Latest data shows UK households feeling the pinch, as Britain posts a trade surplus with non-EU countries
- Bad news: Latest: Savings ratio hits record low
- Disposable incomes fall too
- Good news: Current account deficit shrinks
- Britain runs £7.4bn surplus with non-EU countries
- UK GDP confirmed at 0.7%
- UK house prices fell this month
6.16pm BST
More signs of growing activity from US oil companies, with drills added for the eleventh week in a row.
The Baker Hughes rig count showed 15 rigs were added last week, taking the total to 824, which is 374 higher than this time last year. This marks the best quarter for rigs being added since the second quarter of 2011.
U.S. OIL RIG count rises to 662, highest since Sep 2015. Gas rig count rises to 160, highest since Dec 2015 http://pic.twitter.com/1NMnkk8st5
It’s not been a particularly good quarter for oil prices despite the agreed production quotas for OPEC, and it’s not hard to see why when you look at the rise in the US rig count since the beginning of this year...This return of US shale, and record inventories has taken the edge off any expectation that oil producers will be able to engineer higher prices in the short term.
5.34pm BST
It has been a positive quarter for markets but it drifted away somewhat on the final day.
The FTSE 100 rose for the fourth quarter in a row, as the drop in the pound following the Brexit vote continued to boost overseas earnings. But a dip in commodity companies as metal prices fell, plus a drop in South African-related stocks such as Old Mutual following the sacking of the country’s finance minister, saw the index slip back on the day.
Continue reading...March 31, 2017 at 10:27PM
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from Graeme Wearden (until 2pm) and Nick Fletcher
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