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Lebanon’s Mikati Expresses Hope of IMF Accord in Weeks

Lebanon's Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati speaks after meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 16, 2021. (Dalati Nohra)
Lebanon's Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati speaks after meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 16, 2021. (Dalati Nohra)
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Lebanon’s Mikati Expresses Hope of IMF Accord in Weeks

Lebanon's Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati speaks after meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 16, 2021. (Dalati Nohra)
Lebanon's Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati speaks after meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 16, 2021. (Dalati Nohra)

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund will start talks in Lebanon on March 29, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday, expressing hope of a deal in the coming weeks.

"Next Tuesday they will start their mission in Lebanon," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in Qatar.

"Hopefully ... by the end of two weeks we will see the light," Mikati said.

The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value since 2019, when the financial system collapsed, plunging the majority of Lebanese into poverty, according to UN agencies.

Reforms demanded by donors to provide assistance to Lebanon include steps to tackle widespread corruption, tax dodging and government deficits - the root causes of the meltdown.

"We don't have an option, it is an obligatory path to negotiate with the IMF and to achieve an agreement," he added.

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Oil Steady as Investors Shift Focus to Demand Signals

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Steady as Investors Shift Focus to Demand Signals

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire and shifted their attention to market fundamentals after a stockdraw in the United States.

Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.02 a barrel by 1055 GMT US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.27 a barrel.

Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the week after data showed resilient. US demand. Brent futures are trading below their close of $69.36 on June 12, the day before Israel started air strikes on Iran, Reuters reported.

Investors are shifting their focus to macroeconomics and oil balances, while monitoring the Israel-Iran truce, said PVM analyst Tamas Varga.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said oil prices had tracked equity markets so far on Thursday, while ANZ analysts said the US driving season had started slowly but was now stoking demand.

US crude oil and fuel inventories fell in the week to June 20 as refining activity and demand rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 5.8 million barrels, the EIA said, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 797,000-barrel draw.

Gasoline stocks unexpectedly fell by 2.1 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a 381,000-barrel build as gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, rose to its highest level since December 2021.

On Saturday, Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, said OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, could bring forward its output hikes by around a year from an initial plan.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump hailed the swift end to war between Iran and Israel and said Washington would likely seek a commitment from Tehran to end its nuclear ambitions at talks with Iranian officials next week.

Trump also said on Wednesday that the US was maintaining maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signalled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild.