Wednesday, 5 August 2020
OPEC Middle East Oil Flows Edge Higher on Easing of Output Cuts - Bloomberg
OPEC Middle East Oil Flows Edge Higher on Easing of Output Cuts - Bloomberg:
Oil exports from OPEC’s Middle East producers rose in July after Saudi Arabia and key Persian Gulf allies reversed the voluntary production cuts they had made the previous month. The figures excludes Iran.
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates led the gain in last month’s oil supplies to international markets, with Saudi Arabia increasing less quickly and Iraq barely changed. Saudi producers boosted shipments by 190,000 barrels a day, far less than its increase in production, possibly signaling domestic crude use has soared with summer temperatures.
The four nations boosted crude and condensate shipments last month by 758,000 barrels a day, or 6%, to a combined 13.68 million barrels a day, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. The increase reversed the previous month’s drop, as the region’s producers restored more than 1 million barrels a day of production that they removed from the market in June.
Flows from the four producers -- which account for about 72% of production among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries -- rose to India and China. Shipments to South Korea slumped, possibly due to refiners opting for supply from the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Oil exports from OPEC’s Middle East producers rose in July after Saudi Arabia and key Persian Gulf allies reversed the voluntary production cuts they had made the previous month. The figures excludes Iran.
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates led the gain in last month’s oil supplies to international markets, with Saudi Arabia increasing less quickly and Iraq barely changed. Saudi producers boosted shipments by 190,000 barrels a day, far less than its increase in production, possibly signaling domestic crude use has soared with summer temperatures.
The four nations boosted crude and condensate shipments last month by 758,000 barrels a day, or 6%, to a combined 13.68 million barrels a day, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. The increase reversed the previous month’s drop, as the region’s producers restored more than 1 million barrels a day of production that they removed from the market in June.
Flows from the four producers -- which account for about 72% of production among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries -- rose to India and China. Shipments to South Korea slumped, possibly due to refiners opting for supply from the U.S. Gulf Coast.
#UAE News: New Stimulus Measures Planned to Bolster Virus-Hit Economy - Bloomberg
UAE News: New Stimulus Measures Planned to Bolster Virus-Hit Economy - Bloomberg:
The United Arab Emirates will deliver a three-stage “flexible package” of measures to bolster the economy, including steps to support the labor market and encourage investment, state-run WAM reported on Wednesday.
Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri said the proposals would provide “studied” stimulus packages. The UAE’s central bank had provided more than 256 billion dirhams ($70 billion) of stimulus by March to aid businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic. The minister didn’t provide further details.
Business conditions in the UAE saw a second straight monthly improvement, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys compiled by IHS Markit published on Wednesday. But that hasn’t yet translated into job gains.
Employment continued to fall in the UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, despite a stronger pickup in non-oil private sector activity in July, according IHS Markit.
The United Arab Emirates will deliver a three-stage “flexible package” of measures to bolster the economy, including steps to support the labor market and encourage investment, state-run WAM reported on Wednesday.
Economy Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri said the proposals would provide “studied” stimulus packages. The UAE’s central bank had provided more than 256 billion dirhams ($70 billion) of stimulus by March to aid businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic. The minister didn’t provide further details.
Business conditions in the UAE saw a second straight monthly improvement, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys compiled by IHS Markit published on Wednesday. But that hasn’t yet translated into job gains.
Employment continued to fall in the UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, despite a stronger pickup in non-oil private sector activity in July, according IHS Markit.
MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf bourses end mixed; Egypt extends gains - Reuters
MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf bourses end mixed; Egypt extends gains - Reuters:
Major bourses in the Gulf had a mixed
session on Wednesday with little fresh news to prompt buying,
while Egypt's blue-chip index extended gains for a third
session.
The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia, which reopened
after a one-week break for the Muslim festival of Eid Al Adha,
edged up 0.2%. Saudi Arabian Mining Company rose 2.4%,
while Savola Group was up 1.1%.
The index's gains, however, were capped by losses at
petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries, which
declined 1%.
The kingdom's non-oil private sector stabilised in July
after four months of contraction, a survey showed on Wednesday,
suggesting the worst of the disruption caused by the coronavirus
pandemic may be over.
Dubai's main share index gave up earlier gains to
close flat, with Emirates NBD Bank gaining 0.9%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.3%, hurt by a 0.7%
fall in First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).
Major bourses in the Gulf had a mixed
session on Wednesday with little fresh news to prompt buying,
while Egypt's blue-chip index extended gains for a third
session.
The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia, which reopened
after a one-week break for the Muslim festival of Eid Al Adha,
edged up 0.2%. Saudi Arabian Mining Company rose 2.4%,
while Savola Group was up 1.1%.
The index's gains, however, were capped by losses at
petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries, which
declined 1%.
The kingdom's non-oil private sector stabilised in July
after four months of contraction, a survey showed on Wednesday,
suggesting the worst of the disruption caused by the coronavirus
pandemic may be over.
