Author: BlackMask Financial

United States Vice President Kamala Harris is massively more favored among young voters over Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump, an Axios/Generation Lab poll released on Thursday showed. When asked to choose between President Joe Biden, who withdrew from the race, and Trump, 53% of the respondents aged 18-34 picked the Democrat and 47% the Republican. However, when choosing between Harris and Trump, she got 60% of the support compared to the GOP nominee’s 40%. Furthermore, 45% of the young participants have a favorable view of Harris, while only Trump and Biden are seen favorably by 34% and 33%, respectively. The poll was conducted after Biden dropped his bid. NN: Trump has a BIG problem here. 

Poll: Trump leads Harris in four swing states

Former United States President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is leading Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in four swing states, while the two are tied in Wisconsin, a new Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll showed on Thursday. In Arizona, 49% of the respondents would vote for Trump over Harris, while 44% would support her. The GOP also candidate had a 2 point lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania and a one-point lead in Michigan. Meanwhile, Trump and Harris have 47% support each in Wisconsin, with the remaining respondents undecided. However, despite trailing Trump in most swing states, Harris performed better than US President Joe Biden had done in an Emerson College poll from earlier this month before he decided to pull out of the race.

The United States believes the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is in the “closing stages,” AFP reported on Wednesday citing a senior US official. The official added the Biden administration thinks a deal can be reached following months of hostilities and negotiations. The report comes amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US. According to the official, the ceasefire proposal includes the gradual release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas over 45 days. US President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday to work on resolving the remaining issues.

Israel hits 60 targets across Gaza in one day

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that its forces destroyed over 60 military objectives allegedly used by resistance groups across different areas of the Gaza Strip. The IDF claimed these targets were hit in just one day using fighter jets, attack helicopters, and drones, adding these strikes to 50 more reported on Tuesday. The army increased offensive operations in Khan Younis, Rafah, and Netzarim Corridor area after ordering evacuations in Khan Younis but still was not enough to avoid civilians casualties. Additionally, it stated that one soldier was “moderately injured” and two were “lightly injured” after gunmen shot from a vehicle close to the Nabi Ilyas area in the West Bank. The perpetrators of the shooting have not yet been found.

Hamas: Netanyahu showed he doesn’t want ceasefire

Member of Hamas Political Bureau Izzat al-Risheq said on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before the United States Congress showed that he does not want a ceasefire deal to be reached. Al-Risheq underlined that Netanyahu’s address is “a party of lies and disdain for the world’s minds.” Addressing the Congress, the Israeli prime minister said that Hamas “wants Palestinian civilians to die,” claiming that there were “practically none” civilian casualties in Israel’s strikes on Rafah. He also stressed that the war in Gaza could end “tomorrow” if Hamas “surrenders,” but emphasized that Israel will fight until “total victory” if the militant organization declines to do so.

NN: What will be proven to be one of the great speaches of our time. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre underlined on Wednesday at a press briefing that United States President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race wasn’t made in light of any health issues. While she didn’t want to elaborate further on the move, as Biden is set to speak on the matter later in the day, she reassured the public that this “had nothing to do with his health.” The press secretary revealed that the decision was made “in a very short period of time,” over the weekend. NN: Do these people have any credibility with you? Obviously, Biden is old and feeble. As admitted he is incapable of running a reelection campaign. He is certainly incapable of running the country. And has been for years. This begs the question who is running the show? And who are the criminals who allowed him to stay in power all these years?

Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending July 19, 2024

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 3.7 million barrels from the previous week. At 436.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.4 million barrels per day during the week ending July 19, 2024, which was 521 thousand barrels per day less than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 91.6% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 10.2 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production decreased last week, averaging 4.9 million barrels per day.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.9 million barrels per day last week, decreased by 166 thousand barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.8 million barrels per day, 2.9% more than the same four-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 778 thousand barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 112 thousand barrels per day.
. Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 5.6 million barrels from last week and are about 2% below the five year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline and blending components inventories decreased last week. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 2.8 million barrels last week and are about 9% below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories
increased by 1.8 million barrels from last week and are 15% above the five year average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 4.6 million barrels last week. Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.6 million barrels a day, up by 0.4% from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 9.3 million barrels a day, up by 2.5% from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.7 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, up by 3.2% from
the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 3.8% compared with the same four week period last year.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a Shiite militia group backed by Iran, announced a drone strike on the southern Israeli port city of Eilat, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. This group frequently collaborates with factions like Hezbollah and the Houthis in their clashes with Israel from Lebanon and Gaza. One such attack in Tel Aviv recently resulted in a fatality. In retaliation, Israel launched an airstrike inside Yemen, targeting fuel depots and oil refineries at the port of Al-Hudaydah, a Houthi-controlled area. The strike led to fires in fuel storage tanks, with local media reporting casualties as a result of the strike.

Crude oil inventories in the United States fell again this week, this time by 3.9 million barrels for the week ending July 19, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). The reality was a far cry from analyst predictions which pegged the inventory move at a 700,000-barrel build for the week. For the week prior, the API reported a 4.44 million barrel draw in crude inventories.

On Monday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose by 0.7 million barrels as of July 19. Inventories are now at 374.4 million barrels—the highest level since December 2022, but still well below the 656 million barrels in inventory in June 2020. Oil prices were trading substantially down after the API data release on Tuesday.

As of the publishing of this story Brent crude was trading down $0.98 (-1.19%) on the day at $81.42—down about $2.40 per barrel from this time last week. The U.S. benchmark WTI was also trading down on the day by $1.04 (-1.33%) at $77.36—down roughly $3.40 per barrel from this time last week.

Gasoline inventories also fell this week, by 2.8 million barrels, more than offsetting last week’s 365,000-barrel increase. As of last week, gasoline inventories are slightly above the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data. Distillate inventories shrunk this week by 1.5 million barrels, compared to last week’s 4.92-million-barrel increase. Distillates were about 7% below the five-year average for the week ending May July 12, the latest EIA data shows. Cushing inventories rounded out this week’s losses, losing 1.6 million barrels, according to API data, added on to  the  746,000 barrel drop in the previous week. NN: As predicted demand continues to outstrip supply. despite and Algo traders spin. We get the IEA inventory report today at 11:00 AM.

I am not so sure peace in the valley will soon come.

Crude oil inventories in the United States dropped by 3.9 million barrels in the week that ended July 19, private data from the American Petroleum Institute (API)  showed on Tuesday. Meanwhile, reserves in Cushing, Oklahoma, allegedly decreased by 1.6 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles declined by 2.8 million barrels, while distillate inventories went down by 1.5 million barrels, according to the reported data.

 

The Iran-backed Houthis are preparing to strike new sensitive targets in Israel and the region, according to sources from Yemen’s capital Sana’a quoted by the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated daily Al-Akhbar. Sources close to the Yemeni militia quoted by Al-Akhbar say that in response to the Israeli retaliatory strike on the Houthi-controlled Hodeida port in western Yemen on Saturday, itself a response to a deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv, Houthi military leaders have added new items to their “target bank.” The Yemeni rebel group — in cooperation with other members of the Axis of Resistance, Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria — is said to be planning to hit the Israeli Mediterranean ports of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Haifa, in addition to the Red Sea port of Eilat.

The Israeli gas fields in the Mediterranean are now also said to be in the Houthis’ crosshairs, as well as oil tankers transporting fuel from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to Israel through the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Houthis are also said to be planning to target maritime trade in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean and the rebel group is said to aim to use long-range projectiles to target “enemy maritime trade” directed toward the Cape of Good Hope along African coasts. The route is much longer than the one through the Suez Canal, but has become increasingly popular since the Houthis began targeting ships transiting through the Red Sea with alleged connections to Israel, the United States or Britain. NN:  Blowing Israel oil fields is a event that is doable and likely