In its first monetary policy decision of 2026, the Federal Reserve elected to hold the federal funds rate steady at 3.50%–3.75%, pausing further cuts after three reductions late last year. The decision, made at the January 27–28 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, reflects a cautious stance amid mixed economic signals and persistent inflation above target. The FOMC statement shows that while economic activity “has been expanding at a solid moderate pace,” job gains have slowed and the unemployment rate has only “shown…

In its first monetary policy decision of 2026, the Federal Reserve elected to hold the federal funds rate steady at 3.50%–3.75%, pausing further cuts after three reductions late last year. The decision, made at the January 27–28 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, reflects a cautious stance amid mixed economic signals and persistent inflation above target. The FOMC statement shows that while economic activity “has been expanding at a solid moderate pace,” job gains have slowed and the unemployment rate has only “shown…

Africa’s trade finance lender has unveiled a major new funding line for Angola’s national oil company, as the country seeks to stabilize crude trading and maintain output in a basin facing structural decline and renewed scrutiny from international producers. The African Export-Import Bank has announced a $17.5 billion financing facility for Sonangol, according to a statement cited by Reuters on Wednesday. Afreximbank said the facility is designed to support Sonangol’s oil trading operations and general corporate funding needs,…

Africa’s trade finance lender has unveiled a major new funding line for Angola’s national oil company, as the country seeks to stabilize crude trading and maintain output in a basin facing structural decline and renewed scrutiny from international producers. The African Export-Import Bank has announced a $17.5 billion financing facility for Sonangol, according to a statement cited by Reuters on Wednesday. Afreximbank said the facility is designed to support Sonangol’s oil trading operations and general corporate funding needs,…

Africa’s trade finance lender has unveiled a major new funding line for Angola’s national oil company, as the country seeks to stabilize crude trading and maintain output in a basin facing structural decline and renewed scrutiny from international producers. The African Export-Import Bank has announced a $17.5 billion financing facility for Sonangol, according to a statement cited by Reuters on Wednesday. Afreximbank said the facility is designed to support Sonangol’s oil trading operations and general corporate funding needs,…

The Illusion of Randomness in Oil Markets Anyone who trades crude oil futures has seen it happen. Price sells off hard into a round number, stalls, and then snaps violently higher. Or oil grinds higher all morning, only to reverse sharply mid-session with no headline, no inventory release, no obvious catalyst. This can be especially confusing for fundamental traders and analysts who try to explain price action solely through data and headlines. To many, these moves appear random. In reality, they aren’t random at all. Many of these moves…

Next month, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is slated to overhaul the level of radiation that Americans can legally be exposed to in response to an executive order issued by Donald Trump in May of 2025. The Trump administration is seeking to loosen regulations related to the nuclear energy industry in the United States in order to jumpstart the struggling sector.  The United States generates more nuclear energy than any other country, but it won’t hold that distinction for long if current domestic and global trends…

India is on track to import record-high volumes of crude oil and condensate in January as refiners boost non-Russian purchases to replace barrels lost to U.S. sanctions, energy flow tracking firm Vortexa said in a report on Wednesday India’s crude and condensate imports will likely hit 5.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this month—a new record, as deliveries of cargoes laden with non-Russian oil surged. The jump in non-Russian crude imports is set to more than offset the decline in India’s imports of Russian crude, according to…

India is on track to import record-high volumes of crude oil and condensate in January as refiners boost non-Russian purchases to replace barrels lost to U.S. sanctions, energy flow tracking firm Vortexa said in a report on Wednesday India’s crude and condensate imports will likely hit 5.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this month—a new record, as deliveries of cargoes laden with non-Russian oil surged. The jump in non-Russian crude imports is set to more than offset the decline in India’s imports of Russian crude, according to…

Rystad Energy tracks 82 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) of flows from interstate pipelines in our North America Gas dashboard. We see an initial loss of about 2 Bcfd from the Bakken, Rockies and the Mid-Continent, followed by a more abrupt drop of 12 Bcfd, primarily driven by the Permian and the broader Gulf Coast region, with losses somewhat limited in Appalachia. In total, we expect the impact could potentially be closer to 20-25 Bcfd given that the Permian and Haynesville regions have more intrastate pipelines, which are not captured in the…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 2.3 million barrels during the week ending January 24, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 423.8 million barrels according to government data, which is 3% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories fell by 247,000 barrels. Crude prices were trading…

