Four hours ago, the downward trend of oil prices continued when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, postponed their policy-setting meeting by four days. The oil cartel’s meetings scheduled for November 25-26 are now rescheduled for November 30. Brent crude traded 1.2% lower at $80.99 a barrel on Thursday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate slipped 1.04% to $76.3 per barrel.
The postponement may be due to a disagreement among OPEC members, according to Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. He explained that African countries like Nigeria and Angola want higher production quotas, while the UAE has increased production since January. This has put Saudi Arabia in a challenging position, carrying the burden of maintaining oil market balance.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s consumer price index rose 4.7% year-on-year in October, surpassing both economist expectations and the 4.1% rise seen in September. This marks the second consecutive month of accelerated inflation in the country. The country’s core inflation measure also increased to 3.3% in October, driven mainly by higher inflation for services, retail, and other goods, as well as rising electricity and gas costs.
Shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba in Hong Kong remained stable after the announcement that founder Jack Ma has decided not to reduce his stake in the company due to a decline in the share price. According to Alibaba’s Chief People Officer Jane Jiang’s internal memo, Ma has not sold a single share, and the stock is trading below the company’s actual value.
Judo Bank’s flash estimates revealed that Australia’s business activity contracted at its fastest pace in 27 months, with the country’s composite purchasing managers index declining to 46.4. Manufacturing PMI reached a 42-month low, while the services PMI hit a 26-month low. The bank attributes this downturn to softening economic conditions and high interest rates impacting budgets.
As for U.S. markets, energy stocks underperformed in the S&P 500 on Wednesday and crude prices declined after OPEC postponed the key meeting on production cuts. The West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell 67 cents to settle at $77.10 a barrel.
From a different perspective, initial jobless claims fell to 209,000 for the week ended November 18, showing a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week and surpassing a consensus estimate of 20,000. This data indicates the resilience of the U.S. economy despite higher interest rates.
