Oil prices settled higher on Friday but posted their first weekly loss since June, snapping a seven-week winning streak, amid concerns about China’s economic growth and fears of further monetary tightening.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, rose 0.81 per cent, to settle at $84.80 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, added 1.07 per cent close at $81.25.
For the week, both Brent and WTI retreated about 2.3 per cent.
“The oil price rally that has been in place since June has ended. Energy traders will focus on the latest problems from China, the global flash purchase manager's indexes, the Jackson Hole Symposium, and the BRICS summit," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
“Fears that the [US Federal Reserve] will overtighten are back and uncertainty persists on how the US consumer will behave once all their Covid savings disappear and as student loan debt bills come due.
"If the global economic outlook become even more pessimistic, oil might give up a good portion of the recent rally."
The number of Americans filing fresh claims for jobless benefits fell by 11,000 to 239,000 in the week ending on August 12, the Labour Department said on Thursday.
The drop in jobless claims suggests the labour market in the world’s largest economy remains in “fairly good” health despite the Fed’s rate increases, Edward Bell, senior director of market economics at Emirates NBD, said.
“Initial jobless claims have trended higher since the start of the year which aligns with the slowdown in hiring,” Mr Bell said.
Fed policymakers continue to see “significant upside risks” to inflation that may require more monetary tightening, minutes released from the central bank's most recent meeting showed.
The minutes from the Fed's July 28 and 29 meeting said that “a couple of participants” indicated a preference for leaving rates unchanged or signalled they would support a proposal to do so.
Last month, the Fed raised US interest rates by 25 basis points, its 11th increase since March 2022, as part of its efforts to lower inflationary pressure on the nation's economy.
This brought the Fed's benchmark rate to the target range of 5.25 per cent and 5.5 per cent, the highest in 22 years.
The central bank's next meeting will be held on September 19 and 20.
Higher interest rates could impede economic growth, lowering crude demand.
Oil has gained for seven straight weeks on a tightening crude market, but fresh concerns about China’s economic growth have weighed on futures this week.
Earlier this week, China’s central bank cut key policy rates for the second time since June in an attempt to revive sagging economic growth.
China’s industrial output and retail sales grew at a slower pace in July, compared with June, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics
Meanwhile, the world’s second-largest economy has officially fallen into deflation, with both consumer and producer prices declining in July compared with a year ago.
Despite growing concerns about the country’s economy, China’s refiners processed about 14.9 million barrels per day of crude in July, up more than 31 per cent from the same period a year earlier, MUFG, Japan’s largest lender, said in a research note on Thursday.
“Looking ahead, we believe the impressive rebound in oil prices may lose some steam in the near term, as rising prices are expected to help boost production in the US,” said Ehsan Khoman, head of commodities, ESG and emerging markets at MUFG.
“On the demand side, risks stem from lower than anticipated Chinese stimulus. Hedge fund managers are cutting net bullish bets after exuberance since end-June,” Mr Khoman said.
“Hence, we expect the current seven successive weeks’ rally to cool down in the short term.”
However, Swiss lender UBS has raised its oil price forecast for this year on the back of additional supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
UBS now expects Brent to trade at $95 a barrel by the end of December, up from its previous estimate of $90 a barrel.
The oil market is projected to be in a deficit of two million bpd this month and 1.5 million bpd in September as the two Opec+ members extend their production cuts, according to UBS.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT)
Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
Spartak Moscow v Sevilla
Feyenoord v Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City v Napoli
Monaco v Besiktas
RB Leipzig v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
CSKA Moscow v Basel
Bayern Munich v Celtic
Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain
Qarabag v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Roma
Barcelona v Olympiakos
Juventus v Sporting Lisbon
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.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Pakistan T20 series squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shahzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammed Amir (subject to fitness clearance), Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Umar Amin
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
