U.S. Economic News
April 13, 2020
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that a coalition of global oil producers led by Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the U.S. successfully agreed to cut oil production by a combined 9.7 million barrels a day – over 13% of world production – to address the oversupply caused by the coronavirus-induced fall in demand. However, with oil consumption expected to decline by as much as 30 million barrels a day on account of the virus, many analysts believe the agreement is too little, too late. WSJ
According to the Financial Times, many American and European importers are in the unusual position of trying to intentionally slow down shipments from overseas to avoid having to pay rising warehousing and transport fees. After rushing to frontload imports as Chinese factories shut down earlier this year, businesses have reversed course as economic activity in advanced economies ground to a halt, and are now seeking to use containers as floating storage devices to offset high inventory costs. FT