Oil slipped below $114 a barrel on Tuesday, giving up some of the previous day’s 7 per cent surge, as European Union members disagreed on a potential oil embargo on Russia, although persistent supply risks limited the decline.

German producer prices maintained their record-breaking rise in February, increasing 25.9 per cent year on year mainly because of energy prices, Federal Statistics Office data showed on Monday.

US President Joe Biden’s warning of  “consequences” for any aid China may give to Russia’s Ukraine war effort could force Chinese President Xi Jinping to choose between a longstanding lucrative trade relationship with the West and a growing strategic partnership with Moscow.

Japan on Sunday urged the United Arab Emirates to pump more oil to calm markets rocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the latest major consumer to lobby Gulf producers.

US and British officials will begin two days of meetings in Baltimore on Monday to discuss strengthening trade ties, as the United States and its allies ratchet up pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine and China for failing to condemn it.

China kept its benchmark interest rate for corporate and household lending unchanged on Monday, as expected, although analysts say the case for monetary stimulus is building amid mounting external risks to an already slowing economy.

Oil prices jumped more than $4 on Monday, with Brent crude climbing above $111 a barrel, as European Union nations considered joining the United States in a Russian oil embargo and after a weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities.

Travellers to Thailand will no longer have to take a Covid-19 test before boarding the plane, under plans announced Friday as part of efforts to reboot the kingdom’s pandemic-battered tourism sector.

Poland will take steps to sever economic ties with Moscow, the prime minister said on Friday, in a process of  “de-Russification” in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Myanmar’s junta has approved the sale of Norwegian telecoms giant Telenor’s Myanmar subsidiary to Lebanese conglomerate M1 Group, both companies said on Friday, in a move activist groups warn could put sensitive customer data in the hands of the military.

Energy giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday its 2021 net profit soared by more than 120 per cent, due to higher crude prices, as global economic growth recovered from a pandemic-induced downturn.

India’s oil imports from the United States will rise by 11 per cent this year, officials said on Saturday, as the severely energy-deficient country looks to secure supplies from producers around the world, including heavily sanctioned Russia.

Massive price spikes for food and energy sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will push over 40 million people into extreme poverty, the Center for Global Development (CGDEV) said on Friday, warning against export curbs and sanctions on Russian food production.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) is seeking $22.4 million from its insurer for a cargo ship hit by a missile in March, government officials with knowledge of the talks said, in the first major marine insurance claim from the conflict in Ukraine, reported Reuters.

The Russian rouble fell in light trading in Moscow on Friday, with trading on separate exchanges stabilising beyond 100 to the dollar, after the central bank opted to hold rates at 20 per cent and said it would start purchasing OFZ government bonds.

The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other top global lenders warned Friday of  “extensive” economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expressed horror at the  “devastating human catastrophe”.

Russia has set out strict rules for foreigners seeking permits to buy and sell Russian securities and real estate, a client memo by Citigroup showed, as details emerge of new state controls on investment in response to Western sanctions.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have a heavy impact on the German economy, cutting its 2022 growth forecast by almost half to 2.1 percent, economic institute IfW said Thursday.

The United States and Britain are ramping up pressure on Saudi Arabia to pump more oil and join efforts to isolate Russia, while Riyadh has shown little readiness to respond and has revived a threat to ditch dollars in its oil sales to China.

Britain said Wednesday it will hold a series of talks with the United States, as it seeks to pin down a long-awaited trade deal with the world’s biggest economy after Brexit.