• English
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Tiếng Việt
  • ไทย
  • Indonesia
Subscribe
Real-time News
July 19th - According to NewsNation: US President Trump reiterated that Iran "cannot and should not have nuclear weapons." After Iran announced a suspension of its commitments under the interim agreement, Trump stated that he "doesnt care at all."Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein held a telephone conversation to discuss the situation in the Middle East and bilateral cooperation.U.S. Commerce Secretary Rutnick: The United States has reached a very good agreement on the Gordi Howe International Bridge (the U.S.-Canada transnational bridge). The United States will receive 50% of the net revenue up to 2041 and will have a say in setting tolls.According to the New York Times, U.S. officials said that Iranian attacks on U.S. military bases in Jordan damaged several U.S. helicopters and injured dozens of U.S. personnel.July 19th - According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. labor market remains robust according to most key indicators. However, nearly two million Americans have been unable to find work for at least six months. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that in June, the number of long-term unemployed (unemployed for 27 consecutive weeks or more) accounted for 27.3% of the total unemployed, up 4 percentage points from a year ago. This proportion is close to its highest level since the end of 2021. Because the overall unemployment rate remains low, the size of the long-term unemployed population is not yet sufficient to cause a substantial shock to the economy. However, analysts say its ripple effects are accumulating. Preston Mooy, senior economist at Employ America, said, "We havent seen large-scale layoffs in the past few years, so the number of short-term unemployed has remained relatively stable. But at the same time, hiring activity has seen a fairly significant decline." Even if some long-term unemployed people find new jobs, the weak hiring environment means more people are constantly joining the long-term unemployed group, keeping this number consistently high.

Oil Prices Remain Stable As Investors Anticipate Fed Reserve Remarks

Charlie Brooks

Feb 22, 2023 14:06

83.png


Oil prices remained unchanged on Wednesday as investors awaited remarks from the U.S. Federal Reserve in response to recent data indicating the prospect of more interest rate rises, which may slow economic growth and reduce global fuel consumption.


Brent oil futures for April delivery rose 2 cents to $83.07 a barrel at 02:42 GMT on Wednesday, following a 1.2% decline on Tuesday. April West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures decreased one cent to $76.35 a barrel. On Tuesday, the March WTI contract expired 18 cents lower.


The U.S. Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its most recent meeting on Wednesday, giving traders a view of how high policymakers expect interest rates to rise in the wake of recent job and inflation figures that exceeded expectations.


But, other economic statistics from the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, revealed some concerning trends. In January, existing home sales reached their lowest level since October 2010, marking the twelfth consecutive monthly decline, the worst since 1999.


"Oil prices came under pressure... as dismal economic data prompted worries about demand in advanced nations," ANZ Bank senior commodity analyst Daniel Hynes wrote in a report. Further rate increases might reduce oil consumption.


Rising interest rates tend to increase the value of the dollar, making oil priced in dollars more costly for holders of other currencies. 


Recently, oil prices have been bolstered by expectations of tighter global supply and growing Chinese demand. Experts anticipate that China's oil imports will reach a record high in 2023 due to rising demand for transportation fuel and the introduction of new refineries.


ANZ's Hynes remarked that PetroChina and Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec (OTC:SHIIY), Asia's largest oil refiner, had reserved 10 supertankers to import oil from the U.S. next month, equivalent to around 20 million barrels of crude.