oil prices
Sterling’s the Biggest Loser Against a Strengthening Dollar
February 22, 2016
Sterling fell 2.0% against the U.S. currency, which also has risen 0.9% against the euro, 0.8% relative to the Swiss franc and 0.5% vis-a-vis the yen. Emerging market currencies and commodity-sensitive monies have also performed well this Monday. The U.S. dollar lost 1.1% against the Aussie dollar, 0.4% versus the kiwi, 0.5% against the rand […] More
Markets Step Closer to the Abyss
January 15, 2016
West Texas Intermediate oil plunged 4.7% overnight on signs that sanctions against Iranian exports will be lifted next week, boosting world supply. Commodity-sensitive currencies like the Aussie and New Zealand dollars (down 1.7% each) and the Canadian dollar (off 0.9% against its U.S. counterpart) fell sharply overnight. China’s Shanghai composite index sank 3.6%, bringing its […] More
Year’s Difficult Start Continuing
January 12, 2016
Much of the damage emanates from China. Turning back from the transition from investment- and export-led growth to consumption-led expansion in the world’s second largest economy is not a socially or economically sustainable long-term option. The switch is proving to be messier than hoped. One problem is the shroud of secrecy surrounding all aspects of […] More
Sell-Off Intensifies
August 24, 2015
A sell-everything mood pervades stocks. At 15,636 shortly after the open, the DJIA was down 5.0% on the day and 14.8% from its all-time high of 18,351 last May 19. This was the first correction (a drop of at least 10%) since 2012 and just 5.2 percentage points shy of a bear market (20% or […] More
Stronger Dollar, Weaker Oil Price and a Russian Interest Rate Cut
March 13, 2015
The dollar advanced overnight by 0.9% against the kiwi, 0.6% relative to the Australian dollar, 0.5% versus the Swissie, 0.4% against the euro, loonie and sterling but just 0.1% vis-a-vis the Japanese yen. The yuan is unchanged. West Texas Intermediate oil dropped 0.8% to $46.69 per barrel. Governments by and large had been projected an […] More
Crude Oil Prices and U.S. CPI Inflation
February 23, 2011
Oil prices were volatile but ultimately trendless through the latter 1980s and the 1990s. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices averaged $19.37 from 1987 through 1998. Broken down into three-year sub-periods, the overage price of oil was $18.26 per barrel in in 1987-89, $22.18 in 1990-92, $18.03 in 1993-95 and $19.01 in 1996-98. There are 42 […] More
Energy and Inflation
February 18, 2010
Most of the recent volatility in inflation has been caused by energy. Canadian non-energy consumer prices, reported today, rose 1.3% both in the year to January 2010 and the 12 months to September 2009. Total inflation in that interval, however, swung from an on-year decline of 0.9% to an increase of 1.9% over the same […] More
