The Best And Worst Energy ETFs Of 2012
The energy sector has been anything but stable this year, as commodities as a whole suffered at the hands of volatile trading. Crude oil prices surged all across the board while popular natural gas struggled to maintain a direction. With 2012 coming to a close, we take a look back on the year and outline the best and worst performing energy ETFs. Note that this list excludes leveraged and inverse products [for more energy ETF news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Commodity HQ Profile: John Fredriksen
John Fredriksen is a self-made billionaire who built his financial empire as a shipping magnate, primarily in the business of transporting oil, then continued his success in offshore oil drilling. Fredriksen is currently ranked number 75 on Forbes’ list of billionaires, and listed at 68 on Bloomberg’s list of the 200 richest people. His net worth is currently estimated at $13.3 billion as per Bloomberg’s figures. Britain’s Sunday Times lists him as the ninth richest person residing in the country, where they estimate his wealth at £6.6 billion [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Petroleos Mexicanos Strikes Black Gold
The Mexican juggernaut Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) has discovered a major oil field that could yield an impressive amount of the fossil fuel. The company is already the fourth-largest producer of oil in the world, and will now look to further its position. As it stands, the well site is estimated to contain 500 million barrels with another 500 million expected to lie in the surrounding area. The site, now named Navegante 1, is an extremely significant find, especially compared to the overall output of Mexico [for more crude oil news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
Citi’s Energy Outlook For 2013
Considering this year’s rather volatile performance, one thing can be agreed upon by almost all investors – commodity investing is essentially a crap shoot. This year’s unprecedented summer drought and escalated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have wreaked havoc on commodity markets, leaving some lucky investors with profitable returns and others with steep losses. Overall, however, commodities have been experiencing a steady uptrend for quite some time, as global demand has continuously inched higher despite the recent economic slowdown. In a recent statement, global head of commodities research at Citigroup Edward Morse warned that the “commodity super-cycle” is over and that “no longer will a pure long-only strategy bring the returns expected in 2002 to 2008, nor will conditions approximating those of the last decade return anytime soon” [for more commodity news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
U.S. to Top Saudi Arabia’s Oil Production
Saudi Arabia has long been known as the world’s most dominant producer of crude oil, as the Middle East is rich with deposits of this fossil fuel. But the growth and rapid development of U.S. crude output has us on pace to dethrone Saudi Arabia in the not-so-distant future. We are currently on pace to average 10.9 million barrels per day for 2012, marking a 7% growth from the prior year and the largest single year jump since 1951 [for more crude oil news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
The World’s 5 Largest Oil Consumers
Crude oil is an addiction that our global economy will not be able to break anytime soon. The fossil fuel is involved in many facets of our everyday lives whether we realize is it or not, and demand for this commodity is only growing. As emerging economies around the world continue to grow and population figures increase, consumption of oil is only going to jump. Below, we take a look at the 5 biggest oil consuming nations in the world to keep an eye on in the coming years [for more crude oil news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].
