The cold weather in the US boosts diesel prices, but masks economic challenges
Since the beginning of the year, the cold temperatures in the Northeast U.S. have led to an increase in demand for heating oil. This has helped to offset the slowdown in recent years due to reduced industrial activity. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), according to its data, reported that the U.S. inventory of distillate fuels - including diesel and heating oil - fell this month to its lowest seasonal level in 2014. The sharp increase in heating oil consumption is reflected by the decline. According to EIA, the four-week average for distillates products supplied is a proxy measure of demand.
India to Open Coal to Commercial Mining Firms
India expects to hold auctions for private firms to mine and sell coal in the near future, the country's coal and power minister Piyush Goyal said but first wants to deal with mines that are directly linked to plants that use the fuel. To boost output and cut imports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed an executive decree in December to open up India's nationalised coal industry. Bids have been invited from firms that use coal for their own power, steel or cement plants. "Once my actual user requirements are broadly met, I'm hoping to start opening up to private miners," Goyal told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
