OPEC is likely to continue with its oil supply cuts for the rest of 2020, a research director said Monday. “One thing which we are seeing in our numbers is that the market is still not ready to absorb the production cuts back, even for (the) whole of this year,” Sushant Gupta, who heads Wood Mackenzie’s refining and oils market team in Asia, told CNBC’s “Capital Connection.” “We expect OPEC to continue cutting production for 2020,” he said. OPEC and its allies agreed in December 2019 to cut supply by ...

Global stocks dropped on Tuesday, led by Asian markets, amid concerns about the rapid spread of a potentially deadly pneumonialike virus originating in central China. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% after the public holiday on Monday. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite closed 1.4% lower in its biggest drop in over two months, while the Chinese yuan lost 0.5% against the dollar in offshore trading. The newly identified virus has spread between humans, a leading Chinese health official said, ...

The swift repricing of short-dated UK interest rate futures has sent bond yields plunging but barely moved sterling, which is still holding out hopes of a post-election, post-Brexit inward investment bounce that will lift the pound in time. On Jan. 9, money markets saw just a 20% chance of an interest rate cut this month. But by Jan. 17, dismal UK growth and inflation readings from late 2019 and a series of speeches from Bank of England chief Mark Carney and at least three of his policymaking colleagues pushed those ...

China’s economy has shown positive changes in production, consumption, market expectations and prices, indicating that the world’s second-largest economy is stable and resilient in the face of headwinds and is laying a solid foundation to counter downward pressure, officials and experts said. In December, the country’s growth in industrial output, retail sales and foreign trade accelerated. Surveys of purchasing managers indicate that market expectations are improving, Meng Wei, a spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference on Sunday. Consumer prices month-on-month also stopped rising ...

More than a thousand banks, asset managers, payments companies and insurers in the European Union plan to open offices in post-Brexit Britain so they can continue serving UK clients, regulatory consultancy Bovill said on Monday. The new offices and staff will help mitigate the loss of business going the other way as the current unfettered two-way direct access between Britain and the EU comes to an end in December following a Brexit transition period. As a first step, the companies, who until now have been able to serve UK customers ...

With the conclusion of the U.S.-China trade talks, financial markets are feeling good, but award-winning forecaster Jim O’Sullivan of TD Securities warns that the best days of this 10-year economic expansion are behind us. “The economy is slowing for sure,” O’Sullivan said after winning his 12th Forecaster of the Year contest, including the last nine in a row. Let that sink in. O’Sullivan edged out Ryan Sweet of Moody’s Analytics and Christophe Barraud of Market Securities by the slimmest of margins in the contest that pitted 45 forecasting teams against ...

The slowdown in euro zone economic activity has probably bottomed out, according to a Reuters poll, which showed while the outlook for growth and inflation remained lukewarm the chances of a recession have faded somewhat. That comes after the European Central Bank aggressively eased policy, including cutting its deposit rate deeper into negative territory in September and later resuming its asset- purchases programme. Economists polled by Reuters Jan. 13-16 were slightly more upbeat compared with the previous few months, amid improved sentiment around the U.S.-led trade war. But the majority ...

Some of the world’s top business people and politicians – plus a smattering of celebrities – will gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week. US President Donald Trump, teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and Uber boss Dara Khosrowshahi are among the guests. But what is the jet-set event for and is it elitist? What is the World Economic Forum? Launched in 1971, WEF aims to “improve the state of the world”. Held every year in the Alpine ski resort of Davos, the conference puts leaders ...

Germany and the Netherlands have room to spend more to boost economic growth, International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Monday, joining a long list of experts calling the two countries to open state coffers. Germany just avoided recession last year but growth is likely to remain sluggish this year as its vast industrial sector struggles with weak exports, particularly due to shifting car consumption habits. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and Dmitry Zhdannikov)

Global Marine Travel (GMT), announced yesterday that it has partnered with Argo Travel Group to enhance its travel offering, particularly in terms of service delivery and driving growth in the Greek and international markets. In Argo, Global Marine Travel gains a marine partner with an experienced team and a strong reputation for service delivery, that will drive the growth of the business in Greece and other international locations. Global Marine Travel will benefit from access to a Greek IATA license and local marine fares, thereby increasing travel service options for ...

MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, 180 HSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) demonstrated irregular changes on Jan.20: 380 HSFO – USD/MT – 379.36(+0.18) VLSFO – USD/MT – 627.00(-3.00) MGO – USD/MT – 674.21(-1.66) Meantime, world oil indexes rose on Jan.20 after two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down amid a military blockade and Iraqi Supply Disruption Brent for March settlement increased by $0.35 to $65.20 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. West Texas ...

Software solutions provider Softship has been selected as a ‘pre-approved vendor’ under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) Sea Transport Industry Digital Plan (IDP), a SGD3.7million fund to support ship agency and harbour craft businesses in Singapore to build stronger digital capabilities. Softship is one of only two companies to be listed by the MPA as a pre-approved vendor and provider of a maritime-specific digital solution for small and medium sized (SME) ship agency businesses seeking to upgrade their digital capabilities. The Sea Transport IDP and @SMEGoDigital Programme ...

Driven by the shale oil boom of the last decade, the United States have rapidly increased both the production and the export of crude oil and oil

Major container shipping lines will offer more capacity between Southeast Asia and the U.S. West Coast in 2020, signaling that the U.S. sourcing shift away from China will continue unabated even with the preliminary trade detente. The moves could also help West Coast ports regain some of the cargo that has shifted eastward thanks to a growing number of Southeast Asia liner services hitting the East and Gulf coasts. Hapag-Lloyd and Japanese liner joint venture Ocean Network Express, members of THE Alliance along with Yang Ming, said the new services ...

The ambitious Greater Bay Area (GBA) project that physically and economically linking Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong is expected to become one of the leading megacities in China. The goal is to develop a world-class urban cluster that could turn the region into a financial and innovation hub to rival bays such as San Francisco, New York or Tokyo. A micro-version of China’s multi-continent Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the GBA project will transform the coastal region to high-tech megalopolis. President Xi Jingping aims to build a ...