The IEA cut its forecast for supplies this year to 99.5 million barrels a day.
In metals, nickel prices fell 8%, the new daily limit on the London Metal Exchange. The exchange reopened the nickel market Wednesday after a weeklong suspension caused by an unprecedented runup in prices that threatened the viability of some exchange members.
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Gold was higher in the European session after volatile moves. Gold initially tumbled on the hawkish Fed statement and economic projections, but trimmed a good amount of losses after Fed Chair Powell signaled that the balance-sheet runoff announcement could occur as soon as May, Oanda said.
Investors don't need to look hard to find a reason to go defensive and buy gold, Oanda added, citing reasons such as lingering stagflation risks.
Read Barrons.com: Uranium Prices Are Through the Roof as the War Shifts Thinking on Nuclear Power
EMEA HEADLINES
Ocado Lowers FY 2022 Outlook as 1Q Retail Revenue Falls on Changing Customer Habits
Ocado Group PLC reported on Thursday a decline in sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 as pandemic restrictions eased and more customers returned to office working and said that it is lowering its full-year outlook as a result.
The online grocer and retail-technology specialist said retail revenue for the 13 weeks ended Feb. 27 fell 5.7% to 564.7 million pounds ($742.5 million). This was linked to a 4% fall in U.K. grocery market sales amid higher prices, the company said, noting that the first-quarter performance was also up 32% when compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2020.
Deliveroo Expects Lower 2022 Growth, But Sees Mid-Term Path to Profit
Deliveroo PLC said Thursday that it expects to reach an adjusted Ebitda breakeven in the medium term despite forecasting a weaker 2022 due to market uncertainties.
The U.K. food-delivery company--which started trading on the London Stock Exchange on April 7--said that it is targeting to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization--which strips out exceptional and other one-off items--breakeven in the second half of 2023 or first half of 2024, which would be "the next key milestone on the path to achieving its longer term profit ambitions."
Veolia to Pay Higher Dividend After Profit Increased in 2021
Veolia Environnement SA said Thursday it will increase its dividend after profit and revenue rose in 2021.
The French resource-management company said net profit increased to 404.3 million euros ($446.1 million) from EUR88.8 million in 2020.
Rheinmetall Sees Sales Growth, Higher Margin in 2022
Rheinmetall AG said Thursday that it expects continued sales growth and a higher operating margin in the current year.
The German automotive-and-defense company said it sees an increase in annual sales of between 15% and 20% organically, while operating margin is expected at more than 11%. The forecast takes into consideration Germany's plans for possible procurements for the 2022 defense budget and the new special armed forces fund.
German Logistics Giant DB Schenker Set to Book More Than EUR1 Billion in FY21 Oper Pft
DB Schenker, the logistics arm of German railroad operator Deutsche Bahn AG, later this month will report more than one billion euros in operating profit, according to a person familiar with the company's supervisory board.
DB Schenker, which ships goods by air, sea and land, is set to book EUR1.2 billion in earnings before interest and tax for the 2021 fiscal year--equivalent to $1.32 billion--up from EUR711 million in fiscal 2020. Revenue during the 2021 fiscal year increased 33% to EUR23.4 billion, the person said.
KKR & Co. to Buy Japan Real-Estate Manager for $2 Billion
KKR & Co. has agreed to acquire a Japanese real-estate joint venture between Mitsubishi Corp. and UBS Group AG for $2 billion, it said Thursday.
KKR said the acquisition will deepen its presence in Japan and expand its global real-estate business.
Ukraine Awaits Word of Deaths, Survivors After Russia Hits Theater Turned Bomb Shelter
KYIV, Ukraine-The fate of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol was unclear early Thursday after Russian forces bombed a theater where they had been sheltering from fighting over the southern port city.
Mariupol has been the target of relentless shelling by Russian forces seeking to advance along Ukraine's southern coast.
Ukraine War's Global Economic Impact to Hit Poorest Hardest, OECD Says
Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be felt by households around the world through higher energy and food prices, with disruptions to trade and fragile confidence contributing to a significant weakening of global economic growth, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.
