On Monday, European markets closed lower, as investors monitored the situation in relations between Russia and Ukraine and unexpectedly strong economic data from the Eurozone and the UK.

 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 1.4%, initially trading higher at the start of the session. Cars fell 2.7% due to losses as all sectors and major exchanges went into the red.

 

President Joe Biden "in principle" agreed to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, paving the way for the latest diplomatic effort to prevent an invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.

 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday night if Moscow does not launch an invasion in the coming days, the summit will take place after a scheduled meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later this week.

 

However, a U.S. official said Moscow had compiled lists of Ukrainians to be attacked after the invasion, according to a letter reviewed by NBC News.

 

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region mostly declined on Monday as investors continued to monitor the situation around Ukraine, while China left its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

 

Markets in the United States closed on Monday in connection with the President's Day holiday, after a sharp drop on Friday, as global markets were agitated by rising tensions in Easter n Europe.

 

In corporate news, Credit Suisse said in a statement on Sunday that it "strongly rejects" the allegations, published after a coordinated global media investigation into the massive leakage of its customers' data in previous decades. It was assumed that the leaked information contained violators of human rights and businessmen under sanctions.

 

The Swiss lender said the information published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and 46 other news organizations is based on "partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context." Shares of Credit Suisse fell 3%.

 

Shares of Swedish real estate company SBB rose 6% topped the Stoxx 600 later in the evening, with high trading volumes causing sharp swings in stocks after Viceroy Research announced the shorts. that she had a short position on the company's shares.

 

At the bottom of the index, Polymetal International shares fell more than 8% as Russia-focused stocks took a hit.

 

As for the data, despite the record increase in consumer prices, in February, according to IHS Markit, the composite PMI index (purchasing managers' index) of the eurozone, considered a reliable indicator of the general state of the economy, reached a five-month high and amounted to 55.8.

 

This figure significantly exceeded the forecast of 52.7, made by the results of the Reuters poll, and 52.3, recorded in January.

 

The UK composite PMI hit an eight-month high of 60.2 in February, down from 54.2 in January and well above forecasts.

 

Strong indicators raise expectations that central banks will need to raise rates in the near future. That's sharper than previously expected as inflation continues to rise.

Elon Musk's SpaceX expects the loss of almost an entire batch of Starlink satellites after a solar storm hit the Earth's atmosphere.

 

The company launched 49 Starlink satellites using a Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 3. The launch was successful and delivered a batch of satellites into orbit, but the next day there was a catastrophe.

 

The geomagnetic storm disrupted the Earth's atmosphere. Starlink's satellites were in low orbit, and the company said "up to 40 satellites" would be lost to the storm, burning up in Earth's atmosphere.

 

Tamita Skov, a researcher at the Aerospace Corporation, spoke about the basic principles of a geomagnetic storm: First, "the sun shoots magnets" in the form of a storm. The Earth's magnetic shield dumps the energy of a solar storm into the upper atmosphere of our planet, heats it, causing it to inflate and become denser. This increases the resistance to satellites in low Earth orbit.

 

SpaceX said that "the rate of increase and severity of the storm led to an increase in atmospheric drag" by 50% more than satellites typically experience in low orbit. After detecting increased atmospheric resistance, the company's task force put the satellites into emergency mode, which turns the spacecraft to the edge of orbit to reduce drag - a position the company previously called the "shark fin" orientation.

 

About 10 Starlink satellites are expected to survive and climb into the target orbit.

 

SpaceX did not say whether it was aware of the storm, which, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was caused by a solar flare on Jan. 29.

 

NOAA ranks geomagnetic storms on an increasing severity scale from G1 to G5. The agency issued a warning about a "likely" geomagnetic storm from G1 to G2 on Feb. 2, the day before SpaceX's launch.

 

On average, there are 1700 such G1 storms per solar cycle, according to NOAA data cited by Eric Palmerio, a space weather researcher at Predictive Science, a company that studies the Sun for U.S. government agencies.

 

"It's a pretty common situation in terms of geomagnetic activity" to see a storm as strong as the one that disabled starlink satellites last week, Palmerio said.

