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China Reportedly Tells Oil Refiners to Suspend Exports

FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past oil pipes at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past oil pipes at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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China Reportedly Tells Oil Refiners to Suspend Exports

FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past oil pipes at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past oil pipes at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.

China is a net importer of oil and is one of several major Asian economies that depend on the vital Strait of Hormuz for energy. Traffic through the strait is currently blocked.

The Middle East was the source of 57 percent of China's direct seaborne crude imports in 2025, according to analytics firm Kpler.

Officials from China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, met refinery representatives "and verbally called for a temporary suspension of refined product shipments that would begin immediately,” Bloomberg said Thursday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

"The refiners were asked to stop signing new contracts and to negotiate the cancellation of already-agreed shipments," it said.

A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry denied knowledge of the suspension when asked about it at a regular news conference.

PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, Sinochem Group and private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical regularly obtain fuel export quotas from the government, Bloomberg said.

The companies did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.

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Business

OECD Cuts 2026 Global Growth Forecasts Over Mideast War Fallout

A drone view of vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view of vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
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OECD Cuts 2026 Global Growth Forecasts Over Mideast War Fallout

A drone view of vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 3, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view of vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 3, 2026. (Reuters)

The war in the Middle East has dented economic growth prospects worldwide, with a more severe shock likely if no effective ceasefire is agreed before 2027, the OECD warned Wednesday.

Global economic growth is now forecast to slip to 2.8 percent for 2026 if Gulf exports of oil and gas return to pre-conflict levels in the third quarter, the group of 38 industrialized countries said in its quarterly update.

Previously the OECD had forecast full-year global growth of 2.9 percent.

But if the Middle East war continues into next year, however, global growth could slow to 2.1 percent, the OECD said -- well below the average annual growth of 3.4 percent seen from 2013 to 2019, before the Covid pandemic.

"The longer the disruptions last, the larger the economic and social costs become," the group's chief economist Stefano Scarpetta said in the report.

Many countries would risk falling into recession, he noted, and a drop in investment spending -- "including in energy-intensive AI" -- would likely push up unemployment.

Sustained high prices for energy as well as fertilizer and other key products from hydrocarbon production in the Gulf would weigh especially hard on developing countries that have "higher shares of energy and food in household consumption".

Even if the war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February ends in the coming weeks, the OECD forecast global inflation rising to 4.0 percent this year from 3.4 percent in 2025.

In this "time-limited disruption scenario", the group expects US growth to slow to 2.0 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2027, after growing 2.1 percent last year.

In the eurozone, where many countries are highly dependent on energy imports, GDP growth will slump to 0.8 percent this year after 1.4 percent last year, assuming a Mideast ceasefire is secured in the coming weeks.

Business

Saudi Non-oil Private Sector Activity Hits 3-month High in May

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters)
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Saudi Non-oil Private Sector Activity Hits 3-month High in May

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector expanded at the fastest pace in three months in May as domestic demand improved and supply chains stabilized, while business optimism remained subdued amid conflict in the region, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 52.8 in May from 51.5 in April. The 50 mark separates growth from contraction, Reuters reported.

Output accelerated at the ⁠fastest pace in ⁠three months after March's downturn following the start of the Iran war, as firms cited normalizing working conditions, revived contracts and stronger local demand.

Export sales fell for a third straight month, hit by shipping disruption, higher freight and fuel costs, geopolitical tensions and stronger competition. The pace of decline eased only modestly from April's survey-record contraction.

However, supply chains improved, with suppliers' delivery times shortening for the first time in three months as ⁠firms relied ⁠more on local vendors. Backlogs of work rose for an 11th consecutive month, albeit moderately.

“Overall, the latest PMI reading supports the expectation that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy will continue its upward trend during the remainder of 2026," said Naif Al-Ghaith, Riyad Bank's chief economist.

Business

Regional War Weighs on Output, New Business Growth in UAE

The sun sets over a vessel off the coast of Dubai on June 2, 2026. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
The sun sets over a vessel off the coast of Dubai on June 2, 2026. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
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Regional War Weighs on Output, New Business Growth in UAE

The sun sets over a vessel off the coast of Dubai on June 2, 2026. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
The sun sets over a vessel off the coast of Dubai on June 2, 2026. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)

The UAE's non-oil private sector expanded only modestly in May as war in the region and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz weighed on output and new business growth, a business survey showed on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.6 in May from 52.1 in April, remaining above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction.

"The continued cut-off to maritime trade had a cascading effect through the UAE economy in May... ⁠Export orders declined in ⁠May, driven by both the actual shipping disruption as well as the continued sense of uncertainty over how long the conflict will last," Reuters quoted David Owen, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, as saying.

Input deliveries were delayed to the greatest extent since the ⁠height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, Owen said.

Output growth accelerated to a three-month high but remained weaker than the survey's long-run average. New business also rose only modestly, close to April's 62-month low, while export sales contracted again, though the pace of decline eased markedly.

The new orders subindex inched up to 52.6 in May from April's 52.5.

Backlogs of work increased at the slowest pace in nearly three years ⁠as ⁠firms found more capacity to clear outstanding orders, but job creation eased to its weakest pace since October 2025 and cost pressures remained elevated on higher material and transport costs.

But surveyed businesses remained optimistic about the year-ahead outlook.

The UAE's non-oil GDP grew 6.8% in 2025 from a year earlier, outperforming overall GDP growth at 6.2% last year.