Germany Claims it has enough gas for winter… How can they know? if its a cold winter they warn they will ration… So which is it?
Germany may have to take drastic measures such as gas rationing if levels of gas in storage drop below 40% by February 1st next year, according to the German Federal Network Agency, which will enact such measures if necessary. Germany’s gas storage sites were 99% full at the start of the heating season and the onset of colder weather in November. As of November 23, Germany’s gas storage was 98.95% full, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. The gas drawdowns are now set to accelerate as winter progresses. If gas storage levels drop to below 40% by February 1, this would be considered a critical level, Klaus Müller, the president of the German Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur, said on Friday. The critical gas storage level could trigger a further response for energy conservation in Germany, including a possible gas rationing. Germany is currently in a stage-two level of alert and could go into a level-three emergency if gas stocks fall to critically low levels. The situation with Germany’s gas supply will be tense if gas storage is between 40% and 55% full by the beginning of February, the head of the regulator Müller said during a webcast as quoted by Reuters. Germany’s energy regulator insists that “significant” gas and energy savings are necessary to avoid a winter of rationing and gas emergency. Households, industry, and businesses need to cut consumption by at least 20%, the regulator’s head Müller said in October. Germany may be unable to avoid a gas emergency this winter if all consumers don’t significantly cut consumption in Europe’s biggest economy, the regulator and its president have said multiple times since the summer. If the coming winter is colder than usual, Germany could see severe nationwide gas shortages, which it will not be able to predict more than two weeks in advance, Müller. NN: these assholes want the public to believe all is well. Behind closed doors they speak oa a crises. Either in February or March. Its not if but when. I know who knows God knows and these assholes just think they are gods…..
RIGA – Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics (New Unity) at a meeting of the European Union’s (EU) Foreign Affairs Council on Monday called on the EU to adopt its ninth package of sanctions against Russia, LETA was told at the Foreign Ministry. At the meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers, Rinkevics urged EU member states to provide all possible political, military, humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine. The Latvian minister reiterated Latvia’s support for Ukraine’s European integration and reforms. Rinkevics noted the need to urgently decide on further practical assistance, including macroeconomic, to Ukraine and to develop long-term EU support systems. The Latvian minister believes that it is necessary to urgently and inclusively develop a global coordination platform. Rinkevics voiced support for the EU Foreign Affairs Council’s decision to launch the EU’s Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) and for the approval of specialized allocations worth EUR 16 million under the European Peace Facility (EPF). Rinkevics said that the EU must continue to exert political, economic and diplomatic pressure on Russia, including by adopting new sanctions. The minister indicated that as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the previous basis of EU-Russia relations has been lost. “Returning to previous relations will not be possible, which is why the EU must change the paradigm in its relations with Russia. The EU policy must be based on deterrence, strategic independence from Russia and strengthening resilience. It is necessary to strengthen the resilience of Russia’s neighbor countries,” Rinkevics emphasized. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underlined on Thursday that the European Union is working “full speed” on delivering the ninth sanctions package against Russia. Speaking at a press conference in Finland, Von der Leyen reiterated that the bloc “will not rest until Ukraine has prevailed over [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his unlawful and barbaric war.”Touching upon the subject of the price cap on Russian oil, the EC head stated that she is “confident” the parties will approve the decision “very soon.”
Oil up with price cap talks, US inventories in focus
Prices of oil futures increased on Friday as attention remained on the ongoing discussions within western alliances about imposing a price cap on Russian oil. Moscow insisted such a measure would seriously affect the global market as it does not intend to sell oil to countries that introduce the price restrictions. In addition, supply fears could have been intensified by a drop in inventories in the United States and sporadic disruptions to oil flow in Europe.
The European Union is currently in discussions to cap the price of Russian oil at somewhere between $65 and $70 per barrel.
The EU ambassadors of the 27-member bloc are considering proposals for the price cap, pushed by the G7 and Australia.