The Paris-based research body calculates that global economic growth will be 1.1 percentage points lower, and inflation just short of 2 1/2 points higher than if the invasion had not taken place. In late 2021, the OECD forecast the global economy would grow by 4.5% this year, and consumer prices would rise by 4.2%.
World Court Orders Russia to Suspend Military Action in Ukraine
The International Court of Justice on Wednesday directed Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine, issuing a preliminary but likely unenforceable order in Kyiv's suit contending that the Kremlin justified its invasion on the false pretext of stopping a purported genocide in Ukraine's Russian-speaking Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
The world court, an arm of the United Nations based in The Hague, has no independent power to enforce its decisions, and Russia already has argued the 15-member tribunal lacked jurisdiction over the dispute.
Putin Acknowledges Impact of Sanctions on Russian Economy
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the country's economy had taken a profound blow from Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.
"Our economy will need deep structural changes in these new realities, and I won't hide this-they won't be easy; they will lead to a temporary rise in inflation and unemployment," Mr. Putin said in televised remarks on Wednesday before a video meeting with Russian government officials.
Russia Blames Sanctions for Pushing It Toward First Default Since 1998
Russia's finance minister said the country paid what it owed on its foreign debts on Wednesday but wasn't sure if the payments would go through, blaming U.S. sanctions for setting the country on the path toward default.
The Russian government is required to pay $117 million in interest payments on two dollar-denominated government bonds Wednesday. Failure to pay, or attempting to pay in rubles instead of dollars as required by the bonds, would set the stage for Russia to be placed in default by its creditors.
GLOBAL NEWS
Investors Slow Push Into Bank-Loan Funds
A red-hot run for bank-loan funds is losing steam.
Investors poured tens of billions of dollars into the funds in the last year, betting that the floating-rate debt would help them weather the coming wave of interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Shoppers Reach Their Limits on Some Price Increases
Apparel retailers and department stores are bumping up against pockets of price resistance, a sign that consumers are curtailing spending as inflation remains at the highest level in four decades.
Macy's Inc. tried to raise prices on some mattresses and sofas by $100, but shoppers pushed back, Chief Executive Jeff Gennette said. Clothing brand Bella Dahl raised prices on its T-shirts by about $20, then sales fell and the company rolled back the price increase. "There was a revolt, " said Steven Millman, its chief brand officer. "If we go any higher, we'll do half the sales."
China Launches Investigation Into Official Who Promoted Respect for Islam
TAIPEI-China's Communist Party has authorized a corruption inquiry into a senior official who was previously an influential advocate of Muslim culture, according to people familiar with the matter, in a signal of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's resolve to push ahead with the country's aggressive ethnic assimilation efforts.
Wang Zhengwei, a member of China's Muslim Hui minority and currently a vice chairman of China's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress, is under investigation by the party's internal disciplinary watchdogs for abuse of power and corruption, the people said.
Fearing More Cyberattacks, Congress Requires Key Businesses to Report Digital Breaches
Amid a rush to thwart cyberattacks from foreign spies and criminal hacking groups, President Biden on Tuesday signed into law a requirement for key businesses to report to the government when they have been hacked.
The idea, which languished for a decade on Capitol Hill amid industry pushback, could correct a fundamental problem the U.S. government faces as it fights cybercriminals: No one knows how many companies get hit.
U.S. Covid-19 Hospital Admissions Near a Low, but New Risks Loom
A tangle of encouraging trends in the U.S. and concerning signs abroad are raising questions about the Covid-19 pandemic's trajectory.
Counts of newly admitted Covid-19 patients in U.S. hospitals are nearing their lowest recorded level after any prior surge. The seven-day average for patients with confirmed and suspected Covid-19 cases admitted to hospitals slid to 6,406 by Wednesday, down from a record high that topped 28,000 in January, a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data shows.
Hong Kong Says It May Loosen Covid-19 Flight Bans, Quarantine
HONG KONG-Chief Executive Carrie Lam said her government is reviewing its Covid-19 measures, including lengthy quarantines and flight bans from key markets, that have isolated the Asian financial hub and drawn complaints from the global banks and major companies that operate in the city.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
03-17-22 0718ET
