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Saudi Oil Exports Rose to 7.4 Mln Bpd in December

A Saudi Aramco oil field. (Reuters)
A Saudi Aramco oil field. (Reuters)
    Riyadh, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Oil Exports Rose to 7.4 Mln Bpd in December

A Saudi Aramco oil field. (Reuters)
A Saudi Aramco oil field. (Reuters)

Decisions by OPEC+ are not politicized and are based on market fundamentals, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday, adding that the alliance of oil producers is sufficiently flexible to adjust policy as needed.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in December 2022 rose by 157,000 bpd to 7.44 million bpd.

These figures were announced by the International Energy Forum (IEF) on Monday, citing data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI).

According to JODI data, Saudi oil product exports rose by 0.222 million bpd to 1.4 million bpd in December.

The demand for petroleum products in Saudi Arabia increased by 0.022 million bpd to 2.399 million bpd.

Global oil demand climbed in December by 1.3 million bpd to a new record high, the data showed.

Oil prices rose on Monday amid optimism over China's demand recovery, concerns that underinvestment will crimp future oil supply and as major producers keep output limits in place.

Brent crude rose 1.1%, to $83.97 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for March was at $77.28 a barrel, up 1.2%. The more active April contract was up 0.5% at $76.90.

The benchmarks settled down $2 a barrel on Friday and closed lower by about 4% last week after the US reported higher crude and gasoline inventories.

“Brent and WTI prices are up slightly this morning after selling off on recent hawkish Fed commentary, following stronger than expected CPI and PPI data released in the US,” Baden Moore, head of commodities research at National Australia Bank, told Reuters.

While last week’s announcement that the US will sell 26 million barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserves adds some downward pressure to the market, global supply looks to be “flat to down” versus the previous corresponding period after factoring in production cuts by Russia and OPEC+, added Moore.

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UK Treasury Chief Heading to China to Revive Suspended Economic, Financial Talks

FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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UK Treasury Chief Heading to China to Revive Suspended Economic, Financial Talks

FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Britain's Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend to discuss economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the UK's Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing.
The Treasury said Friday that Rachel Reeves will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Reuters reported.
Reeves' trip is expected to revive the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue — annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations in recent years.
A series of spying allegations from both sides, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, have soured ties.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the UK Financial Conduct Authority's chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, are also in the delegation, according to the Treasury. Representatives from some of Britain’s biggest financial services firms will join the trip.
Officials did not provide details, but media reports have said senior executives from HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered were included.
Reeves' visit comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to China in October and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November.
The meetings form part of a bid by Starmer, who was elected as leader in July, to strengthen political and economic ties with China, the UK's fifth-largest trading partner.
Officials said Starmer wanted a “pragmatic” approach to working with Beijing on global stability, climate change and the transition to clean energy.
But some in the opposition Conservative Party have criticized his stance and said trade ties should not come at the expense of national security and human rights concerns.
British political leaders and intelligence chiefs have warned repeatedly of the security threats that China poses. Calls to tackle the challenge grew louder last month when it emerged that an alleged Chinese spy had cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China's ruling Communist Party, according to officials.
Nevertheless, Lammy told reporters in London on Thursday that “there are many areas of trade that don’t impact on national security.”
He said Reeves “will repeat many of the messages that I took to China.”
“What we’ve said is in this complex relationship with a global superpower, we are guided by three Cs”: challenge, compete and cooperate, for example in areas including health and climate challenges, Lammy added.