OPEC has difficulty to produce more oil following the respective June agreement, according to an internal document seen by Reuters. An increase in Saudi Arabia was offset by declines in Iran, Venezuela and Angola.
The OPEC and their allies agreed in June to increase supply as U.S. President Trump urged producers to offset losses. Such losses were partially caused by US administration’s sanctions on Iran. He also urged them to dampen rising prices.
Forex news – Bits & Pieces from Reuters
EU negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday a Brexit deal with the United Kingdom was 90 percent done. However, there is still a chance not to reach an accord due to ongoing barriers over the Irish border.
U.S. fund managers in June replicated defensive recommendations from the previous month with slightly more cash, a Reuters poll showed. This just underscored worries that a U.S. trade conflict with China will hurt global growth.
China’s economic growth cooled to its weakest quarterly pace since the global financial crisis. Further, regulators move quickly to calm nervous investors as the trade war with the United States began to bite.
Forex – Commodities
The dollar stepped back from a one-week high on Thursday as investors took profits after a rally this week. Fed minutes signalling more rate hikes in store encouraged this rally.
The British pound was flat versus the dollar after May said London is willing to discuss an extension of the transition period after Brexit.
The euro changed hands at $1.1519 on Thursday, up 0.2% versus the greenback, after losing 0.65 percent on Wednesday. The euro has lost less than a percent versus the dollar so far this month.
Oil prices fell $1 a barrel to below $80 on Thursday as the fourth weekly increase in U.S. crude inventories suggested adequate supply. Saudi-U.S. tension and falling Iranian exports supported the drop. Brent crude futures fell by 94 cents a barrel to 79.11$ a barrel. In addition, U.S. crude futures fell by 77 cents a barrel from their last close.
Sources: Reuters, CNN money, BBC
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.