Category Archives: Commodities

Brent/WTI Crude Oil Spread – Complacency or Just Fundamentals??

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Brent - WTI Crude Oil Spread May 2013

 

COMPLACENCY OR JUST FUNDAMENTALS??

  • Greatest risk level since early 2011 to sudden spread widening due to real or perceived supply disruption/ headline risk.
  • Supply/demand fundamentals continue to pressure the WTI/Brent spread lower towards the long term average of +/- $5.
  • As North American production continues to increase and replace imported oil increasingly the WTI/Brent spread will reflect and be contained to Brent oil price swings.
  • OPEC continues to reduce production, $90 per barrel price acceptable to OPEC and OPEC expects increase in demand from improving economies in the second half of the year. Continue reading →

Is Israel telegraphing to the world an imminent move against Iranian nuclear facilities? Oil traders think so!

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The ratcheting up of rhetoric by Israeli officials focused on Iranian nuclear ambitions has culminated in recent weeks with an Israeli military official describing the threat to Israel as greater than the threat they faced during the run up to the Six day War, and the Aug 6 op-ed piece in the WSJ by Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the US, stating that the window for effective action against Iran is narrowing quickly. The importance of Amb Oren’s comments is that an Israeli official is placing a time frame for Israeli/Western response.

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