Oil Posts Strongest Week Since August as Virus Fears Abate - Bloomberg

Oil Posts Strongest Week Since August as Virus Fears Abate - Bloomberg

PRICES

• WTI for January delivery rose 73 cents to settle at $71.67 a barrel in New York
• Brent for February settlement increased 73 cents to settle at $75.15 a barrel

Oil set its biggest weekly gain in more than three months as the worst fears over the new virus strain have receded.

West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 8.2% this week. Fuel consumption so far has escaped any major blows from the omicron variant. Yet confidence is limited. Rallies are still punctuated by selloffs such as that on Thursday after rising infection rates prompted some governments to tighten travel restrictions.

“Crude prices are having a good week as omicron jitters have eased and as the 2022 growth outlook for the US economy remains mostly undeterred,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.

Oil prices on track for biggest weekly gain since August | Reuters

Oil prices on track for biggest weekly gain since August | Reuters

Oil prices were on track for their biggest weekly gain since late August, with market sentiment buoyed by easing concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant's impact on global economic growth and fuel demand.

The Brent and WTI benchmarks were both on course for gains of about 8% this week, their first weekly gain in seven, even after a brief bout of profit-taking.

Brent crude futures were up 99 cents, or 1.3%, at $75.41 a barrel by 1351 GMT after falling 1.9% on Thursday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.08, or 1.5%, to $72.02 after sliding 2% in a volatile session the previous day.

U.S. consumer prices rose further in November to produce the largest year-on-year rise since 1982, government data showed on Friday, adding to bullish sentiment on oil demand. read more

Earlier in the week the oil market had recovered about half the losses suffered since the Omicron outbreak on Nov. 25, with prices lifted by early studies suggesting that three doses of Pfizer's (PFE.N) COVID-19 vaccine offers protection against the Omicron variant.

Deloitte #UAE to switch to Monday-Friday working after weekend change

Deloitte UAE to switch to Monday-Friday working after weekend change

Accounting agency Deloitte's UAE offices will follow the public sector by switching to a Monday to Friday working week from January, its Middle East boss said.

The company's UAE operation, which employs more than 1,000 people and audits a large number of public sector clients, is the latest to switch to a Saturday-Sunday weekend.

It did not say whether it would adopt the 4.5 day working week that the federal and local government set out in recent days.

But it said the decision was the latest addition to a recently introduced hybrid model that allows employees to split their time between the office and home.

Oil Set for Biggest Weekly Gain Since August Despite Virus Fears - Bloomberg

Oil Set for Biggest Weekly Gain Since August Despite Virus Fears - Bloomberg

PRICES
West Texas Intermediate for January rose 0.3% to $71.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:19 a.m. in London. Brent for February settlement gained 0.2% to $74.54 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after sliding 1.9% on Thursday. The prompt timespread for Brent was 20 cents in backwardation, compared with $1.34 at the start of last month.

#Saudi Wealth Fund Raises $3.2 Billion From Sale of STC Stake - Bloomberg

Saudi Wealth Fund Raises $3.2 Billion From Sale of STC Stake - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund raised $3.2 billion selling part of its stake in the Middle East’s most profitable mobile-phone operator.

The Public Investment Fund offered 120 million shares in Saudi Telecom Co. at 100 riyals ($26.70) each, lead manager SNB Capital said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange. The wealth fund sold 6% of its shares at a 9.1% discount to STC’s closing price of 110 rials on Thursday.

The PIF, as the wealth fund is known, said the final offering was significantly oversubscribed by both domestic and international institutions, with more than 231,000 investors subscribing to the issue.

STC is up 3.4% this year, compared with a 26% gain on the Saudi benchmark Tadawul All Share Index. The stock fell 3.9% this week after the announcement of the stake sale. However, analysts’ price targets imply a 13% return for the stock over the next year.

Not Forever

The sale comes as Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with raising capital to diversify its economy, fulfilling Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s plan to move the economy away from oil. The PIF previously said it would invest about $40 billion a year in the domestic economy until 2025.

Prince Mohammed said in March the PIF plans to sell off large stakes in companies it has held for a long time, noting that they shouldn’t hold investments “forever.”

The PIF said in September it would retain more than 50% of STC.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, Morgan Stanley and SNB Capital were the joint financial advisers on the stake sale and global coordinators with Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG.

Oil’s Red-Hot Rally Fizzles With Traders Reassessing Omicron Hit - Bloomberg

Oil’s Red-Hot Rally Fizzles With Traders Reassessing Omicron Hit - Bloomberg - Bloomberg

PRICES
West Texas Intermediate for January fell 0.3% to $70.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 7:12 a.m. in London. Prices are up 6.7% this week. Brent for February settlement dropped 0.4% to $74.11 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after sliding 1.9% on Thursday. The prompt timespread for Brent was 21 cents in backwardation, compared with $1.34 at the start of last month.