CDTY – Business News Updates https://newsdaily.business Tue, 24 Jan 2023 10:29:12 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://newsdaily.business/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-handshake-hand-gesture-dollar-money-finance-coin_96px-32x32.png CDTY - Business News Updates https://newsdaily.business 32 32 U.S. energy chief says Biden would veto House Republican bill on oil reserve https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/24/u-s-energy-chief-says-biden-would-veto-house-republican-bill-on-oil-reserve/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/24/u-s-energy-chief-says-biden-would-veto-house-republican-bill-on-oil-reserve/#respond Tue, 24 Jan 2023 10:29:12 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/24/u-s-energy-chief-says-biden-would-veto-house-republican-bill-on-oil-reserve/ WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will veto a bill by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) if it passes Congress, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday. In a letter last week, Granholm warned Republicans that limiting the Democratic president’s authority to tap the nation’s oil reserves […]]]>


WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will veto a bill by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) if it passes Congress, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday.

In a letter last week, Granholm warned Republicans that limiting the Democratic president’s authority to tap the nation’s oil reserves would undermine national security, cause crude oil shortages, and raise gasoline prices.

“He will not allow the American people to suffer because of the backwards agenda that House Republicans are advancing” Granholm, speaking to reporters at a White House briefing, said of Biden.

The bill, called HR21, would prohibit the energy secretary from tapping the SPR without producing a plan to increase oil and gas leasing on federal lands – unless the release is for a severe oil supply emergency.

The House, which Republicans control by a narrow margin, is expected to vote on the bill as soon as this week. The legislation would face an uphill battle in the Senate, controlled by Democrats.

Republican lawmakers say they are concerned that last year’s releases from the SPR, the biggest amount of crude oil from any president, have deteriorated the ability to store, pipe and pump oil at the SPR, which holds crude across series of underground natural caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts.

“We would like to curtail use of the SPR for only those situations where there’s a severe supply interruption,” a Republican aide to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce told reporters.

Biden tapped the SPR repeatedly last year in response to oil prices that jumped due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as travel increased while the COVID-19 pandemic eased.

Biden announced last March a record 180 million-barrel sale over six months that drove the reserve’s level to its lowest since late 1983.

The Energy Department this month rejected the first batch of bids from oil companies to resupply a small amount of crude to the SPR.

Despite that rejection, Granholm said she is confident the United States will be able to refill the SPR and save taxpayers money by buying oil at a lower price than the government originally purchased the supplies.

“The offers that we received did not meet specification or price,” the secretary said. She said the administration would soon announce how it will buy back some initial replenishment oil for the reserve.

Reporting by Steve Holland, Nandita Bose and Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:U.S. energy chief says Biden would veto House Republican bill on oil reserve

2023-01-23 23:49:00

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Morning Bid: It’s all about the weather https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/24/morning-bid-its-all-about-the-weather/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/24/morning-bid-its-all-about-the-weather/#respond Tue, 24 Jan 2023 05:43:10 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/24/morning-bid-its-all-about-the-weather/ A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. It’s been another quiet session in Asia with many markets still on holiday. Japan was open and the BOJ’s dogged defence of Yield Curve Control seems to be working with 10-year yields holding around 0.39% and away from the 0.5% ceiling. […]]]>


A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole.

It’s been another quiet session in Asia with many markets still on holiday. Japan was open and the BOJ’s dogged defence of Yield Curve Control seems to be working with 10-year yields holding around 0.39% and away from the 0.5% ceiling.

Notably, the BOJ’s new 1 trillion yen ($7.7 billion) offer of five-year funds on Monday drew bids for three times as much, suggesting this could prove a useful method of injecting added liquidity into the market. Essentially banks could borrow at an average 0.145% fixed for five years to invest in JGBs – what could go wrong?

With spreads widening against the yen, the USD has gained 1.7% in the past two sessions and stands around 130.30, while the AUD is up over 3% as an old favourite of the carry trade.

The euro hasn’t been able to regain its $1.0927 top but did find support at $1.0850. Bulls are hoping the flash S&P global surveys on Tuesday will confirm the EU economy is currently faring better than the United States, in a reversal of fortunes.

The EU manufacturing PMI is seen edging up to 48.5 in early January from 47.8, and services to 50.2 from 49.8, reflecting in part sharply lower gas prices and the relatively warm winter so far.

