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Opec

The oil market could now shift focus to the actions of US President-elect Donald Trump

Opec+ delays oil output hike until April

Opec+ on Thursday pushed back the start of oil output rises by three months until April and extended the full unwinding of cuts by a year until the end of 2026 due to weak demand and booming production outside the group. Cuts had been scheduled to begin unwinding from October 2024 but a slowdown in […]

Muhammad Al Jasser of the Islamic Development Bank, second from left, at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh

Arab funds pledge $10bn to fight desertification

The Arab Coordination Group, an alliance of 10 development funds, is to provide $10 billion by 2030 to combat land degradation, desertification and drought, it was announced on the second day of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification event in Riyadh.  The commitment brings the total pledged to these interrelated causes at the two-week […]

Workers on an oil rig in New Mexico, US. The incoming Trump administration is giving Opec+ plenty to think about

Opec+ likely to adopt a wait-and-see strategy for 2025

Opec+ leaders have much to consider ahead of their meeting next week – little of it positive for flagging oil prices.  First, there is the prospect of a second presidential term for Donald Trump as leader of the world’s largest oil producer and exporter; second, an economic downturn in China that shows no sign of […]

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WTO director-general, said the potential escalation of conflicts in the Middle East could lead to further increases in transport and energy costs

WTO predicts Middle East trade slowdown in 2025

Lower oil prices, the potential for conflicts to escalate and the impact of a Trump presidency are factors supporting the World Trade Organization’s prediction that trade in the Middle East will slow down in 2025, experts have said.  In its latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report, the WTO said Middle East exports will grow 5 […]

Chris Wright

Trump’s prospective energy team is a mixed blessing for Gulf

Fossil fuel veteran energy secretary US production boost could hit price Likely to impact renewables drive The nomination of a fossil fuels veteran and climate sceptic as US energy secretary is likely to chime with Gulf expectations tha... Register now: It’s easy and free This content is available for registered members only. Register for your […]

Trump Iran oil

IEF head sees Gulf at the top of Trump’s agenda 

The head of the International Energy Forum has told AGBI he believes the Gulf states will benefit from Donald Trump’s election victory strategically and politically, as well as in terms of investment and trade. The IEF is headquartered in Riyadh and counts the energy ministers of 72 states as members. It describes itself as a […]

Trump Iran oil

Top of Trump’s to-do list: sanctions against Iran

Donald Trump’s second term as US president, which is due to start in January, is likely to bring a significant strengthening of sanctions against Iran and a resumption of the “maximum pressure policy”, industry experts believe. In his first term as president, Trump withdrew from the Joint Collective Plan of Action, a 2015 accord which […]

Saudi Arabia's finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan on stage at the FII conference. The country's revenue has risen 12%

Saudi Arabia’s deficit rises again as oil output cuts bite

Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit was SAR58 billion ($15.5 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, rising by SAR30 billion in the third quarter alone and confirming predictions of a funding crunch for the country’s giga-projects.  The finance ministry said in October that it expects to post an overall deficit of SAR118 billion this year […]

A worker at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, Iraq. Brent and WTI posted weekly declines of about 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively, last week

Oil gains 3% after Opec+ delays output hike

Oil prices rose about 3% on Monday on a decision by Opec+ to delay by a month plans to increase output, while the market braced for a crucial week that includes the US presidential election. US Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump remain virtually tied in opinion polls ahead of Tuesday’s election day, […]

Oil prices were also supported by expectations that Opec+ could delay December's planned production increase by a month or more

Oil prices gain amid growing Middle East tensions

Oil prices extended gains in early Asian trade on Friday, following reports that Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.24, or 1.8 percent, to $70.50 a barrel by 22:29 GMT after settling up 0.95 percent in the previous session. […]

The Opec logo outside its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. It is thought Opec+ may delay a planned oil output increase

Oil prices stable after boost from US fuel demand

Oil prices stabilised on Thursday after rallying the previous day on stronger than expected US fuel demand and reports that producer group Opec+ could delay a planned output increase. Traders are now awaiting the outcome of the US presidential election on November 5 and whether ceasefires can be brokered in the Middle East. The Brent […]

A worker checks the valve gears of pipes at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan

Opec+ overproduction persists as oil price sags

Despite a fall in production in September, Opec+ members are not adhering to cuts they have committed to, leading to excess supply and flagging prices, industry experts say.  Quota compliance has always been a vexed issue within Opec and Opec+ but oil demand is now so subdued that Saudi Arabia may have to act, the […]

MB4W54 industrial pump jack

IMF lowers 2024 Saudi GDP forecast on oil output

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its GDP growth prediction for Saudi Arabia this year and next because of oil output cuts continuing to the end of this year. The Saudi economy is expected to expand 1.5 percent this year, down 0.2 percent from the IMF’s last review in July, and 4.6 percent in 2025, […]

Oil storage tanks in Bayonne, New Jersey. US crude stocks rose five times higher last week than analysts' predictions

Oil price slips on higher US crude stockpiles

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after industry data showed US crude inventories swelled more than expected, though futures were still up about 2 percent this week as traders factored in continuing conflict in the Middle East. Brent crude futures dropped $1.40, or 1.8 percent, to $74.64 a barrel by 11:07 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude […]

RA2WM4 Oil refinery on river in Shanghai An oil refinery in Shanghai; China holds 1.1 billion barrels of crude oil stocks

IEA confident global oil supply can absorb disruption

Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran are fuelling concerns that an attack on Iranian production facilities could disrupt global oil supply. But forecasts by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest there are adequate global supplies to absorb the impact of such an event. Iran, a major oil exporter and Opec member, ships 1.6 million barrels […]

A dip in oil prices followed a week of strong rises as regional concerns persist

Oil prices up after strongest weekly rise in over a year

Oil prices fell and then rose again on Monday after posting their steepest weekly rise in over a year last week. Brent crude futures fell to $77.74 per barrel before rising again to $79.14 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate dipped to $74.18 per barrel and then rose to $75.53 per barrel. Brent rose by […]

Iran Kharg Island

Iran’s energy installations may be targeted in Israeli strikes

Brent neared $79 a barrel on Friday, surging over 10 percent in a week, as markets and the wider world waited for a response to Iran’s attacking Israel with nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Tuesday. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu may order an attack on one of Iran’s major oil centres or less significant installations […]