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LONDON - Oil edged lower on Tuesday ahead of weekly data that is forecast to show a rise in U.S. crude inventories, although investor faith in OPEC’s ability to curtail production helped stem a larger price slide.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 10 cents at $67.40 a barrel by 1043 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 eased 17 cents to $63.74.

The American Petroleum Institute releases its weekly figures on U.S. crude inventories later on Tuesday. Stocks are forecast to have risen by 2.7 million barrels last week, according to a Reuters poll.

Inventories have fallen by more than 100 million barrels, or a quarter, in the last 12 months, to around their lowest in three years. Seasonally, stocks tend to build in the first three months of the year.

Soaring U.S. production is upending global oil markets at a time when other major producers - including Russia and the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - have been withholding output to prop up prices.

The United States will overtake Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer by 2019, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Tuesday.

“U.S. shale growth is very strong, the pace is very strong ... The United States will become the No.1 oil producer sometime very soon,” he told Reuters separately.

U.S. output was 10.27 million barrels per day (bpd), according to weekly government data released last Thursday, higher than the latest figures for Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter, and just below Russia.

A steadier dollar also undermined the crude oil market, given the inverse relationship between the two, whereby a stronger U.S. currency can encourage investors to book profits on their holdings of dollar-priced commodities, stocks or bonds.

“Our technical analysts are saying (oil) is bearish unless we break above $67.70,” SEB head of commodity strategy Bjarne Schieldrop said.

“It’s been rejected exactly at that level ... and that is where the price action is today. It’s at a level where it’s a tie between ‘back to bullish or back to bearish’.”

LONDON — Sterling gave up all its earlier gains and was flat on the day thanks to a broad rebound in the dollar though hawkish comments from a central bank official boosted bets that interest rates may rise as early as May. 

A speech by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in which he said his Labour Party wanted Britain to negotiate a new customs union with the EU to ensure tariff-free trade after Brexit also helped support the pound.

The dollar rebounded from the day’s lows against a basket of currencies and was trading near the day’s highs at 89.21 with its gains more pronounced against the euro and the yen.

“We are seeing a broad-based rebound of the dollar against the euro and there isn’t a sterling-specific factor driving this,” said a trader at a European bank in London.

Despite sterling’s retreat, sentiment remained optimistic after Dave Ramsden, a deputy governor at the Bank of England (BoE) and one of the two policymakers who opposed the BoE’s decision to raise interest rates in November, said the central bank may need to raise British interest rates somewhat sooner he expected.

His comments in a newspaper interview added to the general chorus of optimism emanating from central bank officials in recent days, increasing the odds of a rate hike in May to 70 per cent, according to money markets.

“The BOE’s comments have been a big driver for sterling’s gains today and while Corbyn’s comments sound optimistic, we need to see more specifics from them on what they plan to do,” said Derek Halpenny, European head of Global Markets at MUFG. Sterling was flat on the day after having rallied as much as 0.7 per cent earlier to the day’s highs at $1.4070. 

As Prime Minister Theresa May tries to strike a divorce deal with the European Union by October, she is facing a rebellion by a small group of pro-Europeans inside her Conservative Party that Labour’s Corbyn hopes to use to undermine her authority.

Analysts said his support for a customs union made a “softer” Brexit — in which Britain retains ties that are as close as possible to the EU after leaving — more likely, helping reduce Brexit risks that weigh on the pound.

But “the predominant driver is the BoE comments”, said Manuel Oliveri, London-based FX strategist at Credit Agricole.

“It’s not a big surprise but this is another one of the members of the BoE [Ramsden] changing his view on the need for rate hikes.” 

Increased expectations of a BOE rate hike in May come after investors took profits into a sterling rally in recent weeks.

Latest positioning data by Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday showed that long sterling positions are down substantially to $8.2 billion compared to more than a three-and-a-half-year high of nearly $33 billion in late January.

The British pound peaked at $1.4346 in late-January, a 7.5 per cent jump from early December levels. It is now more than 2.5 per cent below that high.

NEW YORK — Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, received a stunning $29 billion last year from the US government, thanks to a new tax law that massively lowered corporate tax rates.

