Weekly news summary for October 15 to October 21
Friday, Oct. 15: Oil Hits 3-Year High on Supply Shortage Forecasts
Oil prices surged to three-year highs on Friday, finding support on expectations of a supply shortage in the next few months, as the easing of pandemic-related travel limits drives demand which is receiving additional boost from power generators that shifted to fuel oil and diesel.
Brent crude futures gained 1% to $84.86 a barrel, while front-month prices hit their highest since October 2018 at $85.10, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 1.2% to $82.28 a barrel.
Monday, Oct. 18: Evergrande Group to Sell Swedish EV Unit NEVS
Evergrande Group’s Swedish electric vehicle (EV) arm, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) AB, is discussing with industrial partners and venture capital firms about finding a new owner as its cash-strapped parent attempts to offload assets to avoid defaulting from $300 billion worth of liabilities.
NEVS Chief Executive Stefan Tilk said the automaker has enough money to last “for a good while,” adding that the sale has caught the eye of several investors, but Evergrande needs to raise funds, and selling NEVS would reportedly bring in as much as $1 billion.
Tuesday, Oct. 19: Cryptocurrency Market Cap Crosses $2.5 Trillion
The overall cryptocurrency market cap crossed the $2.5 trillion threshold, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission appeared to consider allowing more crypto futures-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro showed the combined value of all cryptocurrencies was up more than twofold since reaching a $1-trillion market cap in January, while Bitcoin and Ether surged over $63,000 and $3,800, respectively, as the crypto market cap rose above $2.5 trillion.
Wednesday, Oct. 20: China’s Coal Prices Fall on Potential intervention
Chinese commodities declined on Wednesday, with thermal coal prices leading the drop, after the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) signaled intervention that could ease record prices of the fuel that the world’s second-largest economy relies on for most of its electricity.
China’s thermal coal futures fell 8% to CN¥1,755.40 ($274.71) per ton, while coking coal and coke futures slipped 9%, aluminum and zinc futures shed over 6%, and petrochemicals such as methanol and ethylene glycol and urea were down between 8% and 9%.
Thursday, Oct. 21: Evergrande Shares Fall after $2.6B Sale Fails
Shares of Evergrande Group were down nearly 14% on Thursday as they returned to trading, following a 17-day suspension, after the Chinese property developer revealed a $2.6 billion asset sale of its property services unit had failed.
The company’s Hong Kong-listed stock dropped 13.6%, while shares of Evergrande Property Services, which were also suspended in the same period, fell as much as 10.2%, and shares of Evergrande New Energy Vehicle (NEV) slipped as much as 14%.