Traders were also encouraged by new Inflation Data forjanuary that showed the smallest increase in goods and Services Prices for three years. That has added to bets that the Federal Reserve is on track to start cutting Interest Rates injune. Our north America Business correspondent Erin Delmore Reports from new york. All three of the major us Stock Indexes closed out february with a bang. The Tech Heavy Nasdaq Hit an all time high and it is the first time we have been able to say that since november 2021. Another new high for the s p 500. Both indexers enjoyed their best february high for the s p 500. Both indexers enjoyed their best february since 2015. The Dowjones Industrial Average for its part was up as well. That makes february the fourth straight month in the green for wall street and the Leap Day Boost was helped by some new Inflation Data. Well, the market today is reacting to a favourable continuation of inflation coming down in a trend towards the Federal Reserve s target.
first it was saudi arabia which announced it was cutting its production by one million barrels per day from august. then russia said it was cutting its production by half a million barrels per day from august too. the cuts mean global supplies will be reduced by around 1.5%. let s go live now to our middle east business correspondent, sameer hashmi. it doesn t sound like a lot, 1.5%, but it could have big implications. explain how important these two players are. explain how important these two players are- explain how important these two -la ersare. , ., ~ ., players are. let s talk about saudi arabia, the players are. let s talk about saudi arabia, the largest players are. let s talk about saudi arabia, the largest export - players are. let s talk about saudi arabia, the largest export in - players are. let s talk about saudi arabia, the largest export in the l arabia, the largest export in the world. these cuts were announced last month and they were not announced as
commons. time for a look at the business news now. we start with the unfolding crisis in the red sea and concerns that the continued attacks on cargo ships by yemen s houthi rebels will affect developing countries the hardest. that s the warning from the world trade organization. today the us has launched a fourth round of airstrikes against the rebels the us military said it targeted missiles that could be intended for attacks on ships. as vessels divert to longer and more costly routes that avoid the red sea, supply chains have been disrupted and economists have warned it could add to inflation. the wto s director general, dr ngozi 0konjo iweala, has been speaking to our economic editor faisal islam at the world economic forum in switzerland. iamjoined i am joined here by the director general of the world trade organization. thank you forjoining 0rganization. thank you forjoining the bbc. 0bviously people are concerned about the fluidity of trade given this big geopolitic
hearing from tata steel, which owns the steelworks in october, it is bad news for the thousands of people who work at that steel facility. we have just been told that tata steel plans to close both remaining blast furnaces at the steelworks and that could come at the cost of 3000 jobs. clearly something which will devastate the local community. stay with us on bbc news for more updates on that story. tata steel says they will close the remaining port talbot blast furnaces at the steelworks with potential loss of up to 3000 jobs. news coming to us from bbc sources, ratherthan jobs. news coming to us from bbc sources, rather than confirmed by tata steel themselves. the unfolding issues around attacks on cargo ships by houthi rebels from yemen, warning from the world trade organization that it could affect developing countries the hardest. today the us has launched a fourth round of air strikes against the rebels, the us military said it targeted missiles that could be intended
wise ministers. this is probably the biggest delegation saudi arabia has a centre for the summit in the last so many years. this comes just two weeks after the chinese arab business, the 10th ofjune, in which we saw a huge chinese delegation coming in. both countries are looking at this as an opportunity to really deepen their economic push, which we have seen really flourishing, at least on the surface of the last few months. it president started with a presence she champagne s visit, last year, and we have seen chinese companies in western saudi arabia, and if you look on paper, saudi arabia is china s large supply of oil, and also its largest trading partner. but the companies are now looking past other sections of the economy and business where they can both come together. tell and business where they can both come together. come together. tell us a bit more about that, come together. tell us a bit more about that, especially come together. tell us a bit more abou