Oil Holds Biggest Loss in 6 Weeks as U.S. Stockpiles Expand Glut

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Oil held the biggest loss in six weeks as rising U.S. crude stockpiles kept supplies at the highest level in more than eight decades.

Futures dropped as much as 0.9 percent in New York after slumping 4 percent Wednesday, the most since Feb. 11. Inventories rose by more than three times what was projected in a Bloomberg survey, while imports last week increased to the highest since June 2013, Energy Information Administration data showed. Iraq will attend a meeting between major exporters in Doha next month, according to an oil ministry spokesman.

WTI for May delivery slid as much as 34 cents to $39.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $39.52 at 8:29 a.m. Hong Kong time. The contract fell $1.66 to $39.79 Wednesday. Total volume traded was about 40 percent below the 100-day average. Front-month prices are up 0.2 percent this week, heading for a sixth weekly advance.

Brent for May settlement was 18 cents lower at $40.29 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract declined $1.32 to $40.47 on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude was at a 77-cent premium to WTI.

Source : Bloomberg

Dollar Rally Sends Gold, Oil Prices Lower as U.S. Stocks Slide

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The dollar extended its longest winning streak in a month, while U.S. stocks slid a second day as prices for oil, gold and emerging markets retreated amid increasing speculation that the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates.

The U.S. currency gained for a fourth day versus the euro and the yen, sending the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index higher by 0.7 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. The greenback strengthened versus all 16 major peers, rising 0.4 percent to $1.1178 per euro and 0.1 percent to 112.43 yen.

The pound weakened 0.7 percent to $1.4113, having slid 1.1 percent on Tuesday amid speculation the Brussels terror attacks will boost the case of campaigners who want to see Britain out of the European Union.

Source: Bloomberg

Asia Stocks Fall as Oil Drops, Investors Weigh Higher U.S. Rates

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Asian stocks dropped for a second day as oil tumbled below $40 a barrel and investors weighed the direction of U.S. monetary policy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 percent to 128.10 as of 9:08 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for the lowest close in a week. U.S. shares retreated on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard joined a chorus of U.S. policy makers floating the prospect of an interest-rate hike as soon as April should the economic data warrant it.

Japan’s Topix index slipped 0.6 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 0.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 1.1 percent. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 0.1 percent. Markets in China and Hong Kong have yet to start trading.

Source : Bloomberg

Japanese Shares Fall Second Day as Oil Tumbles on U.S. Supplies

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Japanese shares fell for a second day, following U.S. equities lower, as commodity shares led declines after crude oil dropped by the most in six weeks and speculation mounted that the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates.

The Topix index slipped 0.3 percent to 1,360.42 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, with three shares falling for every two that rose. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated 0.2 percent to 16,964.18. U.S. oil fell 4 percent on Tuesday to below $40 a barrel after a government report showed American crude supplies climbed to the highest level in more than eight decades.

The Topix has recovered about half its losses since a global equity rout at the start of the year sent the gauge into a bear market. The measure is still down about 12 percent in 2016, and is trading about 14.3 times estimated earnings. That compares with 17.2 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 15.4 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Source : Bloomberg

Hong Kong Shares Close Down Slightly

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Hong Kong shares finished slightly lower on Wednesday as investors in Asia weighed signs of economic warming but remained on the sidelines after deadly bomb attacks in Brussels.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.3 percent to 20,615.23 points, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.3 percent to 8,873.33.

The total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 1.2 billion shares.