NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Tuesday / June 21
US gas tax
President Joe Biden said Monday that he is seriously considering a temporary halt in the federal gas tax to lower the cost at the pump ahead of the July 4 holiday.
Biden said Monday that he could make a decision on pausing the federal gas tax by the end of this week. “I hope I have a decision based on data,” he told reporters.
China's oil consumption
China's crude oil imports from Russia soared 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Imports of Russian oil, including supplies pumped via the East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline and seaborne shipments from Russia's European and Far Eastern ports, totaled nearly 8.42 million tones, according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
That's equivalent to roughly 1.98 million barrels per day (bpd) and up a quarter from 1.59 million bpd in April.
Germany goes back to coal
Germany has said the deteriorating gas market situation means Europe’s largest economy must limit the use of natural gas for electricity production and burn more coal for a “transitional period.”
Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Sunday warned that the situation is going to be “really tight in winter” without precautionary measures to prevent a supply shortage.
“The gas storage tanks must be full in winter. That has top priority,” he added.
ECB's hopes of Ukrainian refugees
The influx of Ukrainian refugees into the European Union could gradually ease labour shortages in the euro zone as some of those fleeing the war are likely to settle permanently, the European Central Bank said on Monday.
Around seven million people, mostly women and children, have fled Ukraine so far since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, and more are leaving each day, with many hoping to find durable employment opportunities in the 27-nation EU.
"Under all of the assumptions detailed thus far, back-of-an-envelope calculations point to a median increase of between 0.2% and 0.8% in the euro area labour force in the medium term," the ECB said in an Economic Bulletin article.
"This corresponds to an increase of between 0.3 and 1.3 million in the size of the euro area labour force as a result of the Ukrainian refugee crisis," it added.
With unemployment at a record low, the euro zone has been struggling with increasing labour shortages and the influx of refugees could "slightly ease" labour market tightness, the ECB said.
Kaliningrad crisis
The Russian foreign ministry will summon on Tuesday European Union ambassador to Moscow Markus Ederer over Lithuania's ban of the transit of goods under EU sanctions through Kaliningrad, the governor of Kaliningrad said on Monday.
Vilnius banned the transit of goods under European Union sanctions through Lithuanian territory to and from the Russian exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, citing EU sanction rules.
President Joe Biden said Monday that he is seriously considering a temporary halt in the federal gas tax to lower the cost at the pump ahead of the July 4 holiday.
Biden said Monday that he could make a decision on pausing the federal gas tax by the end of this week. “I hope I have a decision based on data,” he told reporters.
China's oil consumption
China's crude oil imports from Russia soared 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Imports of Russian oil, including supplies pumped via the East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline and seaborne shipments from Russia's European and Far Eastern ports, totaled nearly 8.42 million tones, according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
That's equivalent to roughly 1.98 million barrels per day (bpd) and up a quarter from 1.59 million bpd in April.
Germany goes back to coal
Germany has said the deteriorating gas market situation means Europe’s largest economy must limit the use of natural gas for electricity production and burn more coal for a “transitional period.”
Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Sunday warned that the situation is going to be “really tight in winter” without precautionary measures to prevent a supply shortage.
“The gas storage tanks must be full in winter. That has top priority,” he added.
ECB's hopes of Ukrainian refugees
The influx of Ukrainian refugees into the European Union could gradually ease labour shortages in the euro zone as some of those fleeing the war are likely to settle permanently, the European Central Bank said on Monday.
Around seven million people, mostly women and children, have fled Ukraine so far since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, and more are leaving each day, with many hoping to find durable employment opportunities in the 27-nation EU.
"Under all of the assumptions detailed thus far, back-of-an-envelope calculations point to a median increase of between 0.2% and 0.8% in the euro area labour force in the medium term," the ECB said in an Economic Bulletin article.
"This corresponds to an increase of between 0.3 and 1.3 million in the size of the euro area labour force as a result of the Ukrainian refugee crisis," it added.
With unemployment at a record low, the euro zone has been struggling with increasing labour shortages and the influx of refugees could "slightly ease" labour market tightness, the ECB said.
Kaliningrad crisis
The Russian foreign ministry will summon on Tuesday European Union ambassador to Moscow Markus Ederer over Lithuania's ban of the transit of goods under EU sanctions through Kaliningrad, the governor of Kaliningrad said on Monday.
Vilnius banned the transit of goods under European Union sanctions through Lithuanian territory to and from the Russian exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, citing EU sanction rules.