In his much-anticipated annual letter to shareholders, Buffett explained that the company's net gain of $65.3 billion in 2017 was only partly due to his employees' efforts.

"Only $36 billion came from Berkshire's operations," he wrote. "The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the US Tax Code." 

Still, Buffett assured stockholders, "The $65 billion gain is nonetheless real — rest assured of that."

The new law, greatly touted by President Donald Trump, lowered the tax rate paid by US corporations from 35 per cent to 21 per cent, allowing many to undertake major new outlays and others to book significant fiscal gains.

Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns dozens of companies — from Dairy Queen to Duracell — and holds significant shares in large and diverse corporations including American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Charter Communications, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Moody's, Wells Fargo and Southwest Airlines.

'The Oracle of Omaha' 

Buffett's newsletters are read with intense interest on Wall Street and beyond. 

Known as the "Oracle of Omaha" — after his birthplace in the Midwestern state of Nebraska — he is one of the world's most successful investors and one of its richest men. Now 87, he has been investing since he first bought stock at the age of 11.

His latest newsletter reports that Berkshire's net earnings rose last year from $24.07 billion to $44.94 billion.

In the letter, he added: "2017 was far from standard: A large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire". 

The year also saw the company's war chest swell to $116 billion in cash and US Treasury bills, financial manna that Buffett wants to use to make significant new acquisitions.

Berkshire's often-impressive pace of acquisitions had slowed last year, he noted, when the prices asked for businesses "hit an all-time high", amid what he called "a purchasing frenzy". 

"Price seemed almost irrelevant to an army of optimistic purchasers," Buffett noted.

Still, he said, the company "will have opportunities to make very large purchases" going forward, with emphasis on those available at "a sensible purchase price". 

Buffett said Berkshire would stick with a "simple guideline: The less the prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we must conduct our own".

A hit from hurricanes 

Buffett also said that while Berkshire's insurance holdings would take a $2 billion after-tax hit from losses caused by hurricanes last year in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico, other reinsurance companies did far worse.

And he estimated the chances of a "mega-catastrophe" this year — one causing losses of at least $400 billion — at 2 per cent.

"No one, of course, knows the correct probability," he added. 

Buffett concluded with a little advice to fellow investors: "Though markets are generally rational, they occasionally do crazy things."

"Seizing the opportunities then offered does not require great intelligence... [or] a degree in economics," but rather "an ability to both disregard mob fears or enthusiasms and to focus on a few simple fundamentals", he added.

Forbes magazine estimates Buffett's personal worth at some $87 billion. 

He has undertaken — as part of the so-called Giving Pledge he co-founded with Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg — to donate more than 99 per cent of his fortune to charities, and has already given away some $32 billion.

PARIS  — A French court on Friday threw out a complaint by Apple demanding a ban on protests at its stores by the tax campaign group Attac.

Attac had staged a sit-in at Apple's flagship Paris store on December 2, blocking access for several hours in protest at what they claimed was "massive tax evasion" by the US tech giant.

Apple said the demonstration put customers' and employees' safety at risk and sought a court order barring the activists from further protests inside its stores.

Attac had previously held protests at stores in Paris and Aix-en-Provence in November, demanding Apple pay billions of euros which the EU says it owes in back taxes.

But a Paris court dismissed Apple's claim that there was a risk of "imminent damage" from further protests, so long as these were peaceful and did not block access to the store.

It noted Apple had not reported any damage from the peaceful Paris protest in December.

Attac, which branded the lawsuit an assault on the right to protest, hailed the ruling in its favour.

"The court has recognised the legitimacy of our actions and went as far as to say we behaved in the general interest," said its spokesman Raphael Pradeau.

He added the group has no plans to stop protesting against the company.

Apple did not immediately respond to requests to comment.

In 2016, the EU said Apple owed $14.5 billion in back taxes after it negotiated highly favourable tax arrangements with the Irish government.

The tech giant also came under fire late last year when leaked financial documents known as the Paradise Papers showed it shifted tens of billions of dollars between tax havens to minimise taxes.

Last month the company announced it would pay $38 billion (31 billion euros) on profits repatriated from overseas as it boosts investments in the United States.

