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A remarkable rebound after an early summer lull

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Handelsbanken - Råvarubrevet - Nyhetsbrev om råvaror

Kvartalsrapport för råvaror från HandelsbankenThe commodity market has witnessed a remarkable rebound since June. The Handelsbanken commodity index, including futures from all sectors, gained 10 %, which is due to a combination of various risk premiums, a lower USD and further cutbacks in Chinese supply reform. All told, there is a fragile trend of rising prices.

Oil stuck in loop

US crude oil stocks

The price of crude oil has not been this uneventful in a long time. Over the past 12 months, the oil price has traded within a tight range, spanning just USD 13/bbl. However, in terms of short-term swings, the summer recovery has been relatively strong, up 15% since the low point in June.

The summer driving season in the US has been surprisingly strong given weaker consumption data during the spring. Consumables used to be a good leading indicator for fuel demand during summer. Yet, this year’s driving season has drawn on stocks, which are now lower than in 2016. However, that does not lead us to change our view of the oil price (USD 40/bbl at the end of 2017), as US oil production continues to increase and driving season demand is of course seasonal.

Venezuela has been the most relevant risk premium for commodity markets during summer. None of the remaining OPEC members are able to compensate for a full-scale breakdown of the Venezuelan oil tap.

US exports of oil to Venezuela

The heavy crude nature of Venezuela’s oil presents a suitable weak point for the Trump administration to exploit. Venezuela needs to import light crude oil to blend with its domestic production to create a saleable product. Hence, there are two main risks for oil prices in Venezuela, with the first being full-scale export sanctions from the US (in our view, imports elsewhere will come at a higher cost, but this problem could be solved). There is plenty of available light crude oil in Western Africa after the US lowered imports in the wake of the shale revolution. The second risk is a default in Venezuela. In such a scenario, we struggle to see oil workers continuing to work if salaries are frozen.

On the other hand, OPEC faces new challenges. Ecuador was the first member to leave the production accord officially and start to increase production and exports to meet its fiscal needs. Iraq followed shortly after, but now regrets this decision after an OPEC summit focusing on fading compliance within the group.

North Korea boosts bullion demand

Gold sees a safe haven asset rallyThe escalating conflict around the Korean Peninsula affects commodities due to the lower USD and investors shunning risks. However, we believe this is a short-term story. Nevertheless, risk-averse strategies benefit gold. Prices approached USD 1,300 per ounce for the third time this year, fuelled by tougher rhetoric from Trump and North Korea’s improved ability to manufacture nuclear weapons.

China forces cutbacks

Beijing has escalated the cutback campaign of unprofitable commodity production. Coal mining is now halfway to the 2020 target. Other bulk commodities are affected as well, particularly iron ore, which had the greatest price gain of all commodities during the summer, up 40% since June compared to coal’s 20%.

Profitability of steel productionA cutback in domestic iron ore production spills over to freight rates. Capesize ships more than doubled during the past month. Buyers in China are looking to stockpile steelmaking raw materials before a crackdown on production creates a higher need for imports amid seasonally-slower domestic production during the winter months. Freight rates used to be volatile, but sometimes they offer clues about spot demand. They add a piece to our model-based calculation, showing Chinese steel mills have not been better off in terms of profits during the past five years.

Base metals on solid ground

Of the summer gains, we believe base metals stand on the safest ground. However, aluminium has gained from announced cutbacks in China. Yet, in our view, that trend is vaguer than those for steel, iron ore and coal.

Basemetals har overcome TrumpOthers are trading high for good reasons, with zinc and copper at an impressive USD 2,900/t and USD 6,400/t respectively. However, this mirrors the current market balance, with mining in a sweet spot among the commodity producers. Nickel is still the laggard among base metals after the Philippines removed the mining closure campaign and miners triumphed against President Duarte’s environmental minister, Lopez. We believe this market will be flooded for a long time.

