The Day at a Glance | January 4 2021

The Top

· OPEC+ will have a meeting to decide whether or not to carry out crude oil production cuts in February.

· The Asian industrial sector accelerates its recovery.

Economic environment

Members of the OPEC+ will have a meeting today to decide on the continuation of crude oil production cuts at a worldwide level. According to recent reports, most of the organization`s members are against increasing production in February after it was increased by 500 thousand daily barrels in December. Most member countries are concerned about the acceleration of COVID-19 cases and consider maintaining the 7.2 million daily barrels production cut. The pandemic still represents a risk to the recovery in demand for this energy resource at the start of 2021, but the OPEC+ has agreed to increase production in up to 2 million daily barrels this year once the distribution of vaccines has begun and demand has started to recover. This has helped maintain international oil prices steady, even though the crude oil market will continue to be affected by the pandemic in the first months of 2021.

Manufacturing PMIs in the Asian region show an acceleration in activity during December. The most recent data gathered from surveys made to manufacturing companies in Asia showed an accelerated recovery in the region`s industry as Japanese manufacturing activities reached their highest levels since April 2019 and figures in Taiwan reached decade-long record numbers. The recovery is boosted by the demand for the region`s exports and the solid recovery seen in China; even though it has started to show signs of moderation. South Korea, India, Thailand and Vietnam also recorded expansion in manufacturing activities in December, even despite new COVID-19 outbreaks. The resilience seen in the region`s activities are positive signs of an expected worldwide recovery in 2021. In Europe, the industrial sector in Germany is leading the recovery because of its strong link to the Chinese economy.