Oil prices extended their losses on Monday as concerns about a recession in the US offset Middle East supply worries.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, fell 0.95 per cent to $76.08 a barrel at 6.21pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, was down 1.1 per cent at $72.69 a barrel.
On Friday, Brent settled 3.4 per cent lower at $76.81 a barrel, while WTI closed down 3.66 per cent at $73.52 a barrel.
Global stocks have tumbled since a US jobs report last week heightened fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy, amid concerns the Federal Reserve may be harming economic growth by delaying interest rate cuts.
The US Labour Department reported a softening employment market, with the US economy adding 114,000 jobs last month, down from 179,000 in June and well below economists' expectations of 185,000.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.3 per cent, its highest level since October 2021.
Some analysts said that concerns about a recession were overblown, and pointed to strong US oil demand.
“Oil like other asset classes is not immune when investors run for cover and prefer to hold safe haven assets,” Giovanni Staunovo, strategist at UBS told The National.
“Additionally, the sell-off triggered a sell off among investors who bought oil as a hedge against geopolitical tensions, with stops being hit and short-term orientated investors selling on the negative momentum,” Mr Staunovo said.
“The creation of 144,000 jobs in the US is a sign of slowdown of the US economy, not one of a recession.”
Total crude oil and petroleum product supplied, the US Energy Information Administration's proxy for demand, increased by 792,000 barrels a day month-over-month to 20.80 million bpd in May, setting a record high for the month
Meanwhile, US crude inventories, an indicator of fuel demand, fell by 3.4 million barrels in the week that ended on July 26, the EIA data showed.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected oil stocks to decline by 1.1 million barrels.
Crude prices rose about 3 per cent last week following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which led to concerns of a wider regional conflict.
Iran claimed Israel was behind the assassination and threatened “harsh punishment” in retaliation.
“The sudden switch in market mood and expectations over the US economy by definition makes it fickle,” Vandana Hari, chief executive of Singapore-based Vanda Insights told The National.
“The Mideast supply risk has been pushed aside by the panicky sell-off in risk assets. It may spike in the event Iran and Israel engage in direct military conflict, but for the time being the market is probably not assigning it a big probability, going by the events of April,” Ms Hari said.
In April, Iran retaliated for the killing of two senior army generals in a Damascus strike, which Tehran attributed to Israel, by launching more 300 missiles and drones at Israel. Israel responded with a direct military attack on Iranian soil, but the strike was more limited than many experts had predicted.
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
RESULTS
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Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
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8.50pm: Zabeel Mile Group 2 $250,000 1,600m
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9.25pm: Handicap $125,000 1,600m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
