Passenger flow through western border of Ukraine in Sept 2022, thousand (graphically)
Data: State Border Service
Oil prices show weak negative dynamics on Thursday morning after a 3% jump a day earlier.
February futures for Brent crude oil on London’s ICE Futures Exchange fell by $0.28 (0.32%) – to $86.69 per barrel by 7:17 a.m. Kk. The previous day the price of these contracts grew by 3.2% up to $86.97 per barrel. The cost of January Brent futures, which expired on Wednesday, grew by 2.9%, reaching $85.43 per barrel.
WTI futures for January delivery on NYMEX fell by $0.22 (0.27%) to $80.33 per barrel by the same time. Those contracts rose 3% on Wednesday to $80.55 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Brent was down 9.9% in November, while WTI gained 6.9%, mostly on investors’ concerns about lower demand in China due to new lockdowns caused by coronavirus outbreak.
On Wednesday the oil market, however, was supported by the news that the authorities of the People’s Republic of China softened the anti-covids measures in a number of cities and provinces, including Beijing. Investors expect official Beijing to abandon its zero tolerance policy to the coronavirus after mass protests in the country earlier this week.
Moreover, the official data of the US Department of Energy showed a weekly drop of oil reserves by 12.58 mln barrels to 419.08 mln barrels. Meanwhile, experts expected reserves decline by only 3.12 mln barrels.
The market’s attention is gradually shifting to the OPEC+ meeting to be held on December 4. Some analysts expect that the alliance may decide on further reduction of production quotas.
The agreement was reached during the international exhibition Adipec 2022 in Abu Dhabi, where Centravis presented its products.
We are talking about Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), with which Centravis has been cooperating for a long time. However, after a series of shelling of the territory of Ukraine this autumn, the client from Oman suspended cooperation due to possible security risks.
During the meeting at the exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the representatives of Centravis managed to convince the partners from Petroleum Development Oman in the ability to fulfill the order qualitatively and on time.
“After successful negotiations, we received a new order for the production of almost 20 tons of GTP duplex steel grade pipes,” said Natalia Ryazantseva, Head of Marketing Department.
According to her, Centravis currently uses various forms of communication with customers to ensure a stable order book. In particular, weekly letters with information about production and security situation in the region and the country are published on the company’s website. Also, representatives of Centravis regularly travel to meet with customers, the company participates in international exhibitions. This autumn, Centravis had separate stands at the exhibitions in Maastricht World Stainless Steel and Adipec 2022 in Abu Dhabi.
“In times of war, each order is even more important than in peacetime. We managed to preserve the main backbone of customers and, accordingly, the production volume and team. This is the main achievement and we are doing everything to keep the economic front and help the country”, – said Natalia Ryazantseva.
Centravis is one of the ten largest manufacturers of seamless stainless pipes in the world. The company’s production volume at the end of 2021 amounted to 19.43 thousand tons.
From the first days of the full-scale war against Ukraine, the company joined the support of the rear and the front. 119 employees of the company joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, funds were allocated for the purchase of necessary materials and equipment for the forces of the security and defense sector – in accordance with the requests received by the company.
Generation distribution in power system of Ukraine in 2022
ENTSO-E
Yield of main crop crops in 2021-2022 (million tons)
NBU
Western European stock indices are mainly increasing during the trading on Wednesday.
Traders are assessing a fresh batch of statistics and waiting for a speech by Jerome Powell, head of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed).
Powell will speak at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, giving his views on the economy and labor market. The event also includes answers to questions from the audience. Traders will closely follow the Fed chief’s statements, hoping to get signals about the future trajectory of monetary policy.
In early November, the Fed raised the rate by 75 basis points (bps) for the fourth consecutive meeting, and now the rate is at its highest level since January 2008 – 3.75-4% per annum. The last U.S. central bank meeting this year is December 13-14, and the market is expecting a more modest 50 bps rate hike.
The Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the region’s largest companies was up 0.36% to 438.85 points by 10:57 a.m.
Germany’s DAX stock index is up 0.45%, Britain’s FTSE 100 is up 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.3% and Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 0.31%. Meanwhile, Spain’s IBEX 35 is down 0.05%.
France’s GDP volume rose 0.2% in the third quarter from the previous three months, final data from the national statistics institute Insee showed. The final data matched a preliminary estimate. Analysts on average had not expected a revision, according to a Trading Economics survey.
GDP growth slowed from a 0.5% rebound in the second quarter.
Consumer prices in France, harmonized with European Union standards, rose 7.1% year on year in November, preliminary data from the Insee National Statistics Office showed.
Prices also rose 7.1% in October, and analysts polled by Trading Economics expected inflation to remain at the same level.
Meanwhile, consumer spending in the country collapsed 2.8 percent in October compared with the previous month, according to data from the Insee National Statistics Office. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expected a more moderate decline of 1 percent. The consensus forecast of experts polled by Trading Economics envisioned a decline of 0.6%. The decrease in consumer spending was the maximum since April 2021.
The number of unemployed in Germany increased by 17 thousand in November, according to the Federal Employment Agency of Germany. The rise in the index was marked at the end of the sixth month in a row.
Experts interviewed by Bloomberg agency forecasted an average growth of 13.5 thousand. Respondents of Trading Economics expected an increase of 13 thousand.
Shares of software developer Samhaellsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden are among the leaders of growth among Stoxx 600 components, which rose in price by 6%.
Shares of Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) are up 0.4%. The Swedish clothing retailer said it will cut about 1,500 jobs as part of a previously announced cost-cutting plan. The company also expects to record restructuring costs of more than SEK800 million ($75.6 million) in the fourth quarter.
Mulberry Group PLC’s stock price is down 15.8%. The British luxury brand, which specializes in the production of exclusive bags and accessories made of leather, received pretax loss in the first half of the current fiscal year.
Shares of SAS AB rose by 0.45%. The Scandinavian airline increased its net loss in the fourth fiscal quarter amid the negative impact of rising fuel prices and exchange rate fluctuations.
