U.S. President Joe Biden’s proclamation that “America Is Back” to the world stage is finding that making statements like that is a lot different than making policy. It looks like the G20 attempt to get leaders to commit to more aggressive emission cuts, and OPEC and Russia to increase output, is being viewed as a failure for Biden.
The U.S., India, and China, failed to find a consensus on how best to adhere to the 2015 Paris Climate Accords, lowering expectations for the United Nations COP26 climate conference that is being hyped as the last best chance to save the planet. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government is hosting the talks, have run down the clock on climate change, warning that, “It’s one minute to midnight, and we need to act now.”
Many voted for Joe Biden because they failed to separate personality from the policy. President Trump is an egomaniac who never knew when to stop talking but as far as the policy goes, he was right on track and doing the right things for the economy and making the U.S. strong in the eyes of our adversaries. COVID sunk President Trump and Biden waltzed into office not being properly vetted by the free press who failed to surprise him and ask him tough questions and covered for his many flaws.
Now Biden is on the world stage with his main issue “climate change” and is being criticized for hyping his ability to bring world leaders together along with his hypocrisy by asking OPEC and Russia for more oil while taking a gas-guzzling motorcade. Zerohedge reported that on Friday, Biden was on his way to meet Pope Francis, traveling in an 85-car motorcade, a massive fleet of vehicles involving multiple gas-guzzling limos, SUVs, and a line of vans.
The optics of the massive presidential motorcade is not great for Biden who routinely says “decarbonize this” and “decarbonize that.” The motorcade highlights America’s Marie Antoinette political class where they seemingly don’t care about their carbon footprint but want everyone to reduce theirs.
Biden is also being called out for the hypocrisy of asking OPEC plus Russia to pump more oil but at the same time discouraging investment in the US fossil fuel industry with dramatic show trials dragging big oil CEOs in front of a committee and threatening to go after companies for their so-called carbon footprint. The tactics of the Democrats threatening oil companies, and oil investors are already having a devastating impact on our energy production.
Now OPEC plus seems to be using the U.S. retreat from being a leader in fossil fuel production to their advantage. Despite pleas from the US, Japan, and India, it appears that OPEC plus is not in a hurry to add oil production. OPEC knows that the world is trying to stop using their product in 50 years so they had better make money while the sun is shining.
The fundamental outlook for oil is still solid. We expect to see a draw on crude and products. Bloomberg reports that prices boosted net-bullish positions to a nine-month high, according to the latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Net-long wagers on NYMEX futures were the most since January, with soaring gasoline demand running headlong into the lowest inventories of the fuel since 2017. Nationwide pump prices for unleaded averaged $3.401 per gallon Friday, the highest since September 2014, according to AAA.
EBW Analytics reports that the December natural gas contract burst above $6.00/MMBtu early last week on a cooler weather forecast shift and November final settlement fireworks but failed to hold onto gains despite a 55-Bcf week-over-week increase in projected weather-driven demand.
However, dry gas production jumped 1.5 Bcf/d last week to a post-pandemic high as shoulder-season pipeline maintenance concluded and producers ramped-up supply in anticipation of rising heating demand, paving the way for a relaxation of winter gas contract risk premiums. The result was the fourth weekly decline for NYMEX natural gas and technicals suggest the front-month contract is primed for further decreases this week. Losses to retest resistance near the $5.00/MMBtu psychological threshold appear possible.