Tesla To Discuss Factory Plan With India Commerce Minister
Tesla representatives are set to meet India’s commerce minister this month to discuss plans to build a factory to produce what the company has described as an all-new USD 24,000 car, a person with direct knowledge of the matter declared.
China Gloom Persists While Wall Street Rises
The contrasting market fortunes between the U.S. and China are well-known to investors, but deepening gloom surrounding China’s property sector and a surprisingly blunt view of the economy from Beijing suggests the chasm will widen further still.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman Launches Worldcoin Crypto Project
Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launched yesterday. The project’s core offering is its World ID, which the company describes as a “digital passport” to prove that its holder is a real human.
Today’s News
Oil prices are slowly edging up, extending gains from the previous season as signs of tighter supplies and pledges by Chinese authorities to shore up the world’s second biggest economy lifted sentiment. Brent futures gained by 7 cents at USD 82.81 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 11 cents at USD 78.85.
Both benchmarks rose over 2% the previous day and hit their highest closes since April.
Overall, the crude benchmarks have already climbed for four weeks in a row with supplies expected to tighten due to cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies like Russia, a group known as OPEC+.
In China, leaders have pledged to step up its policy support for the economy amid a tortuous post-COVID recovery, focusing on boosting domestic demand while further reinforcing its policies for the exportation of raw materials gallium and germanium.
This has directly affected the U.S. in its energy transition phase.
Other reports include:
A Bumpy Road Ahead For The U.S.
While U.S. gasoline demand will unlikely rescale the pre-pandemic peaks of 2018 as the energy transition accelerates, the pace of its decline is undoubtedly uncertain, illustrating the challenge for industry and the government in planning the shift to a low carbon economy.
The complex interplay between the transition, policy, economic performance and consumer preferences have made it harder than ever to forecast gasoline demand.
Those forecasts are important for oil refiners to make decisions on production and capacity, as well as for policy makers as they oversee the transition. If refiners close capacity quicker than demand drops, motorists could face higher fuel prices or even shortages.
Oil Prices Near 3-Month High
Oil prices climbed to a near three-month high yesterday on tightening supply, rising U.S. gasoline demand amidst hopes for Chinese stimulus measures and technical buying.
Brent futures were the highest since 19 April and for WTI since 24 April, as both contracts were pushed into technically overbought territory above their 200-day moving averages. The 200-day moving average had been a key point of technical resistance for both benchmarks since August 2022.
U.S. Oil And Gas Sector To Cut Methane Emissions
The U.S. government will provide up to USD 1.55 billion in funding to monitor and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, two agencies claimed yesterday.
The funding will be accompanied by technical assistance for companies to rein in emissions of the planet-warming greenhouse gas from leaks and daily operations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proclaimed.
“The amount of methane emitted from oil and gas operations is enough to fuel millions of homes a year, and is a major driver of the climate crisis,” said Joe Goffman at EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.
