Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices dip back below $30 January 15, 2016 Brent crude oil dipped back below the $30 per barrel mark today, as the prospect of more Iranian oil looms over an already oversupplied market. Brent crude, the global benchmark, shed 3.5 per cent to $29.89 per barrel this morning. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US benchmark, shed 5.05 per cent to $29.62. "It was [...]
Big Four fight back: Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco report rising sales after years of stagnation January 15, 2016 Tesco became the third supermarket to reveal better-than expected Christmas results yesterday, in the clearest sign yet that the industry is staging a successful fightback against German discounters Aldi and Lidl. The so-called big four – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – have been battling to respond to changing shopping habits and reverse the tide [...]
Petrol prices plummet, but what’s that got to do with the price of water? January 14, 2016 As we all know, the oil industry is not having a great time. Brent crude fell to below $30 (£20.80) a barrel for the first time since 2004 on Wednesday, and now there’s panic in the press at the idea that petrol, now 86p per litre, might become cheaper than water. The Institute of Economic [...]
Government on the defensive as North Sea suffers through another oil price slump January 13, 2016 The government was forced to defend its efforts to shore up the British oil industry yesterday, as record US stocks sent the price of Brent crude oil falling below $30 a barrel in late evening trading. During Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), Sir Alan Duncan, a former oil trader, asked Prime Minister David Cameron to launch an [...]
Petrol prices will fall throughout January to catch up with the latest slump in the oil price January 13, 2016 The supermarket petrol price war is set to intensify, as the "lower for much longer" mantra sweeps through global oil markets. Oil has fallen around 15 per cent since all big four supermarkets – Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons – slashed diesel prices to below £1 earlier this month. "It takes two to three weeks [...]
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons: Supermarket petrol price wars to intensify as oil rout deepens January 13, 2016 The supermarket petrol price war is set to intensify, as the "lower for much longer" mantra sweeps through global oil markets. Oil has fallen around 15 per cent since all big four supermarkets – Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons – slashed diesel prices to below £1 earlier this month. A Morrisons spokesperson said: “If oil prices continue to fall [...]
Supermarket bosses have nowhere to hide January 13, 2016 Who said there’s blood on the high street? Retail stocks rose well into green territory yesterday, Morrisons up nine per cent and Debenhams a whopping 16 per cent higher, after both reported a jump in like-for-like sales. Defying City expectations, the pair of troubled FTSE-250 outlets remind us that retail should not be viewed as an [...]
As analysts slash their oil forecasts for 2016, will prices fall to $20 per barrel this year? January 13, 2016 David Morrison, senior market strategist at Spread Co, says Yes. The oil selloff began over 18 months ago. The trigger was the US dollar turnaround as the Federal Reserve prepared to end QE. The dollar rally continued as divergent policies between the worlds’ major central banks became ever more apparent. Last month, the Fed hiked and [...]
Brent crude and US WTI oil slide towards $30 per barrel January 12, 2016 Oil prices slid towards $30 per barrel and to levels not seen in over a decade today. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell over three per cent to a low of $30.43 per barrel earlier in the day, its lowest level since April 2004, before edging up to $31.12. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, fell over three per cent to [...]
FTSE 100 index opens up on supermarkets as share price of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer rise following Morrisons results January 12, 2016 The FTSE 100 index opened higher this morning as housebuilders and supermarkets made gains. The UK's blue-chip index rose 0.2 per cent to 5,883 points, led higher by Tesco, Sainsbury's and housebuilder Berkeley Group. The index made gains despite continued scepticism about the state of the Chinese economy. Read more: And they’re off – Shire and Baxalta agree $32bn [...]