Markets thirsty for oil despite boosts in Opec+ output: UAE
Opec+, which pumps about half of the world's oil, has been curtailing production for several years to support the market. But it has reversed course this year to regain market share and as US President Donald Trump demanded the group pump more to help keep gasoline prices lower.
Opec+ began to unwind cuts of 2.17 million barrels per day in April with a boost of 138,000 bpd. Hikes of 411,000 bpd followed each month in May, June and July. On Saturday, the group approved a 548,000-bpd jump for August.
Mazrouei said he was not worried about supply overhang even after the latest production rises.
'You can see that even with the increases for several months we haven't seen a major buildup in inventories, which means the market needed those barrels,' he said.
'What we want is stability and you cannot be short-sighted just by looking at the price. We need the price to be right for investments to happen,' he said, adding that many countries with large oil reserves were still not investing enough.
Mazrouei was speaking on the sidelines of a biennial Opec seminar, which brings together ministers and executives from oil majors.
Opec has withheld media access to reporters from Reuters and several other news organisations to cover the seminar, reporters and several people familiar with the matter said.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman spoke at the seminar about the need for a flexible energy transition guided by data and technology, including oil and gas and not at the cost of affordability, participants told Reuters.
Opec+ will likely approve an increase of around 550,000 bpd for September when it convenes on August 3, sources told Reuters.
That will complete the return to the market of 2.17 million bpd of voluntary cuts from eight OPEC+ members and allow the UAE to also complete an additional 300,000 bpd output jump.
Opec+ still has separate cuts of 3.65 million bpd in place, consisting of 1.65 million bpd in voluntary cuts by eight members and some 2 million bpd across all members. The cuts expire at the end of 2026. Oil prices rose on Wednesday, maintaining their highest levels since June 23, lifted by attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and a forecast for lower US oil production while uncertainty over US tariffs loomed in the background.
Brent crude futures gained 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $70.25 a barrel by 1057 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $68.48 a barrel.
After months of calm in the Red Sea, attacks in the major global shipping lane were renewed in the past week, which sources attribute to Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi militia.
A mission was under way on Wednesday to rescue the crew from a cargo ship which sank in the Red Sea following an attack that killed at least four crew members. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oil prices were also buoyed by an Energy Information Administration forecast on Tuesday that the US will produce less oil in 2025 than previously expected, as declining oil prices have prompted US producers to slow activity.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he would announce a 50% tariff on copper, aiming to boost US production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods.
The announcement came as Trump delayed a deadline for some tariffs to August 1, providing some hope to major trade partners that deals to ease duties could still be reached, though that left many companies still uncertain on the path forward.
While there is concern that the tariffs could curb demand for oil, more immediately there was strong travel demand during the US July 4 holiday weekend, while data also showed possible crude inventory builds in the US of around 7.1 million barrels.
With the Red Sea strikes and higher US holiday fuel consumption during summer, 'the idea of ample future supply must give way to short-term considerations,' said a research note from oil broker PVM.
Official inventories data from the US Energy Information Administration is scheduled for release at 1430 GMT.
Opec+ oil producers were set for another big output boost for September as they complete both the unwinding of voluntary production cuts by eight members, and the United Arab Emirates' move to a larger quota, five sources said.
This followed a Saturday announcement from the group approving a 548,000 barrels per day supply increase for August.
'Oil prices have stayed surprisingly resilient in the face of accelerated Opec+ supply additions,' said DBS Bank's energy sector team lead Suvro Sarkar.
