Mid-Week Review

Oil prices hit nearly 6-month highs on fears Trump’s Iran crackdown will lower supply

Oil prices hit nearly six month highs on Tuesday, continuing to rally after U.S. President Donald Trump surprised the market with strict new measures aimed at driving Iran’s crude exports to zero. The Trump administration announced on Monday that it will not extend sanctions waivers to a handful of countries that import Iranian oil. The decision means any entity caught purchasing Iran’s barrels after May 1 risks triggering U.S. sanctions, which are designed to deprive the Iranian leadership of oil revenue. Saudi Arabia says oil producers will “ensure adequate supplies are available to consumers.”  Click here to read more from CNBC.

Why Oil Market Gains May Be Short-Lived

The fear of supply crunch is back in the market and this is pushing the oil price higher today. Having said this, Saudi Arabia, the largest producer of oil in the OPEC cartel, has assured that they will take all necessary steps to fill in the missing supply. Traders see this as a bullish scenario. However, looking at the oil markets today, the gains are not that impressive. The WTI is up only 0.48 percent while the Brent price has gained only 0.50 percent. OPEC and the U.A.E can increase the oil supply by 1.5 million barrels a day without any hassle. Perhaps, this is the reason that the percentage gain in the oil price isn’t that significant.  Click here to read more from Forbes.

A threat in Trump’s back pocket: Shaking up the global oil industry

Trump regularly deploys his Twitter account to fight oil-price upticks, trying to browbeat the world’s oil-producing bloc — the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — into boosting production so prices will fall. Now Trump’s saber-rattling on OPEC has oil producers and traders unnerved by the prospect he could back cartel-busting legislation that sends prices into a tailspin. The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, a bipartisan bill known as NOPEC, would allow the attorney general to bring an antitrust suit against the bloc — removing the sovereign immunity that currently protects OPEC countries. Lawmakers have been trying and failing to turn it into law for two decades. Click here to read more from Politico.

Why thieves smell treasure in used cooking oil

The National Renderers Association estimated as much as $75 million in grease is stolen each year, according to widely reported 2017 figure. Why? The answer may be simple: Demand for biofuel is climbing. That’s a result of a federal law called the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, which was expanded in 2007. It mandates an ever-increasing amount of fuel used for transportation be blended with renewable sources to help curb greenhouse gas emissions. Those renewable additions are mostly in the form of ethanol, made from vegetables like corn, which is blended with gasoline and other fuels. But they also include recycled cooking oil, which is turned into something called biodiesel. Click here to read more from CBSNews.