Author: BlackMask Financial

Crude oil prices fell by more than 1% on Friday, after United States President Donald Trump announced yesterday that he will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, the US president is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later today. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November’s deliveries dropped by 1.15% at 5:58 am ET, going for $56.80 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent for settlements in December slipped by 1.15% to $60.36 per barrel at the same time.

United States President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday that if Hamas “continues to kill people in Gaza,” there will be no choice for the US “but to go in and kill them.”In a short post on Truth Social, Trump implied that Hamas was not abiding by the ceasefire agreement, echoing similar comments made by high-ranking Israeli officials. On the other hand, reports emerged that the Trump administration wants the deal to enter the second phase, which focuses on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

NN; Does this sound lie peace to you?

United States President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social on Thursday that he will meet with his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin “in an agreed upon location,” in Budapest, Hungary. Trump posted his announcement following his phone call with Putin. Trump described the call as a “very productive one,” revealing that Putin “congratulated” him and the US on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. “I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin thanked the First Lady, Melania, for her involvement with children,” Trump said. Furthermore, he said he discussed trade relations between the US and Russia, “when the war with Ukraine is over.” The two leaders also agreed to organize a meeting of “high level advisors next week,” with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the US team. This meeting will then be followed by a face-to-face encounter between the two presidents in Budapest.

NN: This has been engineered by Putin to put the kabob on the pending deal tomorrow  of supplying Patriate missiles to Ukraine

Ukraine’s national grid operator, NEC Ukrenergo, announced on Wednesday that it will introduce power restrictions across the country. “Due to the difficult situation in the power system, emergency power cuts have been introduced in all regions of Ukraine. Power restriction schedules for industrial consumers will also remain in effect in all regions until the end of the current day,” the statement said. The move comes after Russia launched a string of heavy attacks targeting the electric supply, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reporting that only last night Moscow employed more than 300 strike drones and 37 missiles.

NN: This is known as Ukraine getting its ass kicked

The head of Saudi Aramco has warned of a global oil shortage on the horizon, after a decade in which the energy industry turned its back on the search for new oil. Amin Nasser, chief executive of the world’s largest oil company by production, called for a return to spending on exploration and production as global demand for oil continued to grow, saying current investment was “extremely low”. “We had a decade . . . where people didn’t explore. It’s going to have an impact,” Nasser told the Financial Times. “If it doesn’t happen, there will be a supply crunch.” He also warned the US shale boom that had flooded the world with oil for a decade and a half was unlikely to be repeated. “Eighty to 90 per cent of growth came from shale,” he said. “If you look at the next 15 years, shale is most likely to plateau and decline. Where are you going to bring the additional barrels to meet the demand?” Oil majors have been cutting their spending on exploration and production since a price crash in 2014. They were also influenced by predictions of a rapid energy transition away from fossil fuels, and by investors calling for them to return more cash via dividends and buybacks. Investment into oil and gas exploration and production is set to fall 6 per cent to $420bn this year, according to the International Energy Agency, the first year-on-year decline since a coronavirus-related slump in 2020. Rather than spending heavily on complex and difficult projects, the industry has instead focused on drilling lower-cost reservoirs in a bid to meet demand. However, many analysts now believe that oil consumption will be more robust than previously predicted, due to a slower switch to clean energy. Consultancy Rystad estimated that, as a result, there could be a global oil shortfall of close to 10mn barrels a day by 2040. Nasser, who is nearing 10 years at the helm of Aramco, said that as it typically took five to seven years to bring new projects online, the world’s future supply rested on the actions companies took now. “We monitor final investment decisions and you can see a big drop in decisions and projects that are coming into the market,” Nasser said, adding that Aramco was spending $1bn-$2bn annually on exploration. “For us, it’s strategic. We’re exploring and adding significant amounts of reserves.” For now, the market faces the opposite problem. Oil prices are forecast to fall below $60 a barrel next year, with analysts expecting a glut as Opec+ countries increase production as part of a battle for market share. The industry has been cutting investment in anticipation of a prolonged downturn, potentially exacerbating the concerns raised by Nasser. Nevertheless, his comments echo growing industry unease about reserves and long-term supply, with BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies all saying recently that they wanted to step up exploration and production. The chief executive of Malaysian state oil company Petronas, Tengku Muhammad Taufik, told this week’s Energy Intelligence Forum that “more exploration” was needed, saying there was “a vacuum that needs to be filled”. Vicki Hollub, chief executive of Occidental Petroleum, told the London conference that only a quarter of the world’s annual oil consumption was being replaced through new discoveries. “It’s not just investment that’s the problem, it’s finding the bigger reservoirs,” she said, adding that ExxonMobil’s giant discovery in Guyana would only meet a small slice of global oil demand. “When you have the best discovery that has been made in the past couple of decades producing only enough to cover one-third of the demand in one year, that’s a big issue.” Climate Capital

NN: oil under 60 WTI inventories will be crushed

United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he might permit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume military strikes in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet the terms of the ceasefire. Speaking to CNN on a brief, Trump remarked that Israeli forces could return to action “as soon as I say the word.”

More to come…

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Brad Cooper urged Hamas on Wednesday to “immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” calling the moment “a historic opportunity for peace,” according to a statement posted by CENTCOM. Cooper said Hamas should fully stand down, adhere to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, and begin disarming “without delay.” He added that CENTCOM had conveyed its concerns to mediators working to uphold the ceasefire and protect civilians.

“We remain highly optimistic for the future of peace in the region,”  NB: That is a sick joke.

Cooper said, reaffirming US support for ongoing mediation efforts aimed at stabilizing Gaza following the recent truce. Previously, Wafa news agency reported on Tuesday that at least nine Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza ceasefire deal.

NN: They can’t help themselves. A savage will always be a savage,

United States President Donald Trump called on Hamas on Tuesday to abide by the Gaza peace agreement and proceed with disarmament, as agreed upon under the deal.

“They will disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. And it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm,” Trump said at a press conference alongside Argentina’s President Javier Milei and his delegation.

Furthermore, the US leader said Hamas told the parties involved int the peace process that “they had 26, 24 dead hostages,” adding that “it seems” the Palestinian group does not have the remains of all the deceased abductees. “We’re talking about a much lesser number, but that’s a very tough subject. I want them back,” he concluded.

The British government introduced a new sanctions package against Russia on Wednesday, freezing assets of 51 Russian ships, 34 companies and five individuals. A total of 90 entities were sanctioned, the reason for most of them being their present or past involvement in “destabilising Ukraine” or “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine” by contributing economic resources, goods or technology. According to the UK, the ships were a part of the so-called “shadow fleet,” which reportedly carries sanctioned Russian oil. Last month, the British government revealed a similar sanctions package, targeting 100 companies, individuals and “shadow fleet” ships.

NN: Its started

The Palestinian Presidency on Tuesday accused Hamas of undermining national unity through executions in the Gaza Strip. In a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, the office of President Mahmoud Abbas said dozens of people were killed without legal proceedings, calling the acts “heinous crimes” and a violation of human rights. The presidency said Hamas is seeking to impose its authority by force while residents face war and blockade. The statement stressed that such actions weaken the social fabric, obstruct reconciliation and damage efforts to unify Palestinian institutions under one legitimate authority.

NN: This so called Peace in the Middle East is like a Telsa filling  up at gas station advertising it gets  unlimited miles per gallon