March, 2018

• 17 March

  Japan’s labour unions squeeze small pay rise from top firms

  Bloomberg Japan’s labour unions have won pay rises for workers, although they’re still too small to generate the big increase in consumption that the Bank of Japan needs for inflation. Initial results for this year’s “spring offensive” wage talks show workers receiving a 2.16 percent increase in monthly pay, according to figures released by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation. This ...

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• 17 March

  Singapore named world’s most expensive city

  

  Bloomberg Singapore is the world’s most expensive city for the fifth straight year in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) latest Worldwide Cost of Living report, with Paris and Zurich tied for second place. Asia Pacific and European destinations dominated the ranks of costliest cities identified in the report released this week. Tokyo and Osaka were conspicuous in their absence from ...

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• 17 March

  Sugar bears come out to play as surplus swells on Asia harvests

  

  Bloomberg There’s about to be enough sugar piled up in warehouses to make three chocolate cakes for every person in the world, and that’s got the market spooked. Supplies are booming thanks to the outlook for record harvests in India and Thailand, the world’s No. 2 exporter. The glut has already sent futures in New York to the lowest since ...

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• 17 March

  IEA: Global oil demand picks up but still lags rising supply

  

  LONDON / Reuters Global oil demand is expected to pick up this year but supply is growing at a faster pace, leading to a rise in inventories in the first quarter of 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The IEA raised its forecast for oil demand this year to 99.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from 97.8 million bpd ...

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• 17 March

  Asian spot prices for May slip as N-reactors restart

  

  SINGAPORE / Reuters Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices fell this week as demand eased in North Asia on expectations for higher temperatures in the region and as nuclear reactors restart in Japan, limiting the need for gas for power generation. Spot prices for May delivery slipped to around $7.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), said several trade ...

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• 17 March

  BP seeking buyers for its stake in Egyptian oil and gas business

  

  LONDON / Reuters BP is seeking buyers for its stake in a 50-year-old oil and gas business in Egypt as it focusses on newer deepwater gas fields off the country’s Mediterranean coast, banking sources said. The London-based company has in recent weeks pitched to potential buyers its stake in Gulf of Suez Oil Company (GUPCO), a joint venture with the ...

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• 17 March

  Glencore, Vitol eye stake in Zambia’s sole oil refinery

  Bloomberg Glencore Plc and Vitol SA are among companies submitting bids for a stake in the Indeni Petroleum Refinery, Zambia’s only fuel processor, according to the southern African nation’s development agency. Seven offers were made for a stake in the 20,000 barrel-a-day plant, including from the China Petroleum Technology & Development Corp., Philia Trading Pte Ltd, and a group including ...

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• 17 March

  Construction begins on Saudi Aramco shipyard joint venture

  

  DUBAI / Reuters Construction work has begun on a joint venture to build a shipyard on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast, oil rig builder Lamprell Plc said in a statement. The joint venture, International Maritime Industries (IMI), started operations after reaching agreement for a loan from the state-backed Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), the statement said. The SIDF agreed in principle ...

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• 17 March

  Brazil to import less fuel as Petrobras grabs market share

  

  Bloomberg Brazil fuel imports are set to fall from a record as the country’s state-owned oil company lowers prices in a bid to regain market share. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, which owns 13 out of the 16 refineries in the country, cut diesel prices by 47 percent and gasoline by 38 percent at the refinery gate since January. As a result ...

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• 17 March

  ‘Brexit straining EU’s united front’

  

  Bloomberg National interests are starting to test the united front that the 27 remaining European Union members have shown so far during the Brexit talks, according to three people with knowledge of the process. Less than a week before EU leaders meet to consider a transition deal for the UK, their officials have aired their differences over the way forward, ...

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