The U.S. and G7 have said that they would consider such a cap that would not be below the cost of production for Russia in order to keep Russian oil flowing to the market.The European Union is currently in discussions to cap the price of Russian oil at somewhere between $65 and $70 per barrel, an EU diplomat told Reuters on Wednesday—a cap which, if approved, wouldn’t effectively lower the price of the flagship Russian crude currently being traded on the market. The EU ambassadors of the 27-member bloc are considering proposals for the price cap, pushed by the G7 and Australia and aimed at limiting the oil revenues for Vladimir Putin. The G7, the UK, and the EU will ban as of December 5 maritime transportation services for Russian oil unless the crude is purchased at or below a certain price cap. The EU is expected to discuss the price cap mechanism today and could possibly reach a decision and announce it as early as the end of the day on Wednesday. “The G7 apparently is looking at a $65-70 per barrel bandwidth,” the EU diplomat told Reuters. Such a price cap would be more or less the level at which Russian Urals currently trades. Per data from Statista, Urals traded at $23 a barrel below the international benchmark, Brent Crude, as of the end of last week. The U.S. and G7 have said that they would consider such a cap that would not be below the cost of production for Russia in order to keep Russian oil flowing to the market. But a $65-$70 cap – as of Wednesday’s oil trade – is not really a severe cap, considering that Brent traded at $85 per barrel as of 7 a.m. ET. NN: They are not understanding what we face. Their is not enough oil being produced. This crises has been masked by strategic reserve releases by government. But that ball of sting is running out.
Russia may cut oil output due to price cap -deputy PM
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will not ship oil or oil products to countries imposing a price cap on its oil exports and may also cut crude production, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday. He reiterated that Russia remained a reliable oil supplier and that the introduction of a price cap on Russian oil would trigger lower supply. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reiterated on Monday the country will refrain from supplying oil to countries that agree to impose the price ceiling on the Russian commodity. “The price ceiling is just an act of unprecedented interference in the market principles of the functioning of the oil market,” Novak stressed. The deputy prime minister underscored Moscow will redirect its supplies to market-oriented partners or reduce the production of oil. The West will likely decide on the level of the price ceiling for Russian oil on November 23, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter on Tuesday. The European Union representatives will reportedly meet the following day to reach an agreement on the price limit. According to the report, the officials will supposedly agree on the price limit setting it at around $60 a barrel before December 5, the date which will put into effect new measures decided by the United States and its allies. The day before, Moscow strongly asserted it would not supply crude oil to countries that impose a price ceiling on its commodity and could instead reduce the production of oil. December 5, when the agreed price cap is due to take effect. NN: It should get very interesting. Dec 4th OPEC meets and the 5th we will here more details as price caps on Russian oil will be attempted….. I wish them luck!
The prices of oil futures recovered from yesterday’s slump on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia dismissed a report released by media, claiming that OPEC+ was considering upping the production of the crude by 500,000 barrels per day ahead of the December meeting. “It is well known that OPEC+ does not discuss any decisions ahead of its meetings. The current cut of 2 million barrels per day continues until the end of 2023,” Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud shared. In addition, oil prices might have also been affected by today’s retreat of the United States dollar. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for settlements in January rose 1.01% to sell for $80.85 per barrel at 3:33 am ET. Simultaneously, Brent for the same month’s deliveries increased 1.17% going for $88.52 per barrel.
Houthis Attack Ship At Oil Terminal In Yemen
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship at an oil terminal in the south of the country on Monday, the internationally recognized government said, in the latest in a series of recent attacks that threaten to escalate the conflict after months of relative calm. The government, which controls the territory where the terminal is located, said in a statement that the strike took place while a commercial ship was in the port of Al-Dabah, near the city of Mukalla, and that it had been carried out by drones. It did not say whether any damage had been sustained or to which nation the vessel belonged. The Houthis appeared to acknowledge the afternoon strike in a series of tweets. Houthi military spokesman Yahia Sarea said that “the armed forces succeeded in forcing an oil ship — that had come close to the Al-Dabah port in the south of the country — to leave.” He said that the ship had “refused to heed warnings.” The group takes issue with its rivals receiving funds from oil exports. Yemen’s warring parties failed last month to renew a months-long truce that had spurred hopes for a longer peace. Later in October, the rebels targeted several other ships in drone attacks. War has raged since 2014 in Yemen between the Houthi rebels and pro-government forces backed by a coalition of Sunni Gulf Arab states. The Iran-backed Houthis swept down from the mountains in 2014, occupied northern Yemen and the country’s capital and forced the internationally recognized government to flee into exile to Saudi Arabia. Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed in the violence and 3 million have been displaced. Two-thirds of the population receives food assistance. The initial, two-month truce agreed to on April 2 by the government and the Houthis was extended twice, until Oct. 2. Since then, both the United States and the United Nations have blamed the Houthis for a breakdown in efforts to extend the cease-fire yet again. One of the main obstacles to a truce is the use of Yemen’s resources. The Houthis maintain that oil produced in Yemen should not be allowed to be exported by the cash-strapped government side.
