NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Friday / April 1
Biden's oil policy
Washinton is set to release 1 million barrels of oil per day from its strategic reserves to help cut gas prices and fight inflation across the country, the White House announced Thursday.
"Our prices are rising because of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's actions. There isn't enough supply. And the bottom line is if we want lower gas prices, we need to have more oil supply right now," US President Biden said.
Biden plans to tap the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months as domestic producers ramp up production, according to a fact sheet released by the Biden administration.
“The scale of this release is unprecedented: the world has never had a release of oil reserves at this 1 million per day rate for this length of time,” the White House said in a release. “This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.”
Oil prices dropped Thursday after reports surfaced Wednesday evening suggesting such a move was imminent.
Opec decision
OPEC and its allies, including Russia, decided on Thursday to increase oil output in May by 432,000 barrels a day, a slight uptick from the usual increase of 400,000 barrels a day for technical reasons but sticking with their previously agreed plan of modest monthly increases.
In a news release, the group said that the outlook was for “a well-balanced market” and that recent volatility in prices was “not caused by fundamentals, but by ongoing geopolitical developments,” without mentioning the war in Ukraine.
US Treasury yield curve
The 2-year and 10-year US Treasury yields inverted for the first time since 2019 on Thursday. The move was interpreted as a possible warning signal that a recession could be on the horizon.
The bond market phenomenon means the rate of the 2-year note is now higher than the 10-year note yield.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.331%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury was at 2.337% at one point in late trading Thursday. After a brief inversion, both yields were basically trading at the 2.34% level in the latest trading.
Russians leave Chernobyl
Russian troops that took over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant last month have transferred control back to Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday.
Multiple convoys of Russian troops in the area have also moved back toward Kremlin-allied Belarus on Ukraine’s northern border, Ukraine told the Agency.
The Russian forces, which had held the nuclear facility since Feruary 24, “in writing” returned control of the Chornobyl plant to Ukrainian personnel, the IAEA said in a press release.
The agency added that it “has not been able to confirm reports of Russian forces receiving high doses of radiation while being in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.”
“In addition, Ukraine reported that there are still some Russian forces on the Chornobyl NPP site but presumed that those forces are preparing to leave,” the IAEA statement said.
US stocks
Stocks fell for the second straight session on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 550.46 points, or 1.56%, to 34,678.35. The S&P 500 shed 1.57% to 4,530.41, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.54% to 14,220.52. Losses deepened in the final hour of trading, and stocks closed at session lows.
Thursday marked the last trading day of March and of the first quarter. For the first quarter, the Dow and S&P 500 closed down 4.6% and 4.9%, respectively. The Nasdaq lost 9%.
Washinton is set to release 1 million barrels of oil per day from its strategic reserves to help cut gas prices and fight inflation across the country, the White House announced Thursday.
"Our prices are rising because of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's actions. There isn't enough supply. And the bottom line is if we want lower gas prices, we need to have more oil supply right now," US President Biden said.
Biden plans to tap the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months as domestic producers ramp up production, according to a fact sheet released by the Biden administration.
“The scale of this release is unprecedented: the world has never had a release of oil reserves at this 1 million per day rate for this length of time,” the White House said in a release. “This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.”
Oil prices dropped Thursday after reports surfaced Wednesday evening suggesting such a move was imminent.
Opec decision
OPEC and its allies, including Russia, decided on Thursday to increase oil output in May by 432,000 barrels a day, a slight uptick from the usual increase of 400,000 barrels a day for technical reasons but sticking with their previously agreed plan of modest monthly increases.
In a news release, the group said that the outlook was for “a well-balanced market” and that recent volatility in prices was “not caused by fundamentals, but by ongoing geopolitical developments,” without mentioning the war in Ukraine.
US Treasury yield curve
The 2-year and 10-year US Treasury yields inverted for the first time since 2019 on Thursday. The move was interpreted as a possible warning signal that a recession could be on the horizon.
The bond market phenomenon means the rate of the 2-year note is now higher than the 10-year note yield.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.331%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury was at 2.337% at one point in late trading Thursday. After a brief inversion, both yields were basically trading at the 2.34% level in the latest trading.
Russians leave Chernobyl
Russian troops that took over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant last month have transferred control back to Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday.
Multiple convoys of Russian troops in the area have also moved back toward Kremlin-allied Belarus on Ukraine’s northern border, Ukraine told the Agency.
The Russian forces, which had held the nuclear facility since Feruary 24, “in writing” returned control of the Chornobyl plant to Ukrainian personnel, the IAEA said in a press release.
The agency added that it “has not been able to confirm reports of Russian forces receiving high doses of radiation while being in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.”
“In addition, Ukraine reported that there are still some Russian forces on the Chornobyl NPP site but presumed that those forces are preparing to leave,” the IAEA statement said.
US stocks
Stocks fell for the second straight session on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 550.46 points, or 1.56%, to 34,678.35. The S&P 500 shed 1.57% to 4,530.41, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.54% to 14,220.52. Losses deepened in the final hour of trading, and stocks closed at session lows.
Thursday marked the last trading day of March and of the first quarter. For the first quarter, the Dow and S&P 500 closed down 4.6% and 4.9%, respectively. The Nasdaq lost 9%.
