Saudi arabia in asia

MELBOURNE: Oil prices rose early on Friday, adding to big gains overnight after OPEC and its allies agreed to not increase supply in April as they await a more solid recovery in demand from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ) crude futures climbed 17 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.00 at 0128 GMT, holding below a 13-month high hit on Thursday. Brent crude rose 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $66.84 a barrel, but down from a high of $67.75 hit on Thursday. Both contracts soared more than 4% on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, extended oil output curbs into April, with small exemptions to Russia and Kazakhstan. "It just goes to show how much of a surprise the OPEC+ discipline is," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. "What makes the gain even more impressive is that it comes against a risk-off backdrop and a higher U.S. dollar," he said. Oil prices usually fall ... » Learn More about Oil extends gains on OPEC+ supply restraint, expected demand recovery

Senior U.S. officials have held a first direct meeting with officials from the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls Yemen’s capital, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the new U.S. administration pushes to end a six-year war. The discussions, which have not been officially made public by either side, took place in the Omani capital Muscat on Feb. 26 between U.S. Yemen envoy Timothy Lenderking and the Houthis’ chief negotiator Mohammed Abdusalam, the sources said. The Houthis captured Yemen’s capital in 2014 and control most populated areas. A Saudi-led coalition has battled them with tacit Western support since 2015 in a war that has killed tens of thousands and created what the United Nations considers the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis. The Saudis and Houthis have been negotiating for more than a year towards a truce, directly and under the auspices of the United Nations. State Department spokesman Ned Price in a briefing on Wednesday declined to confirm ... » Learn More about U.S officials have met Yemen’s Houthis as Washington seeks end to war: sources

The US strike in eastern Syria on Friday shows the new US administration under Joe Biden, for all its stated willingness to amend its predecessor's foreign policy woes, has no intention of changing the US policy in the Middle East. This is certainly not good news for either the region or the world at large. In what was intended, and widely perceived to be a strike with limited scope and time frame, the United States struck the positions of Iran-backed militia groups in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour near the Iraqi border, killing 22 fighters. The US claimed it was responding to the recent rocket attacks launched by the militia groups on US forces in the region. But the strike serves multiple purposes, not least sending the message that the US is willing to again flex its military muscles to advance its interests in international settings. Being locked in a proxy war in Syria, the US throwing its weight behind the rebels which are in a defensive position against the ... » Learn More about US military action not a good omen: China Daily editorial

DUBAI/MOSCOW: OPEC and its allies in will decide on Thursday whether to freeze oil output or raise it slightly from April as a recent price rally is clouded by concern over the fragility of economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The market has been expecting the OPEC+ group of producers to ease supply cuts by about 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from April. OPEC's de facto leader Saudi Arabia has also been expected to partially or fully end its voluntary production cut of an additional 1 million bpd. But three OPEC+ sources said on Wednesday that some key members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had suggested that output across the OPEC+ group should be kept unchanged. It was not immediately clear whether Saudi Arabia would end its voluntary cuts or extend them, they said. Russia has been insisting on raising output to avoid prices spiking any further and lending support to shale oil output from the United States , which is not ... » Learn More about OPEC+ debates whether to raise or freeze oil output as price recovers

After Rajasthan , petrol price on Thursday crossed the ₹100 per litre mark in Madhya Pradesh after fuel rates were increased for the tenth day in a row. Petrol price was hiked by 34 paise per litre and diesel by 32 paise, according to a price notification of State-owned fuel retailers. While branded or additive-laced petrol, which attracts higher taxes, had crossed the ₹100-mark in some places in States like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, regular petrol crossed the physiological mark in Sriganganagar town of Rajasthan on Wednesday, and on Thursday it went past that mark in Madhya Pradesh. Also read: Data | For every Rs 100 spent on petrol by Indians, ₹63 goes to Centre and State as tax in Dec. 2020 In Anuppur of Madhya Pradesh, petrol is priced at ₹100.25 per litre and diesel at ₹90.35. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol ... » Learn More about After Rajasthan, petrol price crosses ₹100-mark in Madhya Pradesh