VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Oil’s dramatic price fall since mid-2014 cannot be explained by changes in production and consumption alone, with hedging and energy firms' high debt levels also playing a part, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said on Saturday.

Oil rallied again on Friday, with benchmark Brent crude having its largest two-week gain in 17 years, as falling oil rig counts and violence in producer Libya helped further stall a selloff that began in June.

Asian shares edged higher in early trade on Friday and oil prices continued to rebound, even as investors remained wary ahead of the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for January later in the session.

Oil rose toward $55 a barrel on Thursday, recovering from part of the previous session's slide after China took steps to pour liquidity into the world's second-biggest economy, although traders and analysts said oil's outlook looked weak.

The U.S. dollar steadied on Wednesday after its worst day in more than a year, and a retreat in oil prices after four days of gains halted a rally in European stock markets.

The euro zone may have negative inflation rates for some of the coming months due to a huge drop in oil prices, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said in Budapest on Monday.

Iran is sweetening the terms it offers on oil development contracts to draw the interest of foreign investors deterred by sanctions and low crude prices, as its pragmatic president seeks to deliver on his promise of economic recovery.

A lavish payout to public employees ordered by Saudi Arabia's new King Salman will help to sustain the kingdom's consumer boom and reassure financial markets that the government is not slashing expenditure in the face of low oil prices.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N), the second-largest U.S. oil producer, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as sales of chemicals, lubricants and other refined products helped offset plunging crude prices CLc1.

New European Union sanctions against Russia could include further capital markets restrictions, making it harder for Russian companies to refinance themselves and possibly affecting Russian sovereign bonds, EU officials said on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia's new king is expected to continue a policy of keeping oil output steady to drive out rival producers, though the royal succession has focused market attention on the future of the kingdom's long-serving oil minister.

Asian stocks mostly edged up on Thursday after a significant rebound in oil and copper prices brought a semblance of calm, while the dollar regained ground lost on disappointing U.S. retail sales.

Fitch Ratings cut its rating on Russia to 'BBB minus' from 'BBB', citing significant deterioration in the country's economic outlook due to the slump in oil prices and falling value of the rouble.

Global oil markets resumed their slide on Friday, with Brent and U.S. crude hitting April 2009 lows and ending down for a seventh straight week, although prices recovered from their lows after a sharp drop in the U.S. oil rig count.

Russia's 2014 oil output hit a post-Soviet record high average of 10.58 million barrels per day (bpd), rising by 0.7 percent helped by small non-state producers, Energy Ministry data showed on Friday.