Household bills jumped almost £200 in 2016 as fall in sterling and added taxes took their toll January 2, 2017 Household bills leapt around 10 per cent last year, costing Britons almost £200 more than in 2015, according to price comparison site Compare the Market. The combined cost of energy, motor and home insurance rose to £2,223 in 2016, compared to £2,032 the year before. Sharp hikes were registered in motor and household energy premiums, [...]
This French energy giant thinks oil could be at $10 a barrel by 2025 December 21, 2016 Oil prices could fall to as low as $10 per barrel within a decade as a 'tsunami' of threats could undo demand. That prediction comes from Engie SA’s innovation chief, Thierry Lepercq, who says that oil demand will be hit on multiple fronts. He lays out five 'tsunamis': solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, “smart” [...]
Fracking: Reactions to High Court giving Third Energy the go-ahead to frack in Yorkshire December 20, 2016 Anti-fracking campaigners lost a legal bid to halt fracking in Yorkshire today, after the High Court gave a green light to developer Third Energy. The energy firm started the application process for a shale gas fracking permit in 2014, which was granted by North Yorkshire County Council in May this year. Here are some of [...]
Households could start 2017 hundreds of pounds worse off by not switching deals before dozens come to an end December 19, 2016 UK households could be starting 2017 more than £250 worse off when dozens of fixed dual fuel energy tariffs finish at the end of this month, GoCompare Energy has warned. At the end of the month, 35 fixed dual gas and electricity tariffs from some of the country's leading suppliers are due to terminate, 33 of [...]
Driverless cars’ arrival looks set to shake up the automotive, oil and tech sectors December 16, 2016 The energy markets are starting to recover from their multi-year swoon, but there may be a bigger change ahead. It’s starting to look like the rise of self-driving vehicles is not only inevitable, but that it will be here sooner than many would have thought possible. That will likely upend the oil markets in ways [...]
Domestic energy bills may jump as S&P Global Platts data shows wholesale gas and electricity prices soared in November December 12, 2016 Domestic energy bills could be set to rise even further as new data shows wholesale electricity and gas prices sharply rose in November. Outages at French nuclear plants, from which the UK imports power, and shrinking spare capacity margins in the power market drove up day-ahead wholesale electricity prices by 16 per cent on average last month [...]
A short history of investing in gold – and what to expect for 2017 December 8, 2016 Gold is coveted by investors for its rarity. As a precious metal with limited supply, it is seen as a store of value when the real value of other assets, and currencies, can be manipulated. But fundamentally, its high worth is underpinned by its usefulness and attractiveness. Not only is it highly malleable but it [...]
OPEC’s celebrated and unexpected deal has papered over the market’s cracks December 8, 2016 The outcome of the Vienna meeting came as a pleasant surprise to oil markets. A deal had been hammered out and, despite the resistance, OPEC and Non-OPEC producers had agreed to cut a total of 1.8mbpd. Saudi Arabia − suffering from a major dent in its economy− has agreed to the largest cut. OPEC producers [...]
Brent crude oil just broke $55 for the first time since July 2015 December 5, 2016 Brent crude oil shot above $55 per barrel today as oil traders continued to celebrate Opec's agreement, after months of in-fighting, to put a cap on production. Global benchmark Brent crude rose as high as $55.33 per barrel in late morning trading, up more than 1.4 per cent, though it dipped 0.3 per cent to $54.30 by the [...]
Venezuela introduces new higher-value notes in response to the world’s highest rate of inflation December 4, 2016 Venezuela’s central bank has announced that it will introduce a new set of coins and notes as the country with the world’s highest inflation struggles to make its currency usable. Six new bills will enter circulation from 15 December, ranging in value from 500 Venezuelan bolivars up to 20,000 bolivars. This means the highest-value note [...]