Brent crude oil prices may fall below $70 per barrel in the relatively near future, according to Ben Lukock, head of oil at Trafigura.
At the same time, he warned the market against being too pessimistic.
“It’s dangerous because there are so many unexpected things that can happen,” Lukock said, speaking at the Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC). – “I wouldn’t bet everything on a price decline.
Oil prices began to fall in mid-July on concerns about global demand and increased supply by OPEC+ countries and have now shown negative dynamics since the beginning of the year.
Torbjörn Thornqvist, the head of Gunvor, also shares the negative forecast.
“The world is now producing much more oil than it consumes, and this balance is expected to only worsen in the coming years,” Bloomberg quoted Thornqvist as saying at the APPAC conference.
Jeff Curry of Energy Pathways voiced a somewhat more optimistic view. He acknowledged the problems in China’s economy, but pointed out that the expected Federal Reserve rate cut could support investor sentiment.
“Growth in demand for oil and other energy will come from regions such as India, Africa and parts of Latin America in the future,” he said.
France will use EUR300 million in 2024 to purchase weapons for Ukraine, part of the EUR1.4 billion in proceeds from frozen Russian assets allocated by the European Union, the French Defense Ministry said.
“The European Commission has agreed with the Directorate General for Armaments that it will use these funds to quickly acquire priority equipment for Ukraine from the French industry, ammunition, artillery and air defense equipment from the French industry for a total of 300 million for 2024,” the ministry said in a communique published on Friday.
Earlier, EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell said that the EU has already begun to transfer the proceeds of Russia’s frozen assets to the Ukrainian side and the bloc countries that will supply Kyiv with weapons.
In January-August 2024, Ukrgasvydobuvannya JSC (UGV) increased commercial gas production by 7.2% compared to the same period last year – up to 9.26 billion cubic meters, the company reported on its Facebook page.
During this period, UGV completed drilling 62 wells, of which 52 were put into operation. Of these, 23 have an initial daily flow rate of more than 100 thousand cubic meters.
“We continue to actively drill wells, introduce new technologies, explore new fields – we do everything to increase gas production every day. The cubic meters of gas and oil produced make Ukraine more stable and provide a reliable rear for our soldiers,” said Serhiy Lahno, Chairman of Ukrgasvydobuvannya.
As reported, in 2023, the company produced 13.224 bcm of commercial gas, which is 0.679 bcm more than in 2022.
“In 2023, Ukrgasvydobuvannya launched 86 new wells, 24 of which had an initial flow rate of more than 100 thousand cubic meters.
NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.
In Ukraine, following the European Union, butter prices continue to rise, with prices in Europe reaching record levels, according to Infagro, an industry analytical agency.
“Not all Ukrainian butter producers can take advantage of the opportunity to make good money on butter exports, as it was in 2022. There is currently a physical lack of raw materials to produce large volumes,” the analysts said.
According to their information, due to rising prices and a number of other factors, butter production decreased slightly in August. This will be followed by a decline in production of this commodity due to a lack of raw materials at affordable prices.
They noted that domestic butter prices are also rising alongside export prices, albeit with a certain lag. Butter prices will continue to rise, at least domestically. Analysts predict a price collapse in foreign trade in mid-autumn.
Infagro noted that the production of spreads and vegetable-cream mixtures is currently stable, but should increase in the near future. Demand for alternative milk fats will increase given the current price of butter.
MHP Food and Agricultural Holding, Ukraine’s largest chicken producer, reduced sales of sunflower oil by 7% to 229.27 thousand tons in January-June 2024 compared to the same period last year.
“This is mainly due to a decrease in the production of sunflower cake,” the holding said in a report on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
“In January-June 2024, MHP also reduced sales of soybean oil by 15%, to 23.82 thousand tons, compared to the same period last year, but they remained stable compared to the previous quarter.
Revenues of the vegetable oils segment in January-June 2024 decreased by 32% to $236 mln, which led to a decrease in adjusted EBITDA (excluding IFRS 16) to $27 mln compared to $48 mln in the same period last year, which the agricultural holding explains by the decline in world oil prices.
“MHP is the largest chicken producer in Ukraine. The company produces grain, sunflower oil, and meat processing products.
As reported, the company received $142 million in net profit in 2023 compared to $231 million in net loss a year earlier. The group’s revenue increased by 14% to $3.021 billion last year.
“In the second quarter of 2024, MHP earned $29 million in net profit, up 71% compared to the second quarter of 2023. Its EBITDA increased by 40% to $153 million, while revenue decreased by 5% to $770 million. The agroholding attributed the increase in profitability to improved performance in the crop sector.
Overall, net profit decreased by 33% to $45 million for the half-year, due to foreign exchange losses of $81 million against $5 million in the first half of 2023. EBITDA increased by 20% to $280 million on a 4% decrease in revenue to $1.489 billion, driven by crop production.
MHP’s founder, majority shareholder and Chairman of the Board is Ukrainian businessman Yuriy Kosyuk.
Number of dead and wounded civilians in Ukraine from 24.02.2022 till 30.06.2024 UN data
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
