Congress Passes New Stimulus Deal
December 22, 2020
The House and Senate passed a combined year-end spending bill and stimulus package yesterday that amounts to $2.3 trillion. President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law.
Crude oil and refined fuel product prices close much lower yesterday due to the news of a new stain of the coronavirus in the UK which is causing immediate lockdowns and could weigh heavily on fuel demand going forward. The stock market and energy price fell hard in early trading but close well off the lows of the day.
The US Transportation Department said drivers on American roads in October drove 259 billion miles, down 25 billion miles of 8.8% over the same month last year. Through the first 10 months of the year US driving has fallen 13.9%, down 380.7 billion miles, to 2.35 trillion miles. US driving for the year is on pace to be the lowest in nearly two decades.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said that global oil demand was still between 6 and 7 million bpd below pre-crisis levels. Global oil demand was normally around 100 million bpd before the pandemic stuck. He also stated that Russia hopes the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden will not derail producer nations’ action to support oil markets.
It appears that the stimulus versus the new concerns about coronavirus are the stories. The energy market appears a bit lightly traded this morning and the possibility is there that this market just settled into a range for now.
RIA news agency cited a Russian envoy to the country as saying that Russia plans to sign a long-term, deal for 20-25 year on oil supply to India. Seems to be some rumblings in the market about Russia. Some speculation that they want to begin increasing production and may even be considering their commitment to be a part of OPEC+.