The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its energy outlook.

According to a statement from hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand, the price will increase above $140 per barrel this year. In his opinion, this is possible after the complete removal of COVID restrictions in Asia.

Tourists can now reach mainland China by air, land and water — Beijing finally opened the borders on Sunday. The country has been closed to foreigners almost since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic.

According to Bloomberg, citing traders, Beijing organizes the purchase of crude oil, which is then transported to Europe.

Saudi Aramco lowered prices for crude grades loading for Asia and Europe in February. The company kept oil prices for the U.S. high, Reuters said earlier.

Norway plans to export around 122 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2023. These figures correlate with the volumes in 2022, and the next 4–5 years such level will be maintained.

It’s predicted that there would be continuously rising interest rates and increasing geopolitical tensions. Thus, these factors, combined with increasing uncertainty, are expected to cause difficult times in the global economy.

As shown by renewed data on the People’s Bank of China website, the nation’s gold holdings were extended by 30 tons in December. This increase followed an addition of 32 tons made in November.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. authorities rejected all offers to buy oil needed to replenish the country’s strategic reserves. The main reasons for the rejection were extremely high price or failure to meet the requirements.

According to a representative of the British central bank Catherine Mann, the implementation of ceiling price for energy products as a counter-move to a price spike may provoke the growth of inflation in other fields.