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Saudi, Bahraini Transport Ministers Discuss King Hamad Causeway Study

King Fahd Causeway, Asharq Al-Awsat
King Fahd Causeway, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi, Bahraini Transport Ministers Discuss King Hamad Causeway Study

King Fahd Causeway, Asharq Al-Awsat
King Fahd Causeway, Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia's Transport Minister Dr. Nabil Al-Amoudi met on Wednesday with Bahraini Transport Minister Kamal Al-Amoudi in Riyadh. The two discussed a report issued by the assigned consulting company for the King Hamad Causeway project.

After exchanging opinions and listening to third party observations, the attendees recommended studying other aspects related to the project and then presenting them to the team for further review and opinion.

The Bahraini Minister of Transport revealed in previous statements that the preliminary feasibility study of the railway project and King Hamad Causeway between the two countries estimated their budget at four billion dollars, and that the project contains two tracks for railway, transport of goods and passengers, Saudi Arabia with his country, with the establishment of 4 tracks for cars on the new bridge.

King Hamad Causeway aims to connect Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, running parallel to the existing King Fahd Causeway. The causeway is expected to be about 25 kilometers and allow passenger trains, freight trains and vehicles so as to reduce the traffic on the King Fahd Causeway.

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Oil Falls as Market Eyes US-China Trade Talks, Storage Report Mixed

The Phillips 66 Carson refinery is shown after the company said it will shut its large Los Angeles-area oil refinery late next year, delivering a blow to California's fuel supply, in Carson, California, US, October 17, 2024. (Reuters)
The Phillips 66 Carson refinery is shown after the company said it will shut its large Los Angeles-area oil refinery late next year, delivering a blow to California's fuel supply, in Carson, California, US, October 17, 2024. (Reuters)
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Oil Falls as Market Eyes US-China Trade Talks, Storage Report Mixed

The Phillips 66 Carson refinery is shown after the company said it will shut its large Los Angeles-area oil refinery late next year, delivering a blow to California's fuel supply, in Carson, California, US, October 17, 2024. (Reuters)
The Phillips 66 Carson refinery is shown after the company said it will shut its large Los Angeles-area oil refinery late next year, delivering a blow to California's fuel supply, in Carson, California, US, October 17, 2024. (Reuters)

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, after bouncing back from a sharp sell-off earlier in the week, as investors turned their focus to US-China trade talks this weekend.

Brent crude futures were down 71 cents a barrel, or around 1.14%, at $61.44 a barrel by 12:00 p.m. ET (1600 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 66 cents, or 1.12%, lower at $58.43 a barrel.

The US and China are due to meet in Switzerland, which could be the first step toward resolving a trade war disrupting the global economy.

The US-China trade talks come after weeks of escalating tensions that have seen duties on goods imports between the world's two largest economies soar well beyond 100%.

"While the meeting may signal a thaw, expectations for a breakthrough remain low," said Thiago Duarte, market analyst at Axi. "Unless the US receives major trade concessions, further de-escalation seems unlikely," he said.

Investors also awaited the upcoming Fed update on Wednesday. They expect the policy rate to remain in the 4.25%-4.50% range until the Fed's July 29-30 meeting.

Meanwhile, US crude inventories fell by 2 million barrels to 438.4 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 833,000-barrel draw.

However, gasoline inventories rose, raising concerns among analysts of weak demand ahead of a major driving holiday in the US later this month.

"This is the first bad report for gasoline in a couple of weeks. The refiner had been cranking up the utilization rate. But today in this report it went backwards," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

Limiting the losses, some US producers have signaled that they would cut spending, cautioning that the country's oil output may have peaked.

Additionally, conflict in the Middle East between Israel and the Houthis increases the geopolitical risk premium, said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM.