
Kuwait implements power cuts as demand outstrips restricted capacity
Oil-rich Kuwait temporarily cut electricity in some industrial and agricultural areas on Wednesday as demand for power surged due to hot weather, outstripping generating capacity that had been restricted by maintenance at power plants.
Kuwait, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, last summer resorted to programmed load-shedding for the first time in years amid rising demand, urban expansion and plant maintenance delays.
Wednesday's outages lasted less than two hours before electricity was restored, according to posts by the electricity ministry on X.
Temperatures have risen by about 10 degrees over the past week to a high of around 38 degrees Celsius (100.4°F) on Wednesday. Summer temperatures in the Gulf country often exceed 50 degrees Celsius.
The ministry asked residents to reduce their electricity use in general and especially between 11:00 a.m. and 05:00 p.m. (0800 and 1400 GMT).
Kuwait imported electricity from the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority, an interconnected grid between Gulf countries, last summer.
In August, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation reached a deal with QatarEnergy to import 3 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas to help meet rising demand for power generation.
And as part of efforts to avoid a longer term power crunch, it also signed a framework agreement with China last month to develop renewable energy projects with a capacity of around 3,500 megawatts.
(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy; Editing by Yousef Saba and Joe Bavier)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Gulf Today
18 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Oil prices climb to 2-month high on US, China trade agreement
Oil prices rose 2% on Wednesday, to their highest in more than two months, as President Donald Trump said the US had a trade deal with China, feeding hopes for the outlook for energy demand in the world's two largest economies. Brent crude futures rose $1.32, or 1.97%, to $68.19 a barrel at 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.51, or 2.32%, to $66.49. Both Brent and WTI reached their highest in more than two months. Trump said Beijing would supply magnets and rare earth minerals and the US will allow Chinese students in its colleges and universities. Trump added the deal is subject to final approval by him and President Xi Jinping. The trade-related downside risk in oil has been temporarily removed, although the market reaction has been tepid as it is not clear how economic growth and global oil demand will be affected, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said. Trump said he was less confident that Iran would agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal with Washington, according to an interview released on Wednesday. In the US, crude inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels to 432.4 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a draw of 2 million barrels. "It's a bullish report," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho, adding that the demand for motor gasoline began to strengthen. Product supplied for motor gasoline, a proxy for demand, rose by about 907,000 barrels per day last week, to 9.17 million bpd. US consumer prices increased less than expected in May, deepening the conviction in financial markets that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates by September. Lower interest rates can spur economic growth and demand for oil. Wall Street stocks gained and the dollar and US Treasury yields dipped on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said a U.S.-China trade deal was done and a fresh report on US consumer prices in May showed only a marginal increase. A White House official said the agreement with China allows the US to charge a 55% tariff on imported Chinese goods, including a 10% baseline "reciprocal" tariff, a 20% tariff for fentanyl trafficking and a 25% tariff reflecting pre-existing tariffs. China would charge a 10% tariff on US imports, the official said. Trump also said that Beijing would supply magnets and rare earth minerals while the US will allow Chinese students in its colleges and universities. Separately, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.1% in May amid cheaper gasoline after rising 0.2% in April, the US labour Department said on Wednesday, but inflation is expected to accelerate in the coming months on the back of the Trump administration's import tariffs. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management in Charlotte, said the likely US China trade deal and consumer price data should support markets. "The narrative around tariff-induced inflation should subside," he wrote in an email. "We are still cautious, but many of the risks that were present in early April appear to be receding." The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. Tesla shares added about 2% after Elon Musk also said he regretted some of the posts he made last week about Trump, opening the way to a healing of an abrupt rift that has roiled Washington and hurt shares in the electric carmaker. Asian shares were slightly more positive, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.65%, while the STOXX benchmark for major European shares were little changed. AUCTION ANGST: The reaction in currency markets was muted, with the dollar weakening slightly against the Japanese yen to trade at 144.83 . The euro edged up 0.46% to $1.147, nudging the dollar index down 0.24% to 98.72. Ten-year Treasury yields fell 3.4 basis points to 4.44%, but bond investors also waited for an auction of $39 billion in 10-year notes later in the day, anxious to see if foreign buyers turn up. Concerns about huge US budget deficits and debt have combined with unease over the White House's shifting policies to make investors demand a higher term premium for holding Treasuries. Following the consumer pricing data, traders of short-term interest-rate futures priced in a 70% chance of a quarter-point reduction in the Fed policy rate by September, compared with 57% earlier. Policymakers are widely expected to keep rates unchanged next week.. "Another month goes by with little evidence of tariffs, but the longer-term inflation challenge they pose remains," Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, wrote in an email. "Given the Fed likely shares that outlook, no one should be looking for rate cuts in the near future." In commodity markets, gold gained 0.5% to $3,337 an ounce . Oil prices rose to a seven-week high as markets assessed the outcome of the U.S.-China trade talks. US crude rose 2% to $66.30 a barrel and Brent rose to $68.04 per barrel, up 1.75% on the day. Agencies


Sharjah 24
2 days ago
- Sharjah 24
Off Mexico, season's hurricane reduced to a tropical storm
At 0300 GMT, Barbara was located around 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of the port of Manzanillo, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles an hour (110 km/h), the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Forecast and advisory "Continued weakening is forecast, and the system is forecast to become a remnant low by Wednesday," the NHC said in an advisory. Coastal warnings The agency also warned that swells generated by Barbara would affect parts of the coast of southwestern Mexico during the next day or so. "These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," it predicted. Heavy rain alerts Mexico's meteorological service earlier warned of heavy rains in coastal areas of the western states of Jalisco, Colima, and Michoacan. Another storm: Cosme Another storm, named Cosme, was located about 600 miles off the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, with sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, and was forecast to weaken later Tuesday, according to the NHC. Hurricane season in Mexico Hurricanes hit Mexico every year on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November. Recent events In October 2023, Hurricane Otis, a scale-topping Category 5 storm, left a trail of destruction and dozens dead after slamming into the Pacific beach resort of Acapulco.


Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Gulf Today
Gold gains on weaker dollar as US-China talks in focus
Gold prices rose on Monday, supported by a weaker US dollar ahead of U.S.-China trade talks aimed at resolving tensions, while platinum extended gains for a sixth straight session to scale a four-year peak. Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $3,318.76 an ounce, as of 1007 GMT, after dropping earlier in the session to $3,293.29, its lowest level since June 2. US gold futures fell 0.2 per cent to $3,339.70. The dollar fell 0.3 per cent against a basket of peers, making bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies. Investors recognise that drivers of gold, including trade and geopolitical tensions, debt concerns and weak economic growth, remain in place and should continue to support the metal in the months ahead, said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS. US and Chinese officials will sit down in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the trade dispute between the two superpowers. Stronger-than-expected US non-farm payrolls data have led investors to scale back expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year from two to one in October. Market attention will turn to US CPI data, due on Wednesday, for further clues on the Fed's monetary policy path. Gold, considered a safe-haven asset during political and economic uncertainty, tends to thrive in a low-rate environment. Meanwhile, China's central bank added gold to its reserves in May for the seventh straight month, official data showed. Reuters