Economy
Oil prices ease as worries over global economic slowdown weigh
TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) – Oil prices eased on Wednesday, paring the previous day’s gain as fears over a global economic slowdown denting fuel demand outweighed expectations of tighter supply due to output cuts announced by top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia for August.
Brent crude was down 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $76.11 a barrel by 0027 GMT, after climbing $1.60 on Tuesday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $71.14 a barrel, up $1.35, or 1.9%, from Monday’s close, having traded through a U.S. holiday to mark Independence Day without a settlement.
“Oil prices came under pressure again due to lingering worries over a slowdown in the global economy and further hikes of interest rates in the United States and Europe,” said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting.
“The market will likely continue to move back and forth for some time, focusing on economic indicators in China and monetary policy by central banks,” he said, predicting Brent would trade around $75 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, on Monday said it would extend its voluntary output cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to August, while Russia and Algeria volunteered to lower their August output and export levels by 500,000 bpd and 20,000 bpd, respectively.
The move only briefly lifted the market. The latest decision by Saudi and Russia could be viewed as a bearish signal for prices, as it confirms that optimistic views on demand growth are faltering.
OPEC+, a group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia that pumps around 40% of the world’s crude, has been cutting oil output since November in the face of flagging prices.
Investors remained concerned about oil demand, however, after business surveys showed a slump in global factory activity because of sluggish demand in China and in Europe.
Traders will be looking for demand cues from industry data on U.S. crude and product inventories from the American Petroleum Institute later on Wednesday and government data on Thursday, both delayed by a day due to the U.S. holiday.
U.S. crude inventories were expected to fall by about 1.8 million barrels in the week to June 30, which would mark a third straight week of declines, four analysts polled by Reuters forecast.
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Sonali Paul
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TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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