Natural Gas & Crude Oil

Bloomberg reported on March 10 th  that benchmark gas futures settled 21% higher, which is the biggest jump since June. This comes as a result of concerns about the strike and problems with the nuclear plants. On March 7 th , French unions issued a joint call for strike across France as a response to a pension reform, which includes a proposal to raise the pension age from 62 to 64 years. The same morning, there was a blockage of oil product deliveries from all six oil refineries. Corrosion problems with the nuclear reactors was also a concern provoking an increased gas demand, with 19 of 56 nuclear reactors offline on Wednesday March 15 th . Last Friday, the 17 th , gas dived 20% because of milder weather and healthy storage outweighing the mentioned concerns. Spain also increased their power exports to France to aid the neighboring country.  Oil has also been subject to substantial changes this week, reaching a 15 month low Thursday morning. There is a number of reasons for ...

The oil price has fluctuated quite a bit lately and there are two main reasons for this: higher demand from China and higher supply from Russia. Indication that the Russian delivery has not yet been stopped has resulted in an oil price of 80 dollars per barrel. It is expected that 2023 will be a record high year when it comes to China's oil import.  On friday, rumors about Saudi-Arabia discussing the possibilities to leave OPEC, which caused the oil price to drop by 2,8 percent on friday. The Wall Street Journal reported a growing rift between Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates, which are among OPESs strongest producers. The conflict sparked fears of a crack in the cartel's politics that could lead to more supplies.  Saudi Aramco, Saudi-Arabia's oil company, is raising their prices for oil shipments in Asia and Europe. This is because they see an increased demand in these areas.In Asia they raise the price for Arab Light-oil by 50 cent from the price in March, and wi...