Higher Saudi prices for January delivery, lower overall demand for crude amid the Omicron uncertainty, the Chinese crackdown on illicit practices at its independent refiners, and refinery maintenance season starting in late Q1 2022 have resulted in Asian refiners abstaining from extra Saudi crude supply for loading in January.Refiners in …

Chinese policymakers want to stimulate growth, but they are forced to follow policies designed to hold back debt and speculative behavior.Chinese leaders are trying to reverse a sharp growth slowdown without abandoning policies that triggered much of the weakness to begin with a tricky task that could test Beijing’s ability …

Markets retreated from their previous surging for three successive trading sessions, opening lower Thursday morning, despite fresh data from the US Labour Department that showed the number of Americans filing initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level in 52 years. All major US indexes were down in early trading, …

France’s Emmanuel Macron criticized the British government on Thursday, saying post-Brexit relationships with the UK are difficult because the UK does not do what it promises to do. “I hope Britain will re-commit to proper relations”, he said. French president’s comments come against the background of the negotiations with France …

The US Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas fell by 59 billion cubic feet for the week ended 3 December.That compared with the average decline of 55 billion cubic feet forecast by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.505 …

The Commerce Department said on Thursday that wholesale inventories accelerated 2.3%, instead of 2.2% as estimated last month. Stocks at wholesalers increased 1.4% in September.US wholesale inventories increased a little bit more than expected in October, suggesting that the restocking of warehouses could again support economic growth during the current …

Most Treasury yields turned lower on Thursday, as US stocks relinquished some ground following three straight days of gains.Meanwhile, bond investors are awaiting the US November consumer-price index report on Friday and a Federal Reserve policy meeting next week.Treasuries dated three years and out were seeing some modest buying on …

Weekly jobless claims tumbled last week, reaching a fresh 52-year low as the US jobs market climbs out of its pandemic-era hole, the Labor Department reported Thursday.Initial filings for unemployment insurance totaled 184,000 for the week ended Dec. 4, the lowest going back to Sept. 6, 1969, which saw 182,000.Initial …

US shares remarkably surged Wednesday, on what proved to be an all-around great trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX rising 0.31% to 4,701.21 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rising 0.10% to 35,754.75. Stocks surged led by overall positivity across the financial markets …

Reuters’ survey of economists cites persistently higher inflation to mark the shift in expectations for lift-off to Q3 from Q4 next year. Even so, “Rising COVID-19 cases around the world and the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, along with renewed restrictions in some countries underscore that the pandemic is …