Oil prices stayed near 1-year highs on Tuesday as expectations grew that OPEC will cut output, and Russia said it was ready to join in on the cuts. Leading the effort was Algeria which also called on other non-OPEC members to join the effort. In its first widespread output reduction in eight years, OPEC has set a goal to reduce production by 700,000 barrels per day. In the U.S. on Monday, crude prices climbed more than 3 percent following Russia’s announcement. U.S. crude futures declines slightly on Tuesday to $51.26 per barrel, while Brent futures fell to $53.06.
Asian Stock and Currency Moves
Asian stock prices were largely lower on Tuesday, lead by South Korea’s Samsung which plunged 6.85 percent on news that its new phones were continuing to have faulty batteries. South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened 0.6 percent higher, but reversed for a 0.46 percent loss. China’s Shanghai composite was up 0.37 percent while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.95, a move likely related to the surge in oil prices and the weakening yen.
The dollar traded at 103.84 against the yen, continuing Monday’s gains. The euro was $1.1127 against the dollar, while the pound continued to slide, hitting $1.2309 against the greenback. In the first 10 days of Q4 the pound has already shed 5.1 percent. In contrast, the peso held onto Monday’s gains as Donald Trump continued to lose ground in the U.S. presidential race following his degrading sexual comments about women.