Faced with calls from domestic companies to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports, U.S. President Joe Biden said he was not ready to roll back those measures by his predecessor. Biden told a news conference on Wednesday that U.S. Trade Representative Dai Qi was "working on this." But he added that "the answer is not sure". Biden said: "I hope to get to the stage where I can say that they are fulfilling their promises, or doing more than they promised, and then I can lift some tariffs, but we are not there yet." The data shows, China's 2021 trade surplus with the U.S. hit a record high, in large part because the coronavirus pandemic has spurred a surge in American demand for Chinese goods ranging from home appliances to bicycles. But Biden's new China strategy, which he promised to unveil late last year, has been delayed. So far he has largely maintained the Trump administration's China policy.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the situation in the global oil market appeared to be more tense than previously thought, with the latest coronavirus strain having surprisingly little impact on demand while causing supply disruptions. The IEA said in its monthly report that the excess supply facing global markets this year is shrinking, with oil demand rising slightly from the previous month and on track to reach pre-pandemic levels of 99.7 million barrels per day. At the same time, supply has been constrained, making it difficult for the OPEC+ alliance to resume suspended production, while producers in other regions have suffered a series of disruptions that have eroded spare capacity. Just hours before the Paris-based agency issued a more bullish outlook, crude oil prices rose above $89 a barrel in London, hitting a seven-year high. The rally poses a challenge for consumer countries and central banks as they try to stimulate an economic recovery and fend off soaring inflation and a cost of living crisis.

U.S. housing starts unexpectedly rose in December to a nine-month high, led by condo projects, suggesting builders had some success in tackling material and labor shortages. Housing starts rose 1.4 percent to an annualized rate of 1.7 million units from 1.68 million units in November, according to government data released on Wednesday. Economists polled by Bloomberg had expected 1.65 million units.

Consumer price inflation in Canada rose to its highest level in 30 years in December, adding to pressure on the Bank of Canada to start raising interest rates quickly. Annualized inflation was 4.8% in December, up from 4.7% in November, according to Statistics Canada data released in Ottawa on Wednesday. The December data was in line with economists' expectations. The average measure of core inflation rose to 2.93%, also the highest level in decades. The consumer price index fell 0.1% month-on-month in December as gasoline prices fell. Wednesday's report will reinforce expectations that central bank policymakers, led by Tiff Macklem, will start a rate hike cycle as early as next week. The market is pricing in as many as six possible rate hikes over the next 12 months.

Cryptocurrency exchanges are poised to be the SEC’s 2022 focus for overhauling the digital asset space. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said on Wednesday he hoped that trading platforms would take steps in the coming months to come under more direct oversight from Washington's financial regulator. Gensler said increased regulation is critical for cryptocurrency investors to receive the same protections as investors in stocks or other assets. "I've asked staff to look at all the ways to bring these platforms into investor protections," Gensler said in a video news release. “If trading platforms are not regulated, the public will have another vulnerable year.”

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