Good morning, friends. It’s a busy morning with more security news on the Red Sea front and a smattering of M&A, disputes and earnings updates emerging from all corners of the region.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Spotlight on Amazon’s fourth quarter earnings: Investors are watching closely as e-commerce giantAmazon is expected to boost its bottomline for 2023’s fourth quarter 34.41% y-o-y to USD 29.3 bn on the back of new revenues from its Buy with Prime service, Reuters reports, citing LSEG forecasts. The subscription allows merchants to extend premium delivery to Amazon’s existing Prime subscribers, the newswire said. Amazon collects a 3% service fee per Buy With Prime order, plus added payments for fulfillment and payments processing. The service leverages pre-existing infrastructure to handle orders placed off the Amazon platform. The company is set to report its 4Q 2023 earnings today, the newswire said.

MARKET WATCH-

#1-OPEC’s January oil output saw the largest monthly drop since July, falling some 410 k barrels per day (bpd) to 26.3 mn bpd, Reuters reports. The fall comes on the back of wider production cuts organized by OPEC+, and turmoil in Libya which saw one of the country’s largest oilfields halt output, the newswire said.

#2-India is switching out Russian crude for Iraqi supplies with imports hitting a milestone of 1.3 mn bpd of Iraqi crude in January, Splash reported citing data from global trade intelligence platform Kpler. The shift saw Iraq overtake Russia as the country’s top supplier of crude, as US sanctions and Red Sea disruptions decrease the competitiveness of Russian products. Moreover, 14 Russian tankers bound for India have not been able to ship due a dispute in payments, with India refusing to pay in USD out of a concern that they will fall under US sanctions, and Russia no longer accepting payments in INR, the report said.

REMEMBER- Last week saw the US roll out its first Russian price-cap related sanctions for 2024, hitting out at UAE-based shipowner Hennesea Holdings for violating price caps on Russian oil while employing US-based services.

#3-Oil prices are not expected to rise in 2024 amid record oil production in the West and sluggish economic growth, Reuters reports, citing a poll of 38 analysts. The forecast for Brent crude’s average in 2024 fell to USD 81.44. Geopolitical issues, including rising tension in the Red Sea, have increased Brent prices by USD 7% in 2024. Most experts, however, expect geopolitical tensions to have minimal impact on oil prices. The International Energy Agency predicts a boost in global oil supply in 2024, driven by the US, Brazil, Guyana, and Canada.

#4-Baltic dry bulk index dropped 4.3% to 1397 points on Tuesday, its sharpest decline in more than 2 weeks, as rates fell across the board, Reuters reports. The Capesize subindex dropped 7.4% to 1824 points, while panamax declined 3% to 1636 points and supramax fell 4 points to 1061 points, the newswire said.

DATA POINT-

Morocco’s Tanger Med Port saw an increase of 13.4% y-o-y in the number of containers processed in 2023, handling 8.6 mn 20-foot containers, which is 95% of its nominal capacity, according to a Port Authority report (pdf). The volume of trucks handled by the port grew by 4.1% to 477k, and the number of cars processed by the port’s two car terminals rose by 21% to 578k. Industrial product traffic rose by 14.3%. However, the movement of agricultural products saw a 7.7% dip.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the Middle East Bunkering Convention from Monday, 5 February through to Wednesday, 7 February in Dubai. The event will bring together industry experts to tap into issues affecting the global marine fuel sector, including supply chains, decarbonization, and new fuels.

Holland will host theCargo Facts EMEA from Monday, 5 February through to Wednesday, 7 February in Amsterdam. The event will bring together air freight industry leaders from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to discuss the latest trends, forecasts, and technological innovations.

The UAE will host Sustainable Aviation Futures MENA from Monday, 12 February through to Wednesday, 14 February in Dubai. The event will see 80 expert speakers and upwards of 200 high level attendants and will handle topics pertaining to regulation, financing, and investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in MENA.

The UAE will host the Future Warehouse & Logistics Conference from Monday, 12 February to Wednesday, 14 February in Dubai. The event will handle means for supply chain leaders to boost resilience and overcome challenges, with discussions on disruptions, sustainability, Internet of Things (IoT), automation, workplace management and other topics.

The UAE will host the TradeTech Forum on Tuesday, 27 February in Abu Dhabi. The forum will see some 180 trade leaders and experts discuss the technologically advanced trade environment and a showcase of trade tech solutions.

The UAE will host The Logistics Middle East Award on Wednesday, 6 March in Dubai. The awards ceremony brings together industry experts to celebrate the sector’s biggest accomplishments over the previous 12 months.The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, 19 January.

KSA will host a special World Economic Forum event from Sunday, 28 April through to Monday, 29 April in Riyadh. The event will focus on global collaboration and energy.

The UAE will host The Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit from Monday, 20 May to Wednesday, 22 May in Abu Dhabi. The event will see industry leaders come together to discuss sustainable mobility and tapping into groundbreaking advancements in electric vehicles while engaging with key decision-makers.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

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