Oil steady after U.S. crude stockpiles drop; traders watch Gulf of Mexico storm

Oil steady after U.S. crude stockpiles drop; traders watch Gulf of Mexico storm

Oil was steady on Thursday, holding gains from the previous session after another fall in U.S. crude inventories indicated a tighter market, and as a tropical storm was heading for oil producing facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $52.58 per barrel at 0438 GMT, up 1 cent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $48.37 a barrel, down 4 cents.


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Asia stocks brush off Wall St. slide after Trump’s comments, dollar recovers

Asia stocks brush off Wall St. slide after Trump's comments, dollar recovers

Asian stocks and the dollar edged up on Thursday, shaking off the risk aversion that gripped financial markets overnight after President Donald Trump threatened to shut down the U.S. government and end the North American Free Trade Agreement. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) pulled back 0.1 percent, with steelmakers slumping after the Nikkei business daily reported that Toyota Motor Corp was looking to cut the price of steel supplied to component makers in the October-March period.


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Ahead of Lee verdict, Samsung Group lacks leadership ‘Plan B’

Samsung Group, South Korea's leading conglomerate, has no 'Plan B' for taking big decisions if its billionaire de facto leader Jay Y. Lee is jailed for corruption, people familiar with the matter said. Lee, 49, has been in detention since February, on trial for charges ranging from embezzlement to perjury in a scandal that prompted the ouster of the country's ex-president Park Geun-hye. Facing a possible leadership vacuum, Samsung Group - whose businesses range from the world's leading smartphone and chip maker to hotels and insurance - has no plans to set up a leadership committee or a new executive role to drive strategy and take key decisions.


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