Energy bills are expected to fall to about £2,200 from July in a fillip for the government and households struggling with ballooning costs. Leading energy consultancy Cornwall Insight has predicted that, excluding government subsidies, typical annual household energy bills will have fallen from £4,279 now to £3,208 from April, and then will ease to roughly £2,200 for the remainder of the year. The forecasts are about £300 a year lower than its previous expectations because of the recent fall in wholesale gas costs. Nevertheless, bills are set to remain far…
Tag: Commodities
Oil, yuan and stocks slide as China protests send ‘waves of unease across financial markets’ – business live
From 2h ago Introduction: Oil and stocks hit by China protests A currency trader at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Global stock markets are on edge as the protests intensify at major Chinese cities against the country’s stringent zero-Covid rules. Stocks have fallen across Asia-Pacific markets, while oil has dropped to a near 11-month low, as public demonstrations in cities…
Oil prices hit lowest level since Ukraine invasion on China growth fears
Global oil prices have dropped amid concerns over weaker growth in the Chinese economy caused by repeated Covid lockdowns and a downturn in the property sector. A barrel of Brent crude fell by about 5% to below $94 (£78) on Monday, hitting the joint lowest levels since the Russian invasion of Ukraine as traders reacted to weaker figures from the world’s second-largest economy. China’s central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates on its key lending facilities for the second time this year after disappointing official growth figures. Factory output in the…
The Guardian view on Biden’s risky gamble: betting on lowering oil prices | Editorial
Joe Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia this month highlights the paradox of American power. The US has the economic heft to punish an opponent – but not enough to alter the behaviour of a determined adversary. Sanctions will see Russia’s economy contract by 9% next year. But Washington needs more nations to join its camp to halt Moscow’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Mr Biden has been forced to prioritise war objectives over ethics in meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA says ordered the barbaric murder of the…
Russia becomes China’s top oil supplier amid Ukraine war sanctions
China’s crude oil imports from Russia soared by 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Imports of Russian oil, including supplies pumped via the east Siberia Pacific pipeline and seaborne shipments, totalled nearly 8.42m tonnes, according to data on Monday from the Chinese general administration of customs. The shipments are equivalent to almost 2m barrels per day (bpd) and up a quarter from…
UK bond yields soar as investors anticipate interest rate rise; China’s growth slows – business live
Some economists fear that raising interest rates at this point would be a blunder. It would tighten monetary policy at a time when households and businesses are already being squeezed by higher energy costs, and as government Covid-19 support measures, such as the universal credit uplift, are withdrawn, hurting vulnerable families. A rate hike might calm inflation expectations; policymakers worry that workers will seek higher wages to match rising prices in the shops (although not every employee has as much leverage as, say, a qualified HGV lorry driver). But it…