Oli prices rose on Friday and posted a second consecutive weekly gain, buoyed by hopes of trade tension between the US and China continuing to thaw.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world's crude, closed up 1.36 per cent to $65.41 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, added 1.4 per cent to $62.49 per barrel.
The benchmarks posted a weekly rise of 1 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.
Year-to-date, the benchmarks are down by about 14 per cent, weighed down particularly by the sweeping tariffs announced by the US last month.
Crude fell by more than 3 per cent on Thursday on the back of expectations of a possible nuclear deal between the US and Iran that could result in Tehran boosting oil supply to the market if sanctions are eased.
The market has been "awaiting news on a potential US-Iran nuclear deal and developments on US tariff negotiations with trading partners around the world, with a particular focus on the talks with China that began this week", analysts at Vanda Insights said.
The US and China, the two main protagonists in the tariff war, agreed to a 90-day trade truce after a much-anticipated meeting in Geneva last weekend.
The world's two biggest economies and users of crude imposed significant drops to the tariffs they had imposed on each other for a period of 90 days, "recognising the importance of their bilateral economic and trade relationship to both countries and the global economy", a joint statement released by the White House read.
Oil prices, however, continue to be weighed down by the possibility of Opec+ increasing its output and a nuclear deal between the US and Iran.
US President Donald Trump, who wrapped up his Middle East tour in Abu Dhabi, had earlier said Washington was close to reaching a deal with Tehran.
Iran is Opec’s third-largest oil producer, with an output of 3.3 million barrels per day as of April, according to the latest monthly oil market report by the oil producers' group.
If a deal is reached between the two countries, it could lead to a boost in supply from Iran, based on the prospect of sanctions relief.
Meanwhile, Opec plans to boost output in anticipation of higher demand are also weighing on oil prices.
The alliance of producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, this month agreed to increase production by 411,000 barrels per day for a second month in a row in June after deciding to add the same volume to the market in May.
On Thursday, the International Energy Agency boosted its global supply growth forecast for 2025 by 380,000 bpd, while anticipating a surplus for 2026.
Investors are awaiting clues from the US Federal Reserve on potential interest rate cuts, which are expected to boost the American economy, its consumers and energy demand.
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Al Ghaf Honey
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How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
