UK Sanctions Lukoil Unit in Fresh Push on Russian Shadow Fleet
Dubai-based Litasco Middle East DMCC was sanctioned 'for its ongoing role in moving large volumes of Russian oil on shadow fleet vessels,' the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement. That refers to the fleet of ships amassed to help Moscow avoid international penalties and keep its supplies moving.
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Goldman keeps Brent oil forecast, but flags downside risks to demand
(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs on Sunday reiterated its oil price forecast with Brent averaging $64 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $56 in 2026, but expects an increasing range of risks to its baseline estimates from recent developments. "Increasing pressure on Russia and Iran sanctioned oil supply poses an upside risk to our price forecast, especially given the faster-than-expected normalization in spare capacity," the investment bank said in an August 3 note. However, Goldman flagged a downside risk to its 800,000 barrels per day average annual demand growth forecast in 2025-2026 due to the increase in U.S. tariff rates, threats of additional secondary tariffs and weak U.S. economic activity data. The weaker data "suggests that the U.S. economy is now growing at a below-potential pace", which the bank's economists' feel has increased the chance of a recession in the next 12 months, the note said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies such as Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share. "While OPEC+ policy remains flexible, we assume OPEC+ will keep its production quota unchanged after September as we expect the pace of builds in OECD commercial stocks to accelerate and seasonal demand tailwinds to fade away," Goldman said. Brent crude futures were trading at $69.27 a barrel at 0115 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.96 a barrel. [O/R] "We continue to see limited risk of large disruptions in Russia supply given the large volumes of Russian imports, the possibility for deepening price discounts to maintain demand, and continuing reported eagerness of the key buyers - China and India," analysts at Goldman Sachs said. Indian state refiners have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed this month and U.S. President Donald Trump warned countries not to purchase oil from Moscow, industry sources said.
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Barclays follows HSBC in ditching net zero banks club
Barclays has become the second London-based bank to exit the net zero banks club as the financial services industry continues to row back on climate policies. The FTSE 100 giant – which recorded a £1bn profit jump for the second quarter – said on Friday the UN-convened Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) 'no longer has the membership to support our transition'. This follows Europe's biggest lender HSBC exiting the alliance last month and an exodus of Wall Street's banking giants. Members had faced pressure following the return of President Donald Trump to the White House as the new US administration culled environment, social and governance (ESG) policies along with diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) endeavours. Barclays said it retained its ambition to become a net zero bank by 2050 as well as its goal to mobilise $1tn in sustainable and transition finance by 2030. The bank, along with Natwest, removed climate targets from executive bonuses earlier this year, which was seen as part of the wider reform into pro-environmental measures that companies had baked into their processes A NZBA spokespersin said: 'NZBA remains focused on delivering on the future vision overwhelmingly endorsed by member banks a few months ago. 'It is supporting its members to lead on climate by addressing the barriers preventing their clients from investing in the net-zero transition. As the largest global initiative specifically focused on supporting climate mitigation action by banks, NZBA is uniquely positioned to provide the practical support banks need to grasp the opportunities and manage the risks of the move to net zero.' Trump effect spreads globally reported earlier this year over half of UK senior financial professionals believe their leadership will place less focus on ESG policies in the coming years. Trump's war on DEI and ESG has sent ripple effects through the financial services industry. One of the President's first executive orders upon returning to governance included the removal of the US from the Paris climate agreement Regulators in the London have also softened approaches in the realm. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said in March after a 'broad range' of feedback and 'expected legislative developments' from the government, they would abort their push to regulate DEI. This included shelving plans to 'name and shame' companies facing investigations, which came under fire from the Square Mile, as well as Westminster. Aside from the UK and US, five of Canada's six largest banks, including BMO, TD, CIBC, Scotiabank and National Bank, announced they would leave the climate group at the beginning of this year. Australia's Macquarie and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui have also announced exits this year. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
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Goldman keeps Brent oil forecast, but flags downside risks to demand
(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs on Sunday reiterated its oil price forecast with Brent averaging $64 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $56 in 2026, but expects an increasing range of risks to its baseline estimates from recent developments. "Increasing pressure on Russia and Iran sanctioned oil supply poses an upside risk to our price forecast, especially given the faster-than-expected normalization in spare capacity," the investment bank said in an August 3 note. However, Goldman flagged a downside risk to its 800,000 barrels per day average annual demand growth forecast in 2025-2026 due to the increase in U.S. tariff rates, threats of additional secondary tariffs and weak U.S. economic activity data. The weaker data "suggests that the U.S. economy is now growing at a below-potential pace", which the bank's economists' feel has increased the chance of a recession in the next 12 months, the note said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies such as Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share. "While OPEC+ policy remains flexible, we assume OPEC+ will keep its production quota unchanged after September as we expect the pace of builds in OECD commercial stocks to accelerate and seasonal demand tailwinds to fade away," Goldman said. Brent crude futures were trading at $69.27 a barrel at 0115 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.96 a barrel. [O/R] "We continue to see limited risk of large disruptions in Russia supply given the large volumes of Russian imports, the possibility for deepening price discounts to maintain demand, and continuing reported eagerness of the key buyers - China and India," analysts at Goldman Sachs said. Indian state refiners have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed this month and U.S. President Donald Trump warned countries not to purchase oil from Moscow, industry sources said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
