Global oil demand hits record high in June. PLUS: Threats to global LNG supply and fresh US inflation data.

Global demand for oil has never been higher: Global oil demand reached an all-time high in June and could break records again this month amid rising consumption in China, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report last week. Global demand reached 103 mn barrels per day for the first time ever during the month, putting upwards pressure on prices as the market tightens on the back of reduced supply by oil producers.

Oil prices have been on the rise in recent weeks , with Brent futures up 10% since late July. The crude benchmark last week surpassed USD 88 per barrel for the first time since the end of January.

It’s looking like a record-breaking year, too: The IEA is now projecting global demand to rise to a record 102.2 mn barrels per day this year, up 2.2 mn b/d from 2022.

Impending strikes in Australia threaten global LNG supply: Industrial action at three major LNG terminals in Australia is threatening to deliver a fresh shock to the energy markets, potentially removing as much as 10% of global supply from the market, Bloomberg reports. Workers at Chevron and Woodside Energy Group last week voted to go on strike over pay and conditions and could begin walking out this week.

One analyst isn’t concerned: “This is all part of union negotiations,” Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic told Reuters. “While there will be loud rhetoric threatening large production outages as the unions and LNG companies test their positions, it is unlikely global supply will actually be impacted materially.”

Europe is reckoning with a new world: The strike threat was enough to cause European gas prices to surge almost 40% on Wednesday in a bout of volatility that underscores the continent’s continued vulnerability as it tries to move beyond its old dependency on Russian gas.

US inflation figures unlikely to provoke another Fed hike: US inflation ended 12 consecutive months of declines in July, inching higher to 3.2% y-o-y from 3.0% a month earlier, according to figures released Thursday. This was slightly below the expectations of analysts, who had forecast a larger increase.

What they’re saying: “I’m encouraged by the data. This keeps the Fed on pause for September. The CPI, the jobs report last week and ECI data all suggest that the Fed can pause,” JPMorgan’s chief global strategist, David Kelly, told the Financial Times.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.3% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.73 bn (13% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 21.3% YTD.

In the green: Mopco (+1.6%), CIRA Education (+0.6%) and Elsewedy Electric (+0.5%).

In the red: Credit Agricole (-2.3%), Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling (-2.2%) and Telecom Egypt (-2.0%).