U.S. shale giants stung by billions of dollars in hedging losses are spending big bucks to ditch their positions in a risky bet that prices stay high. Companies including Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and EOG Resources Inc. are poised to post historic profits when they report earnings this week. But those windfall earnings would be even higher if it weren’t for massive accounting losses from hedges that protect against falling prices while limiting upside potential. Producers in the aggregate are looking at about $42 billion in oil and gas hedging losses through 2023, according to BloombergNEF calculations of data from last year. While such

Following the dramatic recovery in U.S. steel production last year – a more than 18% year-on-year increase – the market is increasingly losing momentum.  Output has fallen in April after flatlining in the first quarter, bringing the year-to-date change to -1.6% year on year.  While capacity utilization is not exceptionally high – about 80% this year – raw materials’ restrictions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are constraining the U.S. steel output potential, not to mention inflating domestic prices of scrap, which surged over $750 per gross ton last month. Russia is the U.S.’s fifth most important supplier of steel, including semis,