Oil prices climbed by more than US$1 a barrel on Friday, one day after China's decision to abandon its currency peg to the US dollar, making oil prices cheaper for China, the world's second-largest consumer of crude.
The renewed terror attacks on London's public transit system led to some nervousness on the markets. But Thursday's attacks were much less serious than the initial assault two weeks ago and analysts said their effects had dissipated by Friday. A new incident on Friday, with police killing a suspect on a London subway train, also did not brake prices.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose US$1.52 to settle at US$58.65 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as bargain hunters stepped in. The contract had dropped US$0.89 on Thursday to close at US$57.13 after the explosions in London raised travel concerns.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose US$0.013 to US$1.5819 a gallon while gasoline rose US$0.016 to US$1.697 a gallon. On London's International Petroleum Exchange, September Brent crude futures climbed US$1.86 to settle at US$57.58 a barrel.
China's abandoning the currency peg was "a slight net positive" for country's short-term oil demand, since imported crude will be cheaper in yuan terms, Barclays Capital said.
"If we are right, then the flow of diesel and gasoline exports out of China could slow down and crude oil imports pick up," said Kevin Norrish, director of commodity research.
But some analysts suggested that Beijing's currency moves will eventually lead to less domestic oil consumption -- and falling prices.
Sweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has in the past year upended vaccine recommendations, with the country last month ending its longstanding guidance that all children receive inoculations against flu, hepatitis A and other diseases. The unprecedented changes have led to diminished vaccine usage, hurt the investment case for some biotechs, and created a drag that would likely dent revenues and
Macronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest NOR flash memory supplier, yesterday said it would spend NT$22 billion (US$699.1 million) on capacity expansion this year to increase its production of mid-to-low-density memory chips as the world’s major memorychip suppliers are phasing out the market. The company said its planned capital expenditures are about 11 times higher than the NT$1.8 billion it spent on new facilities and equipment last year. A majority of this year’s outlay would be allocated to step up capacity of multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory chips, which are used in embedded multimedia cards (eMMC), a managed
CULPRITS: Factors that affected the slip included falling global crude oil prices, wait-and-see consumer attitudes due to US tariffs and a different Lunar New Year holiday schedule Taiwan’s retail sales ended a nine-year growth streak last year, slipping 0.2 percent from a year earlier as uncertainty over US tariff policies affected demand for durable goods, data released on Friday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Last year’s retail sales totaled NT$4.84 trillion (US$153.27 billion), down about NT$9.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, from 2024. Despite the decline, the figure was still the second-highest annual sales total on record. Ministry statistics department deputy head Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳) said sales of cars, motorcycles and related products, which accounted for 17.4 percent of total retail rales last year, fell NT$68.1 billion, or
In the wake of strong global demand for AI applications, Taiwan’s export-oriented economy accelerated with the composite index of economic indicators flashing the first “red” light in December for one year, indicating the economy is in booming mode, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Moreover, the index of leading indicators, which gauges the potential state of the economy over the next six months, also moved higher in December amid growing optimism over the outlook, the NDC said. In December, the index of economic indicators rose one point from a month earlier to 38, at the lower end of the “red” light.
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