Oil Prices Fall On Covid-19 Worries

Oil prices fell on Monday as rising Covid-19 cases prompted more lockdowns around the world, threatening a global economic recovery.

Benchmark Brent crude dropped 0.7 percent to $48.89 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate oil futures were down nearly 1 percent at $45.83. Both benchmarks gained for a fifth consecutive week last week.

California entered another wide-sweeping lockdown as the U.S. notched a record number of coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the third day running.

Hard-hit Los Angeles County reached another alarming milestone in the coronavirus surge, surpassing 10,000 new daily cases.

The number of nationwide cases continued to spike in Japan, though the overall figures remain significantly lower than many other global regions.

A significant rise in the case trajectory prompted the South Korean government to raise the coronavirus alert to the second-highest level in Seoul.

The southern German region of Bavaria is tightening its lockdown regime after announcing a “disaster situation.”

Rising U.S.-China tensions and reports suggesting that Iran is preparing to raise oil exports also weighed on the commodity.

Reuters reported that the United States is preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing’s disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong.

Iran has instructed its oil ministry to prepare installations for production and sale of crude oil at full capacity within three months, state media said.

Manchester Arena attack: Jailed terrorist Hashem Abedi has admitted involvement in planning bombing, inquiry told

Hashem Abedi has admitted involvement in planning the Manchester Arena bombing for the first time, an inquiry has been told.

The 2017 terror attack, which targeted an Ariana Grande concert, killed 22 people.

Pope Francis will visit Iraq March 5-8 of next year, Vatican says

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis will make the first-ever visit by a pope to Iraq next year, visiting five places, including Baghdad, Erbil and Mosul between March 5-8, the Vatican said on Monday.

“The programme of the Journey will be made known in due course, and will take into consideration the evolution of the worldwide health emergency, spokesman Matteo Bruni said in statement.

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens As Imports Rise More Than Exports

With the value of imports rising by more than the value of exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of October.

The report said the trade deficit widened to $63.1 billion in October from a revised $62.1 billion in September. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $64.8 billion from the $63.9 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The wider deficit came as the value of imports increased by $5.0 billion or 2.1 percent to $245.1 billion, while the value of exports climbed by $4.0 billion or 2.2 percent to $182.0 billion.

The increase in the value of imports reflected notable growth in imports of cell phones and other household goods, computer accessories and industrial supplies and materials.

Meanwhile, significant growth in exports of natural gas, organic chemicals, civilian aircraft and semiconductors contributed to the increase in the value of exports.

“With a slowdown in consumption weighing on goods imports and the recovery in production and exports still catching up, the trade deficit is likely to be little changed over the coming months,” said Michael Pearce, U.S. Senior Economist at Capital Economics.

The report said the goods deficit widened to $81.4 billion in October from $80.8 billion in September, while the services surplus fell to $18.3 billion from $18.7 billion.

Rupee settles 10 paise lower at 73.90 against US dollar

It finally closed at 73.90 a dollar, registering a decline of 10 paise over its previous close of 73.80

The rupee dropped by 10 paise to settle at 73.90 (provisional) against the U.S. currency on Monday due to a stronger dollar in overseas markets.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit witnessed a volatile trading session. It opened at 73.79 and rose to an intra-day high of 73.70 and dropped to a low of 73.96.

It finally closed at 73.90 a dollar, registering a decline of 10 paise over its previous close of 73.80.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.48% to 91.13.

The U.S. dollar rose on Monday after hitting a two-and-a-half years low last week as investors cut bets on riskier assets due to fresh concerns over Brexit and U.S.- China trade relations.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 347.42 points or 0.77% higher at 45,426.97 while the broader NSE Nifty rose 97.20 points or 0.73% to 13,355.75.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth ₹2,969.59 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.79% to $48.86 per barrel.

U.S. Factory Orders Jump More Than Expected In October

Data released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased for the sixth consecutive month in October.

The Commerce Department said factory orders climbed by 1.0 percent in October after surging by an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in September.

Economists had expected factory orders to increase by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.1 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The report said orders for durable goods shot up by 1.3 percent, unchanged from the previously published increase, while orders for non-durable goods rose by 0.7 percent.

Shipments of manufactured goods also increased for the sixth consecutive month, jumping by 1.0 percent in October after rising by 0.5 percent in September.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said inventories ticked up by 0.2 percent in October after edging down by 0.1 percent in September.

With shipments rising by more than inventories, the inventories-to-shipments ratio slipped to 1.41 in October from 1.42 in September.