Fitch: Iran Bank Reform Bills Carry Clout

Fitch Ratings, the international ratings agency, has said in a report that Iran’s banking supervisory authority will benefit from two bills sent by President Hassan Rouhani to parliament to push banking reforms.  
In its Banking & Financial Serv…

Fitch Ratings, the international ratings agency, has said in a report that Iran's banking supervisory authority will benefit from two bills sent by President Hassan Rouhani to parliament to push banking reforms.   In its Banking & Financial Services Report for Q4 2018, Fitch referred to the...

Brent, WTI Prices Rise

Oil prices rose about 2% on the final day of the year on Monday, mirroring gains in stock markets, but were on track for the first annual decline in three years amid lingering concerns of a persistent supply glut. 
Hints of progress on a possible US…

Oil prices rose about 2% on the final day of the year on Monday, mirroring gains in stock markets, but were on track for the first annual decline in three years amid lingering concerns of a persistent supply glut.  Hints of progress on a possible US-China trade deal, with US President Donald...

Iraq Deal With Exxon, PetroChina in Progress

Iraqi Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban has said progress has been made on a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project in the south of the country that has been negotiated since 2015 with ExxonMobil and PetroChina, the China National Petroleum Corp subs…

Iraqi Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban has said progress has been made on a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project in the south of the country that has been negotiated since 2015 with ExxonMobil and PetroChina, the China National Petroleum Corp subsidiary. The Southern Iraq Integrated Project...

US Crude Flow to Europe Slumps

US crude exports to Europe fell to an 11-month low this month as a shrinking discount and rising shipping costs squeezed demand for US barrels, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and analysts. 
The spread between US crude and Brent has narrowed sharp…

US crude exports to Europe fell to an 11-month low this month as a shrinking discount and rising shipping costs squeezed demand for US barrels, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and analysts.  The spread between US crude and Brent has narrowed sharply from above $10 per barrel in November to $6....

Kuwait Pledges Support for OPEC Cuts

Kuwait’s new oil minister, Khaled Al-Fadhel, has pledged an ongoing commitment to OPEC’s production cuts in his first statement to the Kuwait News Agency after being appointed last week.
OPEC’s latest supply accord commits its 11 participating membe…

Kuwait's new oil minister, Khaled Al-Fadhel, has pledged an ongoing commitment to OPEC's production cuts in his first statement to the Kuwait News Agency after being appointed last week. OPEC's latest supply accord commits its 11 participating members to 3% cuts in oil production to help revive...

Cold Spell Raises Asia LNG Imports

Cold weather and China’s consistent gasification efforts pushed liquefied natural gas imports into Northeastern Asia to a record-high, Reuters reports.
Since the start of December, LNG imports into China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have reached …

Cold weather and China’s consistent gasification efforts pushed liquefied natural gas imports into Northeastern Asia to a record-high, Reuters reports. Since the start of December, LNG imports into China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have reached 20.5 million tons, breaking the previous record...

Asia's Iran Crude Imports at 5-Year Low

Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit their lowest in more than five years in November as US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports took effect last month, government and ship-tracking data showed.
China, India, Japan and South Korea las…

Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit their lowest in more than five years in November as US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports took effect last month, government and ship-tracking data showed. China, India, Japan and South Korea last month imported about 664,800 barrels per day...

Novak: Oil Prices Will Stabilize in 2019

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that oil prices, which fell by more than a third this quarter, would become more stable in the first half of 2019. 
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other large oil p…

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that oil prices, which fell by more than a third this quarter, would become more stable in the first half of 2019.  The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other large oil producers led by Russia agreed earlier this...

Oil Prices Plunge by 6%

Oil prices plunged more than 6% to the lowest level in more than a year on Monday, pulling back sharply late in the session as fears of an economic slowdown rattled the market.
US crude futures and global benchmark Brent hit their lowest levels sinc…

Oil prices plunged more than 6% to the lowest level in more than a year on Monday, pulling back sharply late in the session as fears of an economic slowdown rattled the market. US crude futures and global benchmark Brent hit their lowest levels since 2017 during the session, putting both...

OPEC+ Ready for Extra Meeting

OPEC and allied oil producers are ready to hold an extraordinary meeting and will do what is needed if the current cut in oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day does not balance the market next year, the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said …

OPEC and allied oil producers are ready to hold an extraordinary meeting and will do what is needed if the current cut in oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day does not balance the market next year, the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said on Sunday. Extending the output agreement...