OPEC+ deadlock is bad news for oil producers and consumers, IEA warns

Published

4 years ago

July 18, 2021

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Oil derrick pumps operate at the Inglewood Oil Field in Culver City, California, on Sunday, July 11, 2021.

Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images

LONDON — The International Energy Agency on Tuesday warned that world oil markets are likely to remain volatile following a breakdown in talks between OPEC members and their non-OPEC allies, creating a no-win situation.

In its latest monthly oil market report, the IEA said energy market participants were closely monitoring the prospect of a deepening supply deficit if a deal was not reached by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its oil-producing allies, a group known as OPEC+.

“Oil markets are likely to remain volatile until there is clarity on OPEC+ production policy. And volatility does not help ensure orderly and secure energy transitions — nor is it in the interest of either producers or consumers,” the IEA said.

OPEC+ abandoned talks last week that would have boosted oil supply. Most delegates tentatively agreed to increase oil production by around 400,000 barrels per day in monthly installments from August until the remaining supply cuts were unwound. This was likely to extend supply cuts through to the end of 2022.

The UAE rejected these plans, however, insisting on a higher baseline from which cuts are calculated to better reflect its increased capacity.

It means no agreement has been reached on a possible increase in crude production beyond the end of July, leaving oil markets in a state of limbo just as global fuel demand recovers from the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

OPEC+, which is dominated by Middle East crude producers, agreed to implement massive crude production cuts last year in an effort to support oil prices when the coronavirus pandemic coincided with a historic fuel demand shock.

The energy alliance has since met monthly to try to decide on the next phase of production policy.

OPEC+ has not made progress in resolving the dispute between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed OPEC+ sources. It makes the prospect of another policy meeting this week less likely.

Oil prices

The IEA said it expects global oil demand to rise by 5.4 million barrels per day this year and by a further 3 million barrels in 2022, largely unchanged from last month’s forecast.

Meanwhile, the “remote” possibility of a market share battle between producers is hanging over energy markets, the IEA said, warning that higher fuel prices and rising inflation could damage a fragile economic recovery.

The uncertainty over the potential global impact of the highly transmissible Covid-19 delta variant was also likely to temper market sentiment in the coming months, the group said.

International benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $75.57 a barrel on Tuesday morning, up 0.5% for the session, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures stood at $74.51, around 0.6% higher.

“While prices at these levels could increase the pace of electrification of the transport sector and help accelerate energy transitions, they could also put a drag on the economic recovery, particularly in emerging and developing countries,” the IEA said.

Oil prices rallied more than 45% in the first half of the year, supported by the rollout of Covid vaccines, a gradual easing of lockdown measures and record production cuts from OPEC+.

“Although bullish sentiment has been somewhat tempered recently, oil prices are still comfortably holding above $70/bbl. Whether this remains so depends wholly on the next move by the OPEC+ alliance,” Stephen Brennock, oil analyst at PVM Oil Associates, said in a research note.

“The longer the standoff continues the harder it will be to resolve the situation,” he added.

Environment

California man sues Amazon after catastrophic electric bike crash

Published

3 hours ago

June 25, 2025

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California man sues Amazon after catastrophic electric bike crash

A man in California has sued Amazon as well as the maker of an electric bike that he purchased on Amazon after he claims that the bike malfunctioned, resulting in a crash that left him severely injured.

According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week, Robert Lewis suffered catastrophic injuries on December 30, 2024, when the handlebars on his foldable e-bike gave out, causing him to fall violently to the ground. The suit names both Actbest Technology Inc., listed as a Los Angeles-based manufacturer, and Amazon.com Inc. as defendants, alleging that both companies were negligent in manufacturing and selling the defective product.

The incident is the latest in a growing wave of safety concerns surrounding low-cost e-bikes sold through major online marketplaces, where oversight of product quality and safety warnings can be minimal or nonexistent.

While the suit does not name the exact model of e-bike involved in the crash, Actbest does sell an ultra low-cost $369 folding e-bike.

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The complaint accuses Amazon of continuing to sell the bike in question, even after receiving consumer complaints alleging similar defects. “Consumers of Amazon reasonably relied on Amazon’s service to monitor product complaints and remove unsafe consumer products to prevent the sale of defective products,” the lawsuit reads. “Amazon negligently carries out this service by ignoring obvious design, manufacturing and warning defects. They would have been aware [of the danger] had they actually fulfilled the obligations they voluntarily assumed and promised consumers Amazon would implement.”

