Trump, Putin Pressure Saudis To Raise Oil Production

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies - Trump Putin Saudis Oil Production


About a month ago, President Trump tweeted:

"Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all over the place, including the fully loaded ships at sea. Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!"

When asked to comment on Trump's tweet, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told CNBC, "Markets should determine price."

Perhaps Trump later made the kind of call he talked about a decade ago. In 2008, President Trump was interviewed by Jim Cramer about OPEC. In this video (starting 5:38), Trump stated:

"The biggest problem I never hear anybody talk about. I told you about it once. Every time they lower interest rates, the cartel, because I call it a cartel-- the illegal monopoly-- raises oil prices. So the monopoly, because that's what it is, a total illegal monopoly. If businesses ever formed OPEC, everybody would be put in jail. Every time a country hits oil, they are invited into the cartel. It's a disgrace. Now you have oil prices that are going to be over $100, and nobody in this country calls and says. 'Get that goddamn oil price down. You get it down. And you get it down fast.'"

"And you can do it….In the old days, our presidents used to call. We don't call anymore….If spoken to properly, those prices would come down like you wouldn't believe."
Continue reading "Trump, Putin Pressure Saudis To Raise Oil Production" →

Crude Oil Could Crash Again

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals - Oil Could Crash Again


It is interesting how often exaggerated expectations prove to be wrong in the market. Crude oil is the dominant fossil fuel energy source, and therefore it draws a lot of attention as well as speculation.

Looking back, I remember a conversation with my boss earlier in the year who had talked to a large oil producing company and they said that it is highly improbable for crude oil to get over $55 per barrel amid the supply glut. WTI crude almost hit the $73 level this month to break similar pessimistic forecasts that had persisted in the market last year. OPEC’s deal together with Middle East tensions has driven the oil price to a 3-year high benefiting oil producing countries.

But these days I have started to hear different highly optimistic forecasts calling for $80-100 per barrel. When these voices began to grow into a full choir, I began to expect the thunder as this “sweet unison” is the leading contrarian indicator. Continue reading "Crude Oil Could Crash Again" →

Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery

Posted on by The INO.com Team

We've asked Michael Seery of SEERYFUTURES.COM to give our INO readers a weekly recap of the Futures market. He has been Senior Analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets.

Michael frequently appears on multiple business networks including Bloomberg news, Fox Business, CNBC Worldwide, CNN Business, and Bloomberg TV. He is also a guest on First Business, which is a national and internationally syndicated business show.

Copper Futures

Copper futures in the July contract settled up 130 points for the week currently trading at 3.0755 a pound now trading in the middle of the 4-week consolidation as prices look to have bottomed out in my opinion. At the present time I'm sitting on the sidelines waiting for a 4 week high to occur as we continue to bounce off major support at the 3.00/3.05 level as copper prices have hung in there despite the fact that the U.S dollar continues to trade higher on a daily basis hitting a 5-month high in today's trade as strong demand due to a very robust housing market which continues to keep prices relatively strong. Copper is trading above their 20-day moving average but still below their 100-day which stands at 3.15 as I will be patient and wait for the breakout to occur while waiting for the risk/reward to become in your favor as we will not be involved until next week's trade most likely so keep a close eye on this market as I do think these prices are bottoming out. The entire precious metal sector has been on the defensive in 2018 despite the fact that crude oil prices hit a 4-year high today and the rest the commodities have started to come to life as I think that will start to bleed into the copper sector especially if the U.S dollar starts to top out as the volatility still remains relatively low for such a historically volatile commodity as I don't think that will last much longer.
TREND: MIXED
CHART STRUCTURE: IMPROVING
VOLATILITY: HIGH
Continue reading "Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery" →

Uncle Sam's Bargain Bonds

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates - Uncle Sam's Bargain Bonds


According to a widely reprinted and circulated report in the Wall Street Journal, for the first time since 2000, U.S. government bonds now yield more than all of their developed world counterparts. Looking just at the 10-year security, the yield on the benchmark Treasury note now yields more compared to a record number of countries, and the yield differential between the U.S. government note and its German bund counterpart is its widest in almost 30 years.

Basically, this means that the arguably safest investment available anywhere in the world – the one American business schools still hold up as a “riskless” benchmark – yields way more than most other sovereign debt, including Italy’s, Canada’s and Australia’s – but no, not Greece’s, although they’re not too far off.

Let’s look at the numbers. Continue reading "Uncle Sam's Bargain Bonds" →

Oil Market Risks For 2018: Upside Then Downside

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies - Oil Market Risks 2018


Fears of potential shortages from the implosion of Venezuela’s production, and the imposition of sanctions on Iran, have catapulted the Brent oil price marker to $80. However, there are great uncertainties about how much oil supplies will be disrupted over the balance of 2018, and what the supply response will be from OPEC and other producers, such as Russia and the United States.

Venezuela’s production fell by 45,000 b/d in April from March, averaging 1.47 million barrels per day. The April decline was equal to the average monthly drop thus far in 2018. Whether the rate of decline will increase, or stay the same, is unknown, but what is known is that oil workers have been leaving the country, unpaid.

The May 20th presidential election has been called a sham. And President Trump is considering sanctioning Venezuela's oil or prohibiting the crude to be sold in the U.S. If he does, Venezuela’s economy is expected to collapse because it is totally dependent on oil revenues. Continue reading "Oil Market Risks For 2018: Upside Then Downside" →