Former Dutch colony Suriname shares the offshore Guyana Suriname Basin with the former British colony of Guyana, which is reaping a massive economic windfall from one of South America’s largest oil booms of recent times. Suriname’s government in Paramaribo is hungrily eyeing Guyana’s oil boom, which has propelled the country into the global league of major oil-producing and exporting nations, putting it on track to become one of the wealthiest nations in South America. Deeply impoverished Suriname, which is…

The nationwide average price of gasoline in the United States has risen for three consecutive weeks, gaining 4.3 cents over the past week, to hit $3.62 per gallon on Monday, according to Gasbuddy data.  Compared to a month ago, average gasoline prices are up 10.8 cents, but still 1.1 cents per gallon lower than they were this same time a year ago. The average national diesel price declined this week to $4.01 per gallon, some 15 cents below the price level at this same time last year.  “As the nationwide changeover to summer gasoline…

Sam Altman and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are betting on solar power and energy storage that can supply a low-carbon future to artificial intelligence data centers. Altman, the face of the AI chatbot boom, has also invested in nuclear power technology to fuel America's powering up with clean, reliable energy.  The Wall Street Journal reports that Altman and the private US venture capital firm are among the investors putting $20 million into Exowatt, a company that aims to solve the clean-energy needs of AI data centers. …

Armenia and Azerbaijan are engaged in a convoluted peace process in the Caucasus. But they are still tangled in a bitter fight in The Hague. Over several days of hearings in mid-April, the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ), based at the Dutch seat of government, weighed the merits of an Azerbaijani motion claiming the ICJ does not have jurisdiction over a three-year-old suit brought by Armenia. That suit demands that Azerbaijan face judgment for an array of war crimes, including fomenting hatred of Armenians that resulted…

Via Metal Miner Month-on-month, the Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) rose by 8.25%. However, shortly after April 1, precious metal prices, particularly gold and silver, began surging as investors flocked to purchase as many gold bullions as possible. The reasons for this newfound “gold rush” include inflation hedging, anticipation of interest rate cuts, and geopolitical uncertainty. Indeed, these factors continue to send investors flocking to the classic precious metals safe haven. But just how long will the rally last?…

With Venezuelan oil sanctions set to be reimposed and state-run PDVSA oil company buyers and suppliers under orders to close out transactions in line with sanctions by the end of May, the country is now working to shift its oil sales to digital currency.  Using Tether, pegged to the U.S. dollar, PDVSA is seeking to hasten the use of digital currency for oil export transactions to avoid having revenues from oil sales frozen in foreign bank accounts, Reuters reported on Monday, citing three unnamed sources.  The Venezuelan state-run oil…

With Venezuelan oil sanctions set to be reimposed and state-run PDVSA oil company buyers and suppliers under orders to close out transactions in line with sanctions by the end of May, the country is now working to shift its oil sales to digital currency.  Using Tether, pegged to the U.S. dollar, PDVSA is seeking to hasten the use of digital currency for oil export transactions to avoid having revenues from oil sales frozen in foreign bank accounts, Reuters reported on Monday, citing three unnamed sources.  The Venezuelan state-run oil…

If Iran decides to respond to a suspected Israeli strike on its territory on April 19, it might not have to pull its punches like it did the last time. Tehran's telegraphed barrage against Israel last week was written off by many as a failure. But Iran has many arrows in its quiver should its standoff with Israel continue to escalate. Experts say that Iran has more sophisticated weaponry at its disposal, can bring its proxies into the fight, and, unlike its attack on April 13, can utilize the element of surprise. And the ultimate threat -- officially…

Just a week after the Iraqi federal government announced it was repairing its own oil pipeline to Turkey, which would override a Kurdish oil pipeline that has been offline amidst a three-way diplomatic dispute between Baghdad, Erbil and Ankara, Iraqi media report that OPEC is urging Baghdad to resume Kurdish oil exports to Turkey.  According to Kurdistan24 news agency, citing an unnamed source in the Iraqi Federal Oil Ministry, OPEC has requested that Iraqi Federal Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani approve oil exports from Kurdistan to…

There is always the possibility that Israel now does “take the win” as U.S. President Joe Biden advised Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, albeit before Israel launched missile and drone attacks on nuclear- and military-related facilities in Iran’s Isfahan province and in its East Azerbaijan provincial city of Tabriz. There is also the possibility that if Israel does this, then Iran might desist from further direct attacks on Israel from its own territory, after it did so for the first time in multiple attacks on 13 April.…

