Good morning
Oil prices soared after oil producers’ unexpected cuts to crude output threatened to deliver a fresh jolt of inflation to the world’s markets.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) soared as much as 8pc in early trading and stood above $79 per barrel at 7am, while Brent crude shot up almost 5pc to come close to $84.
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What happened overnight
Oil prices jumped on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers announced a surprise round of output cuts, a potentially ominous sign for global inflation.
Brent oil futures spiked $5.16 to $85.05 a barrel on news output would be cut by around 1.16 million barrels per day, while US crude climbed $4.88 to $80.55.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks opened slightly lower following a strong rally last week, as the big cut in oil output added to inflation concerns.
The Hang Seng Index shed 0.10pc to 20,379.50, but the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.14pc to 3,277.34 and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange rose 0.11pc to 2,127.10.
Tokyo shares opened higher, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbing 0.58pc to 28,203.35 at the open, and the broader Topix index rising 0.57pc to 2,015.01.