Oil prices gained on Thursday after declining earlier in the day as Opec+ members Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed their close co-operation in the crude market.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, was trading 1.79 per cent higher at $87.36 a barrel at 4.28pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was up 1.63 per cent at $84.85 a barrel.
On Wednesday, Brent settled 2.09 per cent lower at $85.82 a barrel. WTI closed down 2.88 per cent at $83.49 a barrel.
In a joint interview on Russian state TV, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the producers would continue to act pre-emptively, while Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the market balance was fragile.
At the Russian Energy Week on Thursday, Mr Novak said the drop in oil prices following Monday's surge suggested that supply risks from the Israel-Gaza war were not as high as previously thought.
"It's kind of hard to forecast at the moment ... if prices are higher, it means that the risks are higher too. I guess now, the risks are gauged as not as high at the moment," Mr Novak said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that co-ordination between Opec+ partners would continue.
“This is important for the predictability of the oil market and as a result for the welfare of all humanity,” Mr Putin said at the Russian Energy Week.
Oil prices jumped more than 5 per cent on Monday as traders feared that military clashes between Israel and Hamas would escalate into a broader conflict, potentially disrupting Middle East crude supplies.
The death toll from the Israel-Gaza war is nearing 2,500 as the conflict enters a sixth day.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday warned Iran to “be careful” after the Hamas attacks.
This followed reports on Monday of Iran's involvement in Hamas’s surprise attack, although the country has denied those claims.
Iran's production has recovered to a five-year high of 3.1 million barrels per day in recent months, despite current sanctions.
Meanwhile, US crude stocks, an indicator of fuel demand, rose by 12.9 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said.
Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a gain of 500,000 barrels.
“The good news is that Opec now has a decent spare capacity to stabilise global oil prices thanks to their production cut strategy,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
“In the actual geopolitical context, crude oil could further rise towards the $90-$100 a barrel range but a rise beyond the $100 level is unlikely with the morose global economic outlook.”
This week, the International Monetary Fund kept its global economic expansion forecast for 2023 at 3 per cent, below the 3.5 per cent expansion recorded last year, retaining the historical growth average of 3.8 per cent.
The fund estimates growth to hit 2.9 per cent next year, a 0.1 percentage point downgrade from its forecast in July.
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
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Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks
Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
Being over active
If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
Selling in a panic
If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
