-2 on the road against Colorado. Thomas, who scored the goal in question, said: "It took a long while so it feels great." It's a little relief but it has been a long time. Thomas received some assistance from his teammates in achieving the hat-trick, as Jimmy Snuggerud (three assists) and Dylan Holloway (three assists) each scored three assists. The Blues (33-31-28, 78 points), who have a record of 6-1-1 over the past eight games, and 13 victories since the Olympic break, are firmly ensconced in the tight race for the last wild-card position in the Western Conference. St. Louis has been led by its top talent during this stretch. Thomas has scored in five consecutive games (5 goals, 5 assists), and Holloway is on a six-game streak (4 goals, 7 assists). Snuggerud stated, "We are having fun together, and we are trying to win games. We're doing everything we can to do that." "Coming into the building is a difficult one. I thought we rose to?the?occasion. And we need to do that at home." The Avalanche, despite their loss on Sunday, are still on the verge of winning the Presidents' Trophy, for the fourth consecutive time in the history of the franchise. They need just one more win or the Dallas Stars to lose in regulation in order to take the top spot in Western Conference. Colorado was the top-scoring team in the league during the 56-game shortened regular season of 2020-21. Brent Burns, who had just played in his 1,000th consecutive match, turned the clock back with a performance of two points (one goal and one assist) at the weekend. Parker Kelly, meanwhile, reached his 20-goal mark for the first time. Things are just coming in. This one is going off my stick and then off the guy. Kelly added, "So, little bit luck." "I am happy with the year that I have had, but we still have (six games) here and we need a few more wins." "That's our priority." The forward Valeri Nichushkin was unavailable for Sunday's match due to an injury in the upper body, but could be available for game two of the set. "He is probably a possible, even for Tuesday." We'll see how he feels in the next few days. Jared Bednar, Avalanche's coach, told the media that it was just "that time of year". "You get a few little bumps and bruises. Everyone has them. But sometimes they're a bit more serious. I don't like to hurt people if there is a chance that it could get worse. You have to be very careful with some of them. "That's what Val and I did today." Nathan MacKinnon will look to score after a blanking Sunday. He leads the league in goals with 51 and is third with 122 points. Field Level Media
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Phillips 66 suffers $900 million in losses as Iran crisis raises oil prices
U.S. refiner Philips 66 reported on Monday that its first-quarter earnings were impacted by a sharp rise in commodity prices. This left?it? with nearly $900,000,000 in mark-to market losses before taxes, according to an SEC filing. The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran started in late February. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a chokepoint for a fifth of world oil and gas supplies - has caused global energy markets to be roiled and crude prices have soared. Phillips 66’s losses are mainly due to its net short positions in derivatives contracts relating to crude oil and refined petroleum products. The Houston-based refiner reported that its net short position on derivatives contracts related to crude oil and petroleum products was around 50 million barrels at the end of March. The filing revealed that the losses were spread across all business segments. Refining is expected have a $350-$450 million impact, marketing and specialties will take a $300-$400 million hit while renewable fuels could suffer losses of $100 to $200 million. Brent futures reached a monthly record increase of?64% according to LSEG. The benchmark U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose by around 52% during the month. This was its biggest jump since May 2020. Phillips 66 stated that it 'has not yet completed its financial closure procedures for the first three months and actual results may differ from these preliminary estimates. The company declined to comment on anything beyond the SEC filing. Phillips 66 will report its first quarter earnings at the end of this month.
