Author: intent

Oil at the Center as U.S. and Brazil Edge Toward a Trade War

Brazil is preparing to defend its oil export sector as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports starting August 1. The move has escalated tensions between the two countries, with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vowing reciprocal action: “If he charges us 50%, we’ll charge him 50%,” Lula told local media outlet Record.

OPEC+ likely to pause output hikes after next meeting, says Goldman Sachs

The OPEC+ oil producer alliance is likely to make its next hike in collective output its last for a while, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
With the producer club nearing the end of a first phase of jumbo output hikes, the market’s attention is turning to what will come after. The organization and its allies have been voluntarily holding back a second, smaller tranche of supply, propping up oil prices. Focus is now on the group’s intentions for those barrels.

EU Faces 250-Billion Euro Gap in Grid Investment Plans

“Without new approaches to financing and capital efficiency, TSOs may fall short of delivering the infrastructure needed to meet Europe’s climate and reliability goals,” the company said, identifying three problematic areas. These are, first, limitations to TSOs capacity to raise money via debt or equity; second, a tension between efforts to keep electricity costs low for consumers while ensuring a certain level of returns to investors in grid operators; and third, different expectations of these grid operators from governments, on the one hand, and investors, on the other.