Markets

Market Update: Asian Shares Slip on Trade Worries, Oil Gives up Some Gains

Published

5 years ago

June 25, 2018

Asian Shares Slip on Trade Worries, Oil Gives up Some Gains

Asian shares fell on Monday on escalating trade tensions between the United States and major economies while oil prices gave up some of their hefty gains made after major oil producers agreed to a modest increase in production.

S&P500 mini futures eased as much as 0.6 percent in early trade while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.25 percent. Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.4 percent.

The falls were triggered by a report from the Wall Street Journal that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to bar many Chinese companies from investing in U.S. technology firms and block additional technology exports to China.

“Until last week, there was vague optimism that we can muddle through this. But now it looks like, unless the U.S. lays down its arms, things will be getting more chaotic,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities.

As the threat of a full-blown trade war has become all the more real, MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe has fallen in five of the last six weeks, including last week, when it declined one percent – its biggest weekly drop in three months.

Chinese shares were among the biggest losers, tumbling 3.7 percent last week, as Trump put the heat on Beijing, threatening to hit $200 billion of Chinese imports with 10 percent tariffs.

Policy makers in China moved fast to temper any potential economic drag from the trade dispute with the United States, with China’s central bank on Sunday saying it would cut the amount of cash that some banks must hold as reserves by 50 basis points (bps).

The reduction in reserves, the third by the central bank this year, had been widely anticipated by investors and is aimed to accelerate the pace of debt-for-equity swaps and spur lending to smaller firms.

Following the move, the CSI300 Index of mainland Chinese shares rose 0.1 percent in early trade.

On the other hand, the index of global auto manufacturers , which shed 4.7 percent last week, remained soft.

Trump threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on Friday on all imports of EU-assembled cars, a month after his administration launched an investigation into whether auto imports posed a national security threat.

A senior European Commission official said on Saturday that the European Union will respond to any U.S. move to raise tariffs on cars made in the bloc.

Investors and traders are worried that threats of higher U.S. tariffs and retaliatory measures by others could derail a rare period of synchronised global growth.

Oil prices were supported after OPEC and non-OPEC producers agreed on a modest increase in production from next month, without announcing a clear target for the output increase, leaving traders guessing how much more will actually be pumped.

OPEC and non-OPEC said in their statement that they would raise supply by returning to 100 percent compliance with previously agreed output cuts, after months of underproduction.

“In reality, there aren’t many countries that can raise outputs, with only Saudi Arabia having the capacity to flexibly increase the output. But if Saudis alone increase outputs sharply, they could face backlash from some other countries,” said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior commodity economist at Nomura Securities.

“So markets seem to be sceptical how much Saudi can increase. We could see some profit-taking after last week’s gains but the market will be supported. The next focus will be on the size of output increase by Saudis in July,” he added.

U.S. crude futures traded at $68.36 per barrel, down 0.3 percent for the day after Friday’s 4.6 percent rally.

International benchmark Brent fell 2.0 percent, however, to $74.08 per barrel, giving up more than a half of their gains made on Friday.

In the currency market, the euro held firm at $1.1656 , bouncing back after hitting an 11-month low of $1.1508 on Thursday.

The euro climbed on Friday as traders were encouraged by improved regional economic growth data and new assurances by Italian politicians that their nation would not leave the single currency.

Business activity in Germany and France, the euro zone’s top two economies, picked up in June despite trade tensions between Europe and the United States, IHS Markit data showed.

The dollar fell 0.4 percent to 109.50 yen, hitting its lowest levels in two weeks as the yen firmed on concerns about global trade frictions.

The Turkish lira gained by up to 1.6 percent on expectations of a stable government after Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party claimed victory in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary polls on Sunday.

But his victory kept alive worries about inflation and the central bank’s independence given Erdogan’s recent comments suggesting he wants to take greater control of monetary policy.

The lira last traded at 4.6500 to the dollar, up 0.5 percent from 4.6625 at the end of last week, but off the day’s high hit earlier of 4.5870.

Bitcoin steadied after hitting seven-month lows during the weekend as the security of cryptocurrency exchange operators came under more scrutiny.

The digital money fell to as low as $5,780 and last stood at $6,155.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO/Founder of Investors King Limited. A proven foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and many more. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

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Crude Oil

Weak Chinese Data Weighs on Oil Prices Today

Oil prices declined by 2% on Wednesday as weak Chinese data and a stronger United States dollar dragged on commodity prices.

Published

1 day ago

May 31, 2023

Samed Olukoya

Oil prices declined by 2% on Wednesday as weak Chinese data and a stronger United States dollar dragged on commodity prices.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, dipped by $1.75, or 2.37%, to $71.96 a barrel at 3:46 pm while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) shed $1.90, or 2.74%, to $67.56.

The decline in prices was caused by weak Chinese manufacturing activity. The data released by the Chinese government showed that activity in the sector contracted faster than expected in May with the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declining from 49.2 posted in April to 48.8 in May, below the 49.4 predicted by economists.

