Stuart Burns

Latest articles from Stuart

• What’s Really Driving The Crazy Rally In Commodity Prices?

  Published 25 October 2021 | viewed 9,791 times

  Bulls are pointing to the surging metals prices as evidence a supercycle is alive and well. However, no one but a snake oil salesman would…

• Europe Desperately Needs To Diversify Its Energy Supply

  Published 10 October 2021 | viewed 2,747 times

  We have written twice over the last week concerning the energy crunch, first in China and then in India. Thermal coal prices have risen to…

• OPEC Agreement At Risk As UAE Prepares To Open The Taps

  Published 08 July 2021 | viewed 7,381 times

  In a relatively rare example of disagreement — or, at least, such public disagreement — usually close allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates…

• The Market For Zinc Is Collapsing

  Published 30 June 2021 | viewed 3,109 times

  The zinc price has defied expectations that oversupply would put so much downward pressure on prices that last month’s $3,100/ton high would be the peak…

• New Russian Tariffs Could Send Key Metal Prices Even Higher

  Published 29 June 2021 | viewed 2,541 times

  The metals markets received a jolt late last week with the news that Russia is considering applying export tariffs to steel, aluminum, copper, nickel, and…

• Commodity Prices Dip As Dollar Surges

  Published 21 June 2021 | viewed 2,105 times

  It won’t have been missed by anyone in the metals markets, but commodity prices have drifted off this past week. The reason is a resurgent…

• What Happens If Oil Prices Go Negative?

  Published 21 March 2020 | viewed 441,996 times

  Various reports hit the news feeds today quoting a deliberately headline-grabbing statement by Paul Sankey, managing director at Mizuho Securities, in which he is reported…

• Will Europe Cave To Trump’s Tariff Threats?

  Published 14 November 2019 | viewed 6,721 times

  Not everyone agrees with the use of tariffs to achieve changes in trade relations. However, a recent article in The New York Times article reports the…

• Rising Costs Weigh On Permian Gas Production

  Published 10 September 2018 | viewed 10,435 times

  To be fair, not all shale gas drilling is slowing, but in the Permian Basin, which has seen the most incandescent growth in recent years, according…

• Wind Energy Is Getting Cheaper And Cheaper

  Published 18 July 2018 | viewed 19,335 times

  Who would have thought wind’s transformation from subsidy-supported to self-financing power source would happen so quickly – not this publication, that’s for sure. Apart from…

• The Uncertain Future Of Natural Gas

  Published 14 December 2017 | viewed 23,301 times

  Natural gas has long been promoted as a less-polluting alternative to coal and less-costly alternative to nuclear power. Its green credentials are not whiter than…

• OPEC’s Latest Agreement May Not Stabilize Oil Prices

  Published 05 December 2017 | viewed 13,181 times

  The 14-strong Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), along with 10 oil states outside of the cartel, has reached an agreement to limit oil output…

• What Stopped The Oil Rally Dead In Its Tracks?

  Published 19 January 2017 | viewed 10,540 times

  After a recovery late last year, the oil market seems to have settled with a price around $55 a barrel… at least for now. That…

• Proving Them Wrong: How The U.S. Oil And Gas Industry Survived

  Published 31 August 2016 | viewed 28,483 times

  The Saudis counted them out. So did the Russians, even many domestic analysts said North American shale and tight oil and gas production would decline…

• Why Downsizing Nuclear Reactors May Save The Industry

  Published 24 March 2016 | viewed 6,663 times

  With cheap shale gas and falling power costs from renewables such as solar, nuclear power looks like yesterday’s technology but, for two reasons, it still…

• Oil Price Pain: Who’s Next After Emerging Markets And Fracking?

  Published 18 December 2014 | viewed 9,567 times

  The price of oil has sunk almost 50% since June with West Texas Intermediate crude slipping below $60 a barrel last week and Brent falling…

• End Of Life Costs For Nuclear Power A Real Concern

  Published 15 November 2014 | viewed 9,443 times

  Nuclear power stirs considerable controversy but we have broadly been a supporter of the technology in part because of its low emissions and running cost,…

• UK Renewables May Be Turning The Tide

  Published 28 October 2014 | viewed 43,415 times

  With the exception of geothermal energy most forms of renewable electricity generation have an intermittency to their delivery. Even hydro-electric power can fall short in…

• Negative Outlook In Q4 For Crude And Refined Product Prices

  Published 15 September 2014 | viewed 11,228 times

  In a recent post we looked at the state of the crude oil market, how demand has been weak as a result of refinery maintenance…

• Natural Gas As A Trucking Fuel Fails To Deliver

  Published 21 August 2014 | viewed 15,387 times

  Much has been made of the potential for natural gas as a fuel for the trucking and rail industries.The dramatic fall in natural gas prices…