The IEA left its overall demand estimate for 2020 unchanged at 91.7 million bpd down 8.4m bpd from 2019. Reuters
The IEA left its overall demand estimate for 2020 unchanged at 91.7 million bpd down 8.4m bpd from 2019. Reuters
The IEA left its overall demand estimate for 2020 unchanged at 91.7 million bpd down 8.4m bpd from 2019. Reuters
The IEA left its overall demand estimate for 2020 unchanged at 91.7 million bpd down 8.4m bpd from 2019. Reuters

Oil poised for volatility amid uncertainty stoked by US President testing positive for Covid-19


Jennifer Gnana
  • English
  • Arabic

Oil markets are poised for turbulence after futures in New York and London settled below $40 a barrel on Friday after news of US President Donald Trump contracting Covid-19.

Brent, the international benchmark for more than half of the world's crude, fell by 4.06 per cent to settle at $39.27 a barrel on Friday.

West Texas Intermediate, the key US crude gauge, was 4.31 per cent lower at $37.05 a barrel at the close of trade. WTI registered an 8 per cent weekly loss, while Brent fell 6.3 per cent during the period.

The benchmarks had a volatile day of trading after Mr Trump, 74, and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday, just a month before the November 3 presidential election.

Mr Trump was moved to a military hospital for treatment, a White House official said on Friday, as his administration and election campaign scrambled to adjust to an extraordinary twist in his turbulent presidency.

He will stay at the Walter Reed military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, for the next few days, according to the White House officials.

"Oil remains the weakest link to the Covid-19 headlines as it reinforces the view that anyone, even the [US] commander-in-chief, is susceptible to the virus," said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi.

"The risk-off reaction to Trump's positive Covid-19 test feels like the last of the Biden pricing is getting done."

Democratic nominee and former vice president Joe Biden is increasingly favoured by the polls to beat Mr Trump and become the next US president. The two candidates faced each other at a gruelling presidential debate last week.

The news rattled stock markets and sent investors fleeing to haven assets. Gold rounded off its best week in about two months, with the Japanese yen also registering advances.

Wall Street also reverberated with the impact of the coronavirus’ impact on US leadership, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.48 per cent. The S&P 500 index lost steam, declining 0.96 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.22 per cent.

"Brent crude oil prices have been under pressure over the last two days. Risk aversion set in on Friday after President Trump tested positive for Covid-19, raising concerns about how this development will impact the presidential election. A combination of other factors had already dragged oil prices lower on Thursday,” said Giovanni Staunovo, a commodities analyst at UBS.

The Swiss bank, however, maintained a positive outlook on oil prices for the next 12 months, citing an undersupply in the market due to falling inventories.

UBS expects Brent to average $45 per barrel by the end of this year and sees the benchmark rising to $50 per barrel towards the end of the first quarter in 2021.

Efforts by the Opec+ group of producers that contributed to reducing oil inventory from the markets is expected to continue well into the next year. The alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is cutting 7.7 million barrels per day and is likely to implement tapered curbs into April 2022.

Libyan oil production coming back on stream and its exports hitting the market are also partly responsible for the downward pressure on oil prices, according to some analysts.

"Libyan restarts may or may not be sustained, but there is also a renewed focus on Iran with some tanker-tracking firms reportedly seeing a strong increase in exports from the country in September,” consultancy JBC said in a report on Friday.

"We don’t doubt the possibility of some uptick in volumes, but are much more cautious about taking the possibility of higher numbers (e.g. 500,000 bpd-1m bpd) seriously without more substantial evidence at this time,” the report said.

A disappointing US jobs report on Friday also proved a drag on stocks and oil prices. Non-farm payrolls rose by 661,000 jobs, well below analyst expectations of 850,000. The gains were the smallest since the world’s largest economy began to see a recovery in employment in May. Around 22.2 million jobs – the equivalent of gains made since the financial crisis –  were lost in March and April at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the US.

The country has the largest global tally of Covid-19 with 7.5 million infected and 213,524 dead as of Saturday, according to Worldometers, which tracks the pandemic.

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus  Press

Where to buy

Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com

While you're here
Draw:

Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi

Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania

Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia

Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola

Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau

While you're here
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The past Palme d'Or winners

2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda

2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund

2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach

2015 DheepanJacques Audiard

2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan

2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux

2012 Amour, Michael Haneke

2011 The Tree of LifeTerrence Malick

2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul

2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke

2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet

The specs: 2019 Haval H6

Price, base: Dh69,900

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Ballon d’Or shortlists

Men

Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)

Women

Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)

 

 

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg

Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports

Honeymoonish
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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

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.

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Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Racecard

6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah Group Two (PA) US$55,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

7.05pm: Meydan Trophy (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,900m

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,200m

8.15pm: Balanchine Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,000m

9.25pm: Firebreak Stakes Group Three (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,600m

10pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m

The National selections: 6.30pm: RM Lam Tara, 7.05pm: Al Mukhtar Star, 7.40pm: Bochart, 8.15pm: Magic Lily, 8.50pm: Roulston Scar, 9.25pm: Quip, 10pm: Jalmoud

The Ashes

Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Timeline

1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line

1962
250 GTO is unveiled

1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company

1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens

1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made

1987
F40 launched

1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent

2002
The Enzo model is announced

2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi

2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled

2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives

2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company

2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street

2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary

TOP%2010%20MOST%20POLLUTED%20CITIES
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Expert input

If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?

“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett

“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche

“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox

“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite

 “I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy

“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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
Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

Royal Birkdale Golf Course

Location: Southport, Merseyside, England

Established: 1889

Type: Private

Total holes: 18

Fixtures (6pm UAE unless stated)

Saturday Bournemouth v Leicester City, Chelsea v Manchester City (8.30pm), Huddersfield v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm), Manchester United v Crystal Palace, Stoke City v Southampton, West Bromwich Albion v Watford, West Ham United v Swansea City

Sunday Arsenal v Brighton (3pm), Everton v Burnley (5.15pm), Newcastle United v Liverpool (6.30pm)

States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press

Company profile

Date started: December 24, 2018

Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer

Based: Dubai Media City

Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)

Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech

Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year

Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.