Oil prices surged past $100 (£74) a barrel to hit their highest level for more than seven years after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is the second biggest exporter of crude oil, and is also the world’s largest natural gas exporter.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could spell trouble for the U.S. economy, fuelling higher gasoline prices and hampering the post-coronavirus recovery.
Europe gets nearly a third of its oil and around 40% of its gas from Russia, much of it flowing through pipelines across Ukrainian territory. Small wonder then that prices are shooting up.
Brent crude oil has gone above $100 a barrel, while prices for gas on wholesale markets – where domestic suppliers buy what they need – are up sharply as well.
Supplies from Russia do not appear to have been affected – yet. But the fear that they will be, and that there could be a scramble for other resources, is pushing up costs.
Stock markets across Europe are tumbling, as investors fret about the potential economic impact of high energy prices and the potential for much wider sanctions as well.
According to market watchers, higher crude oil prices are major headwinds for a couple of sectors including aviation, paint, tyres and oil marketing companies. Brent crude oil has jumped over 30 per cent to $101.40 on a year-to-date basis till February 24. The commodity was at $77.78 per barrel on December 31, 2021.
While e-commerce has fuelled demand for packaging, pandemic-related labour shortages and shipping constraints are also making it harder to make and deliver the boxes used to carry everything from food to consumer goods.
Reference:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60502451
Donald Trump’s tariffs of 50% have come into force on most US imports from India. India’s giant generic pharmaceuticals sector and its electronics and petroleum products are exempt from the tariffs. Aluminium, steel and copper remain at 25%, but job-heavy sectors such as textiles, jewellery, seafood and leather are squarely in the line of fire.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published the updated proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the EU’s chemicals regulation, REACH. The update has been prepared by the authorities from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, who submitted the initial proposal in January 2023.
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We’re thrilled to announce a new strategic alliance between ExSyn, Exim-Indis and simABs, a leading EU-based biologics manufacturer known for its patented continuous flow technology in antibody production.
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High duties on imports from Canada, Mexico and China raise problems for international supply chains.