 

SpaceX initially puts satellites into a lower orbit to launch more satellites at one time and to ensure that any problems identified after launch cause the faulty satellite to quickly deorbit and burn up in the atmosphere. The company touts its Starlink satellites as completely decaying upon re-entry, "which means no orbital debris and no satellite parts hitting the ground."

 

As a private company, SpaceX hasn't disclosed the exact cost of its Starlink satellites or Falcon 9 launches — but losing much of the mission could entail a financial shock of up to $50 million.

 

The company has previously reported that when SpaceX reuses its Falcon 9 rockets, the cost per launch ranges from $28 million to $30 million. And with regard to satellites, the company's management said that the estimate of the cost of one spacecraft at $ 1 million was "greatly inflated." At half that estimate — or $500,000 per satellite — losing about 40 satellites would cost about $20 million.

 

Notably, SpaceX previously deorbited "one or two" Starlink satellites after the mission ended, explained astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. McDowell is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and catalogs satellite launches.

 

"But losing most of the party is unheard of," McDowell said. "It's a huge loss compared to anything that's happened before."

 

McDowell also said the loss is significant for SpaceX, as "in the context of historic satellite launches," the company "has been quite successful."

 

"The missile is at least very reliable ... and since mid-2020, there have been relatively few complete failures of Starlink satellites," McDowell said.

On Friday, the Biden administration said it would extend Section 201 of tariffs on imported solar panels and panels for another four years, but with a number of changes to existing regulations.

 

The tariff rate quota for solar panels will increase from 2.5 gigawatts to 5 gigawatts, and the administration will also support the decision to exclude bifacial panels from tariffs. Bifacial panels, which absorb light on both sides, are most common in utility-scale solar projects.

 

The Solar Energy Producers Association said that while it was "disappointed" by the decision, it "supported" the administration's efforts to find a middle ground.

 

"Administration officials came to a balanced solution by supporting an exemption for bifacial panels and increasing the tariff rate quota for the elements," Abigail Ross Hopper, the association's president and ceo, said in a statement.

 

The American Clean Energy Association said it "welcomes" the administration's decision to remove bifacial panels from tariffs, supporting the extension as a whole.

 

"The president's decision to extend the tariffs applicable to monoblock solar cells and modules gives the domestic solar industry another four years to adjust to competition with imports, as the law intended," Heather Zichal, ceo of the American Clean Energy Association, said in a statement.

 

The Section 201 solar tariffs were announced by former President Donald Trump in January 2018 and went into effect that same year. The four-year tariffs were due to expire on Sunday. The initial tariffs were 30% with an annual reduction of 5%.

 

In November, the U.S. International Trade Commission recommended that the tariffs be extended. The Commission said these measures are still "necessary to prevent or repair serious damage" to domestic industry.

 

"There is evidence that domestic industry is positively adapting to competition from imports," the commission said.

 

However, others argue that tariffs have done little to stimulate domestic production. According to Rystad Energy, the tariffs "comprehensively failed." In December, the company said the U.S. would import a record 3 gigawatts of solar panels in 2021, up from 2.5 gigawatts imported in 2019.

 

Energy research firm Wood Mackenzie noted that solar modules used in U.S. solar projects are 55% more expensive than in European projects due to layers of tariffs.

 

The decision comes amid turbulent times for the industry. Over the past year, shares of solar companies have crashed due to a number of factors, including rising raw material costs, supply chain bottlenecks and political uncertainty. More recently, this group has come under wide rotation from growth-oriented areas of the market in the face of rising rates.

 

This year, the Invesco Solar ETF index has fallen by 20%, which is 25% more than in 2021. Installation companies Sunrun, SunPower and Sunnova are trading about 70% below their 52-week highs. Enphase is more than 50% below its recent high.

 

Manufacturer First Solar is holding up a little better and is 42% below its 52-week high reached on Nov. 1. The company was among those who advocated for the extension of tariffs.

 

"First Solar is deeply disappointed by the decision to extend the section 201 safeguard duties while maintaining the exemption of bifacial panels," said First Solar CEO Mark Widmar. "Simply put, the extension of protective duties under Section 201, excluding bifacial panels, is not a protective measure at all."