JPMorgan is forecasting NWE gas storage will be 56% full at the end of winter, nearly 30%-points higher than the five-year average and a drag on prices.

The U.S. manufacturing PMI is forecast to dip to 46.0 from 46.2, with services at 45.0 from 44.7. Ironically, the weather in the States in recent weeks has been a lot worse than in Europe, which was not how this story was supposed to pan out.

Elsewhere, U.S. stock futures have been becalmed in Asia after rallying overnight. Nasdaq futures gained 2% led by semiconductor and other tech stocks, with some suggesting the recent run of job layoffs in the sector represents a new focus on cutting costs and lifting profits.

Microsoft reports after the bell with the focus on how its cloud and enterprise units are doing, though its reported $10 billion investment in OpenAI is likely to get more column inches in the media. Others reporting include Johnson & Johnson, Verizon and Texas Instruments.

Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday:

– ECB head Lagarde speaks, but a video message at a roundtable on “The euro as a guarantee of resilience” doesn’t sound exactly market moving.

($1 = 130.2100 yen)

Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Jacqueline Wong

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:Morning Bid: It’s all about the weather

2023-01-24 05:32:00

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China reopening spurs record inflows into emerging market funds -BofA https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/20/china-reopening-spurs-record-inflows-into-emerging-market-funds-bofa/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/20/china-reopening-spurs-record-inflows-into-emerging-market-funds-bofa/#respond Fri, 20 Jan 2023 23:29:16 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/20/china-reopening-spurs-record-inflows-into-emerging-market-funds-bofa/ LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Investors poured a record $12.7 billion into emerging-market debt and equity funds in the week to Wednesday, in response to China’s easing of its COVID-19 restrictions on activity, data on Friday from BofA Global Research showed. The sudden shift in Chinese policy has boosted many different asset classes, from commodities […]]]>


LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Investors poured a record $12.7 billion into emerging-market debt and equity funds in the week to Wednesday, in response to China’s easing of its COVID-19 restrictions on activity, data on Friday from BofA Global Research showed.

The sudden shift in Chinese policy has boosted many different asset classes, from commodities and mining stocks to currencies and equity markets in popular tourist destinations.

Hong Kong’s share benchmark, the Hang Seng Index (.HSI) closed on Friday at an over six-month high ahead of the Lunar New Year Holiday. Chinese onshore blue chips (.CSI300) went into the break at a five-month peak.

The BofA data also showed weekly flows of $14.4 billion into bond funds, $7.5 billion into equities, $0.6 billion into cash and $0.6 billion from gold.

European equities witnessed their first weekly inflow in almost a year. BofA said there were $0.2 billion of inflows to European stock funds, the first inflows in 49 weeks.

Europe has benefited both from China’s reopening as well as recent declines in gas prices.

BofA’s “Bull & Bear indicator” is at 3.5, a 10-month high driven by the inflows into emerging markets.

Nonetheless, the note also says that markets are still facing several major uncertainties despite the recent optimism, as central banks near the end of their aggressive interest rate hikes, as well as the possibility of an economic “hard landing” and political tension in the United States around its debt ceiling.

“We are in the trickiest part of the investment cycle: tightening ending but easing far from beginning, inflation over but recession not yet begun, China reopen vs US recession…little wonder Wall St narratives (are) changing quicker than a TikTok video,” it said.

Reporting by Alun John, editing by Amanda Cooper and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:China reopening spurs record inflows into emerging market funds -BofA

2023-01-20 22:24:00

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Stocks fall, yields up; economic slowdown worries mount https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/19/stocks-fall-yields-up-economic-slowdown-worries-mount/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/19/stocks-fall-yields-up-economic-slowdown-worries-mount/#respond Thu, 19 Jan 2023 23:22:59 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/19/stocks-fall-yields-up-economic-slowdown-worries-mount/ Wall Street stocks end down Dollar down vs yen Oil prices up NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) – World stocks fell on Thursday and U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields bounced up off of four-month lows, as worries mounted that an aggressive stance by central banks could push the global economy into a slowdown. Wall Street […]]]>


  • Wall Street stocks end down
  • Dollar down vs yen
  • Oil prices up

NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) – World stocks fell on Thursday and U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields bounced up off of four-month lows, as worries mounted that an aggressive stance by central banks could push the global economy into a slowdown.

