Continuing a story we reported on yesterday and the day before, OPEC+ is still negotiating its future plans. Countries like Saudi Arabia feel that the dent in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic will persist for some time and have called for another three-month delay to a planned output increase in January.
However, the Emirates and Russia are championing sticking to the original plan and bumping production while oil prices are at their highest post-pandemic level.
Besides the overall state of global demand, OPEC+ members are also concerned about how much oil the US is pumping. Stockpiles in the United States rose this week more than forecasted and today’s oil data may be crucial for OPEC’s decision-making process.
Amid all of this uncertainty oil prices have been decreasing. The WTI fell to $44.42, while the Brent crude reached $47.20 today.
On the coronavirus front, the United Kingdom officially approved the vaccine developed in collaboration by Pfizer and BioNTech, which makes it the first country in the world to have allowed a Covid-19 vaccine to proceed with distribution.
The United Kingdom has already purchased 40 million doses of the vaccine and will start administering it next week. The first people to get it will be the residents of care homes, medical staff, and people over 80.
Pfizer’s vaccine is pending approval in the European Union and the United States, as are the drugs developed by Moderna and AstraZeneca.
Aside from the coronavirus, trade might remain a global issue in 2021. President-elect Joe Biden announced that he will keep Trump’s tariffs against China in place until he comes up with a more effective plan to dissuade some of China’s most controversial policies, especially where US businesses are concerned.
Biden did, however, say that he would like to improve the US relationship with Iran and renew the nuclear deal that Trump ended.
Today stock indices are broadly lower in a correction from yesterday’s steep climb. Nevertheless, the US dollar continues to weaken in value, which is paving the way for precious metals (whose value is quoted in USD) to appreciate. Aluminum and copper are two of the best-performing metals right now.
As for the economic calendar, Germany reported better than expected retail sales today. The unemployment rate in Italy was also not as high as anticipated, while the eurozone stayed at a steady 8.4% as expected.
Later in the day there will be a number of Federal Reserve reports and information on oil stockpiles in the United States.
