April 3, 2023

*) Oil prices jump after OPEC+ cuts daily production by more than a million barrels Oil prices have soared almost six percent in Asian trade after major producers led by Saudi Arabia announced a surprise cut of more than one million barrels per day. The move led by Saudi Arabia will be in effect from next month until the end of the year, and marks the biggest reduction in output since the OPEC plus slashed two million barrels per day in October. The reduction came on top of a Russian decision to extend a cut of 500,000 barrels per day, and in spite of US calls to increase production. The announcement is expected to fan fresh fears about inflation and put more pressure on central banks to hike interest rates further. *) Wagner group claims it captured Bakhmut; Ukraine denies report The head of pro-Russian Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed that his forces have captured Ukraine’s Bakhmut, raising the Russian flag over the city’s administration building. In a message posted on Telegram, Prigozhin said that "from a legal point of view” Bakhmut has been taken. Prigozhin has previously made claims that were premature. Ukraine's army also denied the report saying it still "holds" the city. In a video address on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave no indication that the city had fallen, saying fighting remained “particularly hot”. *) Finland's centre-right National Coalition Party claims election victory Finland's centre-right opposition National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo has claimed victory in the Nordic country's tightly-fought parliamentary election on Sunday. With 99 percent of votes counted, the centre-right was credited with 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, the far-right with 46 and the Social Democrats with 43. The biggest party in parliament traditionally gets the first chance to build a government, and since the 1990s that party has always claimed the prime minister's office. Prime Minister Sanna Marin who secured for Finland a NATO membership, has co