Dubai's main share index gave up earlier gains to
close flat, with Emirates NBD Bank gaining 0.9%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.3%, hurt by a 0.7%
fall in First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).
European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #SaudiArabia #Qatar close
European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:
Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.
Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.
Oil prices at five-month high on big drop in U.S. crude stocks - Reuters
Oil prices at five-month high on big drop in U.S. crude stocks - Reuters:
Oil prices rose to their highest since early March on Wednesday on data showing a big drop in U.S. crude inventories, and a weak dollar, but mounting coronavirus infections weighed on the demand outlook.
Brent crude was up $1.63, or 3.67%, at $46.06 a barrel by 1215 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose $1.59, or 3.81%, to $43.79 a barrel.
Both contracts gained over 4% earlier in the session.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 8.6 million barrels in the week to Aug. 1 to 520 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 3 million barrel drop, the American Petroleum Institute found.
Official figures are due on Wednesday.
Oil prices rose to their highest since early March on Wednesday on data showing a big drop in U.S. crude inventories, and a weak dollar, but mounting coronavirus infections weighed on the demand outlook.
Brent crude was up $1.63, or 3.67%, at $46.06 a barrel by 1215 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose $1.59, or 3.81%, to $43.79 a barrel.
Both contracts gained over 4% earlier in the session.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 8.6 million barrels in the week to Aug. 1 to 520 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 3 million barrel drop, the American Petroleum Institute found.
Official figures are due on Wednesday.
European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE close; #SaudiArabia #Qatar mid-session
European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:
Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.
Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.
Investors raise concerns about migrant workers' rights in Gulf - Reuters
Investors raise concerns about migrant workers' rights in Gulf - Reuters:
A group of investors is raising concerns about the treatment of migrant workers in the Gulf, warning that labour practices risk leading to abuses such as modern slavery.
The group, led by fund manager CCLA, says it represents 38 investors with over $3 trillion in managed assets and wants companies to disclose how they protect migrant workers.
Such workers, many of them from Asia, provide the backbone of Gulf economies, working in sectors such as construction, hospitality and oil and gas.
The group of investors has written to over 50 international companies operating in the region. It does not imply any wrongdoing by the companies it has written to but said some may be unaware of the risks.
A group of investors is raising concerns about the treatment of migrant workers in the Gulf, warning that labour practices risk leading to abuses such as modern slavery.
The group, led by fund manager CCLA, says it represents 38 investors with over $3 trillion in managed assets and wants companies to disclose how they protect migrant workers.
Such workers, many of them from Asia, provide the backbone of Gulf economies, working in sectors such as construction, hospitality and oil and gas.
The group of investors has written to over 50 international companies operating in the region. It does not imply any wrongdoing by the companies it has written to but said some may be unaware of the risks.
GP Global hires financial restructuring experts after lenders pull back - Reuters
GP Global hires financial restructuring experts after lenders pull back - Reuters:
GP Global, an oil trader based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enmeshed in an employee fraud investigation, has appointed restructuring experts as part of its “ongoing restructuring exercise”, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
GP Global said it hired FTI Consulting’s Rod Sutton as its chief restructuring officer and hired UK-based financial restructuring specialist firm Quantuma.
Sutton and Quantuma will engage with the company’s stakeholders “to protect the commercial interests” of the group and will help transform it into a “strong, financially prudent” business “with enhanced transparency”, the statement said.
On July 20, GP Global said that it had undertaken a financial restructuring exercise after it failed to “get full support from a few financial institutions recently.”
GP Global, an oil trader based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enmeshed in an employee fraud investigation, has appointed restructuring experts as part of its “ongoing restructuring exercise”, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
GP Global said it hired FTI Consulting’s Rod Sutton as its chief restructuring officer and hired UK-based financial restructuring specialist firm Quantuma.
Sutton and Quantuma will engage with the company’s stakeholders “to protect the commercial interests” of the group and will help transform it into a “strong, financially prudent” business “with enhanced transparency”, the statement said.
On July 20, GP Global said that it had undertaken a financial restructuring exercise after it failed to “get full support from a few financial institutions recently.”
Foreign investment in #Dubai plummets in first half 2020 - Reuters
Foreign investment in Dubai plummets in first half 2020 - Reuters:
Foreign direct investment in Dubai fell by 74% in the first half of the year compared to the same period of 2019, as the coronavirus pandemic stalled parts of the global economy.
The Middle East financial and trade hub drew in 12 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion) in the six months to June 30, according to a government of Dubai statement released on Monday.
The statement did not provide a comparative figure, but the government last year reported 46.6 billion dirhams in first half foreign direct investment.
Sami al-Qamzi, head of Dubai’s economic department, said the pandemic has presented challenges but that stimulus packages had driven “positive developments” in the investment environment.
Foreign direct investment in Dubai fell by 74% in the first half of the year compared to the same period of 2019, as the coronavirus pandemic stalled parts of the global economy.
The Middle East financial and trade hub drew in 12 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion) in the six months to June 30, according to a government of Dubai statement released on Monday.
