China NEWS

The week started with a decline in the oil prices after the reports of lower than expected third-quarter economic growth of China. Brent slipped by 0.4%, to $42.78 a barrel. WTI went down and was traded at $40.70 a barrel. The world's second-largest economy just witnessed a minimal swell of 4.9% in its third quarter. According to the reports, Chinese data on crude processing and industrial metals output is disappointing.

China’s Sinopec Corp has awarded a 10 year tender to buy 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year from Qatargas. The tender was issued in the month of July, and the supply starts in 2023. Despite the global supply and the COVID -19 pandemic, Qatar’s exports were slightly higher this year as compared with the same period last year.

Chinese state-run Sinopec on Sunday posted its first half-year net loss on record amid weak fuel demand due to the global pandemic. It made a net loss of 21.725 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) for the first six months of 2020, compared to a 32.206 billion yuan profit a year earlier. First-half revenue fell 31% from a year earlier to 1.03 trillion yuan.

Saudi Aramco has suspended a deal to build a $10 billion refining and petrochemicals complex in China. Aramco decided to stop investing in the facility in China’s Northeastern province of Liaoning after negotiations with its Chinese partners and Aramco declined to comment on it. The uncertain market scenario could be behind the decision. The joint venture was signed when Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in Beijing in February last year.

Oil prices rose on Monday. Brent crude added 32 cents, to $45.12 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude was up 35 cents, to $42.36 a barrel. Prices rose as China plans to ship large volumes of U.S. crude in upcoming months which outweighed concerns over a slowdown in demand recovery. Chinese oil firms have already booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September.

Oil prices have fallen after a rise in US-China tensions that was spurred by Beijing moving to impose security laws on Hong Kong. Brent crude dipped 4.9% to $34.40 per barrel whilst WTI crude dropped 5.7% to $32 per barrel. The oil sell-off came after China said it would impose security laws on semi-autonomous city Hong Kong. That caused Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index to plunge more than 5% overnight.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the largest offshore oil and gas producer in China, and Royal Dutch Shell, the world's leading energy and petrochemical conglomerate, signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement worth 5.6 billion U.S. dollars on Sunday. The new cooperation, based on the CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company Limited, is the CNOOC and Shell Huizhou phase III ethylene project.

Chinese oil producer, PetroChina yesterday reported to a first-quarter net loss, sliding over declining oil prices and moderate refined fuel demand, as rising oil and gas production. A filing made to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by the energy giant recorded a net loss of $2.29 billion for the January-March quarter, in comparison to a net profit reported last year. Revenue for the firm fell 14.4% to $72 billion.

Oil prices slipped again in the international market on Thursday, dipping over Washington's ban on travel from Europe following a WHO declaration that the coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic. Brent crude declined by 5.3%, to $33.88 a barrel. US WTI crude slipped by 5.3%, to $31.24 a barrel. President Trump, yesterday, suspended all travel from Europe to the United States as he disclosed measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The oil cartel, OPEC yesterday agreed to deepen output cuts by an additional 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2020 to regulate fuel prices amidst coronavirus outbreak. The cartel has, however, made its action conditional on Russia and others chipping in. The oil demand outlook has tumbled as countries take stringent measures to contain coronavirus spread, pushing OPEC to consider its deepest cut since 2008.

Oil prices dropped in the international market on Friday, as concerns deepened due to non-agreement between OPEC and its allies over production cut. Brent crude dipped 0.96%, to $49.51 per barrel. US WTI crude was priced 0.83% lower, at $45.52 per barrel. While OPEC has suggested an extra 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of 2020, non-OPEC states like Russia and Kazakhstan are yet to agree.

Rystad Energy has predicted a drop in oil industry investments this year. “Our current assessment forecasts that COVID-19 could result in global exploration and production (E&P) investments falling by around $30 billion in 2020", said the head of Rystad’s oilfield service research. There is no clear sign as to when the effect of the epidemic will ease.

According to the sources, Saudi Arabia has planned to cut crude supplies to China by at least 500,000 bpd. This decision has been taking keeping in the slower refinery demand after the coronavirus outbreak. China is the world's largest crude importer and takes 1.8 million bpd to 2 million bpd of Saudi crude. Due to slower demand, the refineries in China have also cut their crude processing rate in February.

Oil prices fell in the international market on Thursday, stressed by the concerns of coronavirus spread out of China. Brent crude was priced 1.4% lower, at $52.66 a barrel. US WTI dropped over 1.6%, to $47.93 a barrel. Yesterday, the total number of novel coronavirus cases outside China surpassed the number recorded in China, for the first time ever. Italy and Iran are becoming the new epicentres of coronavirus infection.

Oil prices held steady in the international market on Tuesday, as investors sought bargains while treading cautiously over concerns about the coronavirus spreading out of China. Brent crude was priced 0.3% higher, to $56.49 a barrel. US WTI rose 0.3%, to $51.60 a barrel. Asian share markets were aiming to remain steady on Tuesday, after a wave of early selling petered out and Wall Street futures secured a good bounce.

Oil prices dipped lower in the international market on Monday, slipping over the global spread of the coronavirus epidemic. Brent crude was priced 2.9% lower, at $56.81 a barrel. US WTI was priced 2.6% lower, at $51.98 a barrel. The number of coronavirus cases jumped in different countries, including South Korea, Italy and Iran. South Korea is on high-alert with 700 infected people and seven deaths due to coronavirus.

Oil prices edged higher in the international market on Wednesday, however, gains were capped by the lingering economic impact due to the coronavirus epidemic. Brent crude was priced at $57.81 a barrel. US WTI fell to $51.97 a barrel. One of the world's largest economies, China is battling to get manufacturing back on track after Coronavirus epidemic pushed the country to impose stringent city-wide lockdowns and travel obstructions.

Oil prices continued its downward journey in the international market on Tuesday, stressed by the concerns of coronavirus severely impacting the economy and its effect on oil demand. Brent crude was priced 0.6% lower, at $57.30 a barrel. US WTI fell by 0.3%, to $51.90 a barrel. Even though new coronavirus infection cases in mainland China fell below 2,000 yesterday, global experts cautioned against the early prediction of outbreak containment.