MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in early trade on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar climbed, retreating after a two-day rally that was driven by an Arctic blast curbing output from oil and gas fields in Texas, the country’s biggest oil-producing state.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares advanced on Tuesday, putting world equities on course to extend their bull run for a 12th consecutive session as optimism about the global economic recovery and expectations of low interest rates drive investments into riskier assets.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was pinned down on Tuesday, as vaccine optimism boosted the British pound to an almost three-year high, while rising oil prices and buoyant expectations for global recovery supported commodity and trade-exposed currencies.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday as a cold front shut wells and refineries in Texas, the biggest crude producing state in the United States, the world’s biggest oil producer.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Auto sales in China, the world’s biggest market, surged in January with a 30% jump from the same month a year earlier, the tenth month of gains, as China continued to lead the global automobile industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s economy expanded more than expected in the fourth quarter, extending its recovery from its worst postwar recession as a rebound in overseas demand boosted exports and capital expenditure.