US stocks dropped as investors parsed comments from San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly, who warned that too much tightening could be “unnecessarily painful” for the economy. Mounting concerns that China may tighten Covid curbs after a string of reported deaths also continued to weigh on investors. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fell, but are off session lows. Crude futures pared losses after Saudi Arabia denied a report that it is discussing an oil-production increase for the OPEC+ meeting next month. The dollar gained as investors sought haven assets. Treasury yields dipped. Investors are closely watching what Fed speakers say about the outlook for interest rates. While several central bank officials in recent days have reiterated their resolve to keep raising rates, they differ on how far they’ll go. On Monday, Daly said that officials will need to be mindful of the lags with which monetary policy is transmitted through the economy as they raise interest rates further in order to drive down inflation. “This shouldn’t be regarded as a pivot or anything new,” Michael Contopoulos, director of fixed income at Richard Bernstein Advisors, said about Daly’s comments. “A real pivot is when the Fed starts to cut rates and/or pause quantitative tightening. That is nowhere in sight.” “For the Fed right now, if we do get some slowing in inflation — which it seems like we might — but you’re not seeing it in the slowing of service inflation, that’s related to a tight labor market,” Veronica Clark, economist at Citigroup, said Monday on Bloomberg Television. “You do need to see that loosening in the labor market data.” Meanwhile, China saw its first Covid-related death in almost six months on Saturday and another two were reported on Sunday. Worsening outbreaks across the nation are stoking concerns that authorities may again resort to harsh restrictions. Shutdowns could have a negative impact on supply chain dynamics and possibly exacerbate inflation issues across economies. “China is such a large portion of global growth. It matters. So that’s why what news was this morning I think was so important,” Lindsay Rosner, multi-sector portfolio manager at PGIM Fixed Income, said by phone. “There is not an expectation in the market of a complete removal of the zero Covid policy. But I think if Covid has taught any of us anything is that it can’t be predetermined.”
Saudi Arabia and other OPEC producers eye output increase -WSJ
Chinese demand fears and strong dollar also weigh on prices
LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Oil prices dropped to their lowest since early January on Monday after the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC oil producers are discussing an output increase. Brent crude futures for January had slipped $4.07, or 4.7%, to $83.55 a barrel by 1518 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December were down $4.02, or 5%, at $76.06 ahead of the contract’s expiry later on Monday. The more active January contract was down $3.82, or 4.8%, at $76.29. An increase of up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) will be discussed at the OPEC+ meeting on Dec. 4, The Wall Street Journal reported. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, together known as OPEC+, recently cut production targets and de facto leader Saudi Arabia’s energy minister was quoted this month as saying the group will remain cautious. NN: This sounded like a bogus story from the ASSHOLES at the Wall Street journal and i so said!
Riyadh denies talking oil output increase at OPEC+
Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud rejected a recent report that his country was discussing increasing oil output by half a million barrels per day with other OPEC+ producers next month. “It is well known that OPEC+ does not discuss any decisions ahead of its meetings. The current cut of 2 million barrels per day continues until the end of 2023. If there is a need to take further measures by reducing production to balance supply and demand, we always remain ready to intervene,” the minister was cited as saying by the Saudi Press Agency. The prices of oil futures reduced losses following the minister’s statement, rebounding to levels last seen in late September. WTI futures for settlements in January lost 2.12% to sell for $78.59 at 6:10 pm CET, while Brent contracts for deliveries in the same month fell by 2.32% to $85.84.
Russia reaffirms it won’t sell oil under price cap
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reiterated on Monday the country will refrain from supplying oil to countries that agree to impose the price ceiling on the Russian commodity. “The price ceiling is just an act of unprecedented interference in the market principles of the functioning of the oil market,” Novak stressed. The deputy prime minister underscored Moscow will redirect its supplies to market-oriented partners or reduce the production of oil. The West has reportedly agreed to set a price limit on Russian oil, with the specifics of the deal expected to be worked out by December 5, when the price cap is due to take effect.