Apple, which claims to be the largest US taxpayer, is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of a tax-lowering bill passed by the US Congress in December.

LEIPZIG, Germany — A German court on Thursday delayed a ruling on whether major cities can ban heavily polluting diesel cars, which could hit the resale value of 15 million vehicles in Europe's largest car market and force automakers to pay for costly modifications.

Judge Andreas Korbmacher said the country's highest federal administrative court would rule on February 27 on an appeal brought by German states against bans imposed by local courts in Stuttgart and Duesseldorf over poor air quality.

There has been a global backlash against diesel-engine cars since Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to cheating US exhaust tests, meant to limit emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxide, known to cause respiratory disease.

While other countries are also considering restrictions on diesel cars, bans in the birthplace of the modern automobile would be a new blow for the car industry, and an embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, which has backed it.

"Diesel might get its final kiss of death [from the court ruling]," Evercore ISI analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Germany has long promoted diesel to help cut carbon dioxide emissions and meet climate change goals, but the Volkswagen (VW) scandal has pushed its carmakers to step up spending on electric cars, as well as investments into making diesel engines cleaner.

The federal administrative court in Leipzig is due to rule on whether bans imposed by local courts are legal after environmental group DUH sued city authorities. The DUH is also pursuing bans in many other German cities. 

During proceedings in Leipzig on Thursday, lawyers discussed whether the government would have to introduce a new way of labelling cars to enable authorities to enforce any bans.

Judge Korbmacher suggested the European Court of Justice might have to consider the issue of whether bans are permissible.

Merkel's government, which has come under fire for its close ties to the car industry, has lobbied against bans, fearing they could anger millions of drivers and disrupt traffic in cities, with public transport not in a position to take up the slack.

Meanwhile, authorities in Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centres by 2025, while the mayor of Copenhagen wants to ban new diesel cars from entering the city as soon as next year.

Bad air 

A small group of protesters from Greenpeace gathered outside the Leipzig court, with images of lungs painted on their chests and holding up signs reading "Clean Air Now".

"Because the government has failed to do anything for years about exhaust problems in the cities, judges have to decide today how residents will be protected from bad air," said Greenpeace transport spokesman Benjamin Stephan.

The threat of bans has prompted a big fall in sales of diesel cars in Germany, down to just a third of new car sales in January from almost half before the VW scandal.

In an attempt to avert bans, Merkel's government agreed a deal with carmakers last year to overhaul engine management software on 5.3 million diesel cars as well as funding for cities to help cut emissions by taxis and buses.

Environmental groups have called software updates insufficient and have lobbied for cars applying the latest Euro-6 and older Euro-5 emissions standards to have their exhaust treatment systems upgraded.

Evercore ISI has said it could cost up to 14.5 billion euros ($17.8 billion) to retrofit Germany's Euro-5 diesel fleet, and as much as double that if the entire diesel fleet is affected.

LONDON — The dollar continued its discreet recovery on Wednesday, lifted by expectations that the American central bank is shifting towards tightening monetary policy quickly, dealers said.

All eyes were on the publication of minutes, which was scheduled for later on Wednesday, of the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting which Fed watchers will dissect in their search for insights into the central bank's thinking.

All things being equal, higher interest rates bolster the dollar as holding the currency becomes more attractive.

Barring any surprises in the minutes, "the greenback could be on the verge of a more significant comeback," predicted Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at Forex.com.

The dollar stood comfortably firm against the euro and the yen as well as against the pound sterling which came under pressure after Britain reported rising unemployment.

The weaker pound, in turn, boosted London stocks, with the FTSE outperforming its European peers.

Paris posted small gains at the close, but Frankfurt fell "after a string of disappointing" eurozone manufacturing numbers, noted Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex trading group.

The share price of mining giant Glencore and Lloyds Banking Group enjoyed solid gains following well-received earnings updates.

Wall Street was firmer approaching midday in New York.

