Friday 3 September 2021

Oil slips as weak U.S. jobs report gives 'reality check' | Reuters

Oil slips as weak U.S. jobs report gives 'reality check' | Reuters

Oil prices fell on Friday after a weaker than expected U.S. jobs report indicated a patchy economic recovery that could mean slower fuel demand during a resurgent pandemic.

Losses were capped by concerns that U.S. supply would remain limited in the wake of Hurricane Ida, which cut production from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Brent crude futures settled lower by 42 cents, or 0.58%, at $72.61 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 70 cents or 1%, at $69.29.

Both benchmark oil contracts were largely steady for the week, with U.S. crude up 0.80%.

"Prices slipped on the employment report, which was clearly impacted by the Delta variant," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York. "This was a reality check that the coronavirus is still impacting demand," he added.

Pakistan's Lakson Group, Air Arabia to start a new low-cost airline | Reuters

Pakistan's Lakson Group, Air Arabia to start a new low-cost airline | Reuters

Pakistan’s Lakson Group and Middle Eastern budget carrier Air Arabia said on Friday they would launch a low-cost airline serving domestic and international routes from Pakistan.

The new carrier, Fly Jinnah, will operate as a joint venture between the pair, they said in a statement, adopting the low-cost model operated by Air Arabia.

The statement said the new airline would help Pakistan’s travel and tourism sector and contribute to the country’s economic growth and job creation.

Air Arabia operates from Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, and has similar joint ventures in Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Morocco and Armenia. Its shares are listed on the Dubai Financial Market.

The airline has been pushing ahead to expand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak last year as low-cost carriers bet on a post-pandemic surge in travel.

Oil rises on demand outlook, Gulf outages | Reuters

Oil rises on demand outlook, Gulf outages | Reuters

Oil prices rose on Friday as a rebound in global demand was widely expected and a slow recovery for the U.S. Gulf Coast export and refining hub from the hurricane earlier this week looked set to deplete stocks further.

Brent crude futures were up 39 cents, or 0.5%, to $73.42 a barrel at 1231 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 21 cents or 0.3% at $70.20 a barrel. Both benchmark oil contracts were largely steady for the week.

About 1.7 million barrels per day of oil production remains shut in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with damage to heliports and fuel depots slowing the return of crews to offshore platforms, sources told Reuters. read more

"The prolonged U.S. Gulf production and Louisiana refining capacity outages, which are bound to carve a bigger hole in the already diminished U.S. oil stockpiles, as well as data showing continued strong domestic fuel demand recovery are supportive factors," said Vandana Hari, energy analyst at Vanda Insights.

Mubadala-Backed EGA Taps Banks for IPO at $15 Billion Value - Bloomberg

Mubadala-Backed EGA Taps Banks for IPO at $15 Billion Value - Bloomberg

Emirates Global Aluminium, the Middle East’s biggest producer of the metal, is poised to select three U.S. banks as lead underwriters for its potential initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company, which is backed by sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Co., is preparing to bring on Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to arrange the planned IPO, the people said. A share sale could value EGA at more than $15 billion, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Emirates NBD Bank PJSC and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC are also expected to have roles on the offering, one of the people said. EGA may add more banks to the listing at a later stage, according to the people.

Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty EGA’s owners will decide to proceed with the listing, the people said. Representatives for Mubadala, EGA and the banks declined to comment.

Buyers of long-term LNG ask sellers for extra cargoes - sources | Reuters

Buyers of long-term LNG ask sellers for extra cargoes - sources | Reuters

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers with long-term contracts are asking their suppliers for extra volumes of the super-chilled fuel pegged to oil prices which are currently much lower than spot prices, several trade and industry sources told Reuters.

Some have requested to load bigger cargoes bought under their long-term contracts instead of turning to the spot market to buy additional cargoes, or have asked for earlier delivery of the cargoes, the sources said.

"Oil-linked LNG prices are now about 25% cheaper than spot, so buyers are trying to optimise wherever they can and are buying only what they absolutely need in the spot market," a Singapore-based LNG trader said, declining to be named as he was not authorised to speak with media.

Spot LNG vs Brent-linked LNG prices

Asian spot LNG prices are currently trading at about $20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), the highest ever for this time of year, and may surpass the previous peak reached earlier this year during winter, especially if the weather turns colder than expected. read more

Oil prices mixed ahead of U.S. jobs report, more gains eyed | Reuters

Oil prices mixed ahead of U.S. jobs report, more gains eyed | Reuters

Oil prices were mixed on Friday after a strong rise in the previous session on a weaker dollar and a fall in U.S. crude stocks and were set for modest weekly gains ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. monthly jobs report.

Brent crude futures were up 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $73.16 a barrel at 0619 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $69.95 a barrel.

Both benchmark oil contracts jumped 2% on Thursday, putting WTI on track to climb 1.8% for the week, while Brent headed for a 0.6% weekly gain.

The move down in WTI was likely due to traders squaring positions ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for August, on worries the report may be weaker than consensus forecasts, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.