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
6 hours ago
- The National
Lebanon faces existential threat unless it addresses Hezbollah weapons, US envoy says
Lebanon risks being taken over by regional powers unless Beirut acts to address Hezbollah's weapons stockpiles, the US ambassador to Turkey warned on Friday. Tom Barrack, who also serves as the US envoy to Syria, told The National that Lebanon needs to resolve the issue or else it could face an existential threat. 'You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn't move, it's going to be Bilad Al Sham again,' he said, using the historical name for the Syria region. 'Syrians say Lebanon is our beach resort. So we need to move. And I know how frustrated the Lebanese people are. It frustrates me.' Mr Barrack said the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are ready to help if Lebanon takes the lead. Last month, Mr Barrack presented Lebanese officials with a proposal to disarm Hezbollah and implement economic reforms to help lift the country out of its six-year financial crisis, one of the worst in modern history. The US proposal ties reconstruction aid and a halt to Israeli army operations to Hezbollah's full disarmament across the country. Since a US-brokered ceasefire began in November, the Iran-backed group has withdrawn most of its troops from the Israeli border. Israel insists it must be disarmed nationwide. In response to the proposal, Lebanese authorities submitted a seven-page document calling for a full Israeli withdrawal from disputed territory, including Shebaa Farms, and reaffirming state control over all weapons while pledging to dismantle Hezbollah's arms in south Lebanon. The document stopped short of agreeing to disarm Hezbollah nationwide. 'I thought it was responsive, very responsive,' Mr Barrack said, while acknowledging that issues remain. 'There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement … it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it." He stressed the urgency for Lebanon to act. When asked if Hezbollah agreeing to lay down its arms and become a purely political party would prompt President Donald Trump's administration to remove the group from its foreign terrorist list, as it did with Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) in Syria, Mr Barrack declined to elaborate. 'I'm not running from the answer, but I can't answer it,' he told a group journalists in New York earlier on Friday. Asked why President Joseph Aoun has not publicly committed to a disarmament timetable, Mr Barrack said: 'He doesn't want to start a civil war.' The Lebanese armed forces are widely viewed as the 'best, neutral, reliable mediator' in the current crisis but face severe funding shortages due to Lebanon's economic collapse, Mr Barrack said. He noted that despite the Lebanese army's credibility, it operates 'on a shoestring budget', forcing UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (Unifil) to fill the gap with 10,000 troops. 'God bless the United Nations and the Unifil troops, but they don't really have command and control over harsh things,' Mr Barrack said. Mr Barrack acknowledged that any attempt to fully disarm Hezbollah could be volatile and risk sparking a civil war. He suggested a possible path could involve Hezbollah agreeing to voluntarily disarm its heavy weapons, including rockets and drones, handing them over to monitored depots under a 'mechanism' involving the US, France, Israel and the Lebanese army. Mr Barrack said the Lebanese army lacks the resources and manpower to take on such a mission. 'We don't have the soldiers on the ground for LAF to be able to do that yet, because they don't have the money. They're using equipment that's 60 years old,' he said. As a result, Hezbollah argues it cannot rely on the Lebanese army for protection, he added. 'Hezbollah is looking at it saying, 'We can't rely on LAF. We have to rely on ourselves because Israel is bombing us every day, and they're still occupying our land,'' he said, referring to disputed border areas known as the 'five points". Mr Barrack said addressing these security concerns, while preventing escalation into conflict, would require international support to strengthen Lebanon's army and a mechanism to manage heavy weapons, with buy-in from all sides. He said the US has approached its Gulf partners to seek funding for the Lebanese armed forces but has faced resistance. 'The US is going to our valued Gulf partners and saying, 'We want money to go to LAF,'' he said. 'Why do the Gulf partners not want to do that? Because they've given so much money to Lebanon in the past that's gone to the corrupt leaders. So they're saying, 'Yeah, we're done.'' He noted that Gulf states are reluctant to invest further without assurances that funds will bypass Lebanon's entrenched political elite and corruption. 'This is the big dilemma,' Mr Barrack said, adding that without sustained support for the Lebanese army, it will remain under-resourced, complicating any efforts to stabilise the country and reduce Hezbollah's hold. 'We need to help bolster LAF,' Mr Barrack said. 'We can do it hand-in-hand with the Gulf countries, hand-in-hand with Unifil, as we redefine what their role is on a continued basis.'
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Gulf Today
VIDEO: Liberians confused and angry after Trump's praise for their leader's English
Liberians reacted with a mix of anger and weary resignation on Thursday after discovering that the leader of their country's closest bilateral partner does not appear to know what language they speak. At a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump responded to brief remarks from his Liberian counterpart, Joseph Boakai, by marvelling at his "beautiful" English. But Trump did not stop there. "Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?" he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. "Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?" English has been the west African nation's official language since the 1800s. Government statements are published in standard English while spoken Liberian English reflects influences from pidgin and indigenous languages used across the country of around 5.5 million people. Liberians sometimes refer to the US as their "big brother," but not everyone was surprised that Trump's knowledge of the country did not seem to reflect that closeness. Fatumata Binta Sall, a Liberian feminist activist who travels frequently to the US, told Reuters that Trump's amazement at Boakai's English fluency was all too familiar. "Many times, I've had Americans ask me whether I studied abroad or where I learned to speak 'so well'," she said. Such remarks, she said, indicate her country "isn't visible in the minds of many Americans." She attended international conferences "to remind the world that Liberia exists." William V.S. Tubman III, a Liberian writer and grandson of former President William Tubman, voiced frustration at what he described as Trump's lack of respect. "Praising an African head of state for speaking English 'so beautifully' isn't a compliment, it's a reflection of how deeply colonial thinking continues to shape expectations," he said. "What Trump said wasn't ignorance. It was disrespect and entitlement disguised as praise." Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, said no one in the room was bothered by Trump's remark. "I was in the meeting and everyone was deeply appreciative of the President's time and effort," Boulos said in a statement. The White House shared a separate statement from Liberia's foreign minister, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, stressing that Boakai himself also took no offence. Liberian President Joseph Boakai greets relatives of slain officials in Monrovia, Liberia. File / Reuters "What President Trump heard distinctly was the American influence on our English in Liberia, and the Liberian president is not offended by that," she said. "We know that English has different accents and forms, and so him picking up the distinct intonation that has its roots in American English for us was just recognising a familiar English version." LIBERIA SCORES 'BIGLY' Some residents of the Liberian capital Monrovia also chose to highlight what they saw as the positive aspects of the visit. Boakai's inclusion on the guest list gave him an opportunity to tout Liberia's mineral assets and history of democratic elections. And his status as the only anglophone — in a group that also included leaders of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Gabon and Mauritania — clearly made an impression on his host. "In terms of his grammar, the way that he spoke, I think it shows that Boakai has a solid foundation in his education in Liberia," radio journalist Augustus Caine said. A front-page story in The Analyst newspaper said Boakai had been "eloquently conveying Liberia's critical interests" and "attracting the host's admiration." The headline featured a rarely used English word that Trump himself was credited with reviving during his first run for the White House in 2016. "Trump's Invite of Liberia Scores 'Bigly," it read. Reuters
Al Etihad
10 hours ago
- Al Etihad
EU waits on Trump letter as markets digest latest tariff salvo
11 July 2025 21:37 BRUSSELS (Reuters)The European Union braced on Friday for a possible letter from US President Donald Trump outlining planned duties on the United States' largest trade and investment partner after a broadening of his tariff war in recent EU initially hoped to strike a comprehensive trade agreement, including zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods, but months of difficult talks have led to the realisation it will probably have to settle for an interim agreement and hope something better can still be 27-country bloc is under conflicting pressures as powerhouse Germany urged a quick deal to safeguard its industry, while other EU members, such as France, have said EU negotiators should not cave into a one-sided deal on US terms. After keeping much of the world guessing his intentions, Trump has outlined new tariffs for US imports of goods from a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, along with a 50% tariff on US imports of copper, and a hike to 35% on Canadian goods. His cascade of tariff orders since returning to the White House has begun generating tens of billions of dollars a month in new revenue for the US due later on Friday may show collections in the federal fiscal year through June have shot past $100 billion, equal to or greater than the largest annual take ever from customs consumers face an effective US tariff rate of more than 20%, the highest since the early 1900s, the International Chamber of Commerce estimated this week after Trump's latest announcements. Rates are already around 16%, their highest since the 1930s. Economists expect much of that to be passed along as higher consumer prices for imported goods, although there is only limited evidence of that occurring so far."So at some point, the new tariffs will start to bite, or if companies decide they can't trade under those conditions, shelves will start to look decidedly sparse," ICC Deputy Secretary General Andrew Wilson said. A person with knowledge of the US-EU negotiations said an agreement was close, but that it was hard to predict if the EU might still get a letter announcing more tariffs or when any agreement might be EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the EU was strong when it acted together: "It is important that the pain or gain is distributed equally. We cannot have just one country or sector that takes the win."European shares dipped on Friday as investors awaited word on tariffs for the EU, while US stocks dipped in response to the upsized tariff rate Trump announced for Canada late on Thursday. Gold prices, meanwhile, rose for a third straight session on higher demand for the safe-haven appear increasingly inured to Trump's tariff announcements after having near-panic reactions to the earliest announcements in late winter and early spring. Still, the jacked-up rates Trump unveiled out of the blue this week on US imports from Brazil and then Canada are emblematic of his unpredictable approach to rolling out the levies. The 35% tariff on Canadian goods is an increase from the current 25% rate he had assigned and is a blow to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was seeking to agree a trade pact with to Trump, the new rate will take effect on Aug. 1 and could go up further if Canada retaliates."Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1," Carney said in a EU has drawn up countermeasures against Trump's tariffs, but has not imposed them. An initial 21 billion euros ($24.5 billion) of levies on US imports due in April was suspended before taking package, on some 72 billion euros of US imports, could also be applied. "Basically, if a political decision is made to extend the suspension, then we'll extend the suspension," EU spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters. "If we need to unsuspend it, we can do that, you know, at the drop of a hat."CONSTRUCTIVEElsewhere, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, as the two powers vied to push their agendas in sides described the meeting as constructive. China warned the US this week against reinstating hefty levies on its goods next month and Beijing has also threatened to retaliate against nations that strike deals with the US to cut China out of supply has periodically railed against the EU, saying in February that it was "formed to screw the United States" and asking why Europe exports so many cars but buys so few from the US in biggest grievance is the US merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 amounted to $235 billion, according to US Census Bureau data. The EU has repeatedly pointed to the US surplus in services that in part redresses the balance. The potential escalation between the EU and the US is a big deal for financial markets, said Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "If you get something similar to (the US-China trade war in April), that's going to be very destabilising."