UK-based supermajors Shell and BP are seeking U.S. licenses to develop gas fields that Trinidad and Tobago shares with Venezuela, the Caribbean island’s Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal said on Wednesday. BP and Shell have sought to develop two separate cross-border gas fields in Venezuelan and Trinidad and Tobago waters, but progress has been slow in recent years due to the frequent changes in U.S. policy toward allowing international firms to do business with Venezuela. In July 2024, BP, together with its partner, the National Gas Company…

UK-based supermajors Shell and BP are seeking U.S. licenses to develop gas fields that Trinidad and Tobago shares with Venezuela, the Caribbean island’s Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal said on Wednesday. BP and Shell have sought to develop two separate cross-border gas fields in Venezuelan and Trinidad and Tobago waters, but progress has been slow in recent years due to the frequent changes in U.S. policy toward allowing international firms to do business with Venezuela. In July 2024, BP, together with its partner, the National Gas Company…

UK-based supermajors Shell and BP are seeking U.S. licenses to develop gas fields that Trinidad and Tobago shares with Venezuela, the Caribbean island’s Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal said on Wednesday. BP and Shell have sought to develop two separate cross-border gas fields in Venezuelan and Trinidad and Tobago waters, but progress has been slow in recent years due to the frequent changes in U.S. policy toward allowing international firms to do business with Venezuela. In July 2024, BP, together with its partner, the National Gas Company…

A US aircraft carrier group arrived in the Middle East on January 27 as tensions mount over a possible strike against Iran after a brutal crackdown on protests that rights groups say killed thousands of people. Amid the turmoil, the Iranian currency, the rial, fell to a record low against the dollar, trading at 1.5 million on January 27. US President Donald Trump has said he "hopes" military action against Tehran won't be needed, but he has also sent an "armada" to the region while refusing to take the option of air strikes off of the table in…

India needs liquefied natural gas prices in Asia to nearly halve in order to significantly raise LNG imports and consumption, the top executive of the biggest Indian LNG importer said on Wednesday. Asia’s spot LNG price is about $11 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at present, while a major demand boost in India would come at prices between $6 and $7 per MMBtu, Akshay Kumar Singh, chief executive at Petronet Ltd, said at the India Energy Week conference, as carried by Bloomberg. India is expected to import about 29 million tons of…

For the past two years, the conversation around AI infrastructure has focused on chips, models, and capital. In practice, that isn’t what’s slowing projects down. What matters is electricity–where it comes from, how much is available, and whether it’s already committed. A lot of proposed data center capacity looks good on paper, but only a fraction of it can actually be built on schedule. Grid access takes time. Permits take time. Locking in long-term power pricing takes time, and most projects are only starting that process…

For the past two years, the conversation around AI infrastructure has focused on chips, models, and capital. In practice, that isn’t what’s slowing projects down. What matters is electricity–where it comes from, how much is available, and whether it’s already committed. A lot of proposed data center capacity looks good on paper, but only a fraction of it can actually be built on schedule. Grid access takes time. Permits take time. Locking in long-term power pricing takes time, and most projects are only starting that process…

Israel is set to achieve record natural gas production in 2026, with expansion projects in the Leviathan and Tamar fields expected to push total output above 3 billion cubic feet per day (cfd) for the first time ever. According to the experts, the Chevron (NYSE:CVX) operated fields are expected to add a combined 600 million cfd in the coming months, with the bulk of the extra gas piped to Egypt after the removal of bottlenecks in the export pipeline network. Israel’s gas output in 2025 is estimated to have dropped slightly from a record 2.587bn…

Oil tanker rates are soaring this year, picking up where they left off 2025—multi-year highs amid growing supply, longer routes, and disruptions due to sanctions and altered shipping lanes.    At the end of 2025, the global supertanker market tightened as crude supply from the OPEC+ group and the Americas rose, and vessels were making increasingly longer trips. So much the market tightened that several new-built very large crude carriers (VLCC) made empty maiden voyages from yards in Asia to pick up supply from producing countries…