The statement did not provide a comparative figure, but the government last year reported 46.6 billion dirhams in first half foreign direct investment.
Sami al-Qamzi, head of Dubai’s economic department, said the pandemic has presented challenges but that stimulus packages had driven “positive developments” in the investment environment.
#Kuwait’s $112 Billion Fund Has Cash to Spend After Revamp - Bloomberg
Kuwait’s $112 Billion Fund Has Cash to Spend After Revamp - Bloomberg:
Kuwait’s $112 billion pension fund plans to boost investments in private equity and infrastructure following an overhaul that left it sitting on too much cash.
A new management team was brought in during 2017 to transform the state-owned institution after a corruption scandal involving a previous manager. The fund has since exited more than $20 billion in questionable deals in a “major clean-up” of its portfolio, according to Raed Al-Nisf, deputy general manager for investments and operations.
“It’s no longer a one-man show, and will never be again,” he said in an interview. “In the past, it was a sleeping giant, and no one wanted to wake it.”
The revamp is paying off. The Public Institution for Social Security, also known as PIFSS, had a record investment profit of $7.3 billion in the three months through June, an almost fourfold increase from a year earlier.
Kuwait’s $112 billion pension fund plans to boost investments in private equity and infrastructure following an overhaul that left it sitting on too much cash.
A new management team was brought in during 2017 to transform the state-owned institution after a corruption scandal involving a previous manager. The fund has since exited more than $20 billion in questionable deals in a “major clean-up” of its portfolio, according to Raed Al-Nisf, deputy general manager for investments and operations.
“It’s no longer a one-man show, and will never be again,” he said in an interview. “In the past, it was a sleeping giant, and no one wanted to wake it.”
The revamp is paying off. The Public Institution for Social Security, also known as PIFSS, had a record investment profit of $7.3 billion in the three months through June, an almost fourfold increase from a year earlier.
Middle East Economies: Jobless Recovery From Virus Emerges in Arab World - Bloomberg
Middle East Economies: Jobless Recovery From Virus Emerges in Arab World - Bloomberg:
Another month of improving business conditions across the Arab world’s three biggest economies isn’t translating into job gains just yet.
Employment continued to fall in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt despite a stronger pickup in non-oil private sector activity in July, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys compiled by IHS Markit.
Saudi Arabia’s PMI reached a five-month high of 50, the threshold that divides expansion from contraction, a report showed on Wednesday. IHS Markit’s gauge for Egypt came the closest to the neutral mark in 12 months. The UAE had a second straight monthly improvement in business conditions.
Another month of improving business conditions across the Arab world’s three biggest economies isn’t translating into job gains just yet.
Employment continued to fall in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt despite a stronger pickup in non-oil private sector activity in July, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys compiled by IHS Markit.
Saudi Arabia’s PMI reached a five-month high of 50, the threshold that divides expansion from contraction, a report showed on Wednesday. IHS Markit’s gauge for Egypt came the closest to the neutral mark in 12 months. The UAE had a second straight monthly improvement in business conditions.
MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf markets gain in early trade - Reuters
MIDEAST STOCKS-Major Gulf markets gain in early trade - Reuters:
Major stock markets in the Gulf posted early gains on Wednesday, with real estate shares leading the Dubai index higher.
The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia, which traded after a five-session break, rose 0.3%.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector stabilised in July after four months of contraction, a survey showed on Wednesday, suggesting the worst of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic may be over.
National Commercial Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, advanced 1.4%. Saudi Aramco edged up 0.3%.
Aramco, which is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on Sunday, will delay the release of its September official selling prices for crude until early next week, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Major stock markets in the Gulf posted early gains on Wednesday, with real estate shares leading the Dubai index higher.
The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia, which traded after a five-session break, rose 0.3%.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector stabilised in July after four months of contraction, a survey showed on Wednesday, suggesting the worst of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic may be over.
National Commercial Bank, the kingdom’s largest lender, advanced 1.4%. Saudi Aramco edged up 0.3%.
Aramco, which is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on Sunday, will delay the release of its September official selling prices for crude until early next week, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Oil prices rise after big drop in U.S. crude stocks - Reuters
Oil prices rise after big drop in U.S. crude stocks - Reuters:
Oil prices firmed on Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories, although concerns mounting coronavirus infections will lead to reduced fuel demand capped gains.
Brent crude was up 44 cents, or 1%, at $44.87 a barrel by 0810 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose 43 cents, or 1%, to $42.13 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories fell 8.6 million barrels in the week to Aug. 1 to 520 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 3 million barrel drop, the American Petroleum Institute found.
Official figures are due later on Wednesday.
Oil prices firmed on Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories, although concerns mounting coronavirus infections will lead to reduced fuel demand capped gains.
Brent crude was up 44 cents, or 1%, at $44.87 a barrel by 0810 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate oil rose 43 cents, or 1%, to $42.13 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories fell 8.6 million barrels in the week to Aug. 1 to 520 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 3 million barrel drop, the American Petroleum Institute found.
Official figures are due later on Wednesday.