UN: World Food Prices Ease Slightly in July

FILE PHOTO: A person shops at a Whole Foods grocery store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A person shops at a Whole Foods grocery store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
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UN: World Food Prices Ease Slightly in July

FILE PHOTO: A person shops at a Whole Foods grocery store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A person shops at a Whole Foods grocery store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

The United Nations world food price index eased slightly in July according to data released on Friday, with a decline in the index for cereals partially offset by increases for meat, vegetable oils and sugar.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.8 points in July, down from 121.0 in June. The June reading was revised after initially being given as 120.6, Reuters said.
Prior to July, the FAO index had risen for four consecutive months after hitting a three-year low in February as food prices receded from a record peak set in March 2022, following Russia's invasion of fellow crop export major Ukraine.
The July value was 3.1% down on its level one year ago and 24.7% below its 2022 high point.



OPEC+ Sticks to Oil Policy

The online joint ministerial monitoring committee meeting (JMMC) held on Thursday. Photo: OPEC on X
The online joint ministerial monitoring committee meeting (JMMC) held on Thursday. Photo: OPEC on X
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OPEC+ Sticks to Oil Policy

The online joint ministerial monitoring committee meeting (JMMC) held on Thursday. Photo: OPEC on X
The online joint ministerial monitoring committee meeting (JMMC) held on Thursday. Photo: OPEC on X

A meeting of top OPEC+ ministers has kept oil output policy unchanged including a plan to start unwinding one layer of output cuts from October, and repeated that the hike could be paused or reversed if needed.
Several ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, or OPEC+ as the group is known, held an online joint ministerial monitoring committee meeting (JMMC) on Thursday.
OPEC+ is currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day, or about 5.7% of global demand, in a series of steps agreed since 2022 to bolster the market amid uncertainty over global demand and rising supply outside the group.
In a statement after Thursday's meeting, OPEC+ said the members making the most recent layer of cuts - a 2.2 million bpd voluntary cut until September - reiterated that its gradual phase-out could be paused or reversed, depending on market conditions.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday the current level of oil prices was comfortable for Russia, its budget, and other participants in the market. Supply and demand remained in balance, he added.
Algeria's Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab said uncertainties affecting oil markets were unlikely to continue for much longer, as long as the market remains adequately supplied.
Oil demand, he added, was expected to follow a sustained upward trend in the coming weeks.
OPEC+ agreed at its last meeting in June to phase out the 2.2 million bpd cut over the course of a year from October 2024 until September 2025. It also agreed then to extend earlier cuts of 3.66 million bpd until end-2025.
Soon after that, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said OPEC+ could pause or reverse the production hikes if it decided the market is not strong enough.

Thursday's meeting also noted assurances from Iraq, Kazakhstan and Russia made during the meeting to achieve full conformity with pledged output cuts, the statement said. Those countries had earlier delivered plans to compensate for past overproduction.
An OPEC+ source said the chair of the meeting was insisting that members show commitment to the compensation plan.