From Reuters Oil prices tumbled more than 4.5% on Wednesday to a seven-month low, extending recent heavy losses following a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles and fears that demand will shrink due to Washington’s escalating trade war with Beijing. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled down $2.71, or 4.6%, at $56.23 a barrel, the lowest close since early January. Prices
From Reuters Global oil major BP is deepening its ties with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries by forging a fuel retailing joint venture to capitalize on rising demand in Asia’s third-biggest economy. The move comes days after BP said it would build a network of charging hubs for electric vehicles with China’s Didi Chuxing, betting on the world’s largest market for
From CNBC Crude oil prices could sink by as much as $30 a barrel if China decides to buy Iranian crude oil in retaliation to the latest U.S. tariff measures, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “While we retain our $60 a barrel Brent forecast for next year, we admit that a Chinese decision to reinitiate Iran crude purchases
From Reuters Oil prices gained about 3% on Friday a day after recording their biggest daily drop in several years on U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports. For the week, crude oil benchmarks recorded a loss. Washington’s new tariffs on China, due to take effect on Sept. 1, intensify the trade war between the
From The Houston Chronicle Venezuela could lose its largest U.S. asset after a court allowed a Canadian gold miner to seize shares of Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s parent to satisfy an arbitration award. A U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday that Crystallex International Corp. may seize U.S.-based stock of Citgo’s parent, which is part of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, to cover
From Reuters Oil prices rose for a fifth day on Wednesday following a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. inventories and after the Federal Reserve cut U.S. interest rates for the first time in more than a decade. The front-month Brent crude LCOc1 futures contract, which expired Wednesday, rose 45 cents to settle at $65.17 a barrel. Brent posted a monthly decline
From Reuters Seven years ago, Diamondback Energy Inc went public with a modest parcel of drillable land in the Permian Basin of West Texas. Like dozens of other Permian startups, the firm then pursued a classic wildcatter’s strategy – borrowing to buy up acreage, acquire competitors and quickly boost output in the booming shale field. Today, Diamondback (FANG.O) is the
From Reuters Oil prices inched up on Friday, ending the week higher after stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data brightened the crude demand outlook and concerns over the safety of oil transport around the Strait of Hormuz threatened supply. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $63.46 a barrel, up 7 cents. They clocked a weekly rise of about 1.7%. U.S. West Texas
From AP News The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the April-June quarter even as consumers stepped up their spending. The gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, grew at a 2.1% annual rate last quarter, down from a 3.1% gain in the first quarter, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. But consumer spending, which drives about 70%
From Reuters Brazil’s government will free up a total of 42 billion reais ($11.1 billion) from a workers’ guarantee fund over the next two years, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Tuesday, in an effort to boost flagging economic growth. The total from the FGTS fund will be split between around 30 billion reais this year and 12 billion reais
Influential economist Wu Jinglian warns again of the dangers of a state-controlled economy From ASIA TIMES Wu Jinglian is regarded as China’s most celebrated economist. At the ripe old age of 89, he is considered the “spiritual leader” of the pro-market reform camp. Last month, in a video address delivered at a seminar run by the liberal think tank, the
Iran’s energy sector will feel the repercussions of renewed sanctions Iran has the world’s fourth-largest proved crude oil reserves and the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, but production in the country has been suppressed by international sanctions and underinvestment. Although some sanctions targeting the energy industry were temporarily lifted, and oil production reached ~3.8 MMBOPD in 2017, growth has remained
