Iran appeared on Friday to be the main obstacle for an Opec deal to cut oil production. Bloomberg
Iran appeared on Friday to be the main obstacle for an Opec deal to cut oil production. Bloomberg
Iran appeared on Friday to be the main obstacle for an Opec deal to cut oil production. Bloomberg
Iran appeared on Friday to be the main obstacle for an Opec deal to cut oil production. Bloomberg

Opec+ postpones meeting amid differences over output curbs


Jennifer Gnana
  • English
  • Arabic

Opec+, the oil exporters group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, postponed meetings to discuss output increases to Friday, amid reservations from some producers.

The group convened earlier on Thursday as crude futures in New York crossed the $75 per barrel threshold for the first time in three years.

Oil prices are trading 50 per cent higher than at the start of the year.

Brent, the main international gauge for oil prices, and West Texas Intermediate, the North American benchmark, bridged their gap and were trading at similar levels late Thursday.

Brent rose 1.8 per cent to reach $75.96 per barrel at 10.26pm UAE time, while WTI surged 2.45 per cent to hit $75.27.

Opec+, which came together last year to introduce historic production cuts to rebalance an oil market ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, had initially planned to keep the curbs until April 2022.

But delegates at the Opec+ session today suggested that the group is likely to extend the curbs well into the end of next year.

The group is also considering adding 400,000 barrels per day of crude every month from August to December, potentially returning 2 million bpd of oil back to the markets.

However, disagreements over the volume and pace of future cuts forced the meeting to adjourn to Friday.

Opec+ will now convene its joint ministerial monitoring committee at 3pm Vienna time, followed by its ministerial conference at 4.30pm.

"If the group announces a smaller than expected output hike, this could push oil prices higher," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

"However, a higher-than-expected production increase may exert downward pressure on oil prices in the short term."

Markets have already priced in a much-anticipated return of 500,000 bpd by the group.

Should Opec+ consider returning half a million bpd of production, the price response is likely to be "muted" given the recent rallies seen in the markets, Mr Otunuga said.

THE BIO

Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.

Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.

Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.

SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY

Centre Court (4pm UAE/12pm GMT)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) v Heather Watson (GBR)
Rafael Nadal (ESP x4) v Karen Khachanov (RUS x30)
Andy Murray (GBR x1) v Fabio Fognini (ITA x28)

Court 1 (4pm UAE)
Steve Johnson (USA x26) v Marin Cilic (CRO x7)
Johanna Konta (GBR x6) v Maria Sakkari (GRE)
Naomi Osaka (JPN) v Venus Williams (USA x10)

Court 2 (2.30pm UAE)
Aljaz Bedene (GBR) v Gilles Muller (LUX x16)
Peng Shuai (CHN) v Simona Halep (ROM x2)
Jelena Ostapenko (LAT x13) v Camila Giorgi (ITA)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x12) v Sam Querrey (USA x24)

Court 3 (2.30pm UAE)
Kei Nishikori (JPN x9) v Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x18)
Carina Witthoeft (GER) v Elina Svitolina (UKR x4)

Court 12 (2.30pm UAE)
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x8) v Ana Konjuh (CRO x27)
Kevin Anderson (RSA) v Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)

Court 18 (2.30pm UAE)
Caroline Garcia (FRA x21) v Madison Brengle (USA)
Benoit Paire (FRA) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL)

The biog

Name: Mohammed Imtiaz

From: Gujranwala, Pakistan

Arrived in the UAE: 1976

Favourite clothes to make: Suit

Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550

 

The%20Sandman
%3Cp%3ECreators%3A%20Neil%20Gaiman%2C%20David%20Goyer%2C%20Allan%20Heinberg%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Tom%20Sturridge%2C%20Boyd%20Holbrook%2C%20Jenna%20Coleman%20and%20Gwendoline%20Christie%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Squads

India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur

West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh209,000 

On sale: now

Padmaavat

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh

3.5/5

The biog

Name: Younis Al Balooshi

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn

Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Updated: July 02, 2021, 4:17 AM`