Benchmark oil prices are rising on Monday morning.
Quotes for September futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:14 a.m. increased by $0.38 (0.45%) to $85.38 per barrel. On Friday, their price rose by $0.26 (0.3%) to reach $85 per barrel. August contracts, which expired at the end of the previous trading, rose in price by $0.02 to $86.41 per barrel.
August futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in the morning added $0.36 (0.44) to $81.9. On Friday, the value of these contracts decreased by $0.2 (0.2%) and amounted to $81.54 per barrel at the close of the session.
In June, Brent rose in price by 1.2%, WTI – by 5.9%.
The hurricane season has begun in the Atlantic, and traders are watching to see how it might affect oil trade in the US.
As Hurricane Beryl approaches the Caribbean from the southeast, it has strengthened to a category four, the Associated Press reports.
“This is a very dangerous situation,” the US National Hurricane Center (NRC) said. According to its forecasts, Beryl will cause a storm surge and pose a threat to life due to wind speed.
The Verkhovna Rada may fill the vacancies in the Cabinet of Ministers at one of its upcoming plenary sessions, Ukrainian parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said.
“I am convinced that literally in the near future the Verkhovna Rada will return to personnel issues and our task is to fill the government,” Stefanchuk said on the air of a national telethon on Saturday.
He emphasized that one of the next plenary sessions of the parliament could be devoted to personnel issues.
According to Stefanchuk, it is necessary to move away from the practice of “acting ministers in certain areas.”
“There should be a minister, a full-fledged member of the government who fulfills the tasks entrusted to him by the people of Ukraine in the area of the executive branch entrusted to him,” the speaker noted.
Since August 2023, the sea corridor created by the Ukrainian Navy has exported 55 million tons of cargo, of which more than half (37.4 million tons) were agricultural products, the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure (MinRestore) reports.
“During the 10 months of operation of the Ukrainian Sea Corridor, a record amount of cargo was transported – 55 million tons of cargo – the cargo turnover of the ports of Greater Odesa,” the report says.
The Black Sea ports handled 1,954 thousand vessels.
Approaching the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi are 68 vessels, exporting almost 2 million tons of cargo, the Ministry of Reconstruction said.
In early June of this year, it was reported that the sea corridor had exported 50 million tons of cargo since its launch, with 1737 vessels handled in the ports.
Google Translate has added the Crimean Tatar language to the list of available translations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine noted in the social network X: “Thank you @Google for this crucial initiative, which demonstrates that the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples is valuable to the international community.”
Experts Club analyzed the main macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine. In connection with the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of the Interests of Business Entities during Martial Law or a State of War”, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine suspends the publication of statistical information for the period of martial law, as well as for three months after its termination. The exception is the publication of information on the consumer price index, separate information on statistical indicators for 2021 and for the period January-February 2022. The article analyzes open data from the State Statistics Service, the National Bank, and think tanks.
Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics, founder of the Experts Club think tank, presented an analysis of macroeconomic trends in Ukraine and the world based on official data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the NBU, the UN, the IMF, and the World Bank.
Macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine
According to the Center’s founder, Maksym Urakin, in the first quarter of 2024, Ukraine’s GDP grew by 4.1% to 5.3% compared to the same period last year.
“The main growth factors were an increase in agricultural exports and production activity in certain industries. However, the negative balance of foreign trade in goods in the first quarter amounted to almost $6 billion, which is 10% more than last year. This is due to an increase in energy imports after the strikes on the Ukrainian energy sector in March,” Urakin said.
According to the founder of Experts Club, Ukraine’s national debt has reached a new historical high of $151 billion, which is almost 6 trillion hryvnia in hryvnia equivalent. Inflation in Ukraine in the first quarter was 1% year-on-year, which is in line with the NBU’s target range.
Global economy
Maksim Urakin noted that analysts forecast that the global economy will grow by 2% in 2024, which is lower than expected at the end of last year. The main reasons for the slowdown are high interest rates in developed countries and global geopolitical uncertainty.
“The US economy grew by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024, which is lower than the growth rates observed in previous quarters, but still at an acceptable level for the development of the country’s economy. China’s economy grew by 5% due to a partial recovery from the crisis and government injections into the technology cluster,” the expert summarized.
He also reminded that the European Commission expects the eurozone economy to grow modestly in 2024 by only 0.8%, i.e. even less than 1%.
“High inflation and weak domestic demand remain the main problems of the EU countries. However, the British economy showed a modest growth of 0.6%, which indicates a weak recovery from the pandemic and Brexit,” Urakin said.
The economic situation in the world remains tense and depends on many factors, including geopolitical risks and changes in the global economic and political landscape. The Experts Club will continue to monitor the situation and provide up-to-date and balanced news.
Head of the Economic Monitoring project, PhD in Economics Maksim Urakin
The capital’s labor market is showing signs of recovery despite the ongoing hostilities. The Kyiv City Employment Service has released data on the most sought-after vacancies in the capital.
As of mid-June, the database of the Kyiv City Employment Center contained 3,000 offers from employers.
The labor market analysis revealed that workers in a wide range of industries, including industry, utilities, transportation and logistics, economics, medicine and education, are in the highest demand. This reflects the urgent need for personnel in key sectors of the Kyiv economy.
So who are the capital’s employers looking for:
1. Installers of electronic equipment (267 vacancies)
2. Accountants (261 vacancies)
3. Cooks (200 vacancies)
4. Drivers of motor vehicles (196 vacancies)
5. Sellers of food products (189 vacancies)
6. Nurses (143 vacancies)
7. Administrators (125 vacancies)
8. Teachers (113 vacancies)
9. Teaching assistants (110 vacancies)
10. Security guards (94 vacancies)
“Our data shows a gradual recovery of the labor market in Kyiv. We see an increase in demand for specialists in various fields, from IT to medicine. Our service is ready to support both job seekers and employers by offering a number of active programs and an individual approach to each client,” said Dmytro Novytskyi, Director of the Kyiv City Employment Center.
About the Kyiv Employment Service:
The Kyiv Employment Service provides comprehensive employment services, including vocational training, counseling and job search support. The service also offers compensation programs for employers.
