The British Bankers’ Association said its members gave the green light to 44,657 mortgages in January, up from 43,581 in December and the highest number since January last year, when 45,794 were granted. The BBA said low mortgage rates were also driving strong interest from existing home-owners in remortgaging. Source: Reuters
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is offering 11 million barrels of oil for sale from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) ahead of sanctions on Iran that are expected to reduce global supplies of crude. Source: Reuters
Iraq’s state-run Basra Oil Company and Chevron agreed to begin implementing a memorandum of understanding to develop fields in the south of the country. Source: Reuters
Saudi Arabia is seemingly planning to build an oil port in Yemen’s al-Mahra governorate in the country’s southeast, where Saudi and United Arab Emirates’ troops are present. Source: Al Jazeera
