Oil rises as US-EU deal lifts trade optimism
Brent crude futures inched up 22 cents, or 0.32%, to $68.66 a barrel by 0035 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $65.38 a barrel, up 22 cents, or 0.34%.
The U.S.-European Union trade deal and a possible extension in U.S.-China tariff pause are supporting global financial markets and oil prices, IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.
The United States and the European Union struck a framework trade agreement on Sunday that will impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods, half the threatened rate.
The deal averted a bigger trade war between two allies that account for almost one-third of global trade and could crimp fuel demand.
Also, senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators will meet in Stockholm on Monday aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay ahead of the August 12 deadline.
Oil prices settled on Friday at their lowest in three weeks as global trade concerns and expectations of more oil supply from Venezuela weighed.
Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA is getting ready to resume work at its joint ventures under terms similar to Biden-era licenses, once U.S. President Donald Trump reinstates authorisations for its partners to operate and export oil under swaps, company sources said.
Though prices were up slightly on Monday, the prospect of OPEC+ further easing supply curbs limited the gains.
A market monitoring panel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies is set to meet at 1200 GMT on Monday.
It is unlikely to recommend altering existing plans by eight members to raise oil output by 548,000 barrels per day in August, four OPEC+ delegates said last week. Another source said it was too early to say.
The producer group is keen to recover market share while summer demand is helping to absorb the extra barrels.
JP Morgan analysts said global oil demand rose by 600,000 bpd in July on year, while global oil stocks rose 1.6 million bpd.
In the Middle East, Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they would target any ships belonging to companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities, as part of what they called the fourth phase of their military operations against Israel over the Gaza conflict.
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Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Pakistan — between Beijing and Washington
The writer is a retired major general and has an interest in International Relations and Political Sociology. He can be reached at tayyarinam@ and tweets @20_Inam Listen to article Something unexpected happened after Indian Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's agile response through Operation Bunyan Marsus. The four-day skirmish left India red-faced despite its massive media onslaught, projecting the outcome as victory. President Trump took credit for the ceasefire, duly acknowledged by Pakistan, while an egotistic India still refuses to accept foreign interlocution. Then, on August 1, 2025, President Trump slapped a punitive 25% tariffs on India, letting Pakistan off with a relatively benign 19%. Earlier Trump had feted out Field Marshal Asim in the White House. He announced a massive trade deal with Pakistan on July 30. Cumulatively, the cited developments bring Pakistan back into relevance, and business with the West Plus, re-hyphenate it with India, debunk the massive Indian propaganda to paint Pakistan as 'Terroristan', and open new vistas for Islamabad. However, this closeness with the US again, to some analysts, is at the cost of Pak-China friendship. First Islamabad and Beijing. Two statements on August 1 — one from Foreign Office and the other from ISPR — clearly articulated the special nature of Pak-China friendship in context. Foreign Office spokesperson emphatically highlighted the decades-old strategic partnership with Beijing, notwithstanding Islamabad's relations with other countries. And perhaps for the first time, GHQ celebrated the 98th founding anniversary of China's People's Liberation Army on August 1 with a dignified ceremony attended by high-ranking Chinese officials. Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong was the chief guest. The Middle Kingdom conducts its foreign relations in a very matured, measured and deliberate manner. One remembers being part of a delegation led by the Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, wherein bilateral exercise between both air forces was being discussed. When Pakistan had to remove the US-supplied F-16s from the planned manoeuvres at some later hours, the Chinese Defence Minister, Mr Lee Quang Li was extremely conciliatory to address the embarrassment. Chinese relations do not come with geo-strategic caveats. They ostensibly believe in 'harmony' and are sensitive to other nations' imperatives and compulsions. So, any closeness with the US is not, will not and should not come at the cost of Pak-China bilateralism, brotherhood and benevolence. Second, the conduct of the Pak-US relations. Since partnership against communism in the US-led SEATO, CENTO, GWOT, Islamabad has traditionally remained closer to the US, providing back-channel support to the 1971 Sino-US détente. Pakistan's military benefited particularly from the US hardware, doctrine and training. Our cantonments in Kharian, Multan and Gujranwala got infrastructure support from Washington. However, from geo-strategic partnership, Pakistan was later relegated to relative obscurity by Trump 1.0 and Biden Administrations, thanks partly to the pervasive Indian influence traditionally on the US policy apparatus. Trump 2.0 is more transactional, upending the traditional US geo-strategic construct and hence the punitive tariffs on India, and favour with Pakistan. Pakistan has, reportedly, the fourth largest hydrocarbon reserves along its