Oil prices were broadly steady on Thursday as the market weighed tight supply against fears of a demand slowdown, after a build in US crude and gasoline stocks sent prices to multi-month lows in the previous session.

China’s Ant Group on Wednesday logged net profit of 11.38 billion yuan ($1.68 billion) in the quarter to March, down 17.3 per cent from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s, earnings report.

Chinese military exercises around Taiwan are set to disrupt one of the world’s busiest shipping zones, analysts told AFP, highlighting the island’s critical position in already stretched global supply chains.

Malaysia said on Thursday it was ready to help India meet its palm oil demand in view of potentially erratic supply from top supplier Indonesia.

Consumers in the eurozone expect inflation to stay high and the economic growth to go into reverse over the next year, according to a new survey published by the European Central Bank on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, raised September crude oil prices for Asian buyers to record high levels despite falling refining margins.

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow’s nine major banks, India and Russia are trying to resolve the issue of payment for a large quantity of oil bought by India from Russia avoiding the Western sanctions. 

India’s headline retail inflation is expected to ease to its lowest level in five months in July due to declining food prices as well as the lagged effect of a cut in fuel taxes, Barclays said.

Export restrictions being considered by Washington to halt China’s advances in semiconductor manufacturing could come at a substantial cost, experts say, potentially disrupting fragile global chip supply chains - and hurting US businesses.

The West’s energy giants are set to return a record $30 billion to investors after reporting bumper profits in the second quarter of the year following a surge in energy prices.

India has cut fuel export taxes for the second time in less than two weeks and increased a windfall tax on locally produced crude oil, a government notification on Tuesday said.

As the world’s biggest soft drinks makers cut their Russian ties, local producer Chernogolovka is aiming for a 50 per cent share of the country’s near $9 billion market, its boss told Reuters.

The Indian rupee lost ground on Wednesday after four straight sessions of gains as the country’s ballooning trade deficit and uncertainty around the upcoming central bank decision dented its appeal.

Euro zone retail sales plunged in June and factory gate prices continued to rise, data showed on Wednesday, adding to fears the 19-country single currency zone is heading for recession.

India’s record high trade deficit in July signals a further deterioration in the country’s external balances, which is likely to keep the rupee under pressure, analysts said on Wednesday.

Fanning out like urban guerrillas through Paris’ darkened streets well after midnight, the anti-waste activists shinny up walls and drain pipes, reaching for switches to turn off the lights.

South Korea’s consumer inflation sped up to an almost 24-year high in July, data showed on Tuesday, but other figures indicated the rate of price rises may be near a peak.

US manufacturing activity slowed less than expected in July and there were signs that supply constraints are easing, with a measure of prices paid for inputs by factories falling to a two-year low, suggesting inflation has probably peaked.

China has suspended imports from 35 Taiwanese exporters of biscuits and pastries since Monday, in a warning salvo to the self-governed island ahead of a potential visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

US crypto firm Nomad has been hit by a $190 million theft, blockchain researchers said on Tuesday, the latest such heist to hit the digital asset sector this year.