Wall Street stocks ended lower on recession worries, while European shares recorded their biggest daily selloff of the year and a global stock index posted a third straight day of declines.

Investors are worried the U.S. Federal Reserve may “overhike into a slowing environment,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.

“This week, sentiment has become a little bit more risk off,” he said. “Recession fears have started to become front and center.”

A U.S. report showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to another month of solid job growth and continued labor market tightness.

The Fed will probably need to raise interest rates to “just above” 5% and hold them there for a period, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said. Other Fed officials have also suggested the need for a hawkish stance to fight inflation.

Earlier, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde pushed up euro zone bond yields slightly by telling the World Economic Forum’s Davos gathering the bank would stay the course with rate hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 252.4 points, or 0.76%, to 33,044.56, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 30.01 points, or 0.76%, to 3,898.85 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 104.74 points, or 0.96%, to 10,852.27.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 1.55% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.94%.

Investors digested more quarterly earnings reports. Procter & Gamble (PG.N) raised its full-year sales forecast and said it plans to continue raising prices.

Also, Netflix (NFLX.O) shares rose more than 6% in after-hours trading. Co-founder Reed Hastings announced he will step down as chief executive, while the company also released quarterly results.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged off four-month lows as they neared a key technical level and the recent bond rally appeared overdone in the near term.

The 10-year yields were last at 3.397%, after earlier dropping to 3.321%, the lowest since Sept. 13. The 200-day moving average was at 3.292%. The yields have fallen from 3.905% at year-end, and from a 15-year high of 4.338% on Oct. 21.

In the currency markets, the dollar fell 0.4% in afternoon trading against the yen to 128.455 yen , a day after the Bank of Japan’s decision to stand pat on its ultra-loose monetary policy.

In other data, overall U.S. housing starts declined 1.4% to a rate of 1.382 million units last month. Building permits dropped 1.6% to a rate of 1.330 million units.

The U.S. government hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit, with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in a standoff with President Joe Biden’s Democrats on lifting the ceiling. Failure to resolve the issue could lead to a fiscal crisis in a few months.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed congressional leaders that her department had begun using extraordinary cash management measures that could stave off default until June 5.

World stocks strong start to 2023

In the energy market, oil prices rose 1%, extending a recent rally amid rising Chinese demand.

Brent crude futures gained $1.18, or 1.4%, to settle at $86.16 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 85 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $80.33 per barrel. Those were the highest closing levels for both contracts since Dec. 1.

Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Marc Jones in London; editing by John Stonestreet, Alex Richardson and David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:Stocks fall, yields up; economic slowdown worries mount

2023-01-19 22:36:00

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Oil prices mixed on Chinese data and demand growth hopes https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/17/oil-prices-mixed-on-chinese-data-and-demand-growth-hopes/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/17/oil-prices-mixed-on-chinese-data-and-demand-growth-hopes/#respond Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:09:46 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/17/oil-prices-mixed-on-chinese-data-and-demand-growth-hopes/ LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday after China posted its second-weakest annual economic growth in nearly half a century, though its recent shift in COVID-19 policy underpinned hopes of a recovery in fuel demand this year. Brent crude futures rose 69 cents, or 0.8%, to $85.15 a barrel by 0913 […]]]>


LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday after China posted its second-weakest annual economic growth in nearly half a century, though its recent shift in COVID-19 policy underpinned hopes of a recovery in fuel demand this year.

Brent crude futures rose 69 cents, or 0.8%, to $85.15 a barrel by 0913 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $79.79, heading for the first daily loss since Jan. 4 after touching its highest since Jan. 3.

There was no settlement on Monday because of the U.S. public holiday for Martin Luther King Day.

China’s gross domestic product expanded 3% in 2022, missing the official target of “around 5.5%” and marking the second-worst performance since 1976, hit by COVID curbs and a property market slump.

The economic data still beat analysts’ earlier forecasts after Beijing’s rolling back of its zero-COVID policy in December bolstered consumption.

Data released on Tuesday showed China’s oil refinery output in 2022 had fallen 3.4% from a year earlier for its first annual decline since 2001, though daily December oil throughput rose to the second-highest level of 2022.

“The country’s crude oil imports were up 4% in December and a considerable demand boost for transportation fuel … is anticipated when the Lunar New Year begins on Sunday,” said PVM analyst Tamas Varga.

He added that reports from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Tuesday and the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday will shed more light on the strength of oil demand while recession fears loom.

In a survey released at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, two thirds of private and public sector economists polled expected a global recession this year, with about 18% considering it “extremely likely”.

A survey of chief executives’ views by PwC was the gloomiest since the poll was launched a decade ago.

A slight strengthening of the dollar from seven-month lows also pressured oil prices, making dollar-priced oil more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

Reporting by Shadia Nasralla
Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Muyu Xu in Singapore
Editing by David Goodman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Shadia Nasralla

Thomson Reuters

Writes about the intersection of corporate oil and climate policy. Has reported on politics, economics, migration, nuclear diplomacy and business from Cairo, Vienna and elsewhere.



Read More:Oil prices mixed on Chinese data and demand growth hopes

2023-01-17 10:20:00

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Shares rise, yen climbs as BOJ battles bond bears https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/16/shares-rise-yen-climbs-as-boj-battles-bond-bears/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/16/shares-rise-yen-climbs-as-boj-battles-bond-bears/#respond Mon, 16 Jan 2023 11:27:50 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/16/shares-rise-yen-climbs-as-boj-battles-bond-bears/ BOJ under intense pressure as it defends yield policy Yen hits 7-mth high, yuan climbs as dollar eases More earnings ahead, many central bank speakers Britain’s FTSE flirts with record high SYDNEY/LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Shares firmed on Monday as optimism over corporate earnings and China’s reopening offset concerns the Bank of Japan (BOJ) […]]]>


  • BOJ under intense pressure as it defends yield policy
  • Yen hits 7-mth high, yuan climbs as dollar eases
  • More earnings ahead, many central bank speakers
  • Britain’s FTSE flirts with record high

SYDNEY/LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Shares firmed on Monday as optimism over corporate earnings and China’s reopening offset concerns the Bank of Japan (BOJ) might temper its super-sized stimulus policy at a pivotal meeting this week, while a holiday in U.S. markets made for thin trading.

The yen climbed to its highest since May after rumours swirled the BOJ might hold an emergency meeting on Monday as it struggles to defend its new yield ceiling in the face of massive selling. read more

That had local markets in an anxious mood, and Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) slipped 1.3% to a two-week low.

Yet MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) added 0.27%, with hopes for a speedy Chinese reopening giving it a gain of 4.2% last week.

And European shares opened positively with the STOXX 600 (.STOXX) up 0.1% by 0850 GMT driven by healthcare stocks (.SXDP) which gained 0.6%.

Britain’s benchmark FTSE index (.FTSE) edged close to the record high of 7903.50 it hit in 2018, with banks and life insurance companies among the top gainers.

Earnings season gathers steam this week with Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Netflix (NFLX.O) among those reporting.

World leaders, policy makers and top corporate chiefs will be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, and there are a host of central bankers speaking, including no fewer than nine members of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The BOJ’s official two-day meeting ends on Wednesday and speculation is rife it will make changes to its yield curve control (YCC) policy given the market has pushed 10-year yields above its new ceiling of 0.5%. read more

The BOJ bought almost 5 trillion yen ($39.12 billion) of bonds on Friday in its largest daily operation on record, yet 10-year yields still ended the session up at 0.51%.

Early on Monday, the bank offered to buy another 1.3 trillion yen of JGBs, but the yield stuck at 0.51%.

“There is still some possibility that market pressure will force the BOJ to further adjust or exit the YCC,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note. “We can’t ignore this possibility, but at this stage we do not consider it a main scenario.”

“Although domestic demand has started to recover and inflation continues to rise, the economy is not heating up to the extent that a sharp rise in interest rates and potential risk of large yen appreciation can be tolerated,” they added.

THE YEN UN-ANCHORED

The BOJ’s uber-easy policy has acted as a sort of anchor for yields globally, while dragging down the yen. Were it to abandon the policy, it would put upward pressure on yields across developed markets and most likely see the yen surge.

The dollar has been undermined by falling U.S. bond yields as investors wager the Federal Reserve can be less aggressive in raising rates given inflation has clearly turned the corner.

The Japanese yen rose to a more than seven-month peak against the dollar on Monday, as market sentiment was dominated by expectations that the BOJ would make further tweaks to, or fully abandon, its yield control policy.

The yen jumped roughly 0.5% to a high of 127.215 per dollar, before easing to 128.6 by 0915 GMT.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of major currencies, recovered from a 7-month low touched earlier in the session to be at 102.6 .

Futures now imply almost no chance the Fed will raise rates by half a point in February, with a quarter-point move seen as a 94% probability.

Yields on 10-year Treasuries are down at 3.498%, having fallen 6 basis points last week, close to its December trough, and major chart target of 3.402%.

Alan Ruskin, global head of G10 FX Strategy at Deutsche Securities, said the loosening of global supply bottlenecks in recent months was proving to be a disinflationary shock, which increases the chance of a soft landing for the U.S. economy.

“The lower inflation itself encourages a soft landing through real wage gains, by allowing the Fed to more readily pause and encouraging a better behaved bond market, with favourable spillovers to financial conditions,” Ruskin said.

“A soft landing also reduces the tail risk of much higher U.S. rates, and this reduced risk premia helps global risk appetite,” Ruskin added.

Commodities prices which had rallied last week, dipped on Monday.

The drop in yields and the dollar had benefited the gold price, which jumped 2.9% last week, but the precious metal slipped 0.4% to $1,911 an ounce in early trading on Monday .

Oil prices slid as a rise in COVID cases clouded the prospects for a surge in demand as China reopens its economy.

Brent crude fell 73 cents, or 0.83%, to $84.57 a barrel by 0857 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 61 cents, or 0.6%, at $79.24 a barrel.

($1 = 127.8000 yen)

Reporting by Wayne Cole and Lawrence White;
Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:Shares rise, yen climbs as BOJ battles bond bears

2023-01-16 09:49:00

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Oil gains 2% on optimism over global economy, despite surprise U.S. crude build https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/11/oil-gains-2-on-optimism-over-global-economy-despite-surprise-u-s-crude-build/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/11/oil-gains-2-on-optimism-over-global-economy-despite-surprise-u-s-crude-build/#respond Wed, 11 Jan 2023 16:45:41 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/11/oil-gains-2-on-optimism-over-global-economy-despite-surprise-u-s-crude-build/ NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose 2% to a one-week high on Wednesday as hopes for an improved global economic outlook and concern over the impact of sanctions on Russian crude output outweighed a massive surprise build in U.S. crude stocks. Brent futures rose $1.67, or 2.1%, to $81.77 a barrel by […]]]>


NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose 2% to a one-week high on Wednesday as hopes for an improved global economic outlook and concern over the impact of sanctions on Russian crude output outweighed a massive surprise build in U.S. crude stocks.

Brent futures rose $1.67, or 2.1%, to $81.77 a barrel by 11:11 a.m. EST (1611 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose $1.54, or 2.1%, to $76.66.

That puts both benchmarks on track to close the day at their highest since Jan. 3 with WTI up for a fifth day in a row for the first time since October 2022 and Brent up for a third day in a row for the first time since December 2022.

Global equities were up slightly on Wednesday on hopes that U.S. inflation and earnings figures due on Thursday point to a resilient economy and slower pace of interest rate hikes.

If inflation comes in below expectations, that would drive the dollar lower, analysts said, which could boost oil demand because it makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

Much of the market’s optimism was pinned on top oil importer China’s reopening of its economy after the end of strict COVID-19 curbs.

“China could bounce back strongly, especially if backed by monetary and fiscal stimulus. Central banks may discover they have room to cut rates if inflation falls substantially and economies are in recession,” said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA in London.

China’s overall passenger vehicle sales are estimated to rise 5% in 2023, Volkswagen AG’s China President Ralf Brandstaetter told Chinese media.

China’s industrial output is expected to have grown 3.6% in 2022 from the previous year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said, despite production and logistics disruptions from COVID-19 curbs.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories jumped by 19.0 million barrels last week, its biggest weekly gain since rising by a record 21.6 million barrels in Feb 2021.

That compares with the 2.2 million-barrel decline in crude stocks analysts forecast in a Reuters poll but is more in line with industry data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), showing a 14.9 million-barrel build. ,

“The crude oil number implies that the refineries are not up and running at all in this report. We’re well behind last year with the freeze-in levels. That is the problem,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.

An international price cap imposed on sales of Russian crude took effect on Dec. 5 and more curbs aimed at products sales are set to come into force next month.

Russian oil producers have had no difficulties in securing export deals despite Western sanctions and price caps, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a televised online government meeting. read more

Additional reporting by Noah Browning in London, Sonali Paul in Melbourne, Trixie Yap in Singapore and Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Goodman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Scott Disavino

Thomson Reuters

Covers the North American power and natural gas markets.



Read More:Oil gains 2% on optimism over global economy, despite surprise U.S. crude build

2023-01-11 16:26:00

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In 2023, China’s appetite for LNG set to rise amid tepid demand across Asia https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/05/in-2023-chinas-appetite-for-lng-set-to-rise-amid-tepid-demand-across-asia/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/05/in-2023-chinas-appetite-for-lng-set-to-rise-amid-tepid-demand-across-asia/#respond Thu, 05 Jan 2023 15:06:06 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/05/in-2023-chinas-appetite-for-lng-set-to-rise-amid-tepid-demand-across-asia/ China’s 2023 LNG demand seen rising 9-14% – analysts Nuclear power to dampen Japan, South Korea LNG demand Limited LNG supplies to come online globally next year SINGAPORE, Jan 5 (Reuters) – China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand is forecast to recover in 2023 as the country emerges from COVID-19 controls to become the bright […]]]>


  • China’s 2023 LNG demand seen rising 9-14% – analysts
  • Nuclear power to dampen Japan, South Korea LNG demand
  • Limited LNG supplies to come online globally next year

SINGAPORE, Jan 5 (Reuters) – China’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand is forecast to recover in 2023 as the country emerges from COVID-19 controls to become the bright spot in Asia’s consumption for the super-chilled fuel.

China’s demand is set to rebound to between 70 million and 72 million tonnes in 2023, 9% to 14% higher than in 2022, say analysts at Rystad Energy, Wood Mackenzie and ICIS.

But imports to China, which has the world’s second-largest economy, would likely fall short of record 2021 levels, because prices would stay high and lingering effects of the pandemic would limit appetite, they added.

Those high prices would continue to suppress demand from the Chinese industrial and power sectors, both highly sensitive to energy costs, said Wei Xiong, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy.

“Growth momentum across sectors may only be restored after the high infections subside and when employees are back to work,” she said. “It will be a gradual process and may take a few months to restore.”

State energy officials have estimated that in 2022 China’s annual demand for natural gas may have fallen for the first time in two decades, because of weak demand from industries disrupted by pandemic controls.

China was the world’s top LNG importer in 2021 but Japan held the position last year.

Gas prices spiked last year after Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine, cut supplies to Europe. This led Europe to import record amounts of LNG, pushing Asian spot LNG prices to historical highs.

Asia LNG and Europe gas price chart

NUCLEAR SWITCH

China’s 2023 demand rebound would be offset by lower consumption from Japan, South Korea and South Asian nations, analysts said. As a result, Asia’s share of global LNG demand would remain just above 60% for a second straight year.

In response to high LNG prices, Japan and South Korea aim to increase nuclear power’s contribution to their energy supply, leading analysts to cut estimates of 2023 LNG demand from those countries.

South Korea plans to defer decommissioning of reactors while Japan will restart some that have been idled.

High gas storage levels and growth in coal consumption and nuclear power generation will limit 2023 LNG demand in South Korea and Japan, said Alex Siow, ICIS’s lead Asia gas analyst.

But Japanese demand must be viewed cautiously, he added. “Its tight power grid will mean that LNG will need to come in stronger if there are any unexpected outages.”

North Asia LNG demand

Siow expects China, South Korea and Japan to need less LNG this year than they have contracted for, so they should be able to release 18 million tonnes of excess contracted LNG, or 4% of global supplies, into the spot market in 2023.

While gas prices could cool slightly from last year’s record levels, they will need to be elevated enough to ensure demand is kept within control, Rystad Energy said.

Asian LNG prices , could fall to an average of $32 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) this year, $2 lower than 2022, while the Dutch benchmark gas price could average at $38/mmBTU, down $3, it added.

Emerging markets will have to continue to limit LNG purchases, and may be priced out altogether, for a second straight year in 2023. ICIS sees 2023 global demand at 404.4 million tonnes, compared with supply of 408.2 million tonnes.

