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Category 4 Hurricane Florence targets the coast of North/South Carolina with evacuations ordered in some areas
OPEC sees slower 2019 oil demand growth, warns on economy
OPEC on Wednesday further trimmed its forecast for 2019 global oil demand growth and said the risk to the economic outlook was skewed to the downside, adding a new challenge to the group’s efforts to support the market next year. In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said world oil demand next year would rise by 1.41 million barrels per day (bpd), 20,000 bpd less than last month and the second consecutive reduction in the forecast. The report provides further indication the rapid oil demand that helped OPEC and allies get rid of a supply glut will moderate in 2019. OPEC last month said global growth faced “numerous challenges”, although its latest report suggests concern about them has deepened. “Rising challenges in some emerging and developing economies are skewing the current global economic growth risk forecast to the downside,” OPEC said in the report. “Rising trade tensions, and the consequences of further potential monetary tightening by G4 central banks, in combination with rising global debt levels, are additional concerns.” Crude briefly pared gains after the OPEC report was released but later rallied to trade above $80 a barrel, a level reached earlier this year for the first time since 2014, supported by expectations for a further drop in Iranian exports.
U.S. officials have reached out to China for new trade talks: sources
The Trump administration has reached out to China for a new round of trade talks as it prepares to activate punitive U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Senior U.S. officials led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently sent an invitation to their Chinese counterparts, including Vice Premier Liu He, to hold another bilateral trade meeting. The timing and location of the proposed meeting were unclear, the people said. Mid-level U.S. and Chinese officials met on Aug. 22 and 23 with no agreements. A U.S. Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The invitation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. A meeting among cabinet-level officials could ease market worries over the escalating tariff war that threatens to engulf all trade between the world’s two largest economies and raise costs for companies and consumers.
