The Bank of Russia unexpectedly maintained its key interest rate at a record-high 21% , defying analysts’ expectations of another significant hike as inflation remains stubbornly elevated. The decision marks a shift toward a more measured approach in balancing economic growth and price stability. Key Details Inflation Concerns: Annual inflation climbed to 8.9% in November, well above the central bank’s 4% target , with inflation expectations reaching 13.9% in December. Policy Rationale: The central bank cited the significant tightening of monetary conditions after October’s 200-basis point hike as sufficient to resume disinflationary processes. Governor Elvira Nabiullina emphasized avoiding both economic overheating and severe slowdowns. Economic Overheating: Elevated government spending on the war in Ukraine and social programs, coupled with labor shortages and rising wages, have fueled strong domestic demand, exacerbating price pressures...
Sinopec, the world’s largest refiner by capacity, reported a 52.1% year-on-year decline in net profit for the third quarter, falling to 8.54 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion or RM5.2 billion). The sharp decline in profits was primarily attributed to lower oil prices and weaker refining margins.
The company’s third-quarter revenue dropped 9.8% from the previous year, reaching 790.4 billion yuan, according to a stock market filing on Monday.
While Sinopec struggled with lower earnings, its domestic peer, CNOOC, saw a 9% increase in quarterly profit, amounting to 36.93 billion yuan, driven by higher output that compensated for lower prices.
From January to September, Sinopec processed 190.69 million metric tonnes of crude oil, marking a 1.6% decline year-on-year. The output of refined fuels also fell by 0.8% to 116.6 million tonnes during the same period. Diesel production dropped 10.7%, while gasoline output rose 4.1% and jet fuel production increased 10.5%.
Despite the challenges, refined fuel sales increased 0.6% year-on-year to 181.67 million tonnes in the first nine months, although domestic sales fell 3.2%.
Sinopec’s performance was further impacted by the chemical segment, which reported a net loss of 4.9 billion yuan. The company’s capital expenditure for the first nine months dropped to 86.35 billion yuan, with 50.77 billion yuan allocated to exploration and development, focusing on its pilot shale oil field in Jiyang and oil and gas fields in Xinjiang and Sichuan.
Sinopec’s Hong Kong-listed shares have risen 10.27% year-to-date, underperforming the Hang Seng Index, which increased 20.84% over the same period.
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