1. The US imposes sanctions on Russia over cyber-attacks

Apr 16, 2021

The US has announced sanctions against Russia in response to what it says are cyber-attacks and other hostile acts. US sanctions on Russia triggered safe-haven demand in Gold. The sanctions announced on Thursday are detailed in an executive order signed by President Joe Biden. They come at a tense time for relations between the two countries.

Source: BBC

2. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low for some time

Apr 15, 2021

The U.S. dollar sank to a four-week low against other major currencies on Thursday as Treasury yields pulled back from last month's surge, with investors increasingly convinced the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low for some time. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that in time the U.S. central bank would reduce its monthly bond purchases before it committed to an interest rate increase, a scenario many investors had regarded as a given.

Source: Reuters

3. China March aluminium output climbs to a monthly record

Apr 16, 2021

Primary aluminium output in China, the world's top aluminium producer, was up 8.5% year on year at 3.28 million tonnes last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That beat the previous high for an individual month of 3.27 million tonnes, reached in December 2020.

Source: Reuters

4. OPEC raises 2021 oil demand growth forecast

Apr 14, 2021

OPEC on Tuesday raised its forecast for growth in world oil demand this year on expectations that the pandemic will subside, providing help for the group and its allies in their efforts to support the market. OPEC in its April Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) demand would rise by 5.95 million barrels per day (BPD) in 2021, or 6.6 per cent, up by 70,000 BPD from last month. OPEC stated that the upward revision mainly took into account a stronger economic rebound than assumed last month, propelled by stimulus programmes and a further relaxation in COVID-19 measures.

Source: Reuters and OPEC

5. Shale CEO Warns of OPEC+ Price War

Apr 14, 2021

U.S. shale producers risk another oil-price war with OPEC and its allies if they resume the breakneck production growth of the last decade. Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield sees overall U.S. production growing at an annual rate of 2% to 3%, with most of the increases coming from the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, where Pioneer is one of the largest producers. All other shale fields will decline, he said. The Energy Information Administration sees U.S. oil production averaging 11.9 million barrels a day in 2022, up about 1 million barrels, or 9%, from the average this quarter. Sheffield is “totally against” the EIA’s forecast, saying that producers now know the stakes and will stick to their mantra of capital discipline.

Source: Bloomberg

6. China's Q1 GDP grows at a record 18.3% as recovery speeds up

Apr 16, 2021

China's economy grew at a record pace in the first quarter, official data showed on Friday, expanding 18.3 per cent from a year earlier as the recovery from the coronavirus slump accelerated. The growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) was slower than the 19 per cent forecast by economists in a Reuters poll and followed 6.5 per cent growth in the fourth quarter last year. It was the strongest growth since at least 1992 when official quarterly records started. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 0.6 per cent in January-March, the National Bureau of Statistics said, compared with expectations for a 1.5 per cent rise and a revised 3.2 per cent gain in the previous quarter.

Source: Reuters

7. U.S. economy gaining momentum

Apr 15, 2021

The United States added 916,000 jobs in March, the largest gain in seven months, according to Labor Department data. And U.S. consumer prices rose at the fastest clip in more than 8-1/2 years in March as vaccinations and stimulus boosted economic activity, according to Labor Department data released on Tuesday. Businesses across many Fed districts cited mounting cost pressures, with many contacts pointing to supply chain bottlenecks as a primary culprit and saying these were likely to persist for the near-term at least, the Fed said in its report.

Source: hellenicshippingnews.com

8. Global Economy About to Boom: Morgan Stanley

Apr 13, 2021

After suffering the worst downturn since World War II, the global economy is poised for a synchronized recovery the likes of which has not been seen since 2017. Morgan Stanley is forecasting a 6.4% increase in global gross domestic product this year. In the United States, the estimate is for 5.9% growth, while the Eurozone will come in at 5%, the United Kingdom at 5.3%, Japan at 2.4%, China at 9% and India at 9.8%.

Source: usnews.com