Oil prices fall on Friday, once again ending the week in the red.
The pressure on the market is exerted by fears of a recession in the global economy as a result of raising interest rates by central banks around the world. At the same time, the decline in prices is constrained by expectations of a reduction in supply on the market, including supplies from Russia.
The cost of November futures for Brent crude on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:15 am CST on Friday is $90.17 per barrel, which is $0.29 (0.32%) lower than the closing price of the previous session. As a result of trading on Thursday, these contracts rose by $0.63 (0.7%) to $90.46 per barrel.
The price of futures for WTI oil for November in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by this time by $0.25 (0.3%), to $83.24 per barrel. By the close of the market on Thursday, the value of these contracts rose by $0.55 (0.7%) to $83.49 per barrel.
OPEC countries may resort to further cuts in oil production if the market continues to decline as the current level of prices affects the budgets of members of the cartel, Nigerian Oil Minister Timipre Silva said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday.
Fitch Solutions experts note the presence of signals of weakening demand for oil in the physical market. “The near-term outlook remains highly uncertain,” Fitch said in a review.
Since the beginning of the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, the insurance market of Ukraine has decreased by five participants in the non-life segment, Yulia Khristolyubskaya, deputy head of the department for supervision of insurance companies of the National Bank of Ukraine, said at a meeting with insurance market participants on Thursday.
According to her, of these insurers, three left the market after the cancellation of licenses as a measure of influence, one – upon application, and one insurer, which was registered in January 2022 and did not receive a single license.
“We do not observe any rapid exit of companies from the market as a result of supervisory actions of the NBU or at the request of insurers. The market is stable and continues to work in most of its participants,” Khristolyubskaya said.
She also clarified that as of September 22, 2022, licenses for insurance activities were temporarily suspended for three companies, and they were canceled for one.
According to her, as of September 1, 2022, 140 insurance companies were registered in the State Register of Financial Institutions, 13 of them specialize in life insurance.
With reference to NBU data, Khristolyubskaya also said that 91% of insurers filed reports for 2021, 96% of those entered into the State Register for the first half of 2022, and 97% of companies included in the state register for the first quarter.
At the same time, she stressed that of all segments of the non-banking financial market, the insurance market has the highest level of reporting discipline. This is a consequence of the constant communication of the supervisor with problematic insurance companies by sending requests for information disclosure and applying adequate enforcement measures.
The share of the US dollar in international settlements increased in August for the third month in a row, while the use of the euro fell to a minimum in more than two years, according to the SWIFT settlement system.
The share of the single European currency fell to 34.5%, which is 1 percentage point lower than in July. Meanwhile, the dollar continued to hold a leading position for the fifteenth month with a figure of 42.6% against 41.2% in July.
In August 2021, the euro accounted for 36% of global settlements, the US national currency – 39%.
Demand for settlements in dollars, considered a safe haven currency, has grown significantly in recent months, including due to the energy crisis in Europe and the ongoing full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, Bloomberg notes.
The share of the Chinese yuan in international settlements last month reached a maximum since January – 2.3%. In July, it was 2.2%, and in August 2021 – 1.9%.
The pound sterling in the last month of the summer accounted for 6.5%, as in July. The share of the yen fell to 2.7% from 2.8%. In August last year, the figures were at the level of 6.7% for the British currency and 3.6% for the Japanese.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had an online call with American actress and singer Barbra Streisand, who became the UNITED24 fundraising platform ambassador.
“During an online call, I discussed the details of our cooperation with Barbra Streisand, who became the UNITED24 Fundraising Platform Ambassador in the direction of Medical Assistance. The world can get a little tired of thinking about Ukraine every day, but communities in the US and European countries continue to support and help us. It is very important for us that such talented and world-famous people support the platform. Mrs. Streisand, thank you for supporting Ukraine!”
Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (Odesa), together with the CheckEye startup, is implementing artificial intelligence technologies for the early diagnosis of visual impairment in patients with diabetes.
