Wall Street Fears Subside
April 9, 2021
Crude oil and refined fuel products prices closed yesterday mixed after being down hard in the morning trading hours due to concerns of EIA reporting on Wednesday a large rise in US gasoline and distillates stocks. Also helping the early weakness were reports that Spain and Italy have now joined Germany and France in limiting the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to blood clotting concerns.
The market does appear to be in a tight range for now with no clear trend. Bloomberg reports that the Cboe Volatility Index know as Wall Street’s fears gauge, closed at the lowest level since February 2020 as stocks trade at record highs. The comments from central bankers and the rapid rollout of vaccines have helped to reassure investors that there is little to be afraid of at the moment.
Comments from a Bloomberg report on the US job situation. The US jobless picture isn’t improving as fast as some would hope. New unemployment applicating rose for the second week in a row, and at least 8.4 million Americans continue to go without work.
India will look to resume buying crude oil from Iran when US sanctions are eased, helping it diversify its import basket. India stopped importing oil from Iran in mid-2019 following sanctions imposed on Iran. In 2020-2021, Iraq was India’s largest oil supplier, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Nigeria was the fourth largest supplier and the US was fifth.
The geopolitical risk are going up as tension between Russia and the Ukraine are on the rise. Also, the Israeli and Iranian conflict has also seen tension rise recently making traders pay attention to any events that might impact supplies.