 

Samantha Sloan, First Solar's vice president of policy, said Thursday that the cost of solar panels is less than 20% of the equalized cost of electricity for an average utility-scale solar project.

 

Potential changes to California's solar subsidy program also loom over the group. On Thursday, the state regulator said a decision on the matter had been postponed indefinitely.

Oil prices fell on Monday due to a stronger dollar and investors' concerns over the possibility of a faster-than-expected interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

 

Brent crude oil fell $2.19, or 2.5%, to $85.70 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $2.59, or 3%, to $82.56 a barrel.

 

The dollar rose to a two-week high Monday against a basket of currencies, helped by tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine and the possibility of a more hawkish stance by the Federal Reserve this week.

 

Brent rose more than $1 earlier in the session on concerns over tight supplies and heightened geopolitical risks in Europe and the Middle East.

 

Further escalation in both Ukraine and the Middle East "justifies a risk premium to the oil price, as the countries involved - Russia and the UAE - are important members of OPEC+," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

 

Tensions in Ukraine have been rising for months after Russia concentrated troops near its borders, heightening fears of supply disruptions in Eastern Europe.

 

In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates on Monday intercepted and destroyed two Husit ballistic missiles aimed at the Persian Gulf nation after a deadly attack a week earlier.

 

Meanwhile, Barclays raised its average oil price forecast by $5 a barrel for this year, citing declining spare capacity and heightened geopolitical risks.

 

The bank raised its 2022 average price forecast to $85 and $82 a barrel for Brent and WTI, respectively.

 

Both benchmarks rose for the fifth straight week last week, adding about 2% and reaching their highest level since October 2014.

 

Oil prices have risen more than 10% this year because of concerns about supply cuts, and OPEC+ is currently struggling to meet a target monthly production increase of 400,000 barrels per day.

Gold stabilized on Wednesday, supported by a weaker dollar following US inflation data, although bullion price gains were offset by improved appetite for riskier assets as consumer price increases were largely in line with expectations.

 

Spot gold was virtually unchanged at $ 1,823.34 an ounce after the biggest one-day gain since mid-December on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $ 1,821.80.

 

US consumer prices rose in December, inflation was nearing its peak in four decades, making gold more attractive as an inflation hedge.

 

The dollar fell to a two-month low after the data was released, making gold more attractive to foreign investors, while the yield on 10-year US bonds was also reduced.

 

Core inflationary data, coming in hotter than expected, supports gold, and we continue to watch this inflationary pressure rise, maintaining gold's hedge status in the weeks ahead, said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.

 

Meger added that gold could overcome technical resistance around $ 1830.

 

But this was a mixed package for gold, as higher inflation could also reinforce expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, which in turn will increase the opportunity cost of owning non-interest bullion.

 

Growth on Wall Street was also a constraining factor for gold growth, as some investors felt that the Fed may not raise rates as quickly as expected, as the rise in inflation was largely in line with analysts' expectations and was probably estimated.

 

Analysts at TD Securities said in a note that gold's resilience can be attributed to strong physical demand and the fact that markets have already priced almost 3.5 Fed rate hikes by December, as well as more aggressive cuts.

 

Spot silver rose 1.3% to $ 23.05 an ounce, platinum rose 1% to $ 980.77 and palladium rose 1.3% to $ 1,946.61.

Check out the companies that made headlines during midday trading.

 

Biogen — Shares of Biogen fell more than 7% after Samsung denied a report in South Korean media that it was in talks to buy Biogen. On Wednesday, shares of the biotechnology company rose by 9.5% amid this message.

 

DiDi Global - Shares jumped 5.6%, despite the fact that the company reported a decrease in revenues in the third quarter by 1.7% and a loss of $ 4.7 billion. Investors bought into the fall in shares of a Chinese company that provides passenger transportation services, which fell by 8.2% on Wednesday. In addition, the company's shares have declined in 12 of the last 15 trading days.

