Here are your top FOX Business Flash headlines for March 11th.
Oil prices are falling, likely due to recent developments with COVID-19 in China, according to ING.
“The growing number of cases has resulted in the city of Shenzhen being put on lockdown,” the Dutch bank notes. “This will raise concerns about a potential hit to demand. But just as importantly, it suggests that China is not ready to abandon its zero-COVID policy.
ING also notes that ICE Brent speculators cut their net long positions last week, signaling increased risk aversion in the oil futures market.
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Early Monday morning, April Brent crude fell 2.8% to $109.49 a barrel, while WTI crude fell 2.9% to $106.18 a barrel, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, which Moscow calls a “special operation”, rattled global energy markets. The price of Brent crude fell 4.8% last week after hitting $139.13 on March 7. U.S. crude posted a weekly fall of 5.7% after hitting a high of $130.50 on March 7. The last time both contracts reached these price peaks was in 2008.
Oil prices fell in early Asian deals on Monday after rising on Friday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Investors are concerned about the worsening situation in the oil market after the Russian invasion. Prices fell last week as traders assessed potential improvements in the supply outlook that were disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is showing signs that it may be ready for substantive talks on Ukraine, even as Moscow intends to “destroy” its neighbor, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Sunday.
Russian-Ukrainian talks are not currently underway, but will continue on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.
Peskov made the comment after Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said Ukraine and Russia were actively negotiating on Sunday.
Russia said Sunday it was counting on China to help it withstand the economic hit from Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, but the United States warned Beijing not to provide that lifeline.
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U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who is scheduled to meet with senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday, warned Beijing that he would “absolutely” face consequences if he helped Moscow evade sweeping sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
Nozzles for refueling gasoline pumps. Close-up of fuel at a gas station (iStock / iStock)
– Reuters contributed to this report.