Bloomberg European natural gas prices started the New Year declining as mild weather curbed demand. Benchmark futures dropped 7.9% to the lowest level since February 21, extending three weeks of net declines. Weather forecasts point to temperatures above seasonal norms for most of the region in next two weeks, which will help Europe avoid depleting its stocks too soon as …

Bloomberg President Xi Jinping said tough challenges remain in China’s fight against Covid-19 and acknowledged divisions in society that led to rare spontaneous protests, after weeks of silence on a virus policy pivot that’s infected hundreds of millions and delivered a severe blow to economic activity. In a New Year’s address, Xi said the country is in a new phase …

  Bloomberg Indonesia’s inflation surprised on the upside in December, challenging the central bank and market’s view that price pressures were well on the wane. Consumer prices rose 5.51% from a year ago, driven by higher costs of gasoline, household fuels, air freight rates and transport fares, the nation’s statistics agency said. That beats even the highest forecast in a …