coast. It must have been the size of these reserves that sparked President Trump's comment on X/Truth Social — "We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll [Pakistan] be selling Oil to India one day." This is an unsettling discovery for Pakistan/region and good business for the US energy giant ExxonMobil that 'might' bid for and undertake offshore drilling. Any US company doing exploration would automatically ensure security of the operation. The growing Pak-US counterterrorism cooperation and mutual alignment over Afghanistan are also likely to cement bilateral ties, with China benefitting from a secure regional environment. Under the last PTI government, ExxonMobil, then undertaking offshore exploration, was not allowed access to an additional area in Kekra field. Pakistan 'expects' ExxonMobil to come back as negotiations move forward. More recently, Pakistan also inked an agreement to import US crude with first shipment expected in October. While earlier, Washington had refused to export LNG to Pakistan, given joint ventures between the US and Indian companies, implying Islamabad to go through New Delhi. Today the US Exim Bank is interested in providing capital to the stalled Reko Diq copper and gold mining project. American companies are mulling joint ventures with Pakistani firms to tap Pakistan's mineral sector, with an estimated potential of $ 8trillion. And GB, KP and Balochistan have substantial deposits of rare earths. Additionally, Pakistan's bitcoin policy also interests Trump personally. All this fits his economic outlook. Third, Pakistan's delicate diplomatic balancing. In a meeting with the Afghan acting Ambassador in Islamabad last year, Ambassador Sardar Ahmed Shakeeb mentioned that IEA leadership was very impressed with the way Pakistan handled its relations with America. As per an Indian analyst, Biswanath Bhattacharya, Islamabad has perfected 'balancing contradictions so deftly that even gravity seems to look on in admiration'. Despite being tethered economically and strategically to China, Islamabad is able to carve an advantage from a transactional, mercurial and unpredictable Trump White House, under the overall environment of Sino-US hostility. From being a vanguard nation in the Chinese BRI through CPEC, Pakistan not only secured a deal for American oil investment, but it also earned public endorsement from President Trump. In the last fiscal year, Pakistan's exports to the US stood at $6 billion, against $2.4 billion worth of imports. The ensuing surplus of $3.7 billion was worrying for President Trump. However, Pakistan under the new 19% tariff is still at relative advantage, compared to India's 25%, Bangladesh's 20%, Iraq's 35%, Vietnam's 20% and 19% for Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Pakistan, in trade negotiations, secured duty-free access to over 4,100 American products. Avoiding bloc politics, Pakistan's diplomatic work endears it today to the world powers — China, the US and Russia — increasingly through its geo-strategic relevance, and gutsy and matured dealings with a bellicose and arrogant India. Islamabad's foreign service understands that 'survival and prosperity depend on cultivating relationships with all major players'. It has been able to balance the dictates of BRI/CPEC through increasing cooperation with the US on Afghanistan, counterterrorism, and now, potentially on minerals, oil and gas. The oil deal marks a watershed in exploiting Pakistan's untapped hydrocarbons with American money and technology. These "fourth largest" reserves would catapult Pakistan from energy import to export, rewriting the region's geo-economics. Mr Bhattacharya admires "Pakistan's astonishing ability to dance on the diplomatic tightrope — undaunted, unbowed, and, for now, undefeated".
Business Recorder
7 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistan eyes castor cultivation as high-value export crop
Pakistan is exploring the large-scale cultivation of castor as part of efforts to diversify crops, boost exports, and improve farmer incomes, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain said on Wednesday. Chairing a high-level meeting with the International Multi Group of Companies, led by Chairman Amjad Rashid, the minister said castor was a low-input, high-yield crop well suited for the country's arid and semi-arid regions, the Ministry of National Food Security said in a statement. 'Castor can be grown in barren areas where traditional crops struggle, making it ideal for land optimisation and income generation for farmers,' Hussain said, adding that the crop currently fetches Rs7,000 per 40kg in the local market, higher than most conventional crops. H1CY25 agro exports decline by $1bn YoY, says PKI president The Chinese not-for-profit partner in the project has offered to provide high-quality hybrid seed, potentially doubling yields from 50 to 100 maunds per acre. The visiting company also expressed willingness to sign formal agreements with local farmers, committing to purchase all harvested castor at pre-agreed terms. The ministry will support the initiative through awareness campaigns and seed distribution in collaboration with provincial agriculture departments. Hussain said Pakistan could emerge as a competitive supplier in the global castor oil market, which has strong demand in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, lubricant, and biofuel sectors. The meeting concluded with an agreement to launch pilot projects, finalise farmer contracts, and develop a sustainable, export-oriented castor value chain in the country.
Business Recorder
7 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Apple to pledge $100 billion for US manufacturing, White House official says
WASHINGTON: Apple Inc will announce a domestic manufacturing pledge of $100 billion on Wednesday that will focus on bringing more manufacturing to the United