Oil Holds Losses Near 4-Week Low as Drop in U.S. Drilling Slows

---

Oil held losses near the lowest level in almost four weeks as the pace of U.S. drill rig reductions slowed in the world’s biggest crude consumer.

Futures were little changed in New York after dropping 1.7 percent on Friday. The number of active machines targeting oil declined by 1 to 594, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. Oil prices may climb to $60 a barrel by the end of next year, Ali Al Mansoori, the chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development, said in an interview.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery was at $44.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 1 cent, at 10:09 a.m. Sydney time. The contract slid 78 cents to $44.60 on Friday, the lowest close since Sept. 28. The volume of all futures traded was about 66 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have decreased 16 percent this year.

Brent for December settlement was 3 cents lower at $47.96 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices fell 4.9 percent last week. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $3.33 to WTI.

Source: Bloomberg

Gold Holds Decline as U.S. Rate Bets Weighed With Global Growth

---

Gold held declines after a three-day drop as investors weighed the prospect for higher U.S. borrowing costs against a dimming global economic outlook before a Federal Reserve meeting this week.

Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.2 percent to $1,162.25 an ounce and was at $1,163.10 at 8:44 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal sank to $1,159.05 on Friday, the lowest price since Oct. 13, as the dollar jumped.

Gold investors are tracking the Fed to see when borrowing costs will start to rise for the first time since 2006, with policy makers beginning a two-day meeting in Washington on Tuesday. While U.S. central bankers are weighing growth, inflation and labor-market data to decide whether to tighten policy, China’s central bank cut rates last week and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled that he will bolster stimulus. The dollar posted the biggest weekly gain since May last week.

Source: Bloomberg

Asian Stocks Extend Two-Month High as China Cuts Interest Rates

---

Asian stocks rose after China’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate, stepping up efforts to cushion a deepening economic slowdown.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3 percent to 136.15 as of 9 a.m. in Tokyo after closing Friday at the highest since Aug. 19. The gauge climbed 9.7 percent this month through the end of last week as investors pushed back expectations for the first U.S. interest-rate increase and central banks signaled further measures will be enacted to stave off weak economic growth. Late on Friday, China said it would cut rates for the sixth time in a year, and lowered the amount of deposits banks must hold as reserves.

Japan’s Topix index gained 1.2 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.4 percent. New Zealand markets are closed for a holiday, while markets in Hong Kong and China have yet to open.

China’s one-year lending rate was cut to 4.35 percent from 4.6 percent, the People’s Bank of China said on its website on Friday, while the one-year deposit rate will fall to 1.5 percent from 1.75 percent. Reserve requirements for all banks were lowered by 50 basis points, with an extra 50 basis point reduction for some institutions.

China’s Communist Party meets Monday to map out a blueprint for 2016-2020 in an economy confronting an era of sub-7 percent growth for the first time since Deng Xiaoping opened the nation to the outside world in the late 1970s.

The Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve decide on monetary policy this week as central banks worldwide seek to revive slowing global growth and lackluster inflation. Traders see a 6 percent chance of a Fed rate increase this week, according to futures data compiled by Bloomberg.

E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.1 percent. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent on Friday to cap a fourth weekly gain amid better-than-estimated earnings.

Source: Bloomberg

Japanese Stocks Rise After China Rate Cut, Ahead of BOJ Meeting

---

Japanese stocks rose after China cut interest rates on Friday and amid speculation the Bank of Japan will also boost stimulus this week.

The Topix index added 1.2 percent to 1,566.27 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, building on last week’s gains of 2.8 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.1 percent to 19,024.59, rising above 19,000 for the first time in two months. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased its loss for the year on Friday after policy makers in China cut interest rates and lenders’ reserve requirements, while their counterparts in Europe last week signaled they will bolster stimulus if needed.

China’s announcement to cut benchmark interest rates on Friday came a day after the ECB said it will consider adding to its bond-buying program this year. The Bank of Japan meets on Friday, with 15 of 36 economists surveyed by Bloomberg from Sept. 29-Oct. 2 expecting the central bank to expand monetary stimulus.

E-mini futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent after the underlying gauge rose 1.1 percent on Friday. Google parent Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. added more than $80 billion in market value after earnings topped estimates.

Source: Bloomberg