Reuters Oil advanced as weekly industry data showed U.S. crude inventories declined, trimming supplies that are at the highest seasonal level in at least 30 years. Futures climbed as much as 2.2 percent in New York after rising 5.4 percent the previous three sessions. Crude stockpiles fell by 12.1 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said ...

  Reuters Iraq has given fellow OPEC members the level of crude production at which it would be prepared to freeze output, according to the top official at the state oil marketing company. The second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could support a freeze “for a certain period,” Falah Al-Amri, the director general of Iraq’s Oil Marketing ...

Reuters Algeria’s government plans to slash spending by 14 percent in 2017, after a 9 percent cut this year, seeking to adjust to lower energy revenues, according to a government official. It is also considering increasing subsidised gasoline and diesel prices for a second straight year to rein in rising domestic consumption and lower the import bill, the official said. ...

  Bloomberg Egypt’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 15.5% in August, driven to its highest level in at least seven years by the weakening of the currency and an increase in electricity prices. Consumer prices rose 1.9 percent in the month, according to data published by the state-run CAPMAS statistics agency. Food and beverage prices, which account for the largest ...

  Bloomberg Steel exports from China slumped last month to the lowest level since February, offering some respite to world leaders just days after they expressed concern over a growing glut of the metal. Shipments from the biggest producer dropped to 9 million metric tons from 10.3 million in July and 9.7 million tons a year earlier, according to China’s ...

  Bloomberg China’s crude oil imports increased to the highest in four months, while coal shipments jumped to the most since December 2014 as domestic production of both fuels declines. The world’s biggest energy user imported 32.85 million metric tons of crude in August, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Thursday. That’s about 7.77 million ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s economy expanded more than the government initially reported for the second quarter, helped by an upward revision in capital spending, private inventories and public investment. Key Points Gross domestic product expanded by an annualized 0.7 percent in the three months ended June 30, more than the initial reading of 0.2 percent, according to revised data from the ...

  Bloomberg Chinese investors hold just 0.38 percent of Australia’s agricultural land, Treasurer Scott Morrison said, citing a report which he said will allay concern among voters that the Asian nation is buying up farmland on a massive scale. A total of 13.6 percent of agricultural land is held by international investors, with 52 percent of that owned by U.K. ...

  Bloomberg Iron ore shipments from the world’s largest bulk-export terminal in Australia swelled to a record, offering fresh evidence of strong supply and underpinning forecasts of lower prices through the year-end. Exports from Port Hedland totaled 42.9 million metric tons in August from 38.7 million in July and 39.2 million a year earlier, data from the Pilbara Ports Authority ...

  Riyadh / Reuters Petrochemical shares supported Saudi Arabia’s stock index on Thursday, benefiting from a bounce-back in crude oil prices, while Qatar underperformed as investors sold shares which had risen over the past month. Trade in some markets was thinned by the fact that Middle Eastern bourses will close for Eid al-Adha holidays during all or much of next ...