월스트리트저널 읽기 - Russia Oil Sanction, China Property, Oil Prices etc.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2023

 

◈ U.S. to Target Evasion Of Russia Oil Sanction(미국, 러시아 석유허가에 대한 회피 겨냥)

 

 

The U.S. is preparing to crack down on evasion of its marquee sanction on the Russian oil industry, an attempt to shore up a novel price-cap regime that has seen its effectiveness wane.

 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview that the U.S. would “very likely” take steps to enforce the $60-a-barrel price limit that the U.S. and its partners imposed on Russian oil sales.

 

Russia has succeeded in selling its crude oil above the $60 limit for several weeks, with benchmark prices rising as high as $85 a barrel in late September, raising questions about whether firms are defrauding the cap. Prices for refined oil products such as diesel have also risen above Western caps.

 

◈ Rates to Ship Cargo by Sea Slump as Demand Weakens(수요부진에 따른 해상운송료율)

 

 

It has been an anemic peak season for ocean freight haulers as container shipping rates have plunged from pandemic highs and Americans and Europeans continue to pull back on purchases of consumer goods.

 

Daily market prices to move cargo from Asia to the U.S. and Europe in September were down as much as 90% from early 2022, a bad sign for ship operators since voyages are often unprofitable at current rates.

 

The largest container carriers have responded by canceling sailings en masse this year, mainly on the route from ports in China to the U.S. West Coast, according to data from shipping platform Xeneta. More cancellations are planned this month following the Golden Week holiday in China where manufacturing sites were idled, say boxship executives and brokers.

 

◈ China Property Gets Bullish Sign(중국 부동산이 강세 신호를 받다)

 

 

China’s property market is reeling, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the price of iron ore.

 

The commodity is commonly viewed as a bellwether of the economic health of China, which buys 7 of every 10 metric tons of iron ore shipped globally, and especially its property sector, which accounts for roughly one-third of that. (Iron ore is the main ingredient for making steel.) Yet iron-ore prices rose more than 20% since late May even as bad news piled up in China’s housing market, where major developers missed interest repayments and new-home sales slumped. The price paid for physical cargoes of iron ore was $119.45 a ton on Friday, after falling below $100 a ton earlier this year.

 

The resilience of iron-ore prices surprised some traders and suggests a temporary reordering of trade flows that could fan concerns about Chinese market power. China produces more than half of the world’s crude steel, and its exports at times stoked political tensions, including with the U.S., which levied a 25% tariff on steel imports from China in 2018 on national-security grounds.

 

China has recently been shipping more of its steel abroad to help plug the gap left by weaker demand from the property sector. Exports were roughly 28% higher on year in the eight months through August, customs data show.

 

◈ Oil Prices, Defense Shares Move Higher(유가, 국방 주가 상승)

 

 

Oil prices and defense stocks climbed after the worst attack on Israel in decades shook financial markets.

 

Concerns that the Israel-Hamas war will escalate into a broader conflict in the Middle East that limits oil supply sent energy prices higher. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark for oil, added 4.2%. West Texas Intermediate rose 4.3% to $86.38 a barrel.

 

◈ Rates Have Bank Stocks on the Mat(금리에는 은행 주식이 있다)

 

 

Rising interest rates helped spark a regional-banking crisis earlier this year. The turmoil eased, but bank stocks are still in the doldrums.

 

The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index fell 6.5% since mid-March when the regulators took control of Silicon Valley Bank. KeyCorp is down 9.6%, while Comerica and Truist Financial shed 4.8% and 15%, respectively. The S& P 500 gained 12%.

 

The bank index has underperformed the broad market by 37 percentage points in 2023, on pace for the widest annual gap on record going back to 1993, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

 

Deposits at U.S. banks have stabilized, easing fears that more banks could go under. But the effect of higher rates has put the sector’s earnings power under a cloud. Moody’s Investors Service and S& P Global Ratings downgraded the credit ratings of several banks in August, though they noted the sector has stabilized.

 

오늘도 경제신문으로 세상을 봅니다.

 

2023.10.07 - [경제신문 읽기] - 월스트리트저널 읽기 - Bond Yields, Saudis, Russia Growth etc.

월스트리트저널 읽기 - Bond Yields, Saudis, Russia Growth etc.