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Bloomberg Oil posted a gain this week as expectations for growing economic activity in nations from the US to Europe fueled optimism around stronger summer demand. Futures in New York advanced 2.1% this week in the first back-to-back weekly increase since early March. Fuel sales in the UK rise to the highest since the pandemic again, and in the US, …

Bloomberg India’s central bank announced new loan-relief measures for small businesses and pledged to inject 500 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) of liquidity to support the economy against a second deadly coronavirus wave. Some businesses will be eligible for loan restructuring to give them more time to repay debt and keep them going through the pandemic, Reserve Bank of India Governor …

Bloomberg Saudi Aramco’s profit soared in the first quarter following a recovery in global oil and gas markets, though free cash flow remained too low to fully cover dividend payments. The world’s biggest energy firm kept its quarterly payout at $18.75 billion. The money is a vital source of cash for the kingdom. The bumper results follow those last week …

Bloomberg Iraq, Opec’s second-biggest oil producer, said crude prices would probably remain around $65 a barrel in the coming months and announced it’s considering buying Exxon Mobil Corp.’s stake in one of the world’s biggest fields. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies — a 23-nation grouping known as Opec+ — will continue trying to keep crude prices …

Bloomberg India’s government eased some rules relating to indirect-tax compliance to ease the burden of citizens during the pandemic period. Reduced penalty and waiver of late fees on delayed goods and services tax payments were among the measures announced by the Finance Ministry on Sunday. Taxpayers were also allowed more time to file GST returns. For persons with turnover above …

Bloomberg Russia increased its oil production in April thanks to a more generous Opec+ quota. The nation pumped 42.81 million tons of crude and condensate last month, according to preliminary data from the energy ministry’s CDU-TEK unit. That equates to 10.46 million barrels a day, or 1.9% more than in March. The data don’t provide a breakdown between crude and …

Bloomberg India’s Covid-19 crisis has pummeled demand for transport fuels to the lowest in several months, highlighting the risks for energy consumption amid an uneven global recovery from the pandemic. April sales of gasoline — used in cars and motorcycles — fall to 2.14 million tons to the lowest since August, according to preliminary data from officials with direct knowledge …

Bloomberg The UK, seeking to put a value on the environment, said nature contributed 12 billion pounds ($17 billion) to tourism and outdoor leisure in the latest year for which data is available. The figure from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the result of a 30% increase in spending enabled by the natural environment from 2011 to 2019 …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia is in talks to sell a 1% stake in state oil giant Saudi Aramco to a “leading global energy company” as he forecast an economic rebound after the coronavirus pandemic. The kingdom is looking at the potential sale — which could be worth about $19 billion, based on the company’s market value — as a way to …

VIENNA / WAM The 16th Opec and non-Opec ministerial meeting of the declaration of cooperation (DoC) announced that the overall conformity to the production adjustments was 115 percent in March 2021, reinforcing the trend of high conformity by the participating countries. The meeting reviewed the monthly report prepared by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), including the crude oil production …