Just a week after the Iraqi federal government announced it was repairing its own oil pipeline to Turkey, which would override a Kurdish oil pipeline that has been offline amidst a three-way diplomatic dispute between Baghdad, Erbil and Ankara, Iraqi media report that OPEC is urging Baghdad to resume Kurdish oil exports to Turkey.  According to Kurdistan24 news agency, citing an unnamed source in the Iraqi Federal Oil Ministry, OPEC has requested that Iraqi Federal Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani approve oil exports from Kurdistan to…

Back in September last year, Bloomberg reported that refineries around the world were struggling to keep up with demand for diesel fuel. That imbalance led to soaring diesel prices, with the fuel gaining 60% in Europe and topping $140 per barrel in the U.S. At the time, there were warnings that economic activity roaring back after the pandemic and the 2022 energy crunch would lead to a diesel fuel shortage and drive higher inflation. Only that didn’t happen. Because since then, diesel prices have fallen and now the warnings are…

A 26% plunge in coal mining weighed on Poland’s industrial output in March 2024, casting a shadow over the expectations that the biggest emerging-market economy in Europe would grow by the expected 3% this year. Coal mining output slumped by 25.9% year-over-year in March, contributing to a 6% decline in Poland’s industrial production last month, government data showed on Monday. This was the steepest decline in Poland’s industrial output since April 2023, per Bloomberg’s estimates. It was also much worse than expectations…

A 26% plunge in coal mining weighed on Poland’s industrial output in March 2024, casting a shadow over the expectations that the biggest emerging-market economy in Europe would grow by the expected 3% this year. Coal mining output slumped by 25.9% year-over-year in March, contributing to a 6% decline in Poland’s industrial production last month, government data showed on Monday. This was the steepest decline in Poland’s industrial output since April 2023, per Bloomberg’s estimates. It was also much worse than expectations…

A 26% plunge in coal mining weighed on Poland’s industrial output in March 2024, casting a shadow over the expectations that the biggest emerging-market economy in Europe would grow by the expected 3% this year. Coal mining output slumped by 25.9% year-over-year in March, contributing to a 6% decline in Poland’s industrial production last month, government data showed on Monday. This was the steepest decline in Poland’s industrial output since April 2023, per Bloomberg’s estimates. It was also much worse than expectations…

By John Liu, Zhu Lin and Abhishek Vishnoi, Bloomberg Markets Live reporters and strategists China’s most promising industries are facing a growing threat of trade restrictions from Western governments, blurring the outlook for stocks that have the potential to fuel the nation’s market growth. The sectors under scrutiny by Europe and the US are as wide-ranging as electric vehicles, wind and solar projects, medical devices and chips, but have one thing in common: they are of strategic importance to President Xi Jinping’s bid for…

Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom had to shut down more than two dozen producing wells during the spring floods in the Orenburg region to keep the gas-producing wells from flooding, the local Gazprom unit said. River and floodwaters rose early this month in the Orenburg region in southwestern Russia near the Ural River in the worst flooding in the area in 80 years. Water levels in the Ural jumped well above the river’s bursting point.       To avoid flooding of operating wells, Gazprom’s local…

Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom had to shut down more than two dozen producing wells during the spring floods in the Orenburg region to keep the gas-producing wells from flooding, the local Gazprom unit said. River and floodwaters rose early this month in the Orenburg region in southwestern Russia near the Ural River in the worst flooding in the area in 80 years. Water levels in the Ural jumped well above the river’s bursting point.       To avoid flooding of operating wells, Gazprom’s local…

Saudi oil giant Aramco is proceeding with plans to boost its downstream presence in its most important export market, China, with discussions to buy a minority stake in a Chinese petrochemical company. Aramco has entered into discussions with Hengli Group Co., Ltd. regarding the potential acquisition of a 10% stake in Hengli Petrochemical Co., subject to due diligence and required regulatory clearances, the Saudi firm said in a statement on Monday. Hengli Petrochemical International Pte. Ltd and Aramco signed on Monday a Memorandum of…

U.S. President Joe Biden is announcing on Monday $7 billion in grants to help more than 900,000 low-income households install residential solar power, the White House said. President Biden will mark today’s Earth Day by traveling to Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia, and is expected to highlight the Administration’s progress “in tackling the climate crisis, cutting costs for everyday Americans, and creating good-paying jobs,” the White House said. The $7 billion in grants will come from the Environmental…