Oil rallied to the highest in nearly two years in New York after OPEC+ shocked markets with a decision to keep supply limited as the global economy starts to recover from a COVID-19 pandemic-driven slump.
US benchmark crude futures topped US$66 a barrel on Friday, while its global counterpart Brent neared the key US$70 level.
West Texas Intermediate for April delivery on Friday rose US$2.26 to US$66.09 a barrel, up 7.5 percent for the week.
Brent crude oil for May delivery on Friday rose US$2.62 to US$69.36 a barrel, up 4.9 percent weekly.
The supply curbs and the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines
Oil headed toward US$65 a barrel after OPEC+ chose not to relax supply curbs even as the global economy pulls out of a slump driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, confounding widespread expectations that the group would loosen the taps.
The surprise decision spurred a wave of crude price forecast upgrades by major banks.
The producer alliance agreed to hold output steady in April, while Saudi Arabia said that it would maintain its 1 million barrel-per-day voluntary production cut.
West Texas Intermediate yesterday rose a further 1.5 percent in Asian trading, after surging by more than 4 percent to the highest close since April
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TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan’s central bank said on Sunday it had banned Deutsche Bank from trading Taiwan dollar deliverable and non-deliverable forwards and suspended it for two years from trading forex derivatives as part of a crackdown on speculation.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is pictured on a company s office in London, Britain July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
The Taiwan dollar is at its highest in more than 23 years against the U.S. dollar as the island’s trade-dependent economy booms on global demand for its tech products fuelled by people working from home.
Companies are improving the way they report about their impact on the climate, Norway's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday, having long called for fuller disclosures.
Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd reported a loss after tax of AUD50.1 million (US$39.9 million) for the six months to December 31, compared to AUD4.0-million profit a year earlier. The latest result includes “one-off impairment charges” of AUD29.2 million, “primarily due to the recent deterioration in the group’s Latin America business,” stated the gaming supplier in a Thursday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange.
The half-year results also include a currency-exchange loss of approximately AUD13 million due to the strengthening of the Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar, said Ainsworth Game.
“Excluding currency impacts and impairment charges… the loss before tax was AUD14 million in the current period,” it added.