The United States has finalized contracts to purchase three million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve(SPR) after the largest sale in history last year, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday.
The department said it bought the oil, for delivery to a site in Big Spring, Texas, for an average of $77.31 a barrel, below the average of $95 a barrel that oil sold for in 2022.
The administration of President Joe Biden had conducted sales last year, including a record one of 180 million barrels, to help control oil prices after Russia, a large crude exporter, invaded Ukraine.
The U.S has now purchased about 14 million barrels for replenishment after last year’s sales. About 4 million barrels are also coming back to the SPR by February as oil companies return oil that had been loaned to them through a swap.
Qatar Inks First Five-Year Crude Sales Deal With Shell
Qatar announced a major milestone for its crude...
Qatar announced a major milestone for its crude oil exports as it signed a five-year crude sales deal with Shell. The agreement calls for the supply of 18 million barrels of oil annually for five years.
QatarEnergy signed the deal with Shell International Eastern Trading Co. and has committed to supply Qatar Land and Qatar Marine crude oils to the international oil giant’s trading arm in Singapore.
The deal is part of QatarEnergy’s strategy to engage long-term business partnerships.In a statement, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs and president and CEO of QatarEnergy, said, “We are delighted to sign our first-ever five-year crude sales agreement.”
At least 20 people killed after Israeli airstrike...
At least 20 people killedafter Israeli airstrike hits Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis; Gaza death toll rises above 21,000, according to Hamas-run Health Ministry (More) | UN appoints Dutch diplomat to coordinate Gaza humanitarian aid efforts after last week's Security Council vote (More) | See war updates (More, w/maps)
🔔 Before the opening bell: US futures inch higher ...
🔔 Before the opening bell: US futures inch higher early Thursday as investors await data on jobless claims and pending home sales.
NBA approvesmajority stake sale of Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban to casino magnate Miriam Adelson for a reported $3.5B (More) | Detroit Pistons' losing streak reaches NBA single-season record 27 games (More)
The US Space Force is expected to launch its new reusable space plane.The secretive project’s purposes are unknown. But it’ll be aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
It’s National Call a Friend Day. The day is meant to show appreciation — beyond texting and voice memos.
Happy birthday, Denzel Washington.John Legend, Seth Meyers, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and Woodrow Wilson were also born on this day.
(Wednesday market close) The Dow Jones Industrial Average® (DJI) edged to another all-time high close Wednesday while other benchmarks were little changed in light holiday season activity. Many investors remained sidelined and waiting for the first week of the new year, which will bring a key jobs report and other numbers likely to influence the Federal Reserve's path on interest rates.
With little earnings or economic news scheduled this week, the market largely remained in a holding pattern, though with a continued upside bias driven by expectations for multiple Fed rate cuts in 2024 and a potential economic "soft landing." Another drop in Treasury yields reinforced ideas U.S. interest rates established a peak about two months ago. The 10-year note (TNX) fell to a five-month low under 3.80%.
The S&P 500® index (SPX) rose for a fourth straight day and ended within 0.3% of its record-closing high of 4,796.56, posted on January 3, 2022.
The market conveys "a bit of exhaustion and profit-taking sentiment" in the wake of the strong rally for the past two months, said Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Schwab. "But it's not anything major because we’re in a quieter period right now. I think momentum will pick up next week given the slate of economic data we’ll be getting." Here's where the major benchmarks ended:
The S&P 500 index was up 6.83 points (0.1%) at 4,781.58; the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 111.19 points (0.3%) at 37,656.52; the Nasdaq Composite® (COMP) was up 24.60 points (0.2%) at 15,099.18.
The 10-year Treasury note yield was down over 9 basis points at 3.791%.
The Cboe® Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.49at 12.50.