INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Gains in oil prices evaporated on Monday after a brief and chaotic insurrection in Russia, with investors questioning whether the turmoil in
Moscow could disrupt global energy supplies.US WTI crude briefly climbed 1.3% during Asian trading hours
But it later gave up those gains, last trading flat
Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched up 0.1%, trimming earlier advances
Both futures lost nearly 4% last week.Russia glimpsed the threat of armed insurrection over the weekend, with Wagner Group mercenaries
marching toward Moscow as President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution, before a sudden deal seemed to defuse the crisis as quickly as it had
emerged.Although the immediate risk of bloodshed appears to have dissipated, much remains uncertain
at IG Group.Signs that global energy demand could weaken this year as economies slow have pushed US crude prices down by nearly 14% so far
this year to just under $70 a barrel
(It peaked above $120 a year ago.) The international benchmark, Brent crude, is down by a similar margin.But anything that could jeopardize
the Ukraine conflict, but the weight of the current economic slowdown in the US and the continuation of higher interest rates are likely to
investors became increasingly worried that more interest rate hikes by central banks would tip major economies into a prolonged
recession.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last Wednesday that further rises in interest rates were likely necessary this year to
of England Thursday, which opted for an increase of half a percentage point after data earlier this week revealed surprisingly stubborn
inflation.And then on Friday, data showed that Japanese inflation excluding fresh food and energy costs hit a 42-year high of 4.3%, fueling
speculation the Bank of Japan might rethink its loose monetary policy and start tightening.Source - CNN-Agencies
