Oil rises but U.S.-China trade war weighs on demand outlook - Reuters

Oil rises but U.S.-China trade war weighs on demand outlook - Reuters:

Oil prices inched up on Tuesday as OPEC’s deal with associated producers last week to deepen output cuts in 2020 continued to provide a floor for prices, but U.S.-China trade tensions clouded the demand outlook.

Brent crude settled up 9 cents at $64.34 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate oil rose 22 cents, or 0.4%, to $59.24 a barrel.

The benchmarks fell 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, on Monday.

Last week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and associated producers like Russia agreed to deepen output cuts from 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.7 million bpd to support prices.

#Qatar’s emir turns down invite to GCC meeting in #SaudiArabia | Financial Times

Qatar’s emir turns down invite to GCC meeting in Saudi Arabia | Financial Times:

Qatari prime minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani (left) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the GCC summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday © Saudi Press Agency/Reuters

The Emir of Qatar has turned down an invite to attend the annual gathering of Gulf leaders being held in Saudi Arabia, sending his prime minister instead.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir, had been invited to take his place at Tuesday’s Gulf Cooperation Council heads of state meeting in Riyadh, which would have sent a signal that the two were moving closer to resolving their long-running dispute.

But Qatar’s official news agency reported that Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani, the prime minister, would head the delegation instead.

Hopes had risen that the emir’s attendance would mark a turning point in efforts to end a rift that began when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched an embargo on Qatar in June 2017, accusing Doha of fostering Islamist extremism.

#Saudi central bank ready for any Aramco-related liquidity squeeze - Reuters

Saudi central bank ready for any Aramco-related liquidity squeeze - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia’s central bank is ready for any liquidity squeeze from Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) and is closely monitoring local banks, its governor said, after heavy demand for loans to buy the stock.

Aramco’s long-awaited listing on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange is due on Wednesday, completing the largest IPO on record and raising $25.6 billion from retail and institutional buyers who took on debt to back their orders.

“We don’t rule out that there might be squeeze of liquidity later on, that’s why I am ready and stand ready to intervene,” Ahmed al-Kholifey told Reuters.

#SaudiArabia Is Reviewing Its Plan for Energy Subsidy Cuts - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Is Reviewing Its Plan for Energy Subsidy Cuts - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia is reviewing its plan to cut domestic energy subsidies as it tries to balance its budget without hurting businesses that have relied on cheap power for a competitive edge.

“We have been asked by the government to re-study what would be the best pricing policy that we would adopt going forward,” Industry Minister Bandar Alkhorayef said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday in Riyadh. The Energy Ministry, which is leading the project, aims to “strike the balance between how we can enable the industry and at the same time also be competitive.”

The world’s largest oil exporter has been gradually implementing energy subsidy cuts over the past few years, sending up the prices of electricity, gasoline and other fuels sold in the domestic market. The cuts are a key part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic transformation plan, and officials say they’ve improved the government’s fiscal position and reduced domestic energy consumption.

#Saudi Overhaul Under Review as Prince Said to Question Progress - Bloomberg

Saudi Overhaul Under Review as Prince Said to Question Progress - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia is reviewing its plan for life after oil with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said to be unsatisfied with progress and the government seeking to control spending.

Officials are looking at hundreds of programs and initiatives under “Vision 2030” and could cut, merge and amend some of them, or create new ones, people familiar with the matter said. The review isn’t the first since the agenda was announced less than four years ago. 


The sprawling program aims to diversify the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy by attracting foreign investment, balancing the budget and privatizing government assets. But economists say some targets have slipped while government employees have criticized overlapping remits and priorities that conflict. The recent record initial public offering in the kingdom’s giant oil company is a key part of the revamp, raising a windfall of almost $26 billion.

MIDEAST STOCKS- #Saudi stocks ends winning streak before Aramco's debut - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi stocks ends winning streak before Aramco's debut - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia's stock market fell on
Tuesday, ending a three-day winning streak, as investors braced
for Saudi Aramco's debut trade on Wednesday.

In Saudi, the benchmark index decreased 0.7% with
National Commercial Bank shedding 2% and Saudi British
Bank sliding 3.1%.

Elsewhere, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's firm Kingdom Holding
plunged 6.1%.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco is listing its shares on
Wednesday on the Saudi exchange after completing the largest
initial public offering on record.

What does the Aramco IPO tell us about #Saudi reforms? | Financial Times

What does the Aramco IPO tell us about Saudi reforms?  | Financial Times:

The excitement was palpable as bankers, one group at a time, stepped on to buses that shuttled them from Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel to a meeting with Saudi officials.

Saudi Arabia, the most conservative of nations, had promised to do what no other Gulf state had dared: open the books of its state oil company Saudi Aramco, let the world peer inside and ultimately take a stake in the kingdom’s crown jewel. 

When the bankers arrived, they were greeted by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then the deputy crown prince, and his “A-team” sitting around the “biggest table I’ve ever seen”, says one executive who attended the December 2016 meeting. The bankers were pitching for business from what was touted as the world’s largest initial public offering, with Riyadh seeking a valuation of $2tn and considering a global listing of 5 per cent of shares to raise $100bn.

#SaudiArabia Will Tap International and Local Bond Markets in 2020, Says Finance Minister - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Will Tap International and Local Bond Markets in 2020, Says Finance Minister - Bloomberg:

Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan says that Saudi Arabia would tap both the international and local bond markets in 2020 to help finance a budget shortfall that is expected to reach 6.4% of gross domestic product from 4.7% this year. He speaks with Bloomberg's Yousef Gamal El-Din. (Source: Bloomberg)

#SaudiArabia’s Government Invested Over $2 Billion in Aramco IPO - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s Government Invested Over $2 Billion in Aramco IPO - Bloomberg:

Saudi government institutions invested almost $2.3 billion into the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, a transaction that was intended to find new sources of funding for the kingdom’s economic diversification plan.

