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(Bloomberg) -- China’s crude imports soared to an all-time high last month, capping an astounding rebound in oil demand after the nation’s economy was flattened by lockdowns to contain the coronavirus pandemic.Imports surged to 47.97 million tons in May, or 11.34 million barrels a day, according to customs data on Sunday. That’s a 15% jump from April and 160,000 barrels a day more than the previous record set in November.The figure underlines how complete the demand recovery has been in the world’s largest oil importer, even as other countries are still struggling with the impact of bruising lockdowns on their economies. It also suggests that China has been taking advantage of the collapse in prices this year to fill its strategic reserves on the cheap.“Much of it is likely opportunistic buying to capitalize on low crude costs,” said Michal Meidan, head of China research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies....
(Bloomberg) -- Oil advanced toward $43 a barrel in London after OPEC and its allies agreed to extend historic output curbs by an extra month, promising stricter compliance to ensure members don’t pump more than they pledged.Brent futures added 1.4% after posting a sixth weekly increase on Friday, the longest run of gains since May 2018. The extension is a victory for Saudi Arabia and Russia, which were deadlocked in a brutal price war just two months ago. The de-facto leaders of OPEC+ showed their commitment to shore up oil markets globally over the weekend, and even cajoled Iraq, Nigeria and other laggards to fulfill their promises to reduce production.Oil has doubled since April as OPEC+ cuts trimmed a global glut and demand staged a rebound after the easing of restrictions in some countries, particularly China. Still, a sustained recovery may be hampered by deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing, a...
The coronavirus pandemic may cause banks to face eroding profits on a grand scale, and tougher rules on calculating future losses aren't helping....
An unexpectedly strong May jobs report fueled a stock rally that briefly sent the Nasdaq Composite above its February 19 record high during Friday’s session....
(Bloomberg) -- The Chinese behemoth that makes electric-car batteries for Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG developed a power pack that lasts more than a million miles -- an industry landmark and a potential boon for automakers trying to sway drivers to their EV models.Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is ready to produce a battery that lasts 16 years and 2 million kilometers (1.24 million miles), Chairman Zeng Yuqun said in an interview at company headquarters in Ningde, southeastern China. Warranties on batteries currently used in electric cars cover about 150,000 miles or eight years, according to BloombergNEF.Extending that lifespan is viewed as a key advance because the pack could be reused in a second vehicle. That would lower the expense of owning an electric vehicle, a positive for an industry that’s seeking to recover sales momentum lost to the coronavirus outbreak and the slumping oil prices that made gas guzzlers more...
(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration has fired multiple salvos against Huawei Technologies Co. since the start of a campaign to derail China’s technological ascendancy. The latest blow threatens to cripple the country’s tech champion.Huawei’s leafy campus in southern China has been engulfed in a state of emergency since the Commerce Department in May banned the sale of any silicon made with U.S. know-how -- striking at the heart of its semiconductor apparatus and aspirations in fields from artificial intelligence to mobile services. Its stockpiles of certain self-designed chips essential to telecom equipment will run out by early 2021, according to people familiar with the matter.Executives scurried between meetings in the days after the latest restrictions, according to one person who attended the discussions. But the company has so far failed to brainstorm a solution to the curbs, they added, asking not to be identified talking about private matters. While Huawei can...
