GLOBAL ECONOMICS AND POLITICS

Leo Haviland provides clients with original, provocative, cutting-edge fundamental supply/demand and technical research on major financial marketplaces and trends. He also offers independent consulting and risk management advice.

Haviland’s expertise is macro. He focuses on the intertwining of equity, debt, currency, and commodity arenas, including the political players, regulatory approaches, social factors, and rhetoric that affect them. In a changing and dynamic global economy, Haviland’s mission remains constant – to give timely, value-added marketplace insights and foresights.

Leo Haviland has three decades of experience in the Wall Street trading environment. He has worked for Goldman Sachs, Sempra Energy Trading, and other institutions. In his research and sales career in stock, interest rate, foreign exchange, and commodity battlefields, he has dealt with numerous and diverse financial institutions and individuals. Haviland is a graduate of the University of Chicago (Phi Beta Kappa) and the Cornell Law School.


 

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THE OIL BATTLEFIELD: EVOLUTION, RELATIONSHIPS, AND PRICES © Leo Haviland, April 10, 2017

In “Street Fighting Man”, The Rolling Stones sing:
“Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy
‘Cause summer’s here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy”.

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OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSION

The continued determination of leading OPEC members (such as Saudi Arabia) and some key non-OPEC oil producing nations (such as Russia) to subdue their crude oil output will underpin petroleum prices. The Saudis and their allies will not readily sacrifice their long-sought production restraint agreement achieved with several important non-OPEC exporters in late 2016. Assuming supply discipline by key producers and moderate global economic growth, supply/demand estimates indicate that OECD (advanced nations such as the United States) industry inventories by the end of calendar 2018 will have declined to around “normal” levels in days coverage terms.

Even gigantic producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia (for political as well as economic reasons) need to generate at least moderate income. Given its planned sale of shares in Aramco via an initial public offering, does Saudi Arabia want a renewed collapse in petroleum prices to $40 Brent/North Sea or less? Given its need for revenues, global political ambitions, and signs of domestic unrest, does Russia want petroleum prices to plummet sharply?

Other political worries help to bolster oil prices. Some (as usual) relate to the Middle East. North Korea’s nuclear program captures headlines. What if Venezuelan political turmoil results in a supply interruption?

However, current OECD petroleum industry inventories remain far above average. Even by end calendar 2017, they probably will be several days above normal. And end calendar 2018 obviously is a long time from now. Compliance with the OPEC/non-OPEC output guidelines by several individual countries has not been universal. And going forward, production discipline should not be taken for granted. Will Iraq and Iran moderate their production? What if Nigerian or Libyan production increases? Also, the net noncommercial position in the petroleum complex, which played a very important part in the explosive oil bull move in oil that began in first quarter 2016, is still quite high and vulnerable to liquidation.

History reveals that petroleum price levels and trends intertwine with currency, interest rate, stock and other commodity marketplaces (particularly base and precious metals) in a variety of ways. The current interrelationship between petroleum and these other arenas probably warns that it will be difficult for petroleum prices to sustain advances much above their first quarter 2017 highs.

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Using NYMEX crude oil (nearest futures continuation) as a benchmark, petroleum prices for the next several months likely will stay in a broad range. Major support exists at around $38.00/$42.00. Significant resistance exists between $52.00/$55.25.

However, assuming ordinary international economic growth, what if OPEC/non-OPEC production discipline continues for the next year and a half (or marketplace faith increases that such restraint will persist)? In this scenario, if (and this “if” is a very important if) no sustained significant weakness in global stock marketplaces (and intertwining/confirming patterns in the US dollar, interest rates, and metals) develops, then NYMEX crude oil prices probably will attack the $60.75/$65.00 range.

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The Oil Battlefield- Evolution, Relationships, and Prices (4-10-17)

US NATURAL GAS- OFF IN THE DISTANTS © Leo Haviland, January 14, 2013

In commodity marketplaces, the price level and fluctuations of the spot (physical, cash) world and nearby (front) months generally attract and fascinate us more than periods (distant month contracts) out in the seemingly more misty future. In recent history, bull and bear moves in distant period NYMEX natural gas contracts to a substantial extent have mirrored those in the nearby months. Patterns in NYMEX natural gas strips, whether seasonal ones such as summer 2013 or calendar years such as 2014, 2015, and 2016, significantly resemble those of actual nearby months (and the nearest futures continuation contract perspective). For example, after marching upward and achieving peaks in spring 2011, they eventually fell off together, reaching dismal valleys in April 2012. The front months and distant spans then ascended dramatically, although not exactly the same distance. After this climb, they began to retreat together; recall the descent since late November 2012 (some trading periods started to fall off in price in October). The nearby and distant month trends thus have generally “confirmed” each other.

Nevertheless, any given natural gas near term situation is not always or necessarily the same as that of the more distant future (or ancient history) times. Because natural gas is not a cost of money commodity like gold, this similar directional relationship between spot (and front month) and forwards off in the distance is neither unchanging nor guaranteed. Some divergence may develop. Therefore marketplace players should monitor trends in NYMEX distant month natural gas contracts in addition to those of actual nearby months (and first futures continuation).

The long run major bull trend of the NYMEX natural gas complex that began in April 2012 (as represented by the nearest futures continuation bottom around 190 on 4/19/12) remains intact. However, at present the near term bearish retracement move for both nearby as well as distant month forwards such as the summer 2013 strip and the calendar strips of more faraway years also likely remains in place. See the nearest futures continuation high on 11/23/12 at 393.

The interim decline in natural gas that commenced during fourth quarter 2012 probably is near in time to at least an initial end. Assuming normal winter weather, the most likely time for this bearish NYMEX natural gas pattern to cease is in late calendar January or late calendar February 2013 (probably around nearest futures expiration). In any event, the price (nearest futures continuation basis) will not easily sustain falls beneath the 300 to 285 range (note recent lows on 1/2/13 at 305 and 1/9/13 at 309). Warmer than normal weather (as in last winter) could postpone the low (recall the late April 2012 depth). Given the likelihood of above normal US natural gas inventories in days coverage terms, there remains a significant chance of a final (second, double) bottom in late August or calendar September 2013.

As there are regional differences (basis relationships) between natural gas marketplaces, players should not restrict this comparative approach to NYMEX natural gas. Why not analyze near term relative to far out periods natural gas at a variety of different locations (and review related basis relationships over these vistas)? Also, given the links between natural gas and electricity fields, analysis of electricity marketplaces in more distant months in a given region offers insight into near term electricity trends as well as distant month (and even near term) natural gas battlegrounds.
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