Russia Financial News

United States and its Western allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they joined forces Wednesday to keep supporting the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade in "blood diamonds" that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa. At a U.N. General Assembly meeting, its 193 member nations adopted a resolution by consensus recognizing that the Kimberley Process, which certifies rough diamond exports, «contributes to the prevention of conflicts fueled by diamonds» and helps the Security Council implement sanctions on the trade in conflict diamonds.

Anna Morris and PDO Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Eric Van Nostrand are travelling to New Delhi and Mumbai from April 2-5 to meet with government and private sector counterparts, the Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday. «They will discuss key bilateral issues, including cooperation on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, other illicit finance issues, and continued implementation of the price cap, which seeks to further limit the profits Russia receives to fund its illegal invasion while promoting stable global energy markets,» it said. Following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the G7 nations, the European Union, and Australia jointly implemented a price cap. This cap prohibits the utilisation of Western maritime services, including insurance, flagging, and transportation, for tankers transporting Russian oil priced at or above USD 60 per barrel.

Gold surged to a record high on Thursday, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell underlined that recent job gains and higher-than-expected inflation readings do not significantly alter the overall picture of the central bank's monetary strategy. FUNDAMENTALS

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Thursday on concerns of lower supply as major producers are keeping output cuts in place and on signs of stronger economic growth in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer. Brent futures for June rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $89.51 a barrel at 0037 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for May rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.59 a barrel.

Canadians aren’t likely to see gas cost less than a dollar a litre in the future, according to a price-monitoring company.

International Olympic Committee on Wednesday said it needs to find a suitable new international boxing body by early next year or else risk boxing dropping out of the Olympics for the Los Angeles Games in 2028. The IOC stripped the International Boxing Association of the right to run the Olympic boxing tournaments in Tokyo in 2021 and Paris this year. On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the IOC's decision to formally de-recognize the IBA, in effect cutting it out of the Olympic movement altogether.

China to lap up the commodity at deeply discounted prices. China imported 1.82 million barrels a day (mb/d) of Russian crude by sea in March, a third more than India's 1.36 mb/d, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. China also receives Russian oil through pipelines.India's monthly imports of seaborne Russian crude exceeded that of China for about one and a half years. In February, however, China's 1.3 mb/d of imports from Russia, marginally surpassed India's 1.27 mb/d. In March, the gap substantially widened. «Russian Sokol cargoes, which were previously rejected by Indian refiners due to concerns of the cargoes being loaded on sanctioned vessels, were sold at heavy discounts to Chinese refiners, which explains the sharp rise in volumes into China,» said Serena Huang, an analyst at Vortexa.

Ajit Doval on Wednesday met with his Russian counterpart Nikolay Patrushev and discussed measures to strengthen counter-terror cooperation. A special focus will be on the Afg-Pak and Eurasian region in the backdrop of the recent terror strike in the Moscow region that killed 144 people. The two NSAs, who met at the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kazakhstan, discussed countering terrorism both bilaterally and in multilateral formats, and emphasised on regular exchange of information about terrorist and extremist elements, sources told ET. Doval strongly condemned the «barbaric» terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22 and expressed condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.

Xi Jinping has told his US counterpart Joe Biden that the Taiwan question is the «first red line» that must not be crossed by Washington, and warned that Beijing will not «sit on its hands» if "Taiwan independence" forces step up their "separatist activities" with the help of external elements. Biden spoke on the phone with Xi on Tuesday, marking the first conversation between the two leaders since their historic in-person summit last November in San Francisco and the latest in ongoing efforts by US and Chinese officials to defuse tensions between the two countries. The White House described the one-hour-45-minute conversation as «candid and constructive» on a range of issues on which the leaders agreed and disagreed. Biden stressed the need to maintain «peace and stability» across the Taiwan Strait and he also raised his concerns over China's support for Russia's defence industry, the White House said.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana. In his address, Doval highlighted the need to shun double standards and hold sponsors, financiers, and facilitators of terrorism accountable. Combatting Terrorism: In his address, NSA Doval stated that any act of terror committed by whomsoever, whenever, and for whatever reasons is not justified. He asserted that perpetrators of terrorism should be effectively and expeditiously dealt with, including those involved in cross-border terrorism.

₹5,600-5,990 a quintal against a minimum support price of ₹5,440, while that of tur is quoted at ₹10,600-10,900 in key mandis of Karnataka and Maharashtra, as per data from spot traders. “Initially yellow pea import was till 31 March.

2024 Lok Sabha elections “even if they are united". "This is an alliance of convenience of some self-seeking Opposition leaders. However, they can't even face up to the NDA even if they are united.

Russian crypto exchange transactions amounted to almost $52 billion in 2023, the nation’s Central Bank has revealed.

Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday as a larger than expected fall in U.S. crude inventories and escalating geopolitical tensions raised investor worries about tighter supplies. Brent futures for June delivery rose 20 cents, or 0.22%, to $89.12 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May climbed 17 cents, or about 0.2%, to $85.32 a barrel, at 0015 GMT.

Biden raised concerns over China's support for Russia's defence industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security."He raised concerns over the PRC’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security, and he emphasised the United States’ enduring commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the White House reported. "If the United States insists on suppressing China's high-tech development and depriving China of its legitimate right to development, we will not sit idly by," Xi warned, according to Chinese state media. Biden also refused to back down on TikTok, the blockbuster Chinese-owned app that Congress is threatening to ban unless it changes hands, with Kirby saying Biden insisted he wanted to protect Americans' data security.

R Praggnanandhaa will enter as the favourite among the three Indian participants in the Candidates chess tournament that will get underway here from Wednesday to decide the challenger for the next world championship match. After nearly 35 years as many as three Indians – Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi — have qualified for the most prestigious event of the year that has just eight participants. According to an expert, India is the new Russia of the chess world, as in the past such dominance was only shown by Russian players.

Brent crude reached $89 per barrel on Tuesday, up from $77 at the end of 2023. Analysts expect a straightforward meeting, supporting the earlier decision to extend output cuts. The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Parasite' actor Song Kang-ho is making his television debut with "Uncle Samsik". The K-politcal period drama will be streamed on OTT giant Disney+. Song will play the fixer «Pak Doochill» aka «Uncle Samsik» and Byun Yo-han, known for K-drama «Mr Sunshine», will essay the role of another pivotal character of the series — Kim San. «Uncle Samsik» is set to make its debut with a five-episode premiere on May 15, exclusively on Disney+ for international audiences. The series will start streaming on Hulu in the United States.

PTI. Though the minister said that it was 'inevitable', he called for heightened efforts to achieve the goal. Jaishankar pointed out that the international momentum is now favouring India's bid for a permanent seat. Addressing intellectuals in Rajkot, the external affairs minister said India needs diligent work to secure the coveted position in the world peace body.

Ukrainian drone struck Russia's third largest oil refinery on Tuesday about 1,300 km (800 miles) from the front lines, hitting a unit that processes about 155,000 barrels of crude per day though an industry source said the damage was not significant. Russian officials said its jamming devices locked onto a Ukrainian drone near Tatneft's Taneco refinery, which has an annual production capacity of more than 17 million tons (340,000 barrels per day). Pictures from the scene indicated the drone hit the primary refining unit, CDU-7, at the refinery, though the drone appears to have not done serious damage.

Authorities in Russia’s Far East have called off a two-week-long rescue effort to reach 13 workers trapped deep underground in a collapsed gold mine and declared them dead