Oil prices rose by more than 2 per cent on Friday owing to supply disruptions in Libya and Opec+’s decision to stick to its planned output increase in August even as recession fears linked to demand weigh on markets.
Brent, the global benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, was up 2.38 per cent at $111.60 a barrel at the close of the trading session on Friday.
West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, closed 2.52 per cent higher at $108.40 a barrel.
Opec+ on Thursday agreed to increase production in August by 648,000 barrels per day, endorsing a plan announced earlier in June.
“There was no commentary in the Opec+ statement about whether the production adjustment, the group’s name for its co-ordinated production policies, would extend beyond September as, in principle, the increase for August would unwind all of the cuts made by the group during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Edward Bell, senior director of market economics at Emirates NBD, said in a note.
Opec and its allies are unwinding record output cuts of about 10 million bpd put in place in 2020.
“The absence of any discussion of what happens once all the pandemic-related cuts [end] will be a concern for an oil market that is screaming out for additional barrels,” Mr Bell said.
“Spot prices have come off since the start of June as financial markets generally price in an imminent global recession but time spreads, both in the futures and physical market, remain exceptionally tight.”
The demand indicators for the second half of 2022 are “mixed” amid the easing of restrictions in China that could push demand higher and a slowdown of growth in the US that could hit oil demand, he said.
“Even if there are broad downside risks to demand, we don’t think that they will outweigh the supportive factors for oil prices,” Mr Bell said.
Supply disruption in Opec member Libya is also supporting oil prices. The North African country on Thursday said it shut down two of the country's biggest export terminals and an oilfield amid the political turmoil in the country, resulting in significant losses to its economy.
“We’ve seen this movie before and a tight oil market and force majeure at key ports should provide underlying support for oil prices,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said.
Libya produced about 707,000 barrels of oil a day in May, down by 186,000 bpd from the previous month, according to Opec’s monthly oil market report based on secondary sources.
The country is exempt from the Opec+ production deal because of security concerns.
Libya’s oil production has “decreased and declined sharply” amid the political situation in the country, Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, said.
Meanwhile, a planned strike by oil and gas workers in Norway on July 5 could cut about 8 per cent of output, or 320,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, unless an agreement is reached over wage demands, according to calculations by Reuters.
Recession concerns are also growing amid inflationary pressures, monetary policy tightening by central banks and the impact of the pandemic and geopolitical tension.
“Recession fears are killing the crude demand outlook, but with prices roughly 17 per cent lower from the March high, oil shouldn’t go much lower given the current supply outlook,” Mr Moya said.
However, Norbert Rucker, head of economics and next-generation research at Julius Baer, expects the outlook for oil prices to remain tilted towards the downside.
“We still believe that the price spikes are temporary, due to the combination of an extraordinary post-pandemic economic bounce and an exceptional geopolitical sentiment shock,” he said.
“We see more downside to prices as the mood cycle ebbs and fundamentals ease. That said, market conditions remain prone to any further unforeseen additional supply shocks.”
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)
Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)
Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
MATCH INFO
Mumbai Indians 186-6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 183-5 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians won by three runs
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Director: Ron Howard
2/5
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
