* Treasury Sec. Yellen in China focusing on flood of cheap goods
* No rate cuts this year is a possibility, says Fed’s Kashkari, but…
* Goldman Sachs’ chief economist says no cuts in 2024 would be “very surprising”
* Global economic activity strengthens in March via PMI survey data
* US jobless claims climb to 2-month high but continue to forecast rising payrolls:

Crude oil price rises to six-month high, based on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI). The rise helped trigger a risk-off day in financial markets — the S&P 500 Index fell sharply on Thursday. “Higher energy prices could become a concern for financial markets if it would further delay the start of interest rates cut by key central banks,” says Giovanni Staunovo, a commodity analyst at Swiss bank UBS.