Commodities: Global   OPEC Production Fell as Expected, reaching 29.0 million barrels per day (mbpd) during November (Bloomberg), still much less than the lowered quotas of 31.4 mbpd.  OPEC+ announced no quota change at their December meeting but reserved the expectation to adjust production based on the impact of sanctions…

Ukraine: Winter & Sanctions Impact   The Ukraine-Russia Conflict settled into winter, with Russia targeting electrical infrastructure and limited spoiling attacks to keep the Ukrainians from extending their gains.  Russia’s additional mobilization of 300,000 or so recruits are likely spending the winter training for spring operations.  Putin’s generals need to…

During the month of November, the leading sectors were Metals (+9.37%) and Indices (+5.29%). The bottom sectors were led by Crypto (-19.96%) and Energies (-2.47%); with Crypto hit relatively hard by the FTX fiasco. With the Fed hinting towards signaling a slow down in interest-rate hikes, the market has trended…

OPEC Production Was Basically Flat at 29.98 million barrels per day (mbpd) during October (Bloomberg), still much less than current quotas of 33.4 mbpd. Recall that OPEC+ announced a 2 mbpd cut for November 2022 but that will have minimal actual effect given the lack of production versus quota.  Apart from…