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Oil Up, Heads for 4th Weekly gain as US Sanctions Hit Supply

FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
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Oil Up, Heads for 4th Weekly gain as US Sanctions Hit Supply

FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack is seen at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo

Oil prices rose on Friday and headed towards a fourth consecutive weekly gain as the latest US sanctions on Russian energy trade hit supply and pushed up spot trade prices and shipping rates.
Brent crude futures rose 44 cents, or 0.5%, to $81.73 per barrel by 0443 GMT, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 62 cents, or 0.8%, to $79.3 a barrel.
Brent and WTI have gained 2.5% and 3.6% so far this week.
"Supply concerns from US sanctions on Russian oil producers and tankers, combined with expectations of a demand recovery driven by potential US interest rate cuts, are bolstering the crude market," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
"The anticipated increase in kerosene demand due to cold weather in the US is another supportive factor," he added.
The Biden administration last Friday announced widening sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers, followed by more measures against Russia's military-industrial base and sanctions-evasion efforts.
Moscow's top customers China and India are now scouring the globe for replacement barrels, driving a surge in shipping rates.
Investors are also anxiously waiting to see any possible more supply disruptions as Donald Trump takes office next Monday.
"Mounting supply risks continue to provide broad support to oil prices," ING analysts wrote in a research note, adding the incoming Donald Trump administration is expected to take a tough stance on Iran and Venezuela, the two main suppliers of crude oil.
Better demand expectations also lent some support to the oil market with renewed hopes of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve after data showed easing inflation in the world's biggest economy.
Inflation is likely to continue to ease and possibly allow the US central bank to cut interest rates sooner and faster than expected, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, China's economic data on Friday showed higher-than-expected economic growth for the fourth quarter and for the full year 2024, as a flurry of stimulus measures came into effect.
However, China's oil refinery throughput in 2024 fell for the first time in more than two decades barring the pandemic-hit year of 2022, government data showed on Friday, as plants pruned output in response to stagnant fuel demand and depressed margins.
Also weighing on the market was that Yemen's maritime security officials said the Houthi militia is expected to announce a halt in its attacks on ships in the Red Sea, after a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
The attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to make longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa for more than a year.

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Mawani Adds Marsa Ocean Shipping's RSX Service to Jeddah Islamic Port

Mawani Adds Marsa Ocean Shipping's RSX Service to Jeddah Islamic Port
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Mawani Adds Marsa Ocean Shipping's RSX Service to Jeddah Islamic Port

Mawani Adds Marsa Ocean Shipping's RSX Service to Jeddah Islamic Port

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has announced the addition of the RSX service by Marsa Ocean Shipping to Jeddah Islamic Port, featuring a capacity of up to 372 TEUs and connecting Jeddah with the regional ports of Aden, Hodeidah, and Djibouti, SPA reported.

This expansion aligns with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, aiming to enhance the Kingdom’s operational efficiency and its ranking in global performance indicators.

As a primary gateway, Jeddah Islamic Port utilizes its 62 multipurpose berths and specialized terminals to support a total capacity of 130 million tons, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub connecting three continents.

Business

China Says Hopes to Boost Trade Cooperation with US

A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
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China Says Hopes to Boost Trade Cooperation with US

A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)

China wishes to strengthen economic cooperation with the United States to avoid "vicious competition", commerce minister Wang Wentao told US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to a readout released on Friday.

The two met on Thursday on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Cameroon's capital, less than two months ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned visit to Beijing.

"China is willing to strengthen multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation with the United States," Wang told Greer, according to a statement by the Beijing's Ministry of Commerce.

The two powers must "properly handle the relationship between competition and cooperation" and "avoid vicious competition," he said.

The world's two largest economies were locked in a bitter trade battle last year before agreeing to a truce in October.

High-level talks in Paris this month between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng also helped to ease tensions.

Nevertheless, issues including US tariffs, a trade balance in China's favor, and US restrictions on exports of advanced technologies continue to threaten relations.

Wang expressed "grave concerns" on Thursday regarding recently announced US trade investigations signaling the possibility of fresh tariffs.

Washington's trade investigations target 60 economies, including China, and will look into "failures to take action on forced labor" and whether these burden or restrict US commerce.

The White House has said Trump will visit Beijing on May 14-15, with the timing postponed by several weeks as a result of the war in the Middle East.

Business

Dollar Rides Haven Demand as Middle East Talks Ring Hollow

An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)
An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)
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Dollar Rides Haven Demand as Middle East Talks Ring Hollow

An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)
An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)

The dollar hovered near multi-month peaks on Friday as investors sought safety in the shadow of an intensifying Middle East war and mounting doubts over any path to de-escalation.

Markets were on edge following another rollercoaster week as US President Donald Trump again extended a deadline for striking Iran's energy facilities into April, even as Washington and Tehran offered starkly conflicting accounts of diplomatic progress.

The Pentagon is also looking at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, doing little to bolster investor hopes ‌of an imminent ‌end to the war.

That kept the dollar bid ‌as ⁠investors flocked to ⁠the safe-haven currency and ramped up expectations of a US rate hike by the year-end, owing to the inflationary pulse from higher-for-longer energy prices.

The yen, on the other hand, was left on the cusp of 160 per dollar and stood at 159.58. The euro was nursing losses and tacked on 0.1% to $1.1540, while sterling was little changed at $1.3339.

"It doesn't look like the conflict will end anytime soon," said Carol Kong, a ⁠currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The dollar is king while ‌this conflict lasts."

"If we're right about this ‌conflict being protracted, I think oil prices will just keep rising and it will ‌push the dollar higher, at the expense of net energy importers like the Japanese ‌yen and the euro," she added.

The darkening market mood sent the risk-sensitive Australian dollar down to a two-month trough, though it later rebounded and traded 0.2% higher at $0.6903. The New Zealand dollar languished near its lowest level since January and last stood at $0.5769.

Against a basket ‌of currencies, the dollar was marginally weaker at 99.83, but still on track for a 2.2% rise this month, which would ⁠mark its ⁠biggest gain since July last year.

Investors are now pricing in an over 40% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike from the Federal Reserve by September, according to CME Fedwatch tool, in a sharp reversal from more than 50 bps worth of easing expected before the war.

The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are also seen tightening policy, with the hawkish sea change in rate expectations hammering bonds and sending yields rising.

"A more prolonged disruption to energy supplies would deliver a larger hit to activity that would meet most definitions of a global recession and prompt a broader monetary tightening cycle," said analysts at Capital Economics in a note.

Yields on US Treasuries edged slightly higher on Friday, following a sharp rise overnight, with the two-year yield at 3.9899%. The benchmark 10-year yield was up about 1 bp to 4.4278%.