UK energy watchdog raises energy price cap by 20pc

The UK's energy regulator on Thursday announced a 20% hike in the energy price cap to £4,279 ($5,176), up from £3,549.

The announcement came in Ofgem's quarterly update to the energy price cap for the period Jan. 1-March 31, 2023.

"Ofgem continues to protect consumers through its ongoing robust regulation of the market, taking enforcement action where necessary and providing support to those who need it the most," the regulator said in a statement.

It added that the price cap for the first three months of next year will increase for dual fuel households paying by direct debit based on typical consumption, however, bill-payers will still be protected by the Government's Energy Price Guarantee until the end of March 2024 , as confirmed by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week.

The price cap was introduced to protect customers from overcharges but has led to many energy suppliers going under as they could not reflect rising energy prices on customers' bills.

Growing fears about China's latest Covid-19 outbreaks Tuesday rattled investors, who fear authorities will revert to highly restrictive containment measures that have already dealt a chilling blow to the world's number two economy this year.

After starting November with a rally thanks to easing inflation concerns and signs China was edging towards a looser approach to the disease, the optimism has been given a massive jolt since the country announced its first virus deaths in six months.

They come as infections rise across the country, with residents in Beijing worried that a record number of new infections will lead to leaders introducing lockdown measures similar to those seen earlier in the year in Shanghai, which lasted for months.

The flare-ups come just a week after China said it would begin rolling back some of the strict Covid rules that have been in place since the pandemic started in 2020, even as the rest of the world has moved on.

Analysts said the latest developments highlight the long road ahead for China in emerging from the crisis as President Xi Jinping sticks solidly to a zero-Covid strategy that is widely blamed for the country's economic troubles.

"Risk sentiment has been under pressure on questions around China reopening," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

"Some investors are convinced that China's reopening is a formality and will be catalysed by the (World Health Organization) downgrading Covid to an endemic.

"We know that China's reopening will be laced with fits and starts as the two-step-forwardone-step-back routine becomes the norm."

Hong Kong, which thundered more than 10 percent higher in a three-day surge earlier this month, fell for a fifth straight day, while Seoul was also lower along with Wellington, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Still, there were gains in Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Mumbai.

That came after a drop on Wall Street, where trading is lighter than usual owing to the Thanksgiving break at the end of the week.

Wednesday sees the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting, which will be pored over for insight into officials' thinking against the backdrop of four-decadehigh inflation and signs of a slowing economy.

Hopes that the bank will begin to take its foot off the pedal were boosted earlier this month by figures showing inflation slowed more than expected, suggesting a series of hikes were beginning to bite.