Another Incredibly Busy Day -- August 28, 2020

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

WMT: surging. We've talked about this before. 

Refinery update: EIA, August 28, 2020 -- changing demand for petroleum products has led to operational changes at US refineries. Huge amount of information. This will be a stand-alone topic by the end of the day. 

OPEC basket, link here: down a bit; drops below $46. Stands at $45.81. No end in sight for Saudi's woes. Putin -- that would be Russia -- says his country's budget is based on $42 oil. See next data point.

Putin says Russia is doing just fine: link here.

At the beginning of the oil price crisis, caused – among other things – by the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia – Russia’s Finance Ministry said that Moscow could live with $25 oil for years as it had enough resources to cover budget shortfalls amid oil prices at $25-30 a barrel for six to ten years. 

The $42.40 price of Russia’s flagship export grade, Urals, is the price at which Russia’s budget is balanced, the Russian Finance Ministry said, noting that the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the National Wealth Fund, had as of March 1 liquid assets worth US$150.1 billion, or 9.2 percent of Russia’s gross domestic product.

Putin says Russia is doing just fine. Or not. Same link.

The oil price crash, along with the coronavirus-driven global recession, will result in Russia’s economy shrinking this year by 6 percent, or by the most in 11 years, the World Bank said in its latest economic report on Russia last month.

Quick, pop quiz. Background: back in 1973, when total global energy supply was more than half the current supply, coal held a share of 24.5%; oil, 46.2%; and, natural gas, 16%.

Now, fast forward to 2018, the most recent year for IEA data. Match the 2018 percent with the fuel:

• fuel:
• oil
• natural gas
• coal
• share of total global economy:
• 31.6%
• 26.9%
• 22.8%
• The answer will be posted later.

Answer here.