With the Middle East conflict now entering its second month, high energy prices have produced knock-on effects across global financial markets. The US and European breakeven curves surged as markets repriced inflation expectations and the likelihood of central-bank rate cuts.
In this note, Jim Wright, Fund Manager of the Premier Miton Global Infrastructure Income Fund, examines the reported damage to Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG terminal - a facility responsible for around 20% of global imported LNG - and the shockwaves it has sent through energy markets. He also highlights how rapidly expanding LNG capacity in the US and Canada positions North America to play an increasingly important role in supporting global supply in the years ahead.
Investors over the past few years have had to grapple with elevated geopolitical challenges and uncertainty both over the direction and level of interest rates across the globe. While equity markets have attained record highs, albeit buffeted by the occasional bouts of volatility the same cannot be said for fixed income markets.