“This means the global market is now slightly long by 3.8 million tonnes next year,” said Siow.

“The global demand response – especially the Asian demand destruction due to high prices – made this possible.”

Asia LNG demand

LARGELY FLAT SUPPLY

While new production is scheduled to come online this year from the likes of Tango FLNG in Congo, the Tortue FLNG project in West Africa and a third production unit, or train, at Indonesia’s Tangguh LNG, most of the projects are small, so supply will, at most, grow only slightly in 2023.

Production should also rise with expected resumption of output from Freeport LNG in the United States and from Malaysia LNG. Both have suffered outages.

Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Florence Tan and Bradley Perrett

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:In 2023, China’s appetite for LNG set to rise amid tepid demand across Asia

2023-01-05 02:07:00

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Dollar jumps, U.S. stocks buck global rally https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/dollar-jumps-u-s-stocks-buck-global-rally/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/dollar-jumps-u-s-stocks-buck-global-rally/#respond Tue, 03 Jan 2023 22:31:00 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/dollar-jumps-u-s-stocks-buck-global-rally/ Global shares edge up, but Wall Street drops Correlation with dollar softens Yen takes a breather from recent rally LONDON/NEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters) – The dollar jumped on Tuesday as oil prices sank, while U.S. stocks bucked a global equities rally in a macro-packed week that could offer a steer on when and where […]]]>


  • Global shares edge up, but Wall Street drops
  • Correlation with dollar softens
  • Yen takes a breather from recent rally

LONDON/NEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters) – The dollar jumped on Tuesday as oil prices sank, while U.S. stocks bucked a global equities rally in a macro-packed week that could offer a steer on when and where U.S. interest rates might peak.

The MSCI All-World index (.MIWD00000PUS) fell 0.2%, dragged by losses in U.S. stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) ended little changed, the S&P 500 (.SPX) dropped 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 0.76%.

Losses in U.S. stocks were led by a 12.2% tumble in electric-vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA.O) after it missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly deliveries. IPhone maker Apple Inc (AAPL.O) dropped 3.7% to its lowest since June 2021 following a rating downgrade due to production cuts in China.

The U.S. dollar firmed ahead of Wednesday’s release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting, with expectations they will signal more policy tightening is in store.

A higher dollar walloped oil prices, which also took a beating from concerns about slowing global economic growth, especially after data showed China’s factory activity shrank in December.

“We expect the December FOMC minutes to shed additional light on Fed officials’ policy views for 2023. Note that at the meeting, the Committee signalled broad expectations for a substantially higher terminal rate this year,” analysts at TD Securities said in a note.

The dollar index jumped 0.94% to 104.64.

The euro was the worst-performing currency against the dollar , falling by the most since late September, after German regional inflation data showed consumer price pressures eased sharply in December, thanks in large part to government measures to contain natural gas bills for households and businesses.

Data on U.S. payrolls this week is expected to show the labour market remains tight, while EU consumer prices could show some slowdown in inflation as energy prices ease.

“Energy base effects will bring about a sizeable reduction in inflation in the major economies in 2023, but stickiness in core components, much of this stemming from tight labour markets, will prevent an early dovish policy ‘pivot’ by central banks,” analysts at NatWest Markets wrote in a note.

They expect interest rates to top out at 5% in the United States, 2.25% in the EU and 4.5% in Britain and to stay there for the entire year. Markets, on the other hand, are pricing in rate cuts for late 2023, with fed fund futures implying a range of 4.25% to 4.5% by December.

“The thing that makes me nervous about this year is that we still do not know the full impact of the very significant monetary tightening that’s taken place across the advanced world,” Berenberg Senior Economist Kallum Pickering said.

“It takes a good year, or 18 months, for the full effect to kick in,” he said.

Central banks have expressed concern about rising wages, even as consumers have struggled to keep up with the soaring cost of living and companies are running out of room to protect their profitability by raising their own prices.

However, said Pickering, the labour market tends to lag the broader economy by some time, meaning there is a risk that central banks could be raising interest rates by more than the economy can withstand.

“What central banks are inducing is essentially excess cyclicality, which is – they overstimulated in 2021 and triggered an inflationary boom and then overtightened in 2022 and triggered a disinflationary recession. It’s exactly the opposite of what you want central banks to do,” he said.

