News

Bloomberg Russia’s average daily oil output in May fell below its Opec+ target for the first time this year after buyers refused to take exports via Druzhba, the nation’s key pipeline to Europe, because of contamination. The country produced just more than 47 million ton-nes of crude oil and condensate in May, according to preliminary data from the Energy Ministry’s …

Bloomberg President Donald Trump claims China is paying his tariffs; furniture salesman Mack Yuan in the east-coast commercial heartland of Zhejiang begs to differ. “We don’t pay any tariffs,” says Yuan, whose company Dakang Holdings Co sells about half its products to the US, including to Walmart Inc and Costco Wholesale Corp. The impact of Trump’s tariff hike on $200 …

Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc is planning to acquire an oil-block stake in a second deal in South Africa’s relatively unexplored waters, months after a major discovery by Total SA boosted the country’s hydrocarbon prospects. Shell has applied to take a stake in a license owned by OK Energy, located in deep waters off South Africa’s west coast, according to …

Bloomberg Oil posted its worst May performance in seven years as global trade tensions escalat-ed, undermining the outlook for energy demand growth. Futures tumbled 5.5 percent in New York to a depth not seen in more than three months. Equities also plunged as investors deserted risky asset classes for the safety of gold and US Treasuries. President Donald Trump’s threat …

Bloomberg Leaders of Islamic nations condemned attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities and ships off the coast of the UAE that have been blamed on Iran and its Yemeni Houthi allies, saying the international community should preserve the region’s stability. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation held a summit in Mecca a day after back-to-back emergency meetings of Gulf and Arab …

Dubai / Emirates Busines The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) saw a spike in Indian Rupee (INR) trading in May as the India election came to a close, leading the exchange to record a monthly average open interest (AOI) of 406,203 contracts in the month, its highest AOI since November 2016. Ongoing political tensions across Europe on the back …

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump terminated India’s designation as a developing nation under a trade program, eliminating an exception that allowed the country to export nearly 2,000 products to the US duty-free. “I have determined that India has not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets,” Trump said in a proclamation. “Accordingly, …

Bloomberg Oil slumped as escalating trade hostilities between the US and China stoked fears of slowing global growth, overshadowing forecasts for a drop in American crude inventories. Futures in New York lost as much as 2.5% after rallying 2.1% following Chin- ese media suggestions on Wednesday that the nation could restrict rare earth exports to the US. American crude inventories …

Bloomberg The Trump administration again refrained from labelling China a currency manipulator, a decision that leaves one of the president’s campaign promises unfulfilled but avoids further escalation in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. China said on Wednesday that “relevant international organisations,” and not the US, are in position to decide whether a country is a currency …

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade, including direct and free zone trade, and customs warehouses, reached a total of AED1.628 trillion in 2018, announced the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) on Tuesday. In a statement, the authority noted that direct non-oil foreign trade accounted for 63 percent (AED1.025 trillion) of the total value, while free zone trade and …