The mechanism that failed was apparently the handlebar locking system, which is crucial for folding e-bikes to function safely. According to the lawsuit, the failure of this system during Lewis’s ride caused the handlebars to collapse unexpectedly, resulting in a severe spinal cord injury that has rendered him paraplegic. His family, also named as plaintiffs, is seeking compensation for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Lewis’s legal team, led by Andrew Parker Felix of Morgan & Morgan, is seeking damages for medical costs, lost wages, and punitive damages, pointing to what they describe as a pattern of neglect by Amazon in dealing with dangerous products sold through its platform.

“Similar to the hoverboard phenomenon in the past,” the lawsuit reads, “the e-bikes distributed through and sold by Amazon.com are the latest example of Amazon seeking to profit off of a new consumer product space with complete disregard for the safety of its subscribers.”

While Amazon has previously argued that it acts only as a sales platform for third-party sellers, courts have increasingly scrutinized the tech giant’s role in product liability, especially in cases involving dangerous or defective products. There are cases that could serve as precedents where Amazon has been found liable for injurious products sold on its platform.

This lawsuit may further test where that liability begins and ends, particularly in fast-growing consumer categories like e-bikes, where regulatory standards and safety enforcement have struggled to keep pace with demand.

Neither Amazon nor Actbest has responded publicly to the claims, and details about the specific e-bike model involved have not yet been disclosed.

As e-bike adoption continues to rise, especially among budget-conscious consumers looking for affordable transport, the case raises deeper questions about how safety is – or isn’t – being prioritized in a booming but often unregulated product space.

via: Law360

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Environment

CNBC Daily Open: A truce is to be celebrated — but it doesn’t promise peace

Published

8 hours ago

June 25, 2025

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CNBC Daily Open: A truce is to be celebrated — but it doesn't promise peace

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters onboard Air Force One en route to the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 24, 2025.

Brian Snyder | Reuters

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding. In yesterday’s newsletter, we talked about how a blitzkrieg of missile-led diplomacy seemed to help de-escalate tensions.

The flipside of that strange path to a truce is that missiles are, well, fundamentally weapons. Mere hours after both countries agreed to the ceasefire, Israel said its longtime rival had fired missiles into its borders — an accusation which Tehran denied — and was preparing to “respond forcefully.” Probably with more missiles.

U.S. President Donald Trump — who reportedly brokered the ceasefire with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani — expressed frustration with those developments.

“I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran either but I’m really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning,” Trump told a reporter pool en route to the NATO summit in the Netherlands.

His admonishments seemed to work. There is now a fragile armistice between the two countries.

Oil prices fell and U.S. stocks jumped.

Reuters uploaded a photo of Israeli residents playing frisbee at the beach on June 24. Flights at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport are resuming, and Iran’s airspace is partially open, according to flight monitoring firm FlightRadar24, CNBC reported at around 3 a.m. Singapore time.

Three hours after that update, NBC News, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported that an initial assessment from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency found the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites on Saturday left “core pieces … still intact.”

Trump pushed backed on those accusations Tuesday night, writing that “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!”

And so it goes.

What you need to know today

Israel-Iran ceasefire holds, for now
The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, announced by Trump on Monday, appears to be holding. Israel on Tuesday said it would honor the ceasefire so long as Iran does the same. Earlier in the day, both countries accused each other of violating the truce, and said they were ready to retaliate, prompting Trump to say he’s “not happy” with them. Stay updated on the Israel-Iran conflict with CNBC’s live blog here.

Markets jump as traders bet on truce
U.S. stocks jumped Tuesday on expectations that the Israel-Iran ceasefire would hold. The S&P 500 gained 1.11% to put it just 0.9% away from its 52-week high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.19% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.43%. The Nasdaq-100 rose 1.53% to close at an all-time high. Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Wednesday. China’s CSI 300 advanced 0.63% at 1:50 p.m. Singapore time. Tech stocks, such as NetEase and Tencent, were up on news that Beijing approved a large number of games in June.

Oil pares losses
Oil prices regained some ground during Asia trading hours Wednesday. Both U.S. crude oil and global benchmark Brent rose around 1.5%. On Tuesday stateside, oil prices tumbled roughly 6%. Earlier in the day, Trump said China can keep buying oil from Iran, in what seemed like a sign that the U.S. may soften its pressure campaign against Tehran.

Powell says Fed is ‘well positioned to wait’
At a U.S. congressional hearing Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy was still strong. But he noted that inflation is still above the central bank’s target of 2%, and the Fed has an “obligation” to prevent tariffs from becoming “an ongoing inflation problem.” In combination, those considerations make the Fed “well positioned to wait” before making a decision on interest rates.

