Cheaper oil takes trade deficit to lowest level for over 14 years March 12, 2015 The UK’s trade deficit has dropped to its lowest level since 2000, official figures show. The UK imported £600m more than it exported in January, according to data released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It compares to the £2.1bn trade deficit in December. Around half of this fall was due to a drop [...]
Saudi Arabia won’t cut production – because it knows the oil age is ending March 12, 2015 There have been many explanations, including on these pages, for why Saudi Arabia has not cut production to shore up the price of oil. These range from the use of the oil price as a foreign policy weapon – whether to wage economic war against rivals Iran, or to help their US allies bring Russia [...]
Only Iran will resolve this phoney oil war – CNBC Comment March 9, 2015 What is the biggest trade in the markets just now? The one-way bet on European fixed income, with ECB QE set to obliterate anyone who challenges ludicrously low yields? The tech bull position, with the Nasdaq around the highs of 2000? Or could it be the brutal battle being fought in the oil market? Let’s [...]
Cheap oil has potential to give UK extra 121,000 jobs in 2016 March 9, 2015 The UK economy could be set for a massive jobs boost next year, provided oil prices remain subdued, financial services firm PwC said today. An oil price of $50 per barrel would create an extra 121,000 jobs in 2016 compared to if prices had stayed at their mid-2014 level of $108, PWC forecasts. It is [...]
Genel swings to a loss amid an oil price slump March 5, 2015 GENEL Energy yesterday revealed its revenues jumped by 49 per cent year on year in 2014, but it swung to a pre-tax loss of $312.8m (£204.7m) after depreciation charges and write offs from exploration wells. Loss per share reached 112.97 cents, from earnings per share of 66.24 cents in 2013, when the firm achieved pre-tax [...]
No sex, no French fries and lots of queues: Venezuela tops the world’s misery index for 2015 March 3, 2015 Ukraine, Greece and Spain are the most depressed countries in Europe – but all the world's economies are outshadowed by the gloomy Venezuelans, which have topped the misery index for a second year running. It should perhaps come as no surprise that Venezuela's population is so unhappy – people have been taking to the streets [...]
The North Sea is drowning in tax: Only radical action will salvage UK oil now March 2, 2015 Following his comments at the recent opening of the OECD’s Economic Survey, it is to be hoped that the chancellor gives North Sea oil companies, their shareholders, and their employees enough reason to cheer when he announces the Budget on 18 March. He recognised that the oil and gas industry is a vital national asset [...]
Mikhail Fridman and LetterOne fund attack UK government attempt to block North Sea oil and gas fields deal March 2, 2015 Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman has issued a stinging attack on the government over its attempts to block a deal which would see his fund LetterOne take ownership of North Sea oil and gas fields. A letter to the UK government called the decision “not rational” and criticised its last minute decision just days before the [...]
Government blocks Russian oligarch and Lord Browne-run fund buying North Sea oil fields over sanctions worries March 1, 2015 The government has blocked the sale of North Sea oil and gas fields to Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman and his LetterOne fund run by former BP man Lord Browne due to worries over Russian sanctions. Energy secretary Ed Davey warned it would not approve the sale of 12 oil and gas fields by the German [...]
Brent crude oil’s about show its biggest monthly gain since 2009 February 27, 2015 Oil futures could be about to show their biggest monthly gain in almost six years, after April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures Exchange rose $1.28, or 2.1 per cent, to $61.33 a barrel. That means it's risen 15 per cent in February, its highest monthly rise since May 2009. The price of a barrel [...]