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Russia produced record volumes of oil and gas in 2018, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said. He told Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting that last year Russia’s crude oil output rose by 1.6 percent, or 10 million tons from 2017 to 556 million tons, according to a Kremlin transcript of minutes of the meeting. The increase was attributed to the operation of 54 new oil fields, including several major ones in the Krasnoyarsk region and the Yamalo-Nenets region. Last year’s natural gas output hit a record in 18 years ...

Oil prices rose slightly on Friday, putting them on track for solid weekly gains after financial markets strengthened due to hopes the United States and China may soon resolve their trade dispute. Tightened supply following OPEC-led crude production cuts aided gains, along with positive signals from top central banks which sent global stocks higher after sharp losses in late 2018. International Brent crude futures were at $61.76 per barrel at 1200 GMT, up 8 cents, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 23 cents to $52.82 per barrel. ...

Saudi Aramco plans to tap the debt market in the second quarter to finance the acquisition of petrochemical giant Sabic, likely issuing its first ever international bond and disclosing its accounts in the process. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih revealed the plan on Wednesday in Riyadh, adding the company wanted flexibility in funding the Sabic deal, which could cost about $70 billion. The Aramco bond is “probably going to be in U.S. dollars,” Al-Falih said. That debt sale would force the world’s largest oil producer to disclose its accounts ...

The Vaca Muerta has attracted $165 billion in investment commitments as companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total bet on the production growth potential of Argentina’s biggest shale play, but bottlenecks are emerging that could limit a ramp-up in activity. Laurens Gaarenstroom, general manager of unconventional ventures in Latin America for Shell, said companies must work on reducing costs over the next two to three years to show that “real money” can be generated out of the play. That will help attract capital to Vaca Muerta that otherwise could go to ...

European stocks and S&P 500 futures were little changed Friday, keeping major indexes on track for another week of solid gains. The Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.1% midday, putting it on course to end the week 1.7% higher. Oil-and-gas companies led Friday’s advance as Brent crude oil rose 0.6% to $62.07 a barrel. S&P 500 futures were flat after five straight sessions of advances and an increase of 2.6% for the index so far this week. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.6% and Japan’s Nikkei rose 1% ...

Russia’s central bank dumped $101 billion in U.S. holdings from its huge reserves, shifting into euros and yuan last spring amid a new round of U.S. sanctions. The central bank moved the equivalent of $44 billion each into the European and Chinese currencies in the second quarter, according to a report published on late Wednesday by the Bank of Russia, which discloses the data with a six-month lag. Another $21 billion was invested in the Japanese yen. The Chinese currency accounted for 15 percent of total holdings at the last ...

China is adding more challenges to the global economy this year, beyond the trade conflict that’s rattling financial markets. Economists now see the threat of deflation in the manufacturing nation after producer price inflation slowed sharply in December, to the slowest pace since 2016. Nomura Holdings Inc. said “the nightmare of PPI deflation is imminent,” China International Capital Corp. said “deflation pressures are on the rise,” and Haitong Securities Co. projected the turning point could come as early as this month. That would not only squeeze corporate profitability at home, ...

In a year when the US economy accelerated, it is worth bearing in mind that it was still China that drove the world economy, delivering an estimated 25 percent-plus of total global growth in 2018. That is a reality we will have to get used to, with a range of estimates forecasting that China will eventually overtake the United States as the largest and most influential economy in the world within the next 10 years. But as we move into 2019, near-term challenges, such as trade tensions, debt and the ...

The U.S. economy has largely escaped unscathed from a partial government shutdown that’s putting a squeeze on 800,000 federal workers and their families, but it doesn’t mean the political paralysis in Washington comes without a cost. Leading economists at America’s biggest banks say the shutdown has shown hardly any rippling effects. Federal workers who’ve been furloughed are just missing their first paychecks. “The partial shutdown is, in our view, only a minor drag on the economy to date,” said Robert Dye, the newly appointed chairman of the economic advisory committee ...

Today, Friday , January 11 2019, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 20 points, reaching 1169 points.

Pre-holiday restocking at steel mills nudged up daily average deliveries departing

Daily rates on main tanker routes as compiled by shipbroker Charles R. Weber.

DynaRep Shipping Consultants is proud to announce the further expansion of its agency network through its collaboration with the PWL Group at Germany. DynaRep puts great emphasis on being represented by reputable and well established agents at strategic countries, like Germany. This collaboration has a lot to offer to the Greek and Cypriot ship owners looking to receive excellent agency services with competitive rates, thus providing them with a competitive edge over their competition. The PWL Group has a long tradition in shipping, dating back to the 19th century, and ...

Crowley Logistics announced today that it has expanded its North Atlantic network of vessels, adding velocity to customer supply chains operating between the Northeastern U.S., Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the islands of the Caribbean Basin. Specifically, by adding additional capacity with the flat deck barge 455-4 to its rotation, Crowley will further stabilize its North Atlantic-Puerto Rico sailing schedule while increasing cargo capacity. “Earlier this year, we surveyed our customers, and we heard loud and clear that they wanted us to add additional flexibility and velocity to their ...

The owner company of the MSC Mandy ship, which was assaulted last week off Benin’s coast, is creating a team that will be tasked to communicate with the pirates who kidnapped six Russian sailors during the assault; the first round of talks may be held later in the day, the company’s spokesman said. “We have engaged security experts and are creating a team for contacting the pirates. The team will include lawyers, negotiators, and employees of a company that deals with security. We hope to establish the first contact today,” ...