News

Riyadh / Emirates Business The health of the Saudi Arabian non-oil private sector improved at the fastest pace in 2018 so far during June. An upturn in output and new order growth were the key components behind the latest expansion. Furthermore, many panel respondents noted sharper capacity pressures, which led to the fastest build-up in backlogs of work in 11 …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed an agreement between OPEC and its allies, which they say will mean increasing oil production by 1 million barrels a day. Energy ministers Khalid Al-Falih and Alexander Novak spoke on the phone, and reiterated the terms of the agreement reached last month in Vienna, according to statements from the Saudi and Russian energy ministries. …

Bloomberg US refiners have returned from maintenance with a vengeance, processing more than 18 million barrels a day of crude and other oils for the first time in the week ended June 22. What does that mean for the markets? Gasoline stockpiles have increased 2.9 percent in June, the biggest gain for the month since 2009. There’s enough supply to …

Bloomberg Argentina’s move to a free market for energy prices remains on track. A recent decision to cap crude oil prices and limit fuel price gains in order to stem inflation was an outlier, according to Javier Iguacel, the nation’s new energy minister. Restricting crude price increases only extinguishes competition and, in turn, the possibility of cutting costs, he said. …

DUBAI / Emirates Business Smart Cities, connected mega-events such as Expo 2020 Dubai, and the growth of “intelligent enterprises”, will drive the UAE’s IT market to top AED20 billion in 2018, according to the newly-appointed UAE Managing Director of global technology company SAP. Increasingly, UAE organisations are becoming “intelligent enterprises,” using innovations in artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of …

Bloomberg A red-hot electric vehicle market has triggered a face-off between Big Oil and utilities. Oil majors, who’ve sold fossil fuels to cars for a century, are now moving into an electricity sector that’s preparing for exponential growth. The problem is that utilities, the primary power suppliers for a century, have the same idea. BP Plc predicts electric vehicle sales …

Bloomberg Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) declared force majeure on another two oil ports, removing thousands more barrels from the market just as global supply concerns put pressure on OPEC to ramp up production. Oil loadings at the Zueitina and Hariga export terminals in eastern Libya have stopped, the Tripoli-based NOC said on Monday. The halt comes just a week …

Bloomberg The average American household will have $440 less to spend this year due to rising pump prices, putting at risk one-third of the windfall they got from tax cuts. Strong oil prices drove the cost of US gasoline to the highest level in more than three years last month, according to AAA, and pump prices are now 27 percent …

PUNTLAND / WAM Teams from the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation have begun the distribution of emergency relief assistance to Somali families in villages in Puntland State, northeastern Somalia, as part of phase two of a campaign launched to assist those ravaged by drought in the region. 900 tonnes of food aid is being delivered to help recipients endure …

Bloomberg BMW AG and Hyundai Motor Co urged the US not to impose tariffs on auto imports, joining General Motors Co in pressing their case to the Commerce Department even as a top aide to President Donald Trump dismissed the concerns as “smoke and mirrors.” “It seems that the threat to impose these sanctions is designed to achieve certain goals,” …