Posted on 24 February 2014 !!!
TEXT 1
Rising Oil
Price a Boon for the US Economy
According to the
investors, the high-ceilinged oil price has come up with positive news for the
U.S. economy. The price rose because of the fact that the private sector added
almost 111,000 jobs in October 2011. The Automatic Data Processing reported
that the service industries got plenty of benefits.
As a result of
soaring oil prices, Benchmark crude rose by 32 cents to end the day at $92.51
per barrel in New York, while Brent crude lost 20 cents to finish at $109.34 a
barrel in London. After a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve, which doesn’t
announce any new policy, the prices on oil may slip a little bit.
The studies
depicted that the decision taken by the Fed has a greater impact on oil prices.
Last year the Fed decision supported the prices of oil as well drained $600
billion into a bond-buying program. Hence, such things influenced the currency
and commodity markets. As a result of alteration in oil price, Benchmark crude
mounted 20% higher in 2010.
The retail price
on diesel has increased 80.1 cents higher per gallon. Its price will keep on
rising because of the existing market scenario. According to, Wright Express
and Oil Price Information Service, gasoline prices fell less than a penny to a
national average of $3.432 per gallon. The price of gasoline is soaring at $4
per gallon. However, a gallon of regular oil is available at reasonable rate.
According to the
energy trading, the heating oil lost 3.72 cents to end at $3.0007 per gallon.
Gasoline futures finished at $2.6272 per gallon. Natural gas lost 3.2 cents to
end at $3.749 per 1,000 cubic feet.
TEXT
2
UK unemployment rate drops to 7.1%
The UK unemployment rate has
dropped to 7.1%, close to the point at which the Bank of England has said it
will consider raising interest rates. The
number of people out of work fell by 167,000 to 2.32 million in the three
months to November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
said.
The ONS
also said the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell by 24,000 to
1.25 million in December. Labour party leader Ed Miliband said that they
welcome the fall in unemployment because whenever an individual gets back into
work, it's good for them and good for their family. But he argued that average wages were £1,600 a
year lower than they were in the general election year of 2010, meaning that
many families were worse off.
The fall of 167,000 was the biggest drop
since the autumn of 1997. The number of 16-24 year olds out of work fell by
39,000 from the previous three-month period to 920,000.
The ONS figures also showed that the
number of people in employment increased by 280,000 to reach 30.15 million. The
bigger-than-expected drop in the number of people out of work has raised the
possibility that interest rates may rise sooner than previously thought.
Mr
Osborne refused to be drawn on the prospect of interest rates rising, saying it
was a decision for the Bank of England. The Bank of England has said it might
consider increasing interest rates from 0.5% when unemployment hits 7%. The
jobs figures pushed up the value of the pound, which hit a year-high against
the euro and climbed to a near three-week high against the dollar of $1.6553.
