Opec+ expects oil demand to remain at current levels well into the first quarter of next year but said there is “light at the end of the tunnel” after positive news on the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.
“It is clear that the global [distribution] of vaccine will take time and its effect will likely begin to be significantly apparent in the second half of 2021,” Abdelmadjid Attar, Algeria’s energy minister and chairman of the Opec conference, told delegates during an online meeting.
“That is why we must be aware today that the market condition of 2020 is likely to continue [until the] ... first quarter [of] 2021 and that we must be cautious.”
The group is holding a two-day annual meeting that will set the course of its production curbs policy until the end of the first quarter of 2021.
The 23-member alliance is widely expected to extend its current curbs of 7.7 million barrels per day for another three months.
However, the group is poised for a challenging meeting as some countries are reluctant to continue shouldering the burden of cuts at current levels.
It was initially set to ease restrictions to 5.8 million barrels per day from the start of the year.
A second wave of Covid-19 cases has concerned Opec+. The virus had infected more than 63.2 million people around the world as Monday, triggering another round of lockdowns in many countries.
The group also needs to deal with a surge in production from Libya, which brought 1.25 million bpd of output to the market since September, after the country ended a force majeure of about 10 months.
“With cases soaring in many regions around the world, it [the pandemic] continues to adversely affect the global economy, and consequently the world, [as well as] energy markets in an unprecedented manner,” Mr Attar said.
“The shock to the oil industry is massive. And its impact will likely reverberate in the years to come.”
Mr Attar acknowledged that the road to recovery would be long but was bullish about the chances of a potential rebound in global economic growth next year after positive news on the development of a vaccine.
A vaccine under trial by Moderna proved to be 100 per cent effective against severe cases of Covid-19 and the pharmaceutical company has applied for emergency authorisation in the US and Europe.
Moderna intends to make available about 20 million doses of the vaccine in the US by the end of the year, it said on Monday.
Oil continued to trade softly, with Brent, the most widely traded crude benchmark, down 1.29 per cent at $47.56 a barrel at 8.50pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude, fell 1.08 per cent to $45.04 a barrel.
The benchmarks opened lower on Monday as initial reports suggested that Opec+ members have yet to agree on extending the current curbs for another three months.
“Oil prices are likely to be testy over the next few days and bounce off of competing headlines from the Opec+ meeting,” said Edward Bell, senior director of market economics at Emirates NBD.
Goldman Sachs said that Brent could hit $65 a barrel by the end of next year, while Standard Chartered projected a price of $44.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Grand slam winners since July 2003
Who has won major titles since Wimbledon 2003 when Roger Federer won his first grand slam
Roger Federer 19 (8 Wimbledon, 5 Australian Open, 5 US Open, 1 French Open)
Rafael Nadal 16 (10 French Open, 3 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, 1 Australian Open)
Novak Djokovic 12 (6 Australian Open, 3 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open)
Andy Murray 3 (2 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Stan Wawrinka 3 (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 US Open)
Andy Roddick 1 (1 US Open)
Gaston Gaudio 1 (1 French Open)
Marat Safin 1 (1 Australian Open)
Juan Martin del Potro 1 (1 US Open)
Marin Cilic 1 (1 US Open)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue
more from Janine di Giovanni
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The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
