The week's financial charts: Lag7, the coming oil glut and the yen in 1980s flashback
Every Friday, Open Interest distills the week's financial data into five key charts that highlight the trends, surprises, and missed moves of the previous five days.
1. OIL GLUT REBOUNDS RON BOUSSO is a columnist for ROI Energy. Dozens of oil tankers left the 'Middle East Gulf' since the U.S. &?Iran agreed to an interim agreement on June 17, which ended the war and reopened the Strait of Hormuz. It had been effectively closed for over 100 days. The International Energy Agency predicts that Mideast oil production will recover in the next few months.
2. CHIP DIVERGENCE - MIKE DOLAN, ROI Finance & Markets 'Columnist': The Magnificent 7, a grouping of megacap tech companies created three years earlier, had their second worst?month in June. The divergence is a reflection of concerns about hyperscalers and the "Mag 7" overspending AI infrastructure and whether or not chip and tech equipment makers can keep up with demand. The earnings season updates this month will be crucial in assessing how realistic the Q1 AI growth estimates were.
3. ASIA'S IMPORTS OF OIL EDGE UP RUSSELL CLYDE, ROI Asia Commodities and Energy columnist: Asia's crude imports have recovered from their lowest levels in over a decade as refiners seek alternatives to Middle East grades that were shut out by the Strait of Hormuz's effective closure during the Iran conflict. Imports in June were still about 5,000,000 barrels per day below the pre-war level. The strait has also not fully reopened with flows well below prewar levels.
4. SMELTER BUST, COPPER BOOM ANDY HOME, Columnist for ROI Metals: Copper has reached all-time highs in this year. However, copper smelters struggle to survive because of a collapse in revenues from core processing. Benchmark 2026 treatment charges have been zeroed, and spot charges are in the negative as there is too much smelter capacity chasing too little concentrate. Only the fittest of people will survive.
5. 1980s FLASHBACK ANNA SCHYMANSKI, 'ROI Editor in Charge: The Japanese yen sank to levels last seen during the summer of 1986. This slide follows months of rumored yen buying by Japanese authorities that briefly brought the currency back to the 160-per dollar level. Maybe the tide is turning. The yen rose on Thursday as traders pondered news that Japan might be changing its intervention strategy. Opinions are solely those of the writers. These opinions do not represent the views of News. News is committed to the Trust Principles and its commitment to independence, integrity, and neutrality.
(source: Reuters)