The clinic told Interfax-Ukraine that the CheckEye technology, in particular, will make it possible to diagnose diabetic retinopathy at an early stage, which is one of the most common complications in patients with diabetes. It can lead to partial or complete loss of vision.
The CheckEye solution improves the accuracy and availability of diabetic retinopathy diagnostics by using the power of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence, using special algorithms, analyzes the image of the patient’s fundus for the presence of symptoms of the disease and promptly informs the doctor about the results of the diagnosis.
Artificial intelligence can correctly diagnose a disease by integrating into a software solution a database with information on the course of the disease, access to which is available to experts from the Filatov Institute. With considerable experience and access to clinical materials, they help to fill the database with a variety of fundus images of patients with diabetic retinopathy at different stages of the disease. Thanks to the received materials, artificial intelligence is able to conduct a comparative analysis between the images of the diseased and healthy eye and provide detailed results to the doctor. Having received the information, the specialist will be able to develop and offer the patient a treatment plan as soon as possible.
Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetic retinal disease that is completely controlled in the early stages. It is one of the most severe complications of diabetes. It manifests itself in the form of diabetic microangiopathy affecting the vessels of the retina of the eyeball, observed in 90% of patients with diabetes mellitus. It most often develops with a long course of diabetes mellitus. Complete loss of vision in patients with diabetes occurs 25 times more often than among people who do not suffer from this disease.
Amid war and increased levels of stress among the population, a significant increase in the number of cases of diabetes can be expected in the coming years – up to 25%, which makes the introduction of CheckEye technology even more important.
Stock indices of Western European countries are falling at the auction on Thursday against the backdrop of tightening monetary policy by the central banks of the world.
The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 by 11:25 quarter fell by 0.72% and amounted to 404.1 points.
The British stock index FTSE 100 is falling by 0.36%, the French CAC 40 – by 0.68%, the German DAX – by 0.56%. The Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 are down 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.
Investors evaluate the results of the September meeting of the Federal Reserve System (FRS). The American Central Bank raised the interest rate on federal funds (federal funds rate) by 75 basis points, now its range is 3-3.25% per annum. The decision, taken unanimously by all 12 voting members of the FOMC, coincided with the forecasts of most economists and analysts.
The Fed raised its base rate by 75 bp. for the third meeting in a row. It is now at its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. At the same time, based on FRS estimates, by the end of 2022 the rate will reach 4.4% per annum.
The Swiss Central Bank on Thursday announced a rate hike by 75 bp, to 0.5% per annum. The regulator is resorting to raising the rate for the second time in a row to combat high inflation: in June, the rate was raised by 50 bp to minus 0.25% per annum. Prior to this, the interest rate in Switzerland had been at minus 0.75% since 2015.
The Swiss Central Bank has become the latest of the European monetary policy regulators to end the era of negative interest rates.
Inflation in Switzerland in August was recorded at the highest level over the past thirty years – 3.5% in annual terms.
The market is now waiting for the publication of the decision of the Bank of England on the rate, which will take place at 14:00 Moscow time. The British Central Bank will consider the possibility of raising the key interest rate by 75 bp, from the current 1.75% to 2.5% per annum, against the background of record inflation in the country and the depreciation of the pound sterling, analysts believe.
If the forecast comes true, then the rate of rate hike will be the highest since 1989. Since December last year, the British central bank has raised it six meetings in a row, most recently by 50 bp.
Shares of the Finnish energy company Fortum Oyj (+7.4%), which owns the German Uniper, continue to rise in price on news of the sale of a 56% stake in Uniper to the German government.
The price of securities of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group AG is reduced by 0.5%. The British edition of the Financial Times, citing sources, said that the bank plans to split the investment banking division into three separate businesses and sell some profitable divisions.
Stock quotes of the French hotel chain owner Accor S.A. fall 7.4% after JP Morgan downgraded the company’s rating from neutral to below market, expressing concern that Accor will not be able to return to pre-pandemic levels of profitability.
