Saudi Energy Minister Calls for Trusting OPEC+

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman participates in the 44th IAEE International Conference in Riyadh. Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman participates in the 44th IAEE International Conference in Riyadh. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Energy Minister Calls for Trusting OPEC+

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman participates in the 44th IAEE International Conference in Riyadh. Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman participates in the 44th IAEE International Conference in Riyadh. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman reiterated on Saturday that OPEC+ does not interfere in politics.

"We are a responsible group of countries, we do take policy issues relevant to energy and oil markets in a total silo and we don't engage ourselves in political issues," the prince said.

Asked during an industry conference in Riyadh what lessons had been learnt from energy market dynamics in 2022, Prince Abdulaziz said the most important one was for the rest of the world to "trust OPEC+."

He also hoped sanctions would not result in a shortage of energy supplies in future.

In an answer to a question over how trade measures would affect the energy market, Prince Abdulaziz told the conference: "All of those so-called sanctions, embargoes, lack of investments, they will convolute into one thing and one thing only, a lack of energy supplies of all kinds when they are most needed.”



US Employers Added Solid 206,000 Jobs in June

The government also sharply revised down its estimate of job growth for April and May by a combined 111,000.  (Reuters pic)
The government also sharply revised down its estimate of job growth for April and May by a combined 111,000. (Reuters pic)
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US Employers Added Solid 206,000 Jobs in June

The government also sharply revised down its estimate of job growth for April and May by a combined 111,000.  (Reuters pic)
The government also sharply revised down its estimate of job growth for April and May by a combined 111,000. (Reuters pic)

US employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in June, adding 206,000 jobs and once again displaying the US economy’s ability to withstand high interest rates.

Last month’s job growth did mark a pullback from 218,000 in May. But it was still a solid gain, reflecting the resilience of America’s consumer-driven economy, which is slowing but still growing steadily.

Still, Friday’s report from the Labor Department contained several signs of a slowing job market. The unemployment rate ticked up from 4% to 4.1%, a still-low number but the highest rate since November 2021. The rate rose in large part because 277,000 people began looking for work in June, and not all of them found jobs right away.

The government also sharply revised down its estimate of job growth for April and May by a combined 111,000. And it said average hourly pay rose just 0.3% from May and 3.9% from June 2023. The year-over-year figure was the smallest such rise since June 2021 and will likely be welcomed by the Federal Reserve in its drive to fully conquer inflation. Most economists think the Fed will begin cutting its benchmark rate in September, and the details in Friday’s jobs report did nothing to counter that expectation.