Sunday 19 October 2014

US oil production marches on while Iran wildcard looms | The National

US oil production marches on while Iran wildcard looms | The National:



"The steady rise in US oil production continues as the dominant supply side issue for the market, while the big wildcard for Opec policymakers is how to accommodate additional exports from Iran if there is a breakthrough in talks over its nuclear programme.



These two issues, together with the weakening in the global economy, are putting immense pressure on Opec to agree at least the semblance of an export quota-cutting deal in time for the oil ministers’ meeting at the end of next month.



The latest oil status report from the US energy information agency on Friday provided no relief."



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Saudi Arabia tests US ties with oil price | GulfNews.com

Saudi Arabia tests US ties with oil price | GulfNews.com:



"By starting a new oil price war, Saudi Arabia is taking a calculated gamble in its already strained relationship with the US, hoping that the potential damage to America’s shale industry will be offset by the geopolitical and economic prizes on offer to Washington.



At a time when the US and Saudi Arabia are fighting a new war together in Iraq and Syria, the Saudis have taken the bold step of asserting their pivotal role in the oil market and subtly squeezing the finances of some of America’s fledgling shale companies.



Yet, at the same time, the falling oil price will deliver a de facto tax cut for American consumers and — if sustained — will hit both Russia and Iran at a time when Washington is trying to pressure both countries."



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Suez Canal Heralds Revival of Egypt’s Syndicated Loans, CIB Says - Bloomberg

Suez Canal Heralds Revival of Egypt’s Syndicated Loans, CIB Says - Bloomberg:



"The biggest expansion of Egypt’s Suez Canal since it opened in 1869 will boost syndicated loan deals in North Africa’s biggest economy, according to the nation’s largest publicly traded bank.



Syndicated lending in Egypt rose 61 percent in the first nine months to $2.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, after a $1.4 billion deal on Sept. 30 boosted what was the lowest total since 2003. The market will grow 25 percent next year, Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE said in an e-mailed response to questions Oct. 15.



Banks are preparing for a surge in lending as the government spends about $8.4 billion digging a second waterway to ease congestion at the canal and develop the area to offer logistic services, CIB’s Managing Director Hisham Ezz Al Arab. Lenders have relied on high yielding government debt to bolster earnings as demand for corporate credit dried up in the aftermath of the 2011 ouster of President Hosni Mubarak."



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