The energy industry ends the first half of 2023 with a pullback in oil prices below $80/barrel, refueled by recession fears as credit conditions in the United States and many other economies tighten, and uncertainty over the pace of demand recovery in China.

Midway through 2023’s second quarter, the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell is set to raise the prime interest rate another 25 to 50 basis points in his relentless pursuit of throttling the rate of inflation.

The impact of the Powell initiatives on the PVF industry will begin to be felt as we see the second quarter unfold.

March marks the end of the first quarter of calendar year 2023. The Federal Reserve anticipates another two quarter-point interest rate increases in the second quarter following the quarter-point in February: one on March 22 and one at its meeting on May 3.

By the time this column is published, we will be halfway through the first quarter of 2023, giving us an indication of how the year will unfold for the PVF industry.

In 2023, ongoing supply growth coupled with weaker demand growth will ease tight markets and see some relief in the price pressures that forced energy prices higher.

December is the end of a turbulent year for the PVF sector of our economy: supply-chain constraints, rising costs of material, labor shortages, escalating energy costs, international conflicts and a political environment hostile to fossil-fuel energy sources.

We are midway through the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2022. The months of November and December are not only impacted by the holidays, limiting the number of shipping days — we all will be impacted by rising fuel costs.

Oil and gas prices continue to stay high because of low inventory, low production and high demand. This summer, the United States consumed larger amounts of natural gas to meet electricity demand. Read on to discover what else is happening in the energy sector.