Exxonmobil oil and gas company USA is actively increasing trading operations around the world amid continuing high prices for its products. The company has recently stepped up efforts to increase derivatives trading in the commodities market. Bloomberg reported, according to its sources.

Also, the Exxon oil and gas company is reviewing the system of compensation for traders, including the size of bonuses, said one of the interlocutors of the agency.

Exxon has already hired at least three traders and analysts in the past two months, the sources added. In recent weeks, the company has opened several positions in gas, cargo and other product trading at offices in London and Houston.

“We are not going to speculate about current or future business plans. The company continues to invest in the trading division,” its spokesperson said in a commentary for Bloomberg.

Exxon took some steps in 2018 to organize an oil trading group. But with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused energy demand to plummet, the company curtailed activities in that area and cut funding.

However, this year, against the background of the world’s major economies emerging from the pandemic crisis and geopolitical tensions, volatility prevailed in the oil market, which brings traders large profits. In March, after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, oil prices jumped above $130 a barrel, but since then they have already fallen by more than 20%.

Industrial production in the Eurozone grew stronger than expected in June, according to official data released by Eurostat on Friday. This indicates a recovery in activity in the bloc’s manufacturing sector.

Production in the old continent rose 0.7% for the month, compared with an expected increase of 0.2% and 2.1% a month earlier. On a year-on-year basis, production in June rose 2.4% against an expected 0.8% increase and a 1.6% increase in May.

Despite the current situation in the global economy, this is quite a positive growth trend for the European economy. At the same time, no one is making accurate predictions for the future.

Industrial production in the Euro-area: implications for the currency

The common European currency remains on the sidelines of positive data on production. At the time of writing, the EUR/USD is trading down -0.16% intraday at 1.0300.

About Eurozone Production

The Eurostat Manufacturing output data published by Eurostat. It shows the volume of manufactured goods in factories and processing plants. A rise in the indicator strengthens EUR; a decline weakens it.

Earlier we reported that a ceiling on the price of a barrel of oil in Russia could be agreed at the global level.

Are copper prices going up or down? Speculative investors in the copper market expect a slowdown in global economic growth, which argues in favor of lower prices for this base metal, despite their recent recovery. Copper is considered an indicator of the state of the global economy.

According to recent data, the number of short positions of investment managers in copper on the LME and the COMEX exceeds the number of long positions.

Prices by the pound

Three-month copper futures on the LME were trading at around $8,160 a ton at the time of writing, up 18% from the 20-month low reached on July 15.

Meanwhile, copper prices have fallen 25% since hitting a record high of $10,845 a ton in March amid a slowdown in economic growth in China, the metal’s biggest consumer. Also, prices are under pressure from an active increase in interest rates, which could lead to a global recession.

Many speculative investors are using options on copper at the LME, betting on lower prices. Investors are taking positions on December LME copper put options with strike prices of $7,000, $6,000 and $5,000, according to LME data released Wednesday.

Some of the strike prices coincide with the marginal cost of producing copper. Investors often use them to understand how much prices might fall in a negative scenario.

The direct costs of producing copper at the 10 percent of mines with the highest costs are $5,085 per ton. Morgan Stanley noted. Including capital costs – necessary to maintain current levels of production – to sell a ton of copper goes to $6,000-6,400 per ton, the bank added.

If the copper price stays below marginal production costs for a long time, some mining companies may shut down.

Earlier we reported that Russia has been named the winner in the oil standoff.