Welcome to Seeking Office Wall Street Lunch.

Our afternoon update on today's market action news and analysis.

Good afternoon, today is Thursday, September 14th, and I'm your host, Kim Khan.

Our top story so far today, USWTI crude oil top $90 per barrel for the first time since

November, while Brent top $93. Both were boosted by expectations for tight global

crude supplies. Saudi Arabia's plan to extend its 1 million barrel a day supply cut until the

end of this year has sparked bullish price forecasts from

oil analysts who say continued strong demand in China will drive a sharp supply

deficit. Bank of America analysts said earlier this week that Brent could reach $100 by year end

as Asia is leading global energy demand growth despite concerns about China's economic

outlook.

Earlier this week, the IEA said extended production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia

will result in a market deficit throughout the end of the year.

Higher energy prices were reflected in a double dose of economic data this morning, retail sales and wholesale inflation.

Both headline numbers came in higher than forecasts.

August retail sales were 0.6% for the month, much more than the 0.2% consensus but excluding auto and gas

sales rose just 0.2% shy of expectations for 0.5%. Gas station sales rose 5.2%

month to month. Wells Fargo noted that Control Group

sales, which feed into GDP, rose 0.1% more in line with expectations, and said

when considering downward revisions consumer spending is still tracking for a solid

Q3 gain, albeit a bit weaker than they were previously expecting.

categories that showed strength during the month include non-store retailers, health and

...