Wealthion Macro Bites 2-19
At a dinner for Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 11 deals worth $38.4B were signed between Indonesia and U.S. companies for partnerships in mining, energy, agribusiness, textiles, furniture and technology sectors. The deals include an MOU between Freeport-McMoran and the Indonesian Ministry of Investment for critical minerals cooperation, and an agreement between Indonesian state oil producer Pertamina and Halliburton Co to cooperate on oilfield recovery. The deals come before Thursday’s scheduled signing of a final bilateral trade pact in Washington.
Separately, Indonesian Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani signed an MOU with Freeport-McMoran for a “life of resource” extension of Freeport’s Grasberg operating rights beyond currently scheduled 2041 expiration.
At a U.S./DRC meeting in Washington on 2/5, Reuters reports DRC officials added the M23 rebel-controlled Rubaya coltan mine (one of the world’s richest tantalum deposits) to a shortlist of strategic assets DRC is offering to the U.S. under their joint Dec. minerals cooperation framework. DRC estimates Rubaya needs $50M to $150M to restart and ramp up commercial output of tantalum, a heat-resistant metal processed from coltan ore used by makers of semiconductors, aerospace components, computers, mobile phones and gas turbines.
After conducting naval drills this week in the Straits of Hormuz and ahead of planned joint naval exercises with Russia on Thursday, Iran issued a “notice to airmen” (NOTAM) over planned rocket launches across its south on Thursday from 330GMT to 1330GMT. On Wednesday, WTI futures rose 4.6% and Brent rose 4.3%. Stay tuned…
Goldman Sachs suggests global oil prices have risen this year despite a worldwide surplus due to sanctioned oil being stuck at sea. Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil at sea has risen to 375m barrels (1/3rd of y/y visible crude builds) while OECD stockpiles have remained largely stable. This combination has led to a disconnect between global prices and stockpiles.
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