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India will get additional supplies from other major oil producing countries to compensate for loss of Iranian oil, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted on Tuesday.The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which had allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers, most of them in Asia, to continue to import limited volumes.Pradhan said India has put in place a robust plan for adequate supply of crude oil to refineries.“Indian refineries are fully prepared to meet the national demand for petrol, diesel and other petroleum products,” he said.
The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, a move to choke off Tehran’s oil revenues which sent crude prices to six-month highs on fears of a potential supply crunch.The Trump administration on Monday said it will not renew exemptions granted last year to buyers of Iranian oil, a more stringent than expected decision that caught several key importers who have been pleading with Washington to continue buying Iranian oil sanctions-free.The United States reimposed sanctions in November on exports of Iranian oil after U.S. President Donald Trump last spring unilaterally pulled out of a 2015 accord between Iran and six world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. Eight economies, including China and India, were granted waivers for six months, and several had expected those exemptions to be renewed.
U.S. independent refiners are expected to roll out lower than expected first-quarter profits after a spate of outages, weak gasoline margins and a surge in the price of Canadian oil.U.S. refinery utilization dropped to 87.5 percent in early April, the lowest seasonally since 2014. Refiners had been running full-tilt for much of 2018, encouraged by strong demand for distillates. But in the process, they overproduced gasoline, tanking margins for the fuel along the way.Those margins fell to $3.64 a gallon in January, the lowest since 2009. They have since recovered, and were at about $23.00 a gallon on Monday, as inventories have fallen to about 228 million barrels from almost 260 million barrels in mid-January.
Japan expects a limited impact from the U.S. decision not to renew waivers previously granted on Iran oil import sanctions, the country’s trade and industry minister said on TuesdayJapan expects a limited impact from the U.S. decision not to renew waivers previously granted on Iran oil import sanctions, the country’s trade and industry minister said on Tuesday.The United States on Monday demanded all buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, a move to choke off Tehran’s oil revenues that sent benchmark crude prices to six-month highs. Japan is among a group of countries that were previously granted sanctions waivers.Speaking at a regular press conference, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Hiroshige Seko told reporters the government did not see any need to tap national oil reserves following the U.S. decision.Japan, the world’s fourth-biggest oil consumer, has been reducing its reliance on Iranian crude supplies. Iran now accounts for about 3 percent of purchases, Seko said.
Asian shares were little changed on Tuesday, hovering not far from nine-month peaks hit last week, with concerns China may slow the pace of policy easing curbing the market’s enthusiasm.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat, while Japan’s Nikkei average eased 0.2 percent. Many markets around the world remained shut on Monday after the long Easter weekend.China stocks fell from a 13-month high on Monday, posting their worst session in nearly four weeks, as comments from top policymaking bodies raised investor fears that Beijing will ease up on stimulative policies after some signs of stabilization in the world’s second-largest economy.
A deal ending the trade spat between the U.S. and China would boost container shipments of grain, wheat and soybeans, according to the head of Japan’s largest container-shipping company.While agricultural goods are typically transported in large volumes by bulk ships, there’s a rising trend toward using containers as they can move smaller quantities more efficiently and without the need for storage facilities.If there is a breakthrough in the tariff situation, there’s actually pent-up demand for U.S. exports to China,” Nixon said in an interview in Singapore on April 16. A more permanent pact could lead to “a return of U.S. exports on a stronger basis to China especially on agricultural products.
China has said it may agree to purchase an additional $30 billion of U.S. agricultural products a year as part of a possible deal being negotiated, according to people with knowledge of the plan in February. Senior U.S. and Chinese officials are scheduling more face-to-face trade talks in an effort to reach a deal by early-May, people familiar with the plans said.
European Central Bank policymaker board member Benoit Coeure sees no reason for creating a tiered deposit rate that exempts banks from part of an ECB charge on their idle cash, he said in an interview published on Tuesday.In the interview to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Coeure said the ECB’s negative rate is not the biggest problem and banks should rather focus on their costs.“At the current juncture, I do not see the monetary policy argument for tiering,” Coeure said. “However, we must keep a close eye on developments.”
Gold prices steadied on Tuesday as strong equities provided a risk-conducive backdrop for investors, countering support from geopolitical concerns as Washington ends sanctions waivers on Iranian oil.Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $1,275.10 per ounce as of 0319 GMT. U.S. gold futures were also steady at $1,277.20 an ounce.“Gold is currently trying to find a short-term bottom around $1,274-1,275 an ounce level, especially as equity markets continue to rally.
Oil prices were near 2019 highs on Tuesday after Washington announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran.Despite the move by Washington, observers like U.S. bank Goldman Sachs said global oil markets would be able to cope with the Iran disruption as there was enough spare capacity from other suppliers.Brent crude futures were at $74.29 per barrel at 0442 GMT, up 0.3 percent from their last close and not far off a 2019 peak of $74.52 reached on Monday.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit their highest level since October 2018 at $65.95 per barrel before edging back to $65.86 by 0239 GMT, which was still up 0.5 percent from their last settlement.