Skip to main content

The overall fall in the oil price is further evidence of how economies have grounded to a halt because of covid-19 and the current lack of demand for oil in the market. At the same time, US oil production has continued. Producers are now at a stage where they are quickly running out of tankers to store oil.

There are some important technical factors at play here, the US WTI price is linked to the next futures contract (an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a future date at an agreed-upon price) and the May WTI future last day of trading was yesterday (Tuesday 21st). WTI May-dated futures contracts require futures buyers to take delivery of the oil in the city of Cushing, Oklahoma. Given that there is little if any storage space available in that location the traders are ditching their contracts.

Market attention now turns to the WTI contract for June delivery, to see if the pattern persists. The June contract is trading at $11, supported by hopes that the worst of the demand erosion could ease by then, if lockdowns and travel bans are loosened.

Brent is currently already trading on the June futures contract. This is one of the reasons why the price falls haven’t been as extreme for the European benchmark. As well as this, Brent Oil futures contracts can be delivered offshore to a variety of locations. If there isn’t enough storage in one place, then the oil can be delivered elsewhere – whereas the US WTI futures contracts are landlocked in Cushing, Oklahoma – which is weeks away from running out of capacity.

 

 

The move in oil prices, highlights how weak the global economic environment is at present, the impact of these moves were felt in global stock markets and they are weaker yesterday. Despite these concerns equity markets have been mostly stronger over the last week.

Specifically to the UK equity market, BP and Royal Dutch Shell are big constituents of the FTSE 100 and both are seeing share prices lower this week – which will be negatively impacting portfolio directly invested in these names and also UK equity funds. Both BP and Royal Dutch Shell tend to be big holdings in UK equity, dividend orientated products, because of the high historic dividend yields on offer. These UK equity income funds may have been harder hit by the moves this week, because of the oil price. Both companies now have a dividend yield of over 11 per cent – which is extremely high versus their own history and suggests a lot of bad news is baked into the share price already. However, this dividend yield may not be fully received, if they look to cut or pause the dividend, as other businesses have done during the current market environment.

In summary, a negative short-term period for funds and portfolios overly exposed to the oil market, as you would expect, but the overall market has been relatively resilient this week despite these concerns.

Source: Alpha Terminal (22/04/2020)
Alex Brandreth
Chief Investment Officer

 

 

The content in this publication is for your general information and use only and is not intended to address your particular requirements. Articles should not be relied upon in their entirety and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute, advice. Although endeavours have been made to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No individual or company should act upon such information without receiving appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of their particular situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of any articles. Thresholds, percentage rates and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts. Levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.