Oil prices edged lower on Monday after recording their biggest weekly gain since April as demand concerns weighed on prospects of tight supply.
Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, was trading 0.64 per cent lower at $77.97 a barrel at 4.20pm UAE time, while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was down 0.70 per cent at $73.34 a barrel.
On Friday, Brent settled 2.55 per cent higher at $78.47 a barrel while WTI was up 2.87 per cent at $73.86.
“Markets are now pricing in the material tightening of balances in the [third quarter] as Saudi Arabia’s additional cuts have begun to take effect, and have been extended in August, while other members of the Opec+ alliance are also contributing to deeper or longer production cuts,” said Daniel Richards, Mena economist at Emirates NBD.
US non-farm payrolls showed that employers added 209,000 jobs last month, the smallest gain since December 2020, according to the Labour Department.
The figures came in below expectations of an increase of 230,000 jobs and indicate that the “remarkable resilience” seen in the labour market this year might be starting to wane, Emirates NBD said.
Meanwhile, China’s consumer inflation rate eased to zero last month while factory-gate prices fell further.
The consumer price index (CPI) was flat year-on-year, compared with a 0.2 per cent gain seen in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The producer price index (PPI) fell for a ninth straight month in June, down 5.4 per cent from a year earlier, recording its sharpest drop since 2015.
“The weak price growth environment has raised concerns around the strength of the Chinese recovery this year, and heightened expectations of further stimulus measures to boost growth,” Mr Richards said.
China’s economy, which rebounded after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions at the start of the year, lost momentum in May, posting weaker retail sales and manufacturing output while registering a slowdown in the property sector.
The country is aiming for gross domestic product growth of 5 per cent in 2023, which is lower than last year's growth estimate of 5.5 per cent.
Oil prices posted a gain last week after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced output cuts for August.
The kingdom will extend its production cut of one million barrels per day, which was initially announced for July, for another month.
Russia will also cut its oil supplies by 500,000 bpd next month on top of the output reductions that have already been announced, state news agency Tass reported last week.
Opec+ will continue pursuing efforts to stabilise the oil market and will do “whatever is necessary”, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at an event last week.
He also said the market would not be left “unattended” and that the output policy announced on June 4 was “too big for people to comprehend”.
Meanwhile, the US is buying another six million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as it replenishes its emergency stocks.
The latest purchase, with receipts scheduled for October and November, is the “third solicitation” that the US Department of Energy has issued this year, it said in a statement on its website on Friday.
Last year, the world’s largest economy released 180 million barrels from the reserve to address the disruption of supply following Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
“The increments are still ways short of rebuilding the SPR to levels seen prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine but will provide another element of structural support to the market,” Mr Richards said.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
The biog
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From: Alberta, western Canada
Record fish: 56kg sailfish
Member of: International Game Fish Association
Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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3 stars
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Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
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Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
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Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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Chelsea 4 (Mount 18',Werner 44', Hudson-Odoi 49', Havertz 85')
Morecambe 0
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli
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Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6
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'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
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