Oil prices surged, with Brent topping $67 per barrel and futures in New York nearing $65 per barrel as Opec+ agreed to rollover its current pact as it keeps a tight lid on output.
Saudi Arabia, which leads the alliance along side Russia, will also extend its outsized voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day until end of April.
Brent, the marker under which two-thirds of global crude is traded, surged 5.01 per cent to reach $67.28 per barrel 9.01pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude grades, was up 5.25 per cent at $64.50 per barrel.
The group will continue to draw 7.2m bpd until the end of next month, deferring a planned increase in production set for early-2021.
"Prudence dictates caution," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told reporters on Thursday.
"We have elected to maintain, you can't keep preaching cautiousness, without demonstrating cautiousness. And because of that we have elected to keep the voluntary cuts until April,"
"We are not in a hurry to bring it forward. We are not fast, we are not furious," he added.
Russia and Kazakhstan, non-Opec members of the alliance, will be exempt from cuts for the second time and will be allowed to increase production by 130,000 bpd and 20,000 bpd, respectively. The producers were exempt to accommodate "seasonal consumption patterns", Opec+ said in a communique.
Saudi Arabia has been urging the producers to be cautious amid a crude price rally, asking them to "keep their powder dry" in order to allow for unforeseen contingencies in the market.
"I don't care about prices. I care about discipline," Prince Abdulaziz said following the meeting.
The group achieved an overall conformity of 103 per cent in February, according to Opec.
"Prudence dictates caution
The group has given producers who flouted the quotas until the end of July to make compensatory cuts. Opec+ deferred an earlier planned output increase of 2m bpd in January in order to offset renewed mobility restrictions in Europe.
However, the group has come under pressure to raise output as crude prices have surged more than 25 per cent since the beginning of the year, due to an ongoing commodity supercycle.
Prince Abdulaziz dismissed the idea of crude riding a super cycle telling reporters "I'll believe it when I see it".
Opec's continued reluctance in raising its production as prices near $70 per barrel has prompted calls from consumers such as India.
The country's petroleum minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, publicly urged the group to stabilise oil prices and bring it to a level feasible to large energy consumers like India.
"We have to build roads, railways, airports, big projects. We have to create jobs, we have to regulate the economy. At that point of time, we need a reasonable price for our energy," he told CeraWeek by IHS on Wednesday.
Opec+ will convene its JMMC next on March 31 and will have a ministerial meeting the following day on April 1.
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
Company%20profile
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
GRAN%20TURISMO
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
The years Ramadan fell in May
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%209
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