The government sold two thirds of the shares offered in the company to institutional investors, of which 13.2% came from Saudi government institutions, according to a statement from Samba Capital, one of the lead managers on the deal. Non-Saudi investors were allocated 23.1% of the institutional offering, or about $3.9 billion. 


Aramco’s offering, the world’s biggest share sale, is a key part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to wean the Saudi economy off a reliance on oil. It was originally envisaged as a way to tap global equity investors and use the proceeds to fuel the sovereign wealth fund’s investment program. After international investors balked at Aramco’s valuation expectations, the kingdom instead focused on raising money domestically.

#SaudiArabia Isn’t Getting Bullish About Oil for 2020 Budget - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Isn’t Getting Bullish About Oil for 2020 Budget - Bloomberg:

A year after a rare bullish call on oil, Saudi Arabia isn’t counting on much of an uplift from crude prices in 2020.

The world’s biggest oil exporter has designed next year’s budget under the assumption that Brent will average about $65 per barrel, according to calculations by Ziad Daoud, Bloomberg’s chief economist in the Middle East. EFG Hermes puts the budget’s assumed oil price at $60 to $62, while Capital Economics has it between $55 and $60.

That’s barely higher than where the global benchmark crude traded on Tuesday and compares with a price of $80 that was originally built into Saudi Arabia’s public finances for 2019. Saudi Arabia doesn’t disclose its oil-price assumption.

Analysts see Brent at just under $61 a barrel next year, according to the median of forecasts compiled by Bloomberg.

After Aramco's Record IPO, Barely Any of Its Stock Will Trade - Bloomberg

After Aramco's Record IPO, Barely Any of Its Stock Will Trade - Bloomberg:

Saudi Aramco will surpass Apple Inc. as the world’s biggest listed company when it debuts this week after a record-breaking initial public offering. Unlike the tech titan it displaces, barely any of its shares will trade.

The Gulf oil giant sold a 1.5% stake in the IPO, while the remainder stays in the hands of the Saudi state. That free float, or the proportion of stock owned by public investors that can change hands, is among the lowest globally. Many of the biggest companies, from Amazon.com Inc. to Microsoft Corp., have more than 80% of their equity owned by independent shareholders.

Mubadala has invested $100 billion in U.S., eyes China: deputy CEO - Reuters

Mubadala has invested $100 billion in U.S., eyes China: deputy CEO - Reuters:

Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala Investment Co [MUDEV.UL] has invested $100 billion in the United States, more than 40% of its roughly $240 billion portfolio, Deputy CEO Waleed al-Muhairi said on Tuesday.

“What that tells you is that from our perspective the risk reward equation works in the United States,” he said at the SALT conference in Abu Dhabi, adding that the bulk of the investments are direct, with a small portion indirectly invested through funds.

He said the remaining part of the portfolio is almost equally split between three regions - the United Arab Emirates, Europe and Asia.

#UAE-based Crescent Petroleum has invested over $3 billion in Iraq: CEO - Reuters

UAE-based Crescent Petroleum has invested over $3 billion in Iraq: CEO - Reuters:

United Arab Emirates-based energy firm Crescent Petroleum has invested over $3 billion in Iraq, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

“We have invested over $3 billion in Iraq over the last 10 years and that rate is increasing,” Majid Jafar said, speaking on a panel at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

In March, a consortium led by Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas signed a 20-year gas sales deal with Iraq’s Kurdish region.

#Qatar sends premier to Gulf summit in prospective thaw in rift - Reuters

Qatar sends premier to Gulf summit in prospective thaw in rift - Reuters:

Qatar sent its prime minister to a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, its highest level of representation at the annual meeting in two years and the most concrete sign yet of a possible thaw in a regional dispute.

Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani’s attendance follows an intensification of efforts to resolve the row among U.S. allies that has seen Riyadh and its partners impose a political and economic boycott against Qatar since June 2017 over allegations Doha backs terrorism.

Qatar denies the charges and accuses Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-GCC member Egypt of trying to curtail its sovereignty.

Kuwait and the United States have tried to mediate the rift, which shattered the GCC alliance and undermined Washington’s efforts to form a united front against Iran, which is locked in a struggle for regional supremacy with Saudi Arabia.

Oil prices drop as trade war concerns haunt market - Reuters

Oil prices drop as trade war concerns haunt market - Reuters:

Oil prices slipped for a second straight session on Tuesday as a slowing global demand outlook outweighed OPEC’s deal with associated producers last week to deepen output cuts in 2020.

Brent crude was down 17 cents, or 0.3%, at $64.08 per barrel by 0954 GMT while West Texas Intermediate oil was down 21 cents, or 0.4%, lower at $58.81 a barrel. 


The benchmarks fell 0.2% and 0.3% respectively on Monday.

Last week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and associated producers like Russia agreed to deepen output cuts from 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.7 million bpd to support prices.

MIDEAST STOCKS-Banks hurt #Saudi shares; other Gulf markets little changed - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Banks hurt Saudi shares; other Gulf markets little changed - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia’s stock market slipped on Tuesday, hurt by losses in banking shares, before Saudi Aramco’s listing. Other major Gulf markets were little changed.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco is listing its shares on Wednesday on the Saudi exchange after completing the largest initial public offering on record.

In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark index slipped 0.3%. Saudi British Bank fell 2.3% and National Commercial Bank 0.7%.

Saudi Aramco has priced its IPO at 32 riyals ($8.53) per share, raising $25.6 billion, more than Alibaba’s $25 billion listing in 2014.