What just happened? Ten charts that will help you understand the market in 2025
The past year will not be forgotten soon. The conventional wisdom about investor behavior and economics was often challenged in 2025 as technology, energy, and geopolitics influenced markets in unexpected ways. Here are ten charts that explain what happened in the year 2025, and what this might mean for 2019. Donald?Trump’s "America First " agenda was a key driver of market growth in 2025, particularly during the first half. The U.S.
What just happened? Ten charts that will help you understand the market in 2025
The past year will not be forgotten soon. The conventional wisdom about investor behavior and economics was often challenged in 2025 as technology, energy, and geopolitics influenced markets in unexpected ways. Here are 10 charts to help you understand what happened in the year 2025, and what that might mean for 2019. Donald Trump's?America First? agenda was a key market driver for 2025, particularly during the first half of the calendar year. The U.S.
Bousso: The geopolitical premium of oil in the ROI vanished by 2025 and is unlikely to return.
In 2025, the global oil markets were faced with multiple black swans events - such as the Israel-Iran War and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refiners. Yet they were barely affected. In an era when energy is abundant, this calm could be the new norm. The year 2025, by any measure, was chaotic in geopolitics, with President Donald Trump's return to his White House and his flurry of trade, diplomatic and policy initiatives dominating the year.
Bousso: The geopolitical premium of oil in the ROI vanished by 2025 and is unlikely to return.
In 2025, the global oil markets were faced with multiple black swans events - such as the Israel-Iran War and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries - but they were not fazed. In an age of abundant energy, this calm could be the new norm. The year 2025 will be remembered as a geopolitical chaos, due to President Donald Trump's return in January, and his frenzy of trade, policy and diplomatic initiatives.
Russell: Despite Trump's trade moves, the US imports to Asia will drop by 2025.
Asia's imports from the United States of crude oil, coal, and liquefied gas are expected to decrease this year in spite of President Donald Trump’s efforts?to increase shipments through his trade and tariff policy. China is the main driver of the decline in US imports. China, as the world's largest buyer of commodities, has slowed down its purchases since Trump increased tariffs on U.S. imported Chinese goods, with an average rate of around 47.5%.
Russell: Despite Trump's trade moves, the US imports to Asia will drop by 2025.
The U.S. trade policies of President Donald Trump, which include tariffs and increased shipments of crude oil and coal to Asia are expected to lead to a decline in imports this year. The drop in US imports is mostly due to?China. As the largest buyer of commodities worldwide, China has slowed down its purchases since Trump increased tariffs on U.S. imported?Chinese?goods.
Document shows that RPT-Mexico’s Pemex awarded five contracts to boost oil production, but failed to attract big players.
According to four sources with knowledge of the matter, and to a document viewed by us, the Mexican state oil company Pemex has signed five of the eleven new joint venture agreements it planned to sign before the year's end. Pemex, however, was unable to 'attract' major companies and the amount of production that the ventures could add is too small to help Mexico reverse its declining crude oil output.
Document shows that Mexico's Pemex awarded five contracts to boost oil production, but failed to attract big players.
According to sources familiar with the situation and a document viewed by us, the Mexican state oil company Pemex awarded five out of the 11 joint venture contracts that it planned to sign before the year's end. Pemex, however, was unable attract major companies and the production that these ventures could add appears to be too small to help Mexico reverse its declining crude oil production.
Shell mergers chief Greg Gut quit after CEO blocked BP bid, FT reports
The Financial Times reported on 'Tuesday that Shell's head of mergers Greg Gut had left the oil giant after CEO Wael Sawan and top executives rejected an internal proposal to??buy rival BP? this year. Gut and the M&A Team pushed for a BP deal early this year. Andrew Mackenzie, chair of the board, was said to have been interested. However, Sinead and Sawan, finance chief, felt that a large deal could derail the strategy.