 

RR Donnelley & Sons - Shares of the commercial printing house rose nearly 5% after the company received a non-binding offer to purchase $11 per share in cash. The unwanted offer came two weeks after R.R. Donnelley agreed to be bought by affiliates of Chatham Asset Management, its largest shareholder, for $10.85 per share.

 

Virgin Galactic - Shares of the space travel company rose 6% as Virgin Orbit, its satellite launch subsidiary, prepares to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq, following a merger with NextGen Acquisition Corp approved earlier this week.

 

Micron Technology - Shares of the semiconductor company fell 1.3% after the company warned of production delays due to the new closure of Covid production in Xi'an, China. Micron said in a blog post that additional restrictions from local authorities "may be increasingly difficult to mitigate."

 

Kanzhun — Shares of the job search company jumped 13% after Jefferies began covering stocks with a "buy" rating and a price benchmark of $44, a gain of about 38% from Wednesday's closing price.

 

ViacomCBS — Shares of the media giant rose 3.6% and were among the highest in the S&P 500 on Thursday. The growth followed a Financial Times report released Wednesday that U.S. video streams will spend $115 billion on content in 2022. Shares of Discovery rose 3%, while Netflix and Fox rose about 1%. Shares of Apple and Disney also rose slightly.

Oil prices remained broadly stable on Thursday as signs that the worst effects of the Omicron option could be more contained than previously feared were countered by new COVID-19 restrictions amid rising infections.

 

Brent crude futures rose 2.07 percent, or $1.56, at $76.85 a barrel after rising 1.8 percent in the previous session. Futures for US west Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose by 1.03 dollars, or 1.4%, to 73.79 dollars per barrel after rising by 2.3% in the previous session.

 

"The direction of oil movement is entirely dependent on the omicron headlines, and as long as they remain more contagious but less virulent, the oil rally is likely to continue, and intraday fluctuations are exacerbated by low liquidity," said OANDA market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

 

Both contracts are rising for the third day in a row." So far this year, Brent has grown by about 46% and WTI by 50%.

 

Wednesday's big gain was partly driven by a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories last week.

 

The United States has approved Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 antiviral pills for people ages 12 and older, the first oral and home-based drug, as well as a new treatment against a fast-spreading variant of the Omicron virus.

 

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca said a three-dose course of the COVID-19 vaccine is effective against Omicron, citing data from a laboratory study from the University of Oxford.

 

On the other hand, governments have imposed a number of restrictions to slow the spread of Omicron.

 

The Chinese city of Xi'an on Wednesday ordered 13 million residents to stay home, Scotland imposed restrictions on the collection of the population from December 26 for up to three weeks, and two Australian states imposed a ban on wearing masks.

 

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allies have left the door open for a review of their plan to increase supply by 400,000 barrels a day in January.

Speculative stocks including GameStop and AMC Entertainment were hit hard on Monday amid widespread market declines as investors ditched risky meme names after a dizzying year.

 

GameStop, once at the center of stock market craze, fell more than 12% during daytime trading, bringing its monthly loss to nearly 29%. AMC shares fell 17%, increasing their monthly decline by more than 32% and hitting their lowest level since June. Bed Bath & Beyond is down 6.3%

 

Other names that have been popular on the WallStreetBets Reddit chat also suffered significant losses this month amid overall lower risk and increased volatility. Clover Health and BlackBerry were down 16% and 10% in December, respectively.

 

However, Monday's selloff hasn't had much of an impact on the memes stock soaring this year. AMC shares are still up more than 970% year-over-year, with GameStop behind it growing more than 630% in 2021. The rally pushed GameStop towards the Russell 1000 large-cap stock index versus the Russell 2000 small-cap stock index.

 

Earlier this year, a group of retail traders coordinated deals on social media and managed to create huge cuts in many strong short stocks. Short positions in these stocks fell sharply after this startling episode.

 

AMC shares fell 7% on Friday after CEO Adam Aron and CFO Sean Goodman sold significant shares. Aron sold an additional $ 9.65 million in AMC shares as part of his real estate planning, following the sale of 625,000 shares of the company for approximately $ 25 million in November. It still owns approximately 96,000 shares, excluding approximately 2.9 million that may be issued in the future, based on performance targets.

