China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that the country's business activity index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector was 49.6 points in September, down from 50.1 points in August. A reading below 50 points indicates a slowdown in business activity. The decline in September's manufacturing PMI was unexpected: analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected it to be 50 points. The decline in...

Qatar's state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Petroleum has signed a 15-year agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to supply 3.5 million tonnes of natural gas (LNG) per year, Qatar Petroleum said. "Qatar Petroleum has entered into a long-term purchase and sale agreement with CNOOC Gas and Power Trading & Marketing Limited, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil...

Oil consumption will return to pre-demand levels in the third quarter of 2022, said Eugene Leong, president of oil and gas company BP Singapore. In his view, Asia remains the driver of demand growth. In an interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Leong said that the recovery in oil demand has already started and stocks of oil and most petroleum products had returned to normal levels by June. He believes...

The Chinese authorities, in their struggle to save the planet, have imposed restrictions on electricity consumption, which resulted in a shutdown of factories supplying components, including for Apple products. This, in turn, has put the supply chain at risk at the peak of electronics sales, writes Reuters. In particular, electronic components manufacturer Foxconn, which is the main supplier to...

On 25 September, car queues, sometimes hours-long, for petrol formed in several parts of the UK. Some petrol stations have been forced to impose restrictions on fuel sales or close down altogether, Reuters reported. Pictures and videos of motorists trying to fill jerry cans or getting into fights at petrol stations for space in queues have been circulating on the social media. Police have urged...

Gold prices are down 1.5 per cent or more on Thursday evening, falling below $1,750 an ounce, as a wave of risk sentiment has hit the global financial market following the US Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting, trading data showed. In the morning, the price of December gold futures on the New York Comex exchange was down 1.68%, or $29.95, to $1,748.6 per troy ounce. December silver futures were down...

Global non-cash payment volumes will reach nearly 3 trillion payments by 2030, up from 1 trillion last year, according to a study by international consultancy PwC. "Between 2020 and 2025, global non-cash transactions will grow by 80% from around 1 trillion transactions to almost 1.9 trillion, and by 2030 volumes will triple (reaching 3 trillion). In Asia-Pacific, the growth rate will be higher,...

At its September meeting, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep its key rate at 0-0.25% per annum. At the same time, the regulator came close to announcing the winding down of the asset purchase programme - its statement indicated that such a decision could become "justified in the near future". The US Federal Open Market Committee refrained from changing the rate (urgently reduced to...

Global GDP may grow by 5.7% this year and by 4.5% next year, according to an updated forecast by the OECD. Compared to previous estimates of the organisation, the global growth forecast has been reduced by 0.1 percentage point for 2021 and increased by the same amount for the next year. Overall, says the OECD, global GDP has already exceeded the pre-pandemic level. At the same time, it is 3.5%...