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Vizsla silver confirms death of nine workers at Mexican mine
Vizsla Silver, a Canadian mining company, confirmed on Monday that nine of its ten workers had died after being abducted by a group of armed men in Concordia in the Mexican state Sinaloa in late January. The?Mexican Attorney General's Office announced in February that ten bodies had been found by the municipality. Five of the 10 were identified at the time. Three workers were still missing, but two more workers of the Vancouver-based miner were later confirmed dead. The workers were taken from a mine of silver in an area that the authorities claim was controlled by "Los Chapitos," which is a faction within the Sinaloa cartel led by the sons Joaquin El 'Chapo' Guzman, a former drug lord. Vizsla said that it is continuing to 'cooperate fully' with Mexican authorities in their ongoing investigation. (Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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Oil prices rise as investors pay attention to the US-Iran standoff
U.S. equity indices closed modestly higher on Monday and U.S. crude oil futures settled above $112 per barrel as investors awaited clarity about the prospects for a solution to the conflict in the Middle East. President Donald Trump reiterated his threats to strike Iran until Tehran made a deal by Tuesday night. Iran stated on Monday that it wants to end the war with Israel and the U.S. for good and refused to allow the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened. Trump said that if Iran did not meet the deadline he set for Tuesday night, it could be "taken away". Trump told a press briefing that the U.S. has a willing and active participant on the Iranian side of the negotiations. He also threatened to strike Iranian power plants, as well as other important infrastructure. U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the most strikes since the start of the war would take place on Monday. Iran's joint military commanders described Trump's threat as "delusional." The post was in response to the U.S. President's Easter Sunday tweet, in which he threatened to "target Iranian infrastructure" if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth the world's energy travel passes. CRUDE RISES IN CHOPPY SESSION Futures ended higher after losing ground in an erratic session, as the U.S. weighed its next steps and Iran considered theirs. U.S. crude ended up by 0.78% or 87 cents at $112.41 per barrel. Brent finished at $109.77, an increase of 0.68% or 74 cents. Wall Street saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq register their fourth consecutive advance for the first since late January. However, gains were small and volume of trading was low after the long weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165.21, or 0.36 percent, to 46.669.88. The S&P 500?rose 29.14, or 0.44 percent, to 6,611.83, and the Nasdaq Composite?rose 117.16, or 0.56 percent, to 21.996.34. The stock market was in neutral most of the day. The focus of the day is geopolitics. Traders are watching to see if Trump will follow through with his threat to bomb Iranian energy infrastructure again on Tuesday night," Tim Ghriskey said, senior portfolio analyst at Ingalls & Snyder, New York. MSCI's global stock index rose by 3.47 points or 0.35% to 997.67, despite some financial markets being closed on Easter Monday and Tomb-Sweeping Day. TREASURY WEELDS STAY STEADY In currency, the dollar index fell by 0.21%, to 99.99. The index measures the greenback in relation to a basket of currencies that includes the yen, euro and yen. Liquidity was low on Monday because many Asian and European markets were closed. The dollar gained 0.08% against the Japanese yen to 159.69. Satsuki Katayama, the Japanese Finance Minister, warned currency traders on Friday that the government is ready to take action against speculative movements in foreign exchange markets, as volatility has increased "significantly." The yields on U.S. Treasuries remained essentially unchanged, with investors caught in a tangle of optimism over reports about a ceasefire and anxiety over Trump's threats to escalate attacks on Iran. Markets are beginning to realize that headlines can be misleading. Will Compernolle of FHN Financial, Chicago, said that part of the reason is that both President Trump and Iran have changed their opinion about the likelihood that ceasefire negotiations will take place. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 0.5 basis point to 4.341%, from 4.346%. Meanwhile, the 30-year bond rate fell 1.1 basis to 4.8948%. The yield on the 2-year bond, which is usually in line with expectations of interest rates for the Federal Reserve, was unchanged at 3.852%. Data?from the Institute for Supply Management earlier in the day showed that U.S. service sector growth slowed?in March. Prices paid by businesses for inputs rose to near a three-and-a half year high. This was an early indication that the war against Iran is causing inflation pressures. Gold prices fell as investors awaited more information on the U.S./Iran situation before the deadline of Tuesday. Spot gold dropped 0.42%, to $4656.21 per ounce. Spot silver increased 0.01%, to $73.00 per ounce. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast; Shri Navaratnam; Keith Weir; Rod Nickel, and)
