Recorded on August 28, 2023

Episode 92 of the PetroNerds podcast is your roundtrip ticket across the globe, covering the US Fed Chair’s speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on August 25th, 2023, US China tensions and talks, and China’s continued economic backsliding. Trisha Curtis recaps the economic slowdown and economic fears in China, the BRICS meeting in South Africa, China’s well touted BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), Saudi China ties, and what all this means for oil.

She gets into China and US tensions, concerns about China’s economic contagion, the US Secretary of Commerce’s visit to China, hopes for big stimulus in China, Saudi oil cuts and OPEC Plus (aka Saudi) management of oil prices, rice inflation, global food inflation, and problems with food and fuel inflation now versus a year ago.

Trisha talks about all the bad economic “D” words in China including deflation, debt, decline, deterioration, and the importance of cheap labor in China in a weakening economy. She recaps Jermoe Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole covering the two percent inflation target emphasis, restrictive stance, and policy lags of Fed interest rate hikes, and understanding the debate between all of it. Trisha discusses why high government spending matters so much now in a higher interest rate environment, massive US government spending and economic distortions creating serious lags and problems for inflation, PetroNerds take on Bidenomics, sticky low unemployment, crime and theft on businesses, labor unions and strikes, and US housing.

She addresses the looming government shutdown in the US and push up in treasury yields and talks about the International Energy Agency’s (IEA0 split personality when it comes to their monthly oil market report, record oil demand, and all their talk and projection and advocacy on so-called clean tech.

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