 

The sale at the end of the year could also be a sign that investors are losing patience as AMC and GameStop's restructuring plans have not materialized for many. As GameStop attempts to transform itself from a regular chain of stores into a larger e-commerce retail store, it has brought in a number of new leaders, including former Amazon executives Matthew Furlong and Mike Recupero as CEO and COO, respectively.

 

However, the new GameStop leaders have provided few details on their strategy for change and have yet to share their views.

Oil prices rose on Thursday, more than recouping the previous day's losses as investors adjusted ahead of OPEC + 's supply policy decision, but gains were capped amid concerns that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus would hurt fuel demand.

 

Brent crude futures are up $ 1.24, or 1.8%, to $ 70.11 by 0748 GMT, easing 0.5% in the previous session.

 

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures rose $ 1.13, or 1.7%, to $ 66.70 a barrel after falling 0.9% on Wednesday.

 

“Investors have boosted their positions ahead of the OPEC + decision as oil prices have declined so quickly and so strongly over the past week,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at the NLI Research Institute.

 

World oil prices have lost more than $ 10 a barrel since last Thursday, when Omicron news first shocked investors.

 

“The market will closely follow the decision of the producer group, as well as the comments of some key members after the meeting, to propose their future policy,” Ueno said.

 

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC +, are likely to decide on Thursday whether to release more oil to the market, as previously planned, or restrict supplies.

 

Since August, the group has added an additional 400,000 barrels per day to global supply every month as it gradually crushes record cuts agreed in 2020.

 

The new option, however, has complicated the decision-making process, and some observers suggest that OPEC + may suspend these additions in January in an attempt to slow supply growth.

 

"Oil prices have risen as some investors expect OPEC + to decide to maintain current supply levels in January to mitigate any damage to demand from the spread of Omicron," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd.

 

Concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have increased since the first case was reported in the United States and Japan's central bank warned of economic trouble as countries respond with tighter containment measures.

 

US Undersecretary for Energy David Turk said the administration of President Joe Biden could adjust the timing of the planned release of strategic crude oil reserves if world energy prices fall significantly.

 

Growth in oil markets was restrained on Thursday as weekly US stocks data showed that US crude stocks fell less-than-expected last week, while gasoline and distillate stocks rose much more-than-expected as demand has weakened.

 

Crude oil inventories are down 910,000 barrels in the week to November 26, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, compared to analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll of 1.2 million barrels.

The euro fell to nearly 16-month lows on Friday after Austria became the first country in Western Europe to re-impose a full ban on trade, and Germany did not rule out doing the same.

 

The single European currency has been declining all week under pressure from growing expectations that interest rates will tighten faster in other countries, especially in the United States.

 

Against the backdrop of the euro's setbacks, the dollar rose for the fourth consecutive week against its major competitors.

 

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde doubled down on her cautious stance on Friday, saying the ECB should not tighten policy as it could undermine the economic recovery.

 

Austria also said it would require all of its citizens to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by February, and the German Minister of Health warned that restrictions could be imposed in the country.

 

"One thing is for sure, if all of Europe is locked up again, and depending on how long that lasts, we will have to rethink our growth scenarios," said Stefan Ekolo, global equity strategist at brokerage Tradition.

 

The euro is down more than 1% this week, dropping two-thirds of a percent on the day to below $ 1.13, close to Wednesday's low of $ 1.12630.

 

The euro weakened across the board, also hitting more than six-year lows against the Swiss franc, which most recently fell 0.5%.

 

The General Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, is gaining about 1% weekly gain.

 

On the day, the dollar is up 0.4% to 95.958, close to Wednesday's 16-month high of 96.266.

 

There are growing expectations that the dollar may strengthen even more next year. US retail sales surpassed expectations this week after inflation came as a surprise last week.

 

"We believe the combination of Fed timing and slowing global growth should favor the US dollar in 2022," UBS analysts said in their outlook report.

