Dubai Telegraph - Oil prices plunge on China lockdowns, stocks waver

EUR -
AED 3.902662
AFN 71.721309
ALL 97.379693
AMD 411.736337
ANG 1.916033
AOA 969.546232
ARS 1060.127839
AUD 1.625131
AWG 1.914127
AZN 1.801069
BAM 1.95799
BBD 2.146602
BDT 127.04809
BGN 1.957961
BHD 0.40045
BIF 3079.178589
BMD 1.062518
BND 1.422859
BOB 7.372594
BRL 6.109269
BSD 1.063139
BTN 89.778648
BWP 14.463859
BYN 3.479155
BYR 20825.362437
BZD 2.142898
CAD 1.481204
CDF 3048.36535
CHF 0.93686
CLF 0.037964
CLP 1047.547807
CNY 7.684238
COP 4713.916414
CRC 544.034137
CUC 1.062518
CUP 28.15674
CVE 110.873467
CZK 25.383911
DJF 188.83088
DKK 7.460262
DOP 64.017024
DZD 141.785204
EGP 52.286219
ETB 129.094855
FJD 2.403428
GBP 0.833407
GEL 2.911181
GHS 17.441278
GMD 75.96944
GNF 9170.597089
GTQ 8.215576
GYD 222.406682
HKD 8.263897
HNL 26.62657
HTG 139.832992
HUF 410.833148
IDR 16783.435843
ILS 3.990905
INR 89.664885
IQD 1391.899224
IRR 44737.341364
ISK 147.509645
JMD 168.928957
JOD 0.753435
JPY 164.266469
KES 137.598404
KGS 91.590977
KHR 4308.512491
KMF 489.156922
KRW 1495.616936
KWD 0.326842
KYD 0.885933
KZT 527.584963
LAK 23332.906547
LBP 95201.656596
LKR 310.88237
LRD 196.937992
LSL 19.305457
LTL 3.137341
LVL 0.642707
LYD 5.169153
MAD 10.541246
MDL 19.030182
MGA 4930.08572
MKD 61.689003
MMK 3451.018615
MOP 8.517928
MRU 42.388737
MUR 50.055102
MVR 16.426769
MWK 1843.46991
MXN 21.859829
MYR 4.714381
MZN 67.921539
NAD 19.306154
NGN 1777.25314
NIO 39.074133
NOK 11.766909
NPR 143.645436
NZD 1.791815
OMR 0.409087
PAB 1.063139
PEN 4.025844
PGK 4.265746
PHP 62.428268
PKR 295.327037
PLN 4.352023
PYG 8306.291093
QAR 3.868364
RON 4.977046
RSD 116.988606
RUB 104.392478
RWF 1451.40026
SAR 3.992277
SBD 8.862205
SCR 14.442803
SDG 639.107629
SEK 11.579093
SGD 1.422059
SLE 24.21852
SOS 607.24094
SRD 37.43785
STD 21991.987562
SVC 9.302844
SZL 18.732581
THB 36.986341
TJS 11.300434
TMT 3.72944
TND 3.344276
TOP 2.488527
TRY 36.515562
TTD 7.224421
TWD 34.473942
TZS 2828.280754
UAH 44.030751
UGX 3906.553553
USD 1.062518
UYU 44.822246
UZS 13632.112684
VES 47.682447
VND 26934.843765
XAF 656.722488
XCD 2.871509
XDR 0.800934
XOF 646.010986
XPF 119.331742
YER 265.443696
ZAR 19.237269
ZMK 9563.943308
ZMW 28.943737
ZWL 342.130521
  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    24.54

    -0.73%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    13.67

    +0.15%

  • BCC

    -2.0100

    141.13

    -1.42%

  • RIO

    -1.4000

    61.2

    -2.29%

  • JRI

    -0.3000

    13.22

    -2.27%

  • RBGPF

    0.0300

    60.22

    +0.05%

  • BCE

    -0.1600

    27.69

    -0.58%

  • CMSD

    -0.2100

    24.75

    -0.85%

  • BTI

    0.0900

    35.24

    +0.26%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1700

    7.16

    -2.37%

  • AZN

    0.4000

    65.19

    +0.61%

  • GSK

    -0.8300

    35.52

    -2.34%

  • NGG

    -1.2400

    62.9

    -1.97%

  • RELX

    -1.2100

    46.59

    -2.6%

  • BP

    -0.7600

    28.16

    -2.7%

  • VOD

    -0.8500

    8.47

    -10.04%

Oil prices plunge on China lockdowns, stocks waver
Oil prices plunge on China lockdowns, stocks waver

Oil prices plunge on China lockdowns, stocks waver

Oil prices plunged Tuesday as major crude consumer and global economic engine China placed nearly 30 million people under Covid lockdown.

Text size:

Hong Kong, Chinese mainland and European markets slumped, but Wall Street opened higher, with investors tracking the resurgence of the coronavirus in China, the war in Ukraine and a key US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Crude futures slumped under $100 per barrel just a week after benchmark contract Brent North Sea soared to a 14-year high close to $140 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We have good news and we have bad news," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"The good news is that oil prices are down sharply... The bad news is that the big drop in oil prices is due to growth concerns which, by extension, don't bode well for earnings growth prospects," O'Hare said.

While the drop in oil prices could ease inflation concerns, analysts warned that the lockdowns in China could worsen a global supply-chain crisis that has played a major role in driving up prices.

The stock market "negativity has spread beyond China's borders with chip makers in Europe taking a hit," said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

The virus situation in the world's second-biggest economy has brought more volatility to markets that have swung between fears over the war in Ukraine and hope that Moscow and Kyiv could strike a peace deal.

"This double whammy of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with the fresh chaos caused by Covid in China is rattling nerves," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

- Harming 'Putin's war machine' -

Global stock markets have been in a spiral since Russian troops marched into Ukraine, leading international powers to impose crippling sanctions on the country and numerous companies to pull out.

The UK government on Tuesday imposed an additional 35-percent import tariff on a swathe of Russian goods, including vodka, and banned exports of luxury products.

"We want to cause maximum harm to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war machine while minimising the impact on UK businesses," the Department for International Trade said.

A series of powerful explosions Tuesday rocked residential districts of Kyiv, killing two people, just hours before talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume.

Among the hardest-hit stock markets in recent days has been Hong Kong, which was already under pressure from China's regulatory crackdown on technology firms as part of the government's move to tighten its grip on the economy.

News that US authorities were also looking to crack the whip over Chinese firms listed in New York added to the selling pressure.

Investors are also keeping a close eye on the Fed's two-day meeting which ends Wednesday, with policymakers expected to hike interest rates to bring decades-high inflation under control.

- Key figures around 1345 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 6.9 percent at $95.92 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 6.6 percent at $99.87

New York - DOW: UP at 33,083.26 points

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,143.69

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.1 percent at 13,777.71

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,309.19

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,705.84

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 5.7 percent at 18,415.08 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 25,346.48 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 5.0 percent at 3,063.97 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0988 from $1.0949 late Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3071 from $1.3003

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.07 pence from 84.18 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 117.94 yen from 118.19 yen

burs-bcp-lth/spm

A.Hussain--DT