 

 

 

 

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Analys

Brent needs to fall to USD 58/b to make cheating unprofitable for Kazakhstan

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SEB - analysbrev på råvaror

Brent jumping 2.4% as OPEC+ lifts quota by ”only” 411 kb/d in July. Brent crude is jumping 2.4% this morning to USD 64.3/b following the decision by OPEC+ this weekend to lift the production cap of ”Voluntary 8” (V8) by 411 kb/d in July and not more as was feared going into the weekend. The motivation for the triple hikes of 411 kb/d in May and June and now also in July has been a bit unclear: 1) Cheating by Kazakhstan and Iraq, 2) Muhammed bin Salman listening to Donald Trump for more oil and a lower oil price in exchange for weapons deals and political alignments in the Middle East and lastly 3) Higher supply to meet higher demand for oil this summer. The argument that they are taking back market share was already decided in the original plan of unwinding the 2.2 mb/d of V8 voluntary cuts by the end of 2026. The surprise has been the unexpected speed with monthly increases of 3×137 kb/d/mth rather than just 137 kb/d monthly steps.

Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB
Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB

No surplus yet. Time-spreads tightened last week. US inventories fell the week before last. In support of point 3) above it is worth noting that the Brent crude oil front-end backwardation strengthened last week (sign of tightness) even when the market was fearing for a production hike of more than 411 kb/d for July. US crude, diesel and gasoline stocks fell the week before last with overall commercial stocks falling 0.7 mb versus a normal rise this time of year of 3-6 mb per week. So surplus is not here yet. And more oil from OPEC+ is welcomed by consumers.

Saudi Arabia calling the shots with Russia objecting. This weekend however we got to know a little bit more. Saudi Arabia was predominantly calling the shots and decided the outcome. Russia together with Oman and Algeria opposed the hike in July and instead argued for zero increase. What this alures to in our view is that it is probably the cheating by Kazakhstan and Iraq which is at the heart of the unexpectedly fast monthly increases. Saudi Arabia cannot allow it to be profitable for the individual members to cheat. And especially so when Kazakhstan explicitly and blatantly rejects its quota obligation stating that they have no plans of cutting production from 1.77 mb/d to 1.47 mb/d. And when not even Russia is able to whip Kazakhstan into line, then the whole V8 project is kind of over.

Is it simply a decision by Saudi Arabia to unwind faster altogether? What is still puzzling though is that despite the three monthly hikes of 411 kb/d, the revival of the 2.2 mb/d of voluntary production cuts is still kind of orderly. Saudi Arabia could have just abandoned the whole V8 project from one month to the next. But we have seen no explicit communication that the plan of reviving the cuts by the end of 2026 has been abandoned. It may be that it is simply a general change of mind by Saudi Arabia where the new view is that production cuts altogether needs to be unwinded sooner rather than later. For Saudi Arabia it means getting its production back up to 10 mb/d. That implies first unwinding the 2.2 mb/d and then the next 1.6 mb/d.

Brent would likely crash with a fast unwind of 2.2 + 1.6 mb/d by year end. If Saudi Arabia has decided on a fast unwind it would meant that the group would lift the quotas by 411 kb/d both in August and in September. It would then basically be done with the 2.2 mb/d revival. Thereafter directly embark on reviving the remaining 1.6 mb/d. That would imply a very sad end of the year for the oil price. It would then probably crash in Q4-25. But it is far from clear that this is where we are heading.

Brent needs to fall to USD 58/b or lower to make it unprofitable for Kazakhstan to cheat. To make it unprofitable for Kazakhstan to cheat. Kazakhstan is currently producing 1.77 mb/d versus its quota which before the hikes stood at 1.47 kb/d. If they had cut back to the quota level they might have gotten USD 70/b or USD 103/day. Instead they choose to keep production at 1.77 mb/d. For Saudi Arabia to make it a loss-making business for Kazakhstan to cheat the oil price needs to fall below USD 58/b ( 103/1.77).

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Analys

All eyes on OPEC V8 and their July quota decision on Saturday

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SEB - analysbrev på råvaror

Tariffs or no tariffs played ping pong with Brent crude yesterday. Brent crude traded to a joyous high of USD 66.13/b yesterday as a US court rejected Trump’s tariffs. Though that ruling was later overturned again with Brent closing down 1.2% on the day to USD 64.15/b. 

Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB
Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB

US commercial oil inventories fell 0.7 mb last week versus a seasonal normal rise of 3-6 mb. US commercial crude and product stocks fell 0.7 mb last week which is fairly bullish since the seasonal normal is for a rise of  4.3 mb. US crude stocks fell 2.8 mb, Distillates fell 0.7 mb and Gasoline stocks fell 2.4 mb.

All eyes are now on OPEC V8 (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Algeria, Russia, Oman, Kazakhstan) which will make a decision tomorrow on what to do with production for July. Overall they are in a process of placing 2.2 mb/d of cuts back into the market over a period stretching out to December 2026. Following an expected hike of 137 kb/d in April they surprised the market by lifting production targets by 411 kb/d for May and then an additional 411 kb/d again for June. It is widely expected that the group will decide to lift production targets by another 411 kb/d also for July. That is probably mostly priced in the market. As such it will probably not have all that much of a bearish bearish price impact on Monday if they do.

It is still a bit unclear what is going on and why they are lifting production so rapidly rather than at a very gradual pace towards the end of 2026. One argument is that the oil is needed in the market as Middle East demand rises sharply in summertime. Another is that the group is partially listening to Donald Trump which has called for more oil and a lower price. The last is that Saudi Arabia is angry with Kazakhstan which has produced 300 kb/d more than its quota with no indications that they will adhere to their quota.

So far we have heard no explicit signal from the group that they have abandoned the plan of measured increases with monthly assessments so that the 2.2 mb/d is fully back in the market by the end of 2026. If the V8 group continues to lift quotas by 411 kb/d every month they will have revived the production by the full 2.2 mb/d already in September this year. There are clearly some expectations in the market that this is indeed what they actually will do. But this is far from given. Thus any verbal wrapping around the decision for July quotas on Saturday will be very important and can have a significant impact on the oil price. So far they have been tightlipped beyond what they will do beyond the month in question and have said nothing about abandoning the ”gradually towards the end of 2026” plan. It is thus a good chance that they will ease back on the hikes come August, maybe do no changes for a couple of months or even cut the quotas back a little if needed.

Significant OPEC+ spare capacity will be placed back into the market over the coming 1-2 years. What we do know though is that OPEC+ as a whole as well as the V8 subgroup specifically have significant spare capacity at hand which will be placed back into the market over the coming year or two or three. Probably an increase of around 3.0 – 3.5 mb/d. There is only two ways to get it back into the market. The oil price must be sufficiently low so that 1) Demand growth is stronger and 2) US shale oil backs off. In combo allowing the spare capacity back into the market.

Low global inventories stands ready to soak up 200-300 mb of oil. What will cushion the downside for the oil price for a while over the coming year is that current, global oil inventories are low and stand ready to soak up surplus production to the tune of 200-300 mb.

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Analys

Brent steady at $65 ahead of OPEC+ and Iran outcomes

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SEB - analysbrev på råvaror

Following the rebound on Wednesday last week – when Brent reached an intra-week high of USD 66.6 per barrel – crude oil prices have since trended lower. Since opening at USD 65.4 per barrel on Monday this week, prices have softened slightly and are currently trading around USD 64.7 per barrel.

Ole R. Hvalbye, Analyst Commodities, SEB
Ole R. Hvalbye, Analyst Commodities, SEB

This morning, oil prices are trading sideways to slightly positive, supported by signs of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and the EU. European equities climbed while long-term government bond yields declined after President Trump announced a pause in new tariffs yesterday, encouraging hopes of a transatlantic trade agreement.

The optimisms were further supported by reports indicating that the EU has agreed to fast-track trade negotiations with the U.S.

More significantly, crude prices appear to be consolidating around the USD 65 level as markets await the upcoming OPEC+ meeting. We expect the group to finalize its July output plans – driven by the eight key producers known as the “Voluntary Eight” – on May 31st, one day ahead of the original schedule.

We assign a high probability to another sizeable output increase of 411,000 barrels per day. However, this potential hike seems largely priced in already. While a minor price dip may occur on opening next week (Monday morning), we expect market reactions to remain relatively muted.

Meanwhile, the U.S. president expressed optimism following the latest round of nuclear talks with Iran in Rome, describing them as “very good.” Although such statements should be taken with caution, a positive outcome now appears more plausible. A successful agreement could eventually lead to the return of more Iranian barrels to the global market.

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