Amid surging supply of crude and the world's biggest traffic jam of tankers, we suspect more images like the following will be seen going forward. A Russian tanker has caught fire in the Caspian Sea near the territorial waters of Turkmenistan, leaving one dead.
The Palflot-2 vessel in distress is currently drifting in Turkmenistan’s territorial waters some 800 kilometers from Russia’s nearest port, Astrakhan.
Putin has announced that Russia is gearing up to take “all necessary (military) measures” to counter NATO aggression, and will not hesitate to use military force against incidents of “intimidation” such as the US naval destroyer that recently sailed close to the Russian border. Russia’s NATO Ambassador Alexander Grushko warned participants at a meeting of the military alliance, “This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia. We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force“.
Despite a denial by the Russians, and now an outright statement that Russia "doubts any freeze deal is possible in the foreseeable future," crude prices are surging as momo algos jump on every headline!
As The FT reports,
This is just becoming a farce now... Having soared above yesterday's highs on the Iraqi' deputy oil minister's comments on renewed production freeze meetings, Russia has poured cold water all over it... RUSSIA SAYS NO AGREEMENT ON OIL MEETING IN MAY IN RUSSIA
But no reaction in crude...
Or stocks...
Just as we tweeted seconds before...
Perhaps upset at the weekend's development, Russia has decided to rattle the global crude complex cage. Amid hopes of a freeze, Russia's energy minister Alexander Novak has reversed course and stated that Russia could "in theory" increase oil output and "was never ready to cut production." It appears things are rapidly breaking down between Russia and The Kingdom - which perhaps explains Obama's rapidly arranged trip to kiss the ring in Riyadh.