US job growth slows but unemployment low

Job growth in the US slowed last month but unemployment remained low, in a sign of a solid, if more subdued economy.   Employers added 143,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate slipped to 4% from 4.1%, according to the Labor Department report.   The figures set the stage as US President, Donald Trump, […]

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Trump hints at EU tariffs

US President Donald Trump has hinted the European Union (EU) could be next to face tariffs, after he slapped 25% levies on goods from Mexico and Canada along with an additional 10% tax on imports from China.   While arriving in Maryland from Florida, Trump told the BBC that tariffs on EU goods imported into […]

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Canada announces retaliatory tariffs against US

Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, in a move that marks the beginning of a trade war between the neighbouring countries.   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set out “far-reaching” tariffs of 25%, affecting 155bn Canadian dollars’ worth ($106.6bn; £86bn) of American goods ranging from beer and wine, to household appliances and sporting goods. […]

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Russia’s oil production fell, gas output rose in 2024

Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, confirmed that, although crude oil output reduced by 2.8% in 2024 compared to the previous year, its natural gas production rose by 7.6%.   Last year, Russian oil production stood at 516 million tons, said Novak, who is Russia’s top oil official and represents the country at the OPEC+ […]

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Trump warns of tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico

US President Donald Trump has said he will follow through with his threat to hit imports from Canada and Mexico with 25% border taxes (tariffs) on 1st February.   But he added that a decision about whether this would include oil from those countries had not yet been made.   Speaking to reporters in the […]

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Ukrainian drone hits Russian oil export route

An attack by Ukrainian drones on Russia’s Andreapol oil pumping station, part of the oil export route via the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, has forced oil flows to stop, Bloomberg has reported. The attack also hit a Russian missile storage facility, causing a string of explosions.   Ukraine has stepped up drone strikes on […]

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Trump in push to reduce oil prices

President Donald Trump has said he will ask Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations to “bring down the cost of oil” and doubled-down on his threat to use tariffs.   In a speech to executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, the US president said he was “surprised” that OPEC hadn’t brought […]

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