Every country in the world likes to have growth in the economy. You will hear it in every election cycle and ideally the growth helps you or supposed to help you. Then you have to do some homework by asking how is this grow measured? What about if more oil is used?

One of the groups that monitors global oil output is OPEC or the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

In an article by Alex Lawler, Olesya Astakhova, and Vladimir Soldatkin of Reuters, OPEC cut the world wide economic forecast from 3.1% to 3.0% and next year’s expected growth from 3.2% to 3.1%.

The reason for the cuts is tariffs imposed by President Trump and the data it had received. OPEC said, trade concerns would contribute to volatility but kept the forecasts steady.

OPEC’s view is still at the higher end of industry forecasts and it expects the use of oil to continue to rise for years to come. Another agency called the International Energy Agency believes oil use will peak this decade as the world switches to cleaner energy.

One of the countries which has exceeded its quota is Kazakhstan where production rose to 1.852 million barrels per day which is over its quota of 1.468 million barrels per day.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, every week and every month there are statistics coming from agencies both governmental and nongovernmental. Somewhere in the reports you have to determine which do you believe is correct. Logically there should be a cause and effect, for example tariffs on a particular good should mean higher costs which should mean higher prices which should mean a seeking of alternatives. The issue is always when does should meet reality, how much leeway is in the system, what are the reports telling you? When you have an answer, you can then determine whether you should hold or seek alternatives.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.