Oil Gains on Rosier Outlook for Global Economy, Fuel Demand

An oil pump is seen at sunset outside Vaudoy-en-Brie, near Paris, France April 23, 2018. REUTERS//File Photo
An oil pump is seen at sunset outside Vaudoy-en-Brie, near Paris, France April 23, 2018. REUTERS//File Photo
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Oil Gains on Rosier Outlook for Global Economy, Fuel Demand

An oil pump is seen at sunset outside Vaudoy-en-Brie, near Paris, France April 23, 2018. REUTERS//File Photo
An oil pump is seen at sunset outside Vaudoy-en-Brie, near Paris, France April 23, 2018. REUTERS//File Photo

Oil prices rose for a third session on Tuesday as the passage of a US infrastructure bill, Chinese exports and the global post-pandemic recovery lifted the outlook for fuel demand.

Brent crude was up 8 cents at $83.51 a barrel by 0220 GMT, after gaining 0.8% on Monday. US oil was up 10 cents at $82.03, also after a 0.8% gain the previous day.

US President Joe Biden's long-delayed $1 trillion infrastructure bill - which passed through Congress at the weekend - and better-than-expected Chinese exports helped paint a picture of a more expansive global economy.

"More consumption growth lies in wait once travel begins in earnest and jet fuel demand picks up," JPMorgan Chase commodities analysts said in a note.

The US bank also said global demand for oil in November was already nearly back to pre-pandemic levels of 100 million barrels per day (bpd).

But as major producers maintained strict supply discipline in October, oil prices rose to seven-year highs, with fuel values also rising.

Biden, though, may take measures as early as this week to address soaring gasoline prices, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday.

"He's certainly looking at what options he has in the limited range of tools a president might have to address the cost of gasoline at the pump, because it is a global market," Granholm told MSNBC in an interview.

Despite the tighter market, US crude inventories are expected to have risen a third straight week, a Reuters polls showed, possibly helping to cap further gains.



Saudi Arabia’s Flynas Seeks to Raise up to $1.1 Bln in IPO 

The price range for the offering had been set at between 76 and 80 riyals per share. (SPA)
The price range for the offering had been set at between 76 and 80 riyals per share. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Flynas Seeks to Raise up to $1.1 Bln in IPO 

The price range for the offering had been set at between 76 and 80 riyals per share. (SPA)
The price range for the offering had been set at between 76 and 80 riyals per share. (SPA)

Saudi Arabian budget airline flynas is seeking to raise up to 4.1 billion riyals ($1.1 billion) from an initial public offering in Riyadh, it said on Monday. 

The airline, which is selling a 30% stake to investors in the first IPO by a Gulf airline in almost 20 years, said the price range had been set at between 76 and 80 riyals per share, implying a market capitalization of up to $3.6 billion. 

Saudi Arabia has targeted tourism as a key pillar of its domestic economic agenda to reduce reliance on oil revenue. 

The listing would be only the third by a Gulf airline after the United Arab Emirates' Air Arabia and Kuwait's Jazeera Airways. 

The institutional book-building subscription period, which started on Monday, will close on May 18, flynas said, adding that 34% of net the IPO's net proceeds will be used to finance the airline's growth strategy and for general corporate purposes. 

Part of the remaining proceeds will be distributed to selling shareholders, which include Kingdom Holding Company.