LATEST GEÓPOLITICAL INTEL: GEÓ Insights – Keep Up To Date with the Latest Geopolitics

The Global Precious Metals MMI (Monthly Metals Index) saw a sharp rise in price action, jumping by 14.44%. This comes as all four major precious metals prices spiked in early October. Gold recently notched all-time highs again, while silver briefly hit $54/oz before a steep pullback. Meanwhile, platinum and palladium are also near multi-year highs. The rush in precious metals prices has been fueled by several factors, including the government shutdown, trade-tariff worries and a slowing labor market, which is boosting safe?haven buying. What Drove…

China’s total oil product demand jumped by 416,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August from July, the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday.   The data compiled from reports submitted by the individual countries also showed that the increase in China’s crude oil imports was higher than the rise in reported total product demand, suggesting that the world’s top crude oil importer continued to send some of the imported crude volumes into strategic or commercial storage.  China’s…

Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 1 million barrels during the week ending October 17, after gaining 3.5 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 422.8 million barrels according to government data, which is still 4% 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…

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports surged by 413,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, to the highest level in six months, as the world’s top crude exporter and the OPEC+ group accelerated the reversal of the production cuts.  Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production also soared in August, by 521,000 bpd from July, the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday.  Refinery runs in Saudi Arabia fell by 76,000 bpd month-on-month in August, freeing even more barrels for exports.  To meet…

EU leaders will task the European Commission on October 23 with drawing up a legal proposal to leverage 176 billion euros ($204 billion) of frozen Russian state assets for a loan to Ukraine -- a move that could cover most of Kyiv’s financial needs for the next three years. European diplomats who spoke with RFE/RL believe there is a chance the whole scheme can be agreed upon by the end of this year and that it would help fill the shortfall expected if the United States is no longer willing to finance Kyiv to the same extent as before. The…