 

The Japanese yen strengthened following the announcement of Austria's closure as traders sought safe havens, and was last up 0.3% against the dollar to hit 113.93 yen.

 

Earlier, the currency weakened slightly after the Japanese government introduced a new stimulus package worth 55.7 trillion yen ($ 490 billion).

 

Sterling has lost some of its recent gains and is down 0.5% at around $ 1.34330.

 

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin dropped below the $ 60,000 mark, and it has entered its worst week in the past six months - it last traded in the $ 57,000 area.

Check out the companies that make headlines:

 

Johnson & Johnson rose nearly 4% in premarket Friday following the announcement of plans to spin off its consumer health care business from its pharmaceutical and medical operations.

 

Rivian Automotive - Shares of the newly opened electric vehicle maker continued to rally in Friday preliminary trading, after surging more than 22% in Thursday's session. This follows its market debut on Wednesday when the stock rallied 29%. The company, backed by Amazon and Ford, has already surpassed Ford and General Motors in market capitalization, reaching a valuation of $ 104.9 billion.

 

Lordstown Motors - Shares in the auto startup fell 10% in preliminary trading on Friday after the company reported another quarter without earnings. Lordstown said it plans to manufacture and deliver its Endurance truck in the third quarter of 2022. According to Refinitiv, the company's last quarter loss per share was less than expected. BTIG also downgraded Lordstown Motors to Neutral from Buy.

 

WM Technology - Software company WM Technology fell 13% in preliminary trading on Friday after its quarterly results fell short of expectations. WM Technology's fourth-quarter outlook was also below expectations.

 

Nvidia - Shares in the chipmaker dropped slightly in Friday's preliminary bid after Wedbush downgraded Nvidia to Neutral from Optimistic on a valuation basis. It is difficult for a Wedbush analyst to argue that Nvidia is trading 55x the company's 2024 performance.

 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise - Hewlett Packard Enterprise declined in preliminary trading on Friday after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral, citing easing IT spending in late 2021 and early 2022. The Wall Street firm lowered its price target to $ 14 per share from $ 16 per share.

 

Blink Charging - Shares in the electric vehicle charging company rose 5% in preliminary trading on Friday as investors were encouraged by strong third-quarter earnings. According to Refinitiv, the company generated revenues of $ 6.4 million, well above analysts' expectations of $ 4.7 million.

 

Caesars Entertainment - Casino shares rose in pre-market trading on Friday after B Riley Securities initiated a buy-rated Caesars Entertainment coverage with a $ 191 price target.

 

Warby Parker - Shares in the eyewear company fell in preliminary trading on Friday after the company reported higher-than-expected losses as direct listing costs offset a 32% rise in sales. Warby's net loss for the three-month period ended September 30 increased to $ 91.1 million, or $ 1.45 per share, from a loss of $ 41.6 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after US crude inventories rose more-than-expected last week, even as gasoline inventories hit a four-year low in the world's largest consumer of oil.

 

Brent crude futures fell $ 2.41, or 2.8%, to $ 82.33 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell $ 2.74, or 3.3%, to $ 81.17 a barrel.

 

Crude oil inventories are up more than 3.3 million barrels in the last week, more than expected, but gasoline inventories have fallen to their lowest level since November 2017. US oil supply declined, and inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, hit their lowest level in three years.

 

Traders also expect the US Federal Reserve to act to curb inflation, which could undermine some speculative purchases of risky assets, including oil.

 

“Markets are already under pressure,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “We fell due to profit taking from today's Fed meeting.”

 

President Joe Biden, speaking at the climate summit in Glasgow, blamed the rise in oil and gas prices on OPEC's refusal to pump more oil. The average retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States was $ 3.40 recently, according to AAA, about 20 cents more than a month ago.

 

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC +, meet on Thursday and are expected to reaffirm plans to keep monthly supply growth stable despite calls for an increase.

 

In a sign that high prices are encouraging increased supplies, BP said on Tuesday that it will increase investment in US onshore shale oil and gas to $ 1.5 billion in 2022 from $ 1 billion this year. Overall, production in the United States increased to 11.5 million barrels per day, which is the highest production in the United States this year.