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Oil Prices Rise 3% as US and Iran Extend Talks into Next Week

FILE PHOTO: A flame burning natural gas is seen at an heavy-crude treatment plant operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Cabrutica at the state of Anzoategui April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A flame burning natural gas is seen at an heavy-crude treatment plant operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Cabrutica at the state of Anzoategui April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
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Oil Prices Rise 3% as US and Iran Extend Talks into Next Week

FILE PHOTO: A flame burning natural gas is seen at an heavy-crude treatment plant operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Cabrutica at the state of Anzoategui April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A flame burning natural gas is seen at an heavy-crude treatment plant operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Cabrutica at the state of Anzoategui April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

Oil prices rose around 3% on Friday as traders remained on alert for potential supply disruptions after the United States and Iran extended nuclear talks.

Brent crude futures advanced by $2.01, or 2.8%, to $72.76 a barrel by 1310 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.11, or 3.2%, at $67.32.

"Uncertainty prevails, fear is pushing prices higher today," said Tamas Varga, an oil analyst at brokerage PVM. "It is completely driven by the outcome of the Iranian nuclear talks and possible military action the US might take against Iran."

For the week, Brent and WTI were both set to finish with a gain of 1.4%, Reuters reported.

The United States and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday after US President Donald Trump ordered a military buildup in the region.

Oil prices gained more than a dollar a barrel during the talks on media reports indicating that discussions had stalled over US insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran. However, prices eased after the Omani mediator said the two sides had made progress in the talks.

They plan to resume negotiations with technical-level discussions scheduled next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on X.

"We think the latest round of talks offers some hope on chances of a peaceful resolution, but military strikes are in no way out of the equation," said DBS analyst Suvro Sarkar.

Trump said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal over its nuclear programme within 10 to 15 days or "really bad things" will happen.

Geopolitical risk premiums of $8 to $10 a barrel have built in oil prices on fears that a conflict will disrupt Middle East supply through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of global oil supply passes, Sarkar said.

Producer group OPEC+ is also likely to consider raising oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April at its March 1 meeting, sources said, after suspending production increases in the first quarter.

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World Bank Raises Egypt's Package by $300 Million to Counter Iran War Impact

Construction work on buildings in downtown Cairo (Photo: Abdelfattah Farag)
Construction work on buildings in downtown Cairo (Photo: Abdelfattah Farag)
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World Bank Raises Egypt's Package by $300 Million to Counter Iran War Impact

Construction work on buildings in downtown Cairo (Photo: Abdelfattah Farag)
Construction work on buildings in downtown Cairo (Photo: Abdelfattah Farag)

Egypt will receive an extra $300 million as part of a World Bank development financing package to help it confront fallout from the Iran war, Stephane Guimbert, the World Bank's division director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti, told reporters on Saturday.

The package, consisting of $800 million from the World Bank and a $200 million British guarantee, is to support private sector–led job creation, macroeconomic stability, and the green transition. The bank's board approved it on Friday.

The bank's share was increased from $500 million due ⁠to "the uncertainty in ⁠the region and the shock facing Egypt, like other countries, because of the war in Iran," Reuters quoted him as saying.

The financing is on terms unavailable in commercial markets — at around 6% interest, with a maturity of 30 years and a grace period before repayments ⁠begin, Guimbert said.

The operation is the second in a three-part program. The first was approved in June 2024; a third is planned for next year.

Other lenders, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are expected to provide complementary parallel financing.

Private investment in Egypt has risen to around 6% of GDP from roughly 4%, Guimbert said, but noted this remained far below peer economies where private investment often exceeds 20% of GDP. ⁠The ⁠bank is also advising Egypt on how to boost foreign direct investment.

Egypt has the potential to achieve 6% annual medium-term growth if macroeconomic stability and structural reforms are maintained, he added. At that pace, Egypt could generate roughly 2 million jobs annually compared with around 600,000 currently.

On social protection, Guimbert said Egypt's Takaful and Karama cash transfers offered more targeted support to poor families than its large-scale bread subsidy program. "In times of crisis, you want to lean heavily on Takaful and Karama," he said.

Business

Putin Says Russia Will Meet Slovakia's Energy Demand

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 9, 2026 (EPA)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 9, 2026 (EPA)
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Putin Says Russia Will Meet Slovakia's Energy Demand

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 9, 2026 (EPA)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 9, 2026 (EPA)

President Vladimir Putin told Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico at a meeting in the Kremlin on Saturday that Russia will do everything to meet Slovakia's energy demand.

Slovakia is among only a few countries in Europe that are still buying Russia's oil and gas. ⁠Slovakia gets Russian ⁠oil via the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, while natural gas from Russia flows there through the TurkStream pipeline.

Fico arrived in Moscow for the festivities to ⁠mark the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

"We will do everything to satisfy Slovakia's needs in energy resources," Putin told Fico, who chose not to attend the Victory Parade on Moscow's Red Square, in comments broadcast on national TV.

According to Reuters, Russian state media ⁠had ⁠previously reported that Fico was due to attend the parade.

Slovakia, an EU member, has sought to maintain political ties with Russia and has argued that it would be too costly to wean itself off Russian supplies after building its infrastructure around it.

Business

China Energy Imports Drop in April Amid Iran War as Fuel Exports Hit Decade Low

Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil warehouse at a port in Zhuhai, China October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song
Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil warehouse at a port in Zhuhai, China October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song
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China Energy Imports Drop in April Amid Iran War as Fuel Exports Hit Decade Low

Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil warehouse at a port in Zhuhai, China October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song
Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil warehouse at a port in Zhuhai, China October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song

China's oil imports fell to the lowest level in almost four years in April as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked off supplies to the world's largest oil importer.

Crude oil imports fell 20% in April to 38.5 million metric tons compared to a year earlier, hitting their lowest level since July 2022, according to customs data released on Saturday.

China imports roughly half of its crude oil from the Middle East, where the closure of the strait has slashed the number of tankers ⁠carrying oil and ⁠refined products to the world.

Saturday's data from China does not distinguish between oil arriving by sea and oil coming in via pipeline. Data from ship-tracking firm Kpler, however, puts seaborne crude imports at 8.03 million barrels per day, also the lowest since July 2022, Reuters reported.

Despite the decline in imports, ⁠ship tracker Vortexa estimates crude inventories rose by 17 million barrels in April, although it said those would fall in May.

The disruption in the Middle East has led China to tightly manage exports of refined products such as gasoline or jet fuel to protect its domestic market.

That policy drove refined oil product exports for April down to their lowest in roughly a decade at 3.1 million tons, down by about a third since March.

This may still overestimate ⁠how ⁠much is going to customers in Asia and elsewhere because the data includes shipments to Hong Kong, typically a major destination for China's refined products and excluded from the export controls.

Natural gas imports also fell by 13% to 8.42 million tons, although the data does not separate seaborne liquefied natural gas (LNG) from gas piped overland. China imports significant quantities of LNG from the Middle East Gulf.

China's crude oil imports for the first four months of the year are still tracking 1.3% above last year's level at 185.3 million tons.