In this week's Market Movers Europe with Iris Poon:
- OPEC+ surprise oil cuts ahead of meeting
- EU-US Energy Council meeting on Tuesday
- French nuclear comeback stumbles on strikes
- April contract price settlements for olefins
This week, in oil, the market is digesting a surprise production cut by OPEC+ kingpins Russia and Saudi Arabia, along with their allies, amounting to more than 1.6 million bd.
The bulk of the cuts are to start in May, and the move comes ahead of a meeting Monday of the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee.
Saudi Arabia described the move as ensuring market stability following recent price falls below $80 a barrel.
On Tuesday, a ministerial meeting of the EU-US Energy Council takes place as part of moves to cement relations between the two partners.
The US has become a major exporter of LNG to Europe, accounting for nearly half of its LNG imports so far this year.
Meanwhile, ongoing pension strikes in France continue to impact LNG imports, with three out of the country's four terminals having sent no gas into the grid for nearly a month.
The strikes have also halted France's nuclear comeback.
Operator EDF has extended its strike warning to Thursday and said over 100 days of maintenance work have now been lost.
Olefins markets are waiting for the settlement of the April contract prices for ethylene and propylene.
A decrease is generally anticipated given the fall in naphtha prices.
This may come as a relief to the sector, as producers have been struggling to pass through feedstock cost.