AMMAN — Jordan and Azerbaijan asserted on Tuesday their commitment to strengthening economic cooperation, to serve mutual interests, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

During the meetings of the Jordanian-Azeri Committee, co-chaired by Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yarub Qudah and Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev, the two sides said they will cooperate in the fields of trade and investment and pledged to exert all efforts needed to achieve these goals.

Qudah asserted the importance of fostering commercial and investment cooperation to serve the best interests of the two countries, underscoring the role that the meetings can play to help achieve the desired goals.

Commending the strong Jordanian-Azeri relations, Mustafayev noted that the meetings are essential to discuss ways to boost cooperation, enabling the two sides to work together to eliminate any trade or business-related constraints.  

At the meetings, which commenced on Tuesday, the two countries agreed to expedite work towards the establishment of a Jordanian- Azeri business council and to facilitate travel procedures for businessmen between the two countries, besides working to exchange business and investment-related information to make use of the opportunities available. 

Committee representatives agreed that information exchange will address several areas, including customs and the establishment of industrial and development zones. They also encouraged Azeri companies to invest in fuel prospecting operations in the Kingdom.  Discussions addressed the possibility of importing oil and liquefied natural gas from Azerbaijan, according to Petra.  

Also on Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi met with Mustafayev and commended the strong bilateral relations between both countries, Petra reported. 

BRUSSELS — Eurozone finance ministers on Monday chose Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos to succeed European Central Bank (ECB) Vice President Vitor Constancio in May, a move likely to boost the chances of a German becoming head of the ECB next year.

The choice of a Southern European for vice president increases the likelihood that a northerner such as German Bundesbank Governor Jens Weidmann could be elected to replace Mario Draghi as head of the ECB in 2019. This could influence the bank's ultra-loose monetary policy.

"The Eurogroup [of eurozone finance ministers] today gave its support to the candidacy of Luis de Guindos for the position of vice president of the European Central Bank [ECB]," an EU statement said after a brief discussion among finance ministers.

De Guindos said he would resign as economy minister within days after being chosen as ECB vice president.

Initially faced with two candidates — de Guindos and Irish central bank governor Philip Lane — the ministers had their choice made simple for them by Ireland's decision to withdraw Lane's name.

"I believe that it is crucial that the election of a new vice president for the ECB is based on consensus, and should not be a source for any disagreement," Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said in a statement.

"In that context, I have decided that, on balance, it would be in the interests of the Euro-area as a whole to withdraw Philip's candidacy in advance of any vote," he said, adding that de Guindos had an "excellent track record".

Ministers said the appointment of De Guindos should be finalised by EU leaders in a regular summit on March 22-23. 

The European Parliament's economic committee, which has only a consultative role, said after an informal hearing of both candidates last week that Lane was a better choice, but eurozone officials said de Guindos was the favourite.

Spain, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, has not had a representative on the executive board of the ECB since Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo's term ended in 2012. 

Ireland has never held a post in the ECB at all, but Lane is widely seen as a top candidate to become ECB chief economist when Peter Praet leaves his position next year, eurozone officials said.

Weidmann

The choice of a Southern European for vice president could pave the way for Weidmann to be elected at the head of the ECB next year.

"It looks like that is the case," one eurozone official said. "But it is a chess game and we don't know all the players yet. Lane would be well placed as chief economist, but Weidmann depends on the distribution of the big jobs in 2019." 

The "big jobs" include the head of the European Commission, the chairman of European Union leaders and the head of the European Parliament —all of which will come up for replacement in 2019.

Eurozone officials said Weidmann could get the ECB top job if, for instance, France got the presidency of the European Commission, naming someone like the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, or IMF head Christine Lagarde.

Picking the Bundesbank chief for the ECB presidency may be tricky. Although Weidmann is considered a top-notch central banker, he has alienated some officials with his opposition to the ECB's ultra-easy monetary policy, which is credited with reviving economic growth.

Some other central bank governors regarded this as disloyalty in a time of crisis.

Weidmann has also ruffled some political feathers, clashing publicly with Italy's then-prime minister, Matteo Renzi, over Rome's failure to cut its debt further.

After being on the losing side in the ECB's big decisions on economic stimulus, Weidmann might also find it hard to unite the Governing Council, which strives for consensus decisions and rarely resorts to voting.