Also, the strong U.S. dollar is another factor impacting the purchase of crude oil as buyers holding foreign currencies found it too expensive.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, saw support from cooling European inflation and progress on the U.S. debt ceiling standoff, which will advance to the House of Representatives for debate on Wednesday.

Market players are preparing for the upcoming June 4 meeting of OPEC+ – the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia.

Mixed signals by major OPEC+ producers on whether or not the group will decide to further cut oil production have sparked recent volatility in oil prices.

Despite the latest pullback in prices, HSBC and analysts do not expect OPEC+ to announce further cuts in the upcoming meeting.

HSBC said on Wednesday that stronger oil demand from China and the West from the summer onwards will bring about a supply deficit in the second half of the year.

Crude Oil

NNPCL Confirms Pump Price Upward Review, See New Price List

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) on Wednesday confirmed it has indeed increased the price of petrol across the country.

Published

1 day ago

May 31, 2023

Samed Olukoya

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) on Wednesday confirmed it has indeed increased the price of petrol across the country.

This was made known in a statement signed by Garba Deen Muhammad, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, and made available to the public.

The statement reads “NNPC Limited wishes to inform our esteemed customers that we have adjusted our pump prices of PMS across our retail outlets, in line with current market realities.

“As we strive to provide you with the quality service for which we are known, it is pertinent to note that prices will continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics.

“We assure you that NNPC Limited is committed to ensuring a ceaseless supply of products.

“The company sincerely regrets any inconvenience this development may have caused. We greatly appreciate your continued patronage, support, and understanding during this time of change and growth.”

Price of petrol jumped up across the country immediately after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared that the fuel subsidy is gone on Monday during his inauguration.

Checks by Investors King show that in some parts of the country, prices rose as high as 500% before NNPCL reportedly released the widely circulated list below to curtail marketers’ excesses.

Price was cheapest in Lagos at N488 a litre because of its close proximity to the port while it was highest in the northern states with Maiduguri and Damaturu recording the highest at N557 a litre. See the list below

NNPCL outlets across the country have been directed to implement the new price, starting from May 31, 2023.

“DEAR ALL. Following Management approval of the Upward review of NNPC PMS pump price as in below table for Mega/Standard/Leased Stations, Please find below schedules for the RMSs and Wayne to handle. Please implement meter change as approved effective today 31st May 2023. Wayne is to attend to all locations as relates to their area of coverage in our network,” a statement read.

Crude Oil

NNPC Claims Federal Government Owes N2.8 Trillion in Petrol Subsidy

Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has revealed that the federal government still owes the firm a staggering sum of N2.8 trillion, which was spent on petrol subsidy.

Published

1 day ago

May 31, 2023

Samed Olukoya

During a press briefing following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Tuesday, Kyari emphasized that the subsidy payment has become unsustainable, hindering the company from adequately funding its core operations.

He stated, “Today, we are waiting for them to settle up to N2.8 trillion of NNPC’s cash flow from the subsidy regime, and we can’t continue to build this.”

Kyari further explained that despite the provision of “N6 trillion in 2022, and N3.7 trillion in 2023,” the NNPC has not received any payment from the federation. The NNPC had been using its cash flow to cover the petrol subsidy payments, but the government has been unable to reimburse the N2.8 trillion that has already been spent.

He elaborated, “That means they (the federal government) are unable to pay, and we have continued to support this subsidy from the cash flow of the NNPC. When we deduct our fiscal obligations of taxes and royalties, there is still a balance that we are funding from our cash flow. And that has become very difficult and it is affecting our other operations.”

Kyari expressed concern that the inability to retain cash for investment in their core businesses poses significant challenges for the company.

He stressed that the government must compensate and repay the NNPC for the money spent on the subsidy.

He stated, “So, today the country does not have the money to pay for the subsidy. There is an incremental value that will come from it. But it is not an issue of whether you can do it or not because today we cannot afford it, and they are not able to pay our bill. That comes to how much the federation owes the NNPC now. Today, we are waiting for them to settle up to N2.8 trillion of NNPC’s cash flow from the subsidy regime, and we cannot continue to build this.”

It was reported by Investors King that subsidy payments reached N3.3 trillion in the previous year, spanning 11 months. The immediate past federal government had budgeted N3.35 trillion for energy subsidy in the first half of the year, assuring that under-recovery payments would cease.

On April 5, the federal government announced it had secured $800 million loan from the World Bank as part of its post-subsidy palliative plans.

Regarding the recent petrol queues across the country, Kyari emphasized that the confusion arose from the president’s statement that “subsidy is gone.”

Marketers and consumers were seeking clarity on the matter, which caused a rush for petrol and subsequently led to queues.

Kyari assured Nigerians that the government would implement measures to mitigate the impact of subsidy removal starting in June.