China registered 27,095 new COVID-19 cases on November 20, surpassing the number reported the previous day by 2,660, the country’s National Health Commission stated on Monday. The country also saw two new deaths, raising the total toll to 5,229 since the beginning of the pandemic. The latest statistic comes as the Baiyun district in the port megacity of Guangzhou entered a five-day COVID-19 lockdown, having registered 296 new locally transmitted symptomatic and 7,885 asymptomatic infections. The Baiyun district in the Chinese city of Guangzhou has entered a five-day COVID-19 lockdown, local authorities announced on Sunday. They described the prevention and control situation as “grim,” as China continues to pursue its zero-COVID policy. Guangzhou has seen over 8,000 daily cases for five days in a row, with 8,181 cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the city of Shijiazhuang advised its residents to remain at home amid rising infection numbers. Its officials stated mass COVID-19 testing will be conducted in some parts of the city.
China announces first COVID-19 death in almost 6 months
BEIJING — China on Sunday announced its first new death from COVID-19 in nearly half a year as strict new measures are imposed in Beijing and across the country to ward against new outbreaks. The death of the 87-year-old Beijing man was the first reported by the National Health Commission since May 26, bringing the total death toll to 5,227. The previous death was reported in Shanghai, which underwent a major springtime surge in cases. China on Sunday announced 24,215 new cases detected over the previous 24 hours, the vast majority of them asymptomatic. While China has an overall vaccination rate of more than 92% having received at least one dose, that number is considerably lower among the elderly — particularly those over age 80 — where it falls to just 65%. The commission did not give details on the vaccination status of the latest deceased. That vulnerability is considered one reason why China has mostly kept its borders closed and is sticking with its rigid “zero-COVID” policy that seeks to wipe out infections through lockdowns, quarantines, case tracing and mass testing, despite the impact on normal life and the economy and rising public anger at the authorities. China says its tough approach has paid off in much lower numbers of cases and deaths than in other countries, such as the U.S. With a population of 1.4 billion, China has officially reported just 286,197 cases since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. That compares to 98.3 million cases and 1 million deaths for the U.S., with its population of 331.9 million, since the virus first appeared there in 2020. China’s figures have come under question, however, based on the ruling Communist Party’s long-established reputation for manipulating statistics, the lack of outside scrutiny and a highly subjective criteria for determining cause of death. Unlike in other countries, the deaths of patients who presented COVID-19 symptoms were often attributed to underlying conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, obscuring the real number of deaths from the virus and almost certainly leading to an undercount. Critics pointed especially to this year’s outbreak in Shanghai. The city of more than 25 million only reported about two dozen coronavirus deaths despite an outbreak that spanned more than two months and infected hundreds of thousands of people in the world’s third-largest city. China has also defied advice from the World Health Organization to adopt a more targeted prevention strategy. Beijing has resisted calls to cooperate fully with the investigation into the origin of the virus, angrily rejecting suggestions it may have leaked from a Wuhan lab, seeking to turn such accusations on the U.S. military instead. In all cases, the party’s instinct to use total control — even using routine testing information to limit people’s movements — has won out, with only slight concessions made to criticisms aired on highly censored internet forums. In response to the latest outrage, the central city of Zhengzhou said Sunday it will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test from infants under age 3 and other “special groups” seeking health care. The announcement by the Zhengzhou city government came after a second child’s death was blamed on overzealous anti-virus enforcement. The 4-month-old girl died after suffering vomiting and diarrhea while in quarantine at a hotel in Zhengzhou. Reports said it took her father 11 hours to get help after health care workers refused to provide assistance and she finally was sent to a hospital 100 kilometers (60 miles) away. Internet users expressed anger at “zero COVID” and demanded officials in Zhengzhou be punished for failing to help the public. That follows an earlier outcry over a 3-year-old boy’s death from carbon monoxide poisoning in the northwest. His father blamed health workers in the city of Lanzhou, who he said tried to stop him from taking his son to a hospital. Other cases include a pregnant woman who miscarried after she was refused entry to a hospital in the northwestern city of Xi’an and forced to sit outside in the cold for hours. Clashes between authorities and residents fed up with restrictions have been reported in numerous cities despite tight controls on information. A new round of mass testing has been ordered in Huizhu district in the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou that has seen such frictions involving migrant workers shut out of their homes, the local government said on its official microblog Sunday. Each such case brings promises from the party — most recently last week — that people in quarantine or who can’t show negative test results wouldn’t be blocked from getting emergency help. Yet, the party has often found itself unable to rein in stringent and often unauthorized measures imposed by local officials who fear losing their jobs or facing prosecution if outbreaks occur in areas under their jurisdiction. Nearly three years into the pandemic, while the rest of the world has largely opened up and the impact on the Chinese economy rises, Beijing has mostly kept its borders closed and discouraged travel even within the country. In the capital Beijing, residents were told not to travel between city districts, and large numbers of restaurants, shops, malls, office buildings and apartment blocks have been closed or isolated. Local and international schools in urban districts of the city of 21 million have been moved online.