Fridson: Wall Street's 'beats'are more show and less science
Investors are preoccupied by the question of whether or not companies beat their "Street Estimates" each quarter. But perhaps the whole concept of "beats", should be debated. Consider a recent example. The Fly, a financial news publication, reported on November 5 that USA Compression (an oilfield equipment and services company) had met the consensus expectations of earnings per share for the third quarter, which was 26 cents.
Bousso: ROI-Permian will retain US oil crown after peaking even though it has reached its peak
The Permian Basin is set to reach its peak oil production in December. This will be a turning point for the U.S. Shale Boom that has reshaped the global energy markets over the last 15 years. But drilling innovations will ensure that the output of America's most prolific patch of oil will remain stable for many years. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the U.S.
Bousso: ROI-Permian will retain US oil crown after peaking even though it has reached its peak
The Permian Basin is set to reach its peak oil production in December. This will be a turning point for the U.S. Shale Boom that has reshaped the global energy markets over the last 15 years. But drilling innovations mean that output in America's largest oil patch will remain stable for many years. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the Permian Basin…
Maguire: High natural gas prices may lead to a new surge in coal consumption in the US
The benchmark U.S. gas prices will end 2025 the same way they started - with an explosive rally. This is bad news for those who hoped for a further reduction in coal consumption in the U.S. Gas prices in the United States increased by a third between January and March this year due to a harsh winter and strong LNG exports. This led to an increase in coal-fired electricity generation, as utilities reduced costs by burning coal instead of gas.
Maguire: High natural gas prices may lead to a new surge in coal consumption in the US
The benchmark U.S. gas prices will end 2025 the same way they started - with an explosive rally. This is bad news for those who hoped for further reductions in U.S. coal usage. Gas prices in the United States increased by a third between January and March this year due to a harsh winter and strong LNG exports. This led to an increase in coal-fired electricity generation, as utilities reduced costs by burning coal instead of gas.
Russell: China's LNG crown is at risk due to high prices that limit demand.
Asia's imports liquefied gas remained flat in November. The region that is the largest buyer of this super-chilled fuel will likely record its first decline annually in three years. China is largely to blame for this soft result, as it may lose its position as the top LNG importer in the world to Japan. The drop in imports is likely due to the high spot price for LNG, which has been persistent for most of the year.
Bousso: New oil quotas system to spur spending with ROI-OPEC+
The changes OPEC+ makes to its oil production quotas will likely trigger a wave upstream investment among members, especially in low-cost Gulf producers. This will reduce concerns about long-term shortages of supply. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and other major oil producing nations including Russia and Kazakhstan approved on Sunday a mechanism for assessing members' maximum output capacity.
Bousso: New oil quotas system to spur spending with ROI-OPEC+
The changes OPEC+ makes to its oil production quotas will likely trigger a wave upstream investment among its members, especially in low-cost Gulf producers. This will reduce concerns about long-term shortages of supply. OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and other major oil producing nations including Russia and Kazakhstan approved a new method to determine the maximum production capacity of members.
Russell: China's LNG crown is at risk due to high prices that limit demand.
Asia's imports liquefied gas remained flat in November. The region that is the largest buyer of this super-chilled fuel will likely record its first decline annually in three years. China is largely to blame for this soft result, as it may lose its position as the top LNG importer in the world to Japan. The drop in imports is likely due to the high spot price for LNG, which has been persistent for most of the year.
Russell: Silver outperforms Gold for the precious metal podium
Silver is often referred to as the bridesmaid of gold on precious metal markets. Its more popular rival seems to overshadow its less talked about counterpart. Silver is outperforming gold quietly in terms of returns for investors. It may also have a better long-term outlook, given the structural deficit in supply and the surge in demand from renewable technologies like solar panels. Since October 2023, spot silver has been on a steady upward trend.
Russell: COP30 agreement is not important in the battle between renewables and fossil fuels.
It was not realistic to expect anything better from the COP30 Climate Summit than a weak statement that omitted all mention of fossil fuels. It was never going to be easy to bring nearly 200 countries together with vastly different perspectives and make a statement of commitment to fight climate change. After the Belem summit, the question that needs to be asked is, does what the final statement says and doesn't state, really matter?