Don’t make trade political: Chinese premier
“Globalization will not be reversed,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday through an official English translation at the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in China, often dubbed “Summer Davos.” Li urged all sides not to turn trade into a political or security issue, and said engaging in the international economy is a way of “reshaping the rules and order.”

[PRO] Not ‘bullish enough’ on rally: HSBC
The S&P 500′s rally off its April lows has brought it back to roughly 1% off its record high in a very short time. It’s an advance that has perplexed many investors, who worry that another pullback is on the horizon. But Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at HSBC, said he worries he’s not “bullish enough” on the current rally.

And finally…

Renminbi notes next to U.S. dollar notes at a Kasikornbank in Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 26, 2023.

Athit Perawongmetha | Reuters

China doubles down on promoting yuan as confidence in U.S. dollar takes a beating

China is devising more ways for foreign institutions to use the yuan, as international confidence in the U.S. dollar falters.

In a sign of growing resolve in Beijing to lure the world away from the dollar, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng announced plans last week to set up a center for digital yuan internationalization in Shanghai and promote the trading of yuan foreign exchange futures. Beijing has already rolled out a digital version of its currency to replace some cash and coins in circulation.

— Lee Ying Shan and Evelyn Cheng

Environment

CNBC Daily Open: Investors bet the fragile ceasefire would hold

Published

14 hours ago

June 25, 2025

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CNBC Daily Open: Investors bet the fragile ceasefire would hold

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about the Israel-Iran conflict, aboard Air Force One on June 24, 2025, while traveling to attend the NATO’s Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding. In yesterday’s newsletter, we talked about how a blitzkrieg of missile-led diplomacy seemed to help de-escalate tensions.

The flipside of that strange path to a truce is that missiles, well, are fundamentally weapons. Mere hours after both countries agreed to the ceasefire, Israel said its longtime rival had fired missiles into its borders — an accusation which Tehran denied — and was preparing to “respond forcefully.” Probably with more missiles.

U.S. President Donald Trump — who reportedly brokered the ceasefire with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani — expressed frustration with those developments.

His admonishments seemed to work. There is now a fragile armistice between the two countries.

Oil prices fell and U.S. stocks jumped.

And so it goes.

What you need to know today

Markets jump as traders bet on truce
U.S. stocks jumped Tuesday on expectations that the Israel-Iran ceasefire would hold. The S&P 500 gained 1.11% to put it just 0.9% away from its 52-week high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.19% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.43%. The Nasdaq-100 rose 1.53% to close at an all-time high. Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose 1.11%. Travel stocks were some of the best performers, while oil and gas stocks fell the most.

Oil prices slump for a second day
Oil prices tumbled Tuesday, its second day of declines, as the market bet that the risk of a major supply disruption had faded. U.S. crude oil settled down 6% at $64.37 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent fell 6.1%, to $67.14 during U.S. trading. Prices closed 7% lower on Monday. Earlier Tuesday, Trump said China can keep buying oil from Iran, in what seemed like a sign that the U.S. may soften its pressure campaign against Tehran.

Powell says Fed is ‘well positioned to wait’
At a U.S. congressional hearing Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy was still strong. But he noted that inflation is still above the central bank’s target of 2%, and the Fed has an “obligation” to prevent tariffs from becoming “an ongoing inflation problem.” In combination, those considerationsmake the Fed “well positioned to wait” before making a decision on interest rates.

U.S. is committed to NATO: Secretary-General
There is “total commitment by the U.S. president and the U.S. senior leadership to NATO,” the military alliance’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Tuesday morning, as the summit kicked off in The Hague, Netherlands. But America expects Europe and Canada to spend as much as the U.S. does on defense. Ahead of the summit, members agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035.

And finally…

Pictures from the semi-official Tasnim news agency show the Stena Impero being seized and detained between July 19 and July 21, 2019 near strait of Hormuz, Iran.

Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Strait of Hormuz GPS jamming remains major security issue, tanker CEO says

Despite a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Tuesday, security issues in the Strait of Hormuz continue for shipowners.

According to Angeliki Frangou, a fourth-generation shipowner and chairman and CEO of Greece-based Navios Maritime Partners, which owns and operates dry cargo ships and tankers, vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are still being threatened by continuous GPS signal blocking.

“We have had about 20% less passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, and vessels are waiting outside,” Frangou told CNBC.

“You are hearing a lot from the liner [ocean shipping] companies that they are transiting only during daytime because of the jamming of GPS signals of vessels. They don’t want to pass during the nighttime because they find it dangerous. So it’s a very fluid situation,” Frangou said.