Oil Resumes Drop as Iran Loads Post-Sanctions Cargo to Europe

Oil resumed its decline below $30 a barrel as Iran loaded its first cargo to Europe since international sanctions ended. Futures fell as much as 1.7 percent in New York after surging 12 percent on Friday, while Brent in London slid 2.1 percent. A tanker for France’s Total SA was being loaded Sunday at Kharg Island while vessels chartered for Chinese and Spanish companies were due to arrive later the same day, an Iranian oil ministry...

Gold Heads for Back-to-Back Drop on Revival in Appetite for Risk

Gold rally faltered, with bullion set for the first back-to-back loss in a month, as rising share markets pared demand for a haven. Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.9 percent to $1,226.68 an ounce and traded at $1,228.34 at 8:55 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal lost 0.7 percent on Friday after surging to $1,263.48 on Feb. 11, the highest level since February 2015. Gold has been the...

China Stocks Tumble as Markets Reopen After Week-Long Holiday

China stocks slumped as trading resumed after a week-long holiday which saw global equities enter a bear market on concern over the strength of the world economy. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.4 percent to 2,698.16 as of 9:47 a.m. local time, led by financial and industrial companies. The MSCI All-Country World Index retreated 2.6 percent since the city’s markets closed on Feb. 5, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index...

China Exports Drop in January as Challenges Flow into New Year

China exports dropped in January, while imports also fell, adding to economic challenges confronting the world’s biggest trading nation. Overseas shipments declined 6.6 percent in January in yuan terms from a year earlier, the customs administration said on Monday, compared with a 2.3 percent increase in December. Imports extended a stretch of declines to 15 months, falling 14.4 percent, leaving a trade surplus of 406.2 billion yuan...

Japan Economy Contracted Again in Final Quarter of 2015

Japan’s economy contracted in the final three months of 2015 as the nation struggles to break free of a cycle of expansion and contraction despite more than three years of the Abenomics program. Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 1.4 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, following a revised 1.3 percent gain in the third quarter, the Cabinet Office said on Monday in Tokyo. The median estimate of 33 economists surveyed by...