Mid-Week Review – April 13, 2022

Is $100 Oil Sustainable?

One popular saying in the oil industry says that the only cure for high oil prices is high oil prices. With a war in Europe, tight global supply that’s about to get even tighter, lockdowns in China, and economic uncertainty rife, oil prices may have finally become too high to be sustainable. While prices rebounded somewhat on Tuesday, Brent crude earlier this week slipped below $100 for the first time in weeks as worry about Chinese demand weighed on international benchmarks. And it could get worse if the spread of the coronavirus continues, CNBC reported, citing Andy Lipow from Lipow and Associates. Click Here to read more from Oil Price.

Pain at the pump easing as gas prices hit reverse, AAA says

Prices at the gas pump have continued to decline, with the average price falling below $4 “in much of the country,” according to AAA. AAA cited falling oil prices for the recent slip in pump prices. The cost of oil accounts for 50% of what consumers pay at the pump. The price of oil is being weighed down by “significant releases” of oil reserves by the US and its allies as well as “the fear of resurgent COVID-19 infections in China and its potential for an economic slowdown in one of the world’s largest oil-consuming nations,” according to AAA. As of Tuesday morning, the West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $98.20 a barrel. Click Here to read more form NY Post.

Analysis: U.S. strategic oil sale speeds fuel-price fix, but at what cost?

The Biden administration is selling a record amount of emergency oil from national reserves to tame soaring U.S. fuel prices as quickly as possible, but the plan could backfire down the road if the stockpile is not replenished quickly. President Joe Biden on March 31 announced the United States would sell 180 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a rate of 1 million barrels per day starting in May, the biggest release from the stockpile since it was created in the 1970s. Country members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) are releasing an additional 60 million barrels to tame global prices. Click Here to read more from Reuters.

Pentagon to meet largest US arms makers over Ukraine: Reports

The Pentagon is set to host a meeting with eight of the largest defense contractors in the United States, as Washington aims to up military assistance to Ukraine in preparation for a protracted conflict against Russia, according to multiple reports. The reported meeting on Wednesday comes as Russian troops are regrouping after Moscow said it was withdrawing its forces from near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and shifting its focus to the country’s east. “We will discuss industry proposals to accelerate production of existing systems and develop new, modernized capabilities critical to the department’s ongoing security assistance to Ukraine and long-term readiness of US and ally/partner forces,” a defense official told the Financial Times. Click Here to read more from Al Jazeera.