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BNP Paribas expects the Bank of England to keep interest rates unchanged in March, whereas it had previously anticipated a rate cut.The China Earthquake Networks Center officially reported that a magnitude 3.2 earthquake occurred at 11:22 on March 11 in Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet (33.92 degrees north latitude, 81.66 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.March 11 – Due to persistent inflationary pressures, two major Australian banks expect the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to raise interest rates for the second consecutive week. National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac predicted on Wednesday that the RBA will raise rates by 25 basis points to 4.1% next week, in line with expectations from UBS and Deutsche Bank. NAB Chief Economist Sally Auld stated, “Given Australia’s relatively unfavorable inflation starting point and recent data confirming that the economy is running well above trend growth, the rationale for a rate hike in the near term is clear.” Westpac Chief Economist Luci Ellis said that the RBA’s belief that demand continues to exceed economic capacity and its willingness to address surging overall inflation to prevent a sustained rise in price expectations prompted her to change her forecast. Ellis stated, “There could be disagreements at next week’s meeting. Market participants should consider the possibility that the RBA might choose to wait until May to raise rates, but this is no longer our base case scenario.”March 11 (Kyodo News) – Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosuke Akazawa stated on Wednesday during a parliamentary committee meeting, in response to questions from lawmakers, that the Japanese government has not ruled out the possibility of releasing national oil reserves "on its own initiative," rather than as part of a coordinated action. He added, "We will take all possible measures to ensure a stable energy supply." As of the end of December, Japans total oil reserves were sufficient to meet domestic consumption needs for 254 days, of which 146 days worth were held by the government, 101 days worth were held by the private sector, and the remainder were stored jointly with oil-producing countries.March 11th - This years government work report further clarified the need to "expand market access with a focus on the service sector," accelerating Beijings new round of opening up. In the first batch of pilot programs nationwide to expand opening up in areas such as value-added telecommunications and healthcare, Beijing became the first city in China to establish a foreign-invested enterprise specializing in human gene diagnosis and treatment technology. To date, more than 60 foreign-invested enterprises have participated in the pilot programs. Last year, Beijing saw over 2,400 new foreign-invested enterprises, a record high. According to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, this year will see the release of the 3.0 plan for the comprehensive demonstration zone for expanding opening up in the service sector, the implementation of actions to enhance the opening-up level of key industrial parks, the promotion of differentiated development of comprehensive bonded zones, and proactive alignment with high-standard international trade and economic rules, injecting new momentum into a higher level of opening up.

Oil Maintains Stability as Traders Assess Ukraine's Fallout and China's Outbreak

Charlie Brooks

Apr 27, 2022 09:33

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West Texas Intermediate futures rose 3.2 percent Tuesday, snapping a two-day losing streak. Russia has announced the suspension of natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, as the European Union considers measures to restrict oil imports from the OPEC+ producer. Meanwhile, China is pursuing its Covid Zero policy and virus testing the majority of Beijing as an unprecedented lockdown approaches.


Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, the market has been gripped by a volatile period of trading, with the viral outbreak in China providing another source of instability. The European conflict has fueled inflation and increased the cost of virtually everything, from food to petrol.


Moscow is enforcing a threat to cut off natural gas supplies to countries who resist President Vladimir Putin's new demand for payment in rubles for the fuel. Although the EU has rejected the move in principle, payment deadlines are approaching. Meanwhile, Germany's economy minister stated that the country had already reduced its dependence on Russian oil to the point where a complete ban would be "manageable."


Brent is narrowly in backwardation following Tuesday's close to a bearish contango structure. The worldwide benchmark's prompt timespread was 38 cents in backwardation – a bullish trend – compared to a high of $4.64 in early March, immediately following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.