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First Quantum authorized by Panama to remove ore of closed copper mine
The country's Trade Minister Julio Molto stated on Monday that the government of Panama aims to complete a resolution by Tuesday authorizing removal of material from the?shuttered copper mine owned by First 'Quantum Minerals,' known as Cobre Panama. Molto stated at an event that "we are ready to make the move." Molto said at an event that between today and tomorrow, the Ministry of Commerce and Industries should be generating a resolution that will allow the company to "start removing" this material in order to be able take it out of?country. First Quantum previously stated that the mine holds approximately?38 millions metric tons stockpiled ore which would produce about 70,000 tonnes of copper. The Canadian miner said that processing could begin about three months after government approval of the removal. It would take approximately a year for the process to be completed. In January, President Jose Raul Mulino said that the government would allow the removal of?ore? at Cobre Panama. First Quantum didn't immediately respond to a question?about Molto’s remarks. After a series of protests by local residents, the Cobre -Panama copper mine was closed in 2023. The protests were over tax contributions and environmental impact. Reporting by Elida Moreno; Additional reporting and editing by Daina Beth Soolo, Divyarajagopal and Brendan O'Boyle
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IMF chief: Middle East war leads to higher prices and slower growth
The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday that the war in the Middle East would 'lead to increased inflation and slower growth globally,' ahead of the upcoming?new forecast by the global lender next week. The conflict has caused 'the worst disruption to global energy supply ever', as millions of barrels of production have been shut down due to Iran's effective blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. This is crucial for shipping 1/5th of all oil and gas in the world. Kristalina Georgeieva, IMF managing director, stated that even if the conflict was quickly resolved, the IMF would reduce its economic growth forecasts and increase its inflation outlook. IMF will release a variety of scenarios for its World Economic Outlook, due on April 14. In a blog post on March 30, the IMF hinted at a possible downgrade, citing asymmetric shocks from the war and tighter economic conditions. IMF had expected that without the war its global growth projections would be slightly higher at 3.3% for 2026 and 3.2% for 2027. Georgieva said that "instead, all roads lead now to higher prices and a slower growth." She said that the?war had reduced global oil supplies by 13%. This has impacted oil and gas shipments, as well as supply chains for helium, fertilizer, and helium. She said that even a relatively rapid end to hostilities, and a recovery fairly quick would result in "relatively little" revisions of the growth and inflation forecasts. The inflation and growth effects will be greater if the war is prolonged. IMF Spring Meetings Await Next week, the IMF and World Bank's spring meeting in Washington will be dominated by the war. Finance officials from all over the world are expected to attend. Georgieva also noted that many countries have little fiscal room to support their population as a result of the rising prices caused by war. Georgieva did not mention the countries that had requested funding assistance. She said that the IMF can augment existing lending programs in order to meet country needs. 85 percent of IMF members are energy importers. Even energy exporters, like Qatar, are feeling the effects of Iranian attacks on their production facilities. Georgieva stated that Qatar estimates it will take between three and five years to restore 17% of its natural gas production due to the damage. The International Energy Agency reported 72 energy facilities were damaged during the war, of which one third had suffered significant damage. She said that even if the war ended today, the negative effects would continue to affect the rest of world. After the U.S. & Israel attack on?February 28th, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz effectively. This sent the price of crude and liquefied gas sharply up. The international Brent crude benchmark was near $110 in the morning on Monday. Cash benchmarks from the Middle East were priced at a significant premium. Last week, the heads of IMF and IEA as well as the World Bank announced that they would work together to assess the 'energy and economic impacts of the war. Georgieva stated that the IMF is also "engaging" with the United Nations World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization regarding food security. In mid-March, the World Food Program warned that millions of people would face acute hunger should the war continue into June. Georgieva stated that the IMF does not yet see a food shortage, but it could occur if fertilizer deliveries are disrupted.