The Federal Reserve may have to raise its benchmark interest rate much higher than it has previously projected to get inflation under control, James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said Thursday. Bullard’s comments raised the prospect that the Fed’s rate hikes will make borrowing by consumers and businesses even costlier and further heighten the risk of recession. Wall Street traders registered their concern by sending stock market futures further into the red early Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 180 points, or 0.5%, in morning trading.
Bullard’s remarks followed speeches by other Fed officials in recent days that suggested they see only limited progress, at most, in their use of steadily higher rates to fight inflation. Bullard’s views have added significance because he is a voting member of the Fed’s rate-setting committee this year.
The Fed’s key short-term interest rate “has not yet reached a level that could be justified as sufficiently restrictive,”Bullard said. “To attain a sufficiently restrictive level, the policy rate will need to be increased further.” The Fed is seeking to raise borrowing rates to a level that restrains economic growth and hiring in order to cool inflation. The central bank has rapidly raised its benchmark rate by an aggressive three-quarters of a point at each of its last four meetings — the fastest series of hikes since the early 1980s. The cumulative effect has been to make many consumer and business loans costlier and to raise the risk of a recession. Those increases have boosted the Fed’s short-term rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%, up from nearly zero as recently as last March, to the highest level in nearly 15 years.
Bullard suggested that the rate may have to rise to a level between 5% and 7% in order to quash inflation, which is near a four-decade high.
He added, though, that that level could decline if inflation were to cool in the coming months. Loretta Mester, president of the Cleveland Fed, echoed some of Bullard’s remarks in her own speech Thursday, when she said the Fed is “just beginning to move into restrictive territory.” That suggests Mester, one of the more hawkish policymakers, also expects rates will have to move much higher. In Fed parlance, hawks tend to focus more on lifting rates to combat inflation, while doves typically prefer lower rates to support growth and hiring. By contrast, Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard, a more dovish official, suggested several times Monday that the Fed has already gotten rates to a level that restrains growth, though she added the central bank would need to move “further into restrictive” territory. And on Wednesday, Esther George, president of the Kansas City Fed, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that a recession was likely given how rapidly the Fed has tightened credit.
“I have not in my 40 years with the Fed seen a time of this kind of tightening that you didn’t get some painful outcomes,” she said. Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have clearly signaled that they will likely lift rates by a half-percentage point at their next meeting in December, a step down from their previous increases. Yet at the same time, they have taken pains to emphasize that the smaller hikes — most analysts expect quarter-point increases at the February and March meetings — don’t mean the Fed is necessarily nearing an end to its increases, as the financial markets have often assumed. “Pausing is off the table right now — it’s not even part of the discussion,” San Francisco Federal Reserve president Mary Daly said in a Wednesday interview. NN: The Fed has spoken and wall street is not listening!!
“It’s beyond ironic that President Biden has single-handedly assured MBS can escape accountability when it was President Biden who promised the American people he would do everything to hold him accountable. Not even the Trump administration did this,” Whitson said. Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications for ALQST, a nonprofit organization promoting human rights in Saudi Arabia, said in a statement that the administration’s decision sends the wrong signal. “This decision will empower a regime that punishes its own citizens and U.S. citizens alike,” said al-Hathloul. “Granting immunity is not only morally deplorable, but will also put the world on notice that America does not back up its words with action.” On Friday afternoon, The Washington Post publisher and CEO Fred Ryan issued a statement condemning the administration’s decision. “In granting legal immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Biden is failing to uphold America’s most cherished values,” Ryan said. “He is granting a license to kill to one of the world’s most egregious human-rights abusers who is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist. “While legitimate heads of government should be protected against frivolous lawsuits, the Saudis’ decision to make MBS prime minister was a cynical, calculated effort to manipulate the law and shield him from accountability. By going along with this scheme, President Biden is turning his back on fundamental principles of press freedom and equality. The American people — and those wronged by MBS in Saudi Arabia and around the world — deserve better.” NN: This is nothing new. The US has been granting blanket immunity for decades to the Saudi leadership. And i submit to you the Quid Pro Quo was granted. The fact that oil prices dropped from $120 Barrel to $85 right before the elections means the Saudi’s honored their part of the bargain. I do not believe $60 oil was part of the deal,