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Ruble Swinging Most in Four Months Triggers Putin Budget Switch

The ruble fell with oil prices, retreating for a fourth day as market turmoil that’s driven the strongest swings in the Russian currency since May forced Vladimir Putin’s government to cut its budget planning horizon from three years to one. The ruble weakened 0.6 percent against the dollar to 67.6170 by 5 p.m. in Moscow, heading for a 3.3 percent retreat for the week. The currency’s one-month historical volatility rose to 38.3, the highest since May and almost four times the level in October before the central bank stopped managing the exchange rate. Concern over a slowdown in China, Russia’s biggest trading partner, has pummeled commodity prices and rattled emerging markets that are bracing for an outflow of funds as the Federal Reserve weighs its first rate increase since 2006. Putin said on Friday he’s asking parliament to support a switch back to a one-year budget horizon because it’s […]

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Russia Bows to Cheap Oil as Putin Aide Sees $50 Price for Budget

Russia will assume that crude prices will stay near their present level in calculating next year’s budget as the world’s largest energy exporter adjusts to a downturn on the oil market, according to President Vladimir Putin’s top economic aide. The budget will be based on an average oil price of $50 a barrel, Andrey Belousov told reporters in Vladivostok on Friday. Putin said he’s asking parliament to support a shift to a one-year fiscal plan in 2016 because it’s “impossible” to predict the direction of global markets. Non-OPEC member Russia, whose currency has plunged 45 percent in the past 12 months, is growing resigned to slumping oil, which together with gas accounts for about half of budget revenue. The country is seeking to cooperate with members of the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to stabilize the market after the Finance Ministry said that the turmoil is forcing Russia […]

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Russia may produce 700 million tonnes of oil, export 300 bcm of gas to China

Russia can increase its oil production to as much as 700 million tonnes of oil per year (14 million barrels of oil per day) and export 300 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually, Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin said on Friday. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Sechin added that production costs for Russia’s largest oil fields were lower than for its global peers. A weak ruble is offsetting low oil prices for Russian oil producers. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Richard Pullin )

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Gazprom seals big gas deals in Europe despite Ukraine crisis

People walk out of an underground crossing, with the company logo of Gazprom company installed on its office building, in Moscow, August 10, 2015. Russia’s Gazprom has bolstered its industrial presence in the heart of Europe with two major gas deals that were announced on Friday despite ongoing tensions with Moscow over the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The first of the deals, an asset swap with German chemicals group BASF that gives Russia greater access to gas trading and storage in Germany, was a surprise as the companies had abandoned it only nine months ago, citing a "difficult political environment". Pressed on what had changed since, BASF declined to respond directly. Its oil and gas production unit Wintershall, which will secure more stakes in Siberian gas fields under the swap, said only that it was convinced that Russian natural gas would help ensure energy security in Europe. The second […]

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Crude Oil Prices Trade Lower Ahead of U.S. Jobs Data

LONDON—Crude oil prices traded lower in Europe Friday, as investors await a key piece of jobs data from the U.S. that could upend the start of a holiday weekend. Analysts say the U.S. nonfarm payrolls are the most significant economic data point before the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting in September. A strong number could boost the odds of an increase in interest rates this month, as well as indicating a long-term increase in demand for oil. U.S. jobs data could send oil prices either way, depending on the data’s impact on the U.S. dollar and overall market sentiment, oil traders say. Oil markets have been particularly sensitive to macroeconomic developments in recent weeks. The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, was trading down 0.41% at $50.47 a barrel in morning trade, while the U.S. benchmark was down at 0.81% at $46.37 a barrel. The wait for data, had kept oil […]

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Oil prices dip on caution ahead of U.S. jobs data

Pump jacks and pipes are seen on an oil field near Bakersfield on a foggy day, California January 17, 2015. Oil prices eased on Friday as investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data that is expected to play into the Federal Reserve’s decision on the timing of any U.S. rate hike. Oil stuck to a narrow range and trading was thin with Chinese markets closed a second day for a holiday to commemorate the end of World War Two. "There’s been a little bit of up and down and range-bound movement, which has all the hallmarks of a market marking time," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at Sydney’s OptionsXpress. Brent crude for October delivery LCOc1 fell 58 cents to $50.10 a barrel as of 0519 GMT, after ending the previous session 18 cents higher. Brent rose as high as $50.87 a barrel earlier in the session on […]

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NYMEX October gas futures settle 7.7 cents higher at $2.725/MMBtu

The NYMEX October natural gas futures contract settled up 7.7 cents at $2.725/MMBtu on Thursday as the market seemed to have previously priced in a fairly bearish storage report. US natural gas in storage rose 94 Bcf to 3.193 Tcf for the week ended August 28, the US Energy Information Administration said Thursday, above consensus expectations of an injection between 83 Bcf and 87 Bcf. The EIA announced a 79-Bcf injection for the same week last year, while the five-year average is a 60-Bcf build. However, the data included an 8-Bcf reclassification that had already been announced by ANR Pipeline, so it was not a very bearish surprise, Tim Evans, energy futures specialist with Citi, said in a note. Article continues below… Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate and intrastate pipeline and pooling points in major U.S. markets. Gas Daily keeps you […]

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Inside Israel’s Bid to Derail Iran Pact

JERUSALEM—In early August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood in front of 22 Democratic U.S. lawmakers. He closed the door and instructed an aide to clear his schedule for the afternoon. There was nothing more important, he told the members of Congress, than answering their questions on the Iranian nuclear deal, however long it took. For the next two hours, the prime minister worked the room, according to many of the lawmakers present. His props included a large white board on which he wrote their questions. At one point, he drew what he called a “nuclear gun” to underline his fears. Although Mr. Netanyahu didn’t explicitly tell them to vote against the deal, his feelings were clear. It would seriously jeopardize Israel’s security, he told them. “They weren’t twisting my arm but they were certainly trying to convince me,” said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, one […]

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Iran’s Khamenei backs parliamentary vote on nuclear deal with powers: state TV

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 12, 2009. Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Thursday he favored a parliamentary vote on its nuclear deal reached with world powers and called for sanctions against Tehran to be lifted completely rather than suspended, state television reported. President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist whose 2013 election paved the way to a diplomatic thaw with the West, and his allies have opposed such a parliamentary vote, arguing this would create legal obligations hampering the deal’s implementation. "Parliament should not be sidelined on the nuclear deal issue … I am not saying lawmakers should approve the deal or reject it. It is up to them to decide," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state policy in Iran. “I have told the president that it is […]

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Orders Parliament to Vote on Nuclear Deal

Photo Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, during a ceremony in Tehran last month. He is widely seen as the architect behind the nuclear agreement. Credit Supreme Leader Official Website, via European Pressphoto Agency TEHRAN — A day after President Obama secured enough votes to ensure approval of the Iranian nuclear deal in the United States Congress, Iran ’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , on Thursday ordered Parliament to vote on the agreement and threatened to cancel the pact entirely if the West merely suspended, rather than canceled, economic sanctions, state news media reported. While the Iranian Parliament is expected to approve the agreement, the announcement nonetheless represented a setback for President Hassan Rouhani and his nuclear negotiators, who have long held that the deal should be ratified by the Supreme National Security Council, which Mr. Rouhani heads. Their fear is that a debate in Parliament will provide […]

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