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Trump threatens to jail reporter who revealed Iran Airman Rescue
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he would require that the journalist that first reported an 'airman was rescued in Iran to reveal how he derived that information. He threatened jailing if a journalist refused. Trump's remarks during a White House Press Conference marked a significant increase in the administration's attacks against the press. In recent weeks, the president privately complained to his aides that media coverage on the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran was too negative. Trump and some of his allies also publicly criticized certain?news outlets' coverage. After a U.S. jet fighter was shot down on Friday over Iran, several media outlets reported that the U.S. rescue force had successfully recovered one of two airmen aboard. Trump claimed that the 'disclosure' had compromised the ongoing rescue operation for the'second airman. "We didn't discuss the first one for over an hour." We will try to find out who leaked it. Trump said, "We're working very hard to track down that leaker." We'll go to the media outlet that published it and say: "National security, give it up, or go to prison." Trump did not specify which reporter or media outlet he was referring. The New York Times and CBS News were among the media outlets that reported on the rescue of first airman in a relatively short time. When asked which reporter Trump had threatened, the White House didn't immediately reply. Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), posted?on X?last month that broadcasters airing "fake" news now have a "chance to correct course before their 'license renewals are due." His remarks were accompanied by a screenshot from a 'Truth Social' post made earlier that day, in which Trump claimed "Lowlife 'Papers' and Media want us to win the War."
Oil prices continue to rise as Trump's rhetoric against Iran becomes more aggressive
The oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday as U.S. president Donald Trump increased his rhetoric against Iran and threatened stronger action if it failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - a major global oil transit chokepoint.
Brent crude futures rose 57?cents or 0.5% to $110.34 a barge by 1202 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures gained $1.26 or 1.1% at $113.67.
Trump has threatened to "rain hell" on Tehran for failing to meet his deadline to reopening the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm EDT, Tuesday. Trump said that if no deal was reached, "they could be eliminated."
Tehran, in response to an American proposal via Pakistani mediator, rejected the idea of a ceasefire, said that a permanent ending to the war is necessary, and refused to bow to pressures to reopen Strait.
After U.S. attacks and Israeli strikes began on 28 February, Iranian forces effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. This waterway typically transports about 20% of world oil flows.
Tim Waterer is the chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
The potential for a truce deal could be a counterweight to the rising prices. If it gains traction and becomes a reality, the price will drop. However, the persistent supply concerns from the "Hormuz" chokepoint as well as the damaged energy facilities keep the price at a minimum.
Sources say that on Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards stopped two Qatari liquefied gas tankers, and told them to stand still without explanation. Shipping data shows that vessel traffic through the strait has been limited since last Thursday.
Diplomats say that the U.N. Security Council will vote on a resolution on Tuesday to protect commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, it is likely to be in a significantly watered down form, after China, which has veto power, opposed authorizing force.
Syrian state TV reported that the attack continued in the region as explosions could be heard in the Syrian capital Damascus and the surrounding countryside, Tuesday, which were caused by Israeli interceptions of Iranian missiles.
According to the Saudi defence ministry, on Tuesday, it said that seven ballistic missiles were intercepted and destroyed, with debris falling near energy facilities.
As Asian and European refiners rush to secure replacement supplies due to disrupted Middle Eastern flow, the conflict has put pressure on global crude markets. Spot premiums for U.S. WTI have risen to record levels.
Saudi Arabian state oil company Aramco has raised the official selling price of its Arab Light crude for Asia, for delivery in May. This is a record-breaking premium of $19.50 per barrel over the average of Oman/Dubai.
Russia said Monday that Ukrainian drones had attacked the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal on the Black Sea. This terminal handles 1.5% of the global oil supply. Russia reported damage caused to storage tanks and loading infrastructure.
OPEC+ decided on Sunday to increase oil production quotas in May by 206,000 bpd, but the agreement will only be a nominal one as some members are unable to boost their production due to strait closings that limit exports. (Reporting and editing by Anmol Chaubey, Bengaluru.
(source: Reuters)