EUROPEAN SHARES RALLY

On the markets, European shares rose thanks to gains in classic defensive sectors, such as healthcare and food and beverages. Drugmakers Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), Astrazeneca (AZN.L) and Roche (ROG.S) were among the biggest positive weights on the STOXX 600 (.STOXX), along with Nestle (NESN.S)

The STOXX, which lost 13% in 2022, rose 1.2%. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE), the only major European index not to trade on Monday, rose 1.4%.

Markets have for a while priced in an eventual U.S. easing, but they were badly wrong-footed by the Bank of Japan’s shock upward shift in its ceiling for bond yields.

The BOJ is now considering raising its inflation forecasts in January to show price growth close to its 2% target in fiscal 2023 and 2024, according to the Nikkei.

Such a move at its next policy meeting on Jan. 17-18 would only add to speculation of an end to ultra-loose policy, which has essentially acted as a floor for bond yields globally.

The policy shift has boosted the yen across the board, with the dollar losing 5% in December and the euro 2.3%.

The yen took a breather on Tuesday, easing 0.3% against the dollar to 130.895. The dollar earlier touched a six-month low of 129.52 yen .

Oil succumbed to the strength of the dollar, and concern about demand in China, the world’s second-largest economy, added to the downward momentum.

A batch of surveys has shown China’s factory activity shrank at the sharpest pace in nearly three years as COVID infections swept through production lines.

“China is entering the most dangerous weeks of the pandemic,” warned analysts at Capital Economics.

Brent crude lost 4.2% to settle at $82.10 a barrel.

Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York and Amanda Cooper in London
Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney
Editing by Andrea Ricci and Matthew Lewis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:Dollar jumps, U.S. stocks buck global rally

2023-01-03 22:18:00

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Oil falls as outlook for China, global economy weigh https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/oil-falls-as-outlook-for-china-global-economy-weigh/ https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/oil-falls-as-outlook-for-china-global-economy-weigh/#respond Tue, 03 Jan 2023 16:29:45 +0000 https://newsdaily.business/2023/01/03/oil-falls-as-outlook-for-china-global-economy-weigh/ LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Oil prices edged lower in volatile trade on Tuesday as weak demand data from China, a gloomy economic outlook and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed. Brent crude futures fell $1.07, or 1.25%, to $84.84 a barrel by 1447 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.15, or 1.43%, at […]]]>


LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Oil prices edged lower in volatile trade on Tuesday as weak demand data from China, a gloomy economic outlook and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed.

Brent crude futures fell $1.07, or 1.25%, to $84.84 a barrel by 1447 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.15, or 1.43%, at $79.11, having shed more than $2 earlier in the session.

Both contracts had risen more than $1 in early trade.

“Brent and WTI have recovered almost 15% from the lows a few weeks ago as traders continue to price in stronger Chinese demand,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

“The outlook remains highly uncertain, though, which should ensure oil prices remain highly volatile.”

The Chinese government has raised export quotas for refined oil products in the first batch for 2023. Traders attributed the increase to expectations of poor domestic demand as the world’s largest crude importer continues to battle waves of COVID-19 infections.

In further bearish news, China’s factory activity shrank in December as the surging COVID-19 infections disrupted production and weighed on demand after Beijing largely removed anti-virus curbs.

Adding to the gloomy economic outlook, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday said that the United States, Europe and China – the main engines of global growth – were all slowing simultaneously, making 2023 tougher than 2022 for the global economy.

Prices are also under pressure from a stronger dollar , which makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and tends to weigh on demand.

The market will be looking for indications from the U.S. Fed’s December policy meeting on Wednesday. The Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) in December after four consecutive increases of 75 bps each.

Also on the radar, U.S. December payrolls data is due on Friday, which is expected to show that the labour market remains tight.

Looking ahead, Commerzbank said it expects the global economic outlook to play a “much more important role” in oil price developments than production decisions taken by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known collectively as OPEC+.

The bank expects signs of economic recovery “in key economic areas” to push Brent back towards $100 a barrel, which it said could happen from the second quarter of the year onwards.

Reporting by Rowena Edwards
Additional reporting by Florence Tan and Trixie Yap in Singapore
Editing by David Evans and David Goodman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Read More:Oil falls as outlook for China, global economy weigh

2023-01-03 15:07:00

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