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G20: Equal Access to Vaccines is Key to Overcoming Pandemic

G20: Equal Access to Vaccines is Key to Overcoming Pandemic
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G20: Equal Access to Vaccines is Key to Overcoming Pandemic

G20: Equal Access to Vaccines is Key to Overcoming Pandemic

Equitable and affordable access to vaccines for all is key to overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and supporting the global economic recovery, the G20 Finance and Health ministers said on Thursday.

"We will continue to use all available policy tools to safeguard people's lives, jobs and incomes, support the global economic recovery, and enhance the resilience of health and financial systems, while safeguarding against downside risks," the ministers said in a statement following a joint meeting under the Saudi G20 leadership.

They pledged to “work together to lay the foundation for targeted actions to help respond to the most immediate challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that the world is better prepared to curb the impact of future health-related crises in line with One Health Approach.”

Furthermore, they said they “will integrate the economic risks of pandemics, drug resistant infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases and high-impact tail risks more systematically into the G20’s global risk monitoring and preparedness.”

The statement added that an action plan will be presented at the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in October and to the G20 leaders' summit in November.

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Oil Prices Fall More than 1% as Hurricane Rafael Risk Recedes

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
TT
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Oil Prices Fall More than 1% as Hurricane Rafael Risk Recedes

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices fell on Friday on receding fears over the impact of Hurricane Rafael on oil and gas infrastructure in the US Gulf while investors also weighed up fresh Chinese economic stimulus.

Brent crude oil futures lost $1.04, or 1.38%, to $74.59 a barrel by 1243 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $1.22, or 1.69%, at $71.14.

The benchmarks have reversed Thursday's gains of nearly 1%, but Brent and WTI are still on track to finish 2% up over the week, with investors also examining how US President-elect Donald Trump's policies might affect oil supply and demand, Reuters reported.

Hurricane Rafael, which has caused 391,214 barrels per day of US crude oil production to be shut in, is forecast to weaken and move slowly away from US Gulf coast oilfields in the coming days, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Downward price pressure also came from data showing crude imports in China, the world's largest oil importer, fell 9% in October - the sixth consecutive month to show a year-on-year decline.

"The weakening of oil imports in China is due to weaker demand for oil as a result of the sluggish economic development and rapid advance of e-mobility," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

China kicked off a fresh round of fiscal support on Friday, announcing a package that eases debt repayment strains for local governments.

The nation's economy has faced strong deflationary pressures in the face of weak domestic demand, a property crisis and mounting financing strains on indebted local governments, limiting their investment capability.

"There were no additional stimulus measures targeting domestic demand, hence the disappointment weighing on prices," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo told Reuters.

Prices had risen on Thursday on expected actions by the incoming Trump administration, such as tighter sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, which could limit oil supply to global markets.

"In the short-term, oil prices might rise if the new President Trump is quick on the draw with oil sanctions," said PVM analyst John Evans.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday that Trump's proposed policies of broad-based tariffs, deportations and tax cuts would have no near-term impact on the US economy, but the Fed would begin estimating the impact of such policies on its goals of stable inflation and maximum employment.

The Fed cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday.