This morning in metals news: the U.S. consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2020; U.S. housing starts jumped in May; and the copper price has been on the decline since peaking last month.

Each month, MetalMiner hosts a webinar on a specific metals topic. Explore the upcoming webinars and sign up for each on the MetalMiner Events page.

US hits renewable energy consumption record

ipopba/Adobe Stock

The U.S. consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2020, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported.

“In 2020, consumption of renewable energy in the United States grew for the fifth year in a row, reaching a record high of 11.6 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), or 12% of total U.S. energy consumption,” the EIA said. “Renewable energy was the only source of U.S. energy consumption that increased in 2020 from 2019; fossil fuel and nuclear consumption declined.”

Housing starts gain in May

Meanwhile, U.S. housing starts picked up in May from the previous month, the Census Bureau reported.

(more…)

The perennially bullish Goldman Sachs is not alone in predicting a higher oil price.

A recent report by the Boston Consulting Group asks the question, “are we on the cusp of a new supercycle?”

In BCG’s opinion? We are.

You want more MetalMiner on your terms. Sign up for weekly email updates here.

Bullish on the oil price

SodelVladyslav/Adobe Stock

Hedge funds on the whole agree.

By a factor of 6-to-1, bullish long petroleum positions outnumbered bearish short ones on the NYMEX and ICE WTI contracts, according to Reuters.

Net long positions climbed to 919 million barrels, the highest since January 2020, before the pandemic took hold, and prior to that October 2018, before the trade war between the United States and China intensified, the post reports. Demand exceeds supply, which is constrained by OPEC discipline and a subdued US shale market.

In previous oil price rises, shale production has responded rapidly, lifting drilling within months and output inside of a year. However, this time around, those producers that survived the last crunch have chosen to repair their balance sheets rather than borrow and burrow.

(more…)