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Oil prices fell on Wednesday after industry data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories and on demand concerns linked to a protracted trade war between China and the United States. However, analysts said oil markets remained tight amid supply cuts led by producer group OPEC and as political tension escalates in the Middle East. Brent crude futures were down 70 cents at $71.48 a barrel by 0906 GMT and are set for their biggest daily fall in eleven days. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July delivery ...

Last week was dramatic for the oil markets, with prices rising amid geopolitical tensions in the Arabian Gulf — yet two key forces, the China-US trade spat and OPEC+ alliance, acted as a counterbalance to the volatility. Political tensions ratcheted up, with four vessels being “sabotaged” off the port of Fujairah in the UAE, and drone attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia on two pumping stations along Saudi Arabia’s critical East-West Pipeline. The pipeline, which has a capacity of about 5 million barrels per day (bpd), was built in the ...

An uptick in Chinese gasoline export activity in the first half of May has sparked concerns over renewed oversupply in the region, turning sentiment among Asian gasoline market participants increasingly bearish, sources said. An estimated total of 260,000 mt of gasoline has already been offered on the spot market at the start of May by Chinese refiners, more than three times the 78,000 mt seen a month earlier, according to sources and open tenders seen by S&P Global Platts. “Even now we can see that activity from China has picked ...

In 2011, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted a “golden age” of gas, where natural gas would be a “bridge fuel” between coal and renewable energy over the next two decades. But weak demand for natural gas in Asia in 2013 to 2015 forced the IEA to step back in June 2015 from its previously optimistic projection, concluding: Even so, the demand for natural gas in East Asia has still significantly increased after 2015, especially in South Korea and China. In South Korea, President Moon Jae-in promised to replace coal ...

Upgrades remain in focus in the Middle East, with more news emerging about upgrade progress at Iran’s refineries. Iran’s central Shazand oil refinery has hit a record among other plants in the country, reaching the target of lowering fuel oil production, state news agency IRNA reported. The country has on its agenda the reduction to below 10% of the low-profit fuel oil production in its refining industry. “Shazand refinery is using a unique technology and processes less than 7% of its feedstock to fuel oil, whereas in other refineries, more ...

Global stocks paused on Wednesday after disappointing sales data from U.S. retailers on Tuesday and as trade tensions between the U.S. and China continued to overhang market activity. The Stoxx Europe 600 was nearly unchanged in early trade, with the U.K’s FTSE 100 up 0.4% and Germany’s DAX flat at the open. Asian indexes were mixed, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng and Korea’s Kospi both trading 0.2% higher while China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.6%. London-listed retailer Marks & Spencer Group was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100, ...

The Japanese yen and the Swiss franc firmed on Wednesday as risk appetite remained weak in the backdrop of festering trade tensions between the United States and China. While risky assets heaved a sigh of relief overnight after the United States eased trade restrictions on Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies, the lack of a significant breakthrough has kept investors on edge. “We are still skeptical over a long-lasting recovery,” said Charalambos Pissouros, a senior markets analyst at JFD group. “Before we get confident on that front, we would like ...

U.S. President Donald Trump says China pays the tariffs he has imposed on $250 billion (£197 billion) of Chinese exports to the United States. But that is not how tariffs work. China’s government and companies in China do not pay tariffs directly. Tariffs are a tax on imports. They are paid by U.S.-registered firms to U.S. customs for the goods they import into the United States. Importers often pass the costs of tariffs on to customers – manufacturers and consumers in the United States – by raising their prices. U.S. ...

The US-China trade war will continue to dominate the world economy’s headlines next week as President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping go toe to toe. Their clash is casting a pall over the world economy as investors, businesses and consumers risk retrenching until the outlook is clearer. “Darkening trade war clouds loom over the financial landscape,” said Bloomberg Economics’ Carl Riccadonna, Yelena Shulyatyeva and Eliza Winger. “Auto tariffs have been delayed, at least for now, suggesting that the Trump administration is aiming to avoid escalating a multi-front trade conflict.” ...

From the volume of bellicose rhetoric in China’s state media, you might think Beijing is digging in for a bloody fight to the finish in its trade conflict with the United States. But after the US administration this month jacked up import tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 per cent, and threatened equal tariffs on another US$340 billion, the Chinese government faces a problem. The policy responses it is considering are all either impossible, impractical, ineffective or expensive. This leaves Beijing in an unenviable position. The usual ...

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

Companies around the world paid out a record amount of dividends in the first quarter, data showed on Monday, as they shrugged off worries about slowing economic and earnings growth. Global dividends rose 7.8% in the first quarter to $263.3 billion(206.90 billion pounds), matching last year’s growth and pushing the Janus Henderson global dividend index to an all-time high, according to a report by the asset manager on Monday. The data shows the growing optimism of companies and helps explain equities’ continued appeal in the face of global trade tensions ...

Europe markets bounced after Monday’s selloff but for the most part, they didn’t erase the day’s losses. How did markets perform? The Stoxx 600 moved up 0.4% to 378.9, retracing some of Monday’s 1.1% loss. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is higher at 7,767.2, rising 0.8% to more than wipe out Monday’s 0.5% decline. The pound was hit harder, shrinking 0.3% to $1.2685, a four-month low. Italy’s FTSE MIB recaptured part of its 2.7% plunge Monday, increasing 0.7% to 20,680.7 on Tuesday. In Germany, the DAX (DAX) edged up 0.2% to ...

Trade tensions with China need to linger for an extended period to cause real damage to the United States economy, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in remarks published. Engaged in a lengthy trade standoff, the United States and China have raised tariffs on a range of goods, raising fears that their conflict would develop into a trade war, damaging the global economy and worsening its recent growth wobble. “I think the U.S. is such a big and diversified economy that the impact compared to the size of the ...

While markets worldwide have been rattled by this week’s rapid escalation of tensions between the US and China, Chinese export growth is likely to move to the upside in the short term as businesses rush to get orders out before the next round of tariffs hit, according to an IHS Markit analyst. This week, the office of the US trade representative (USTR) formally outlined a potential duty of 25% on an additional US$300bn-worth of Chinese goods. This came after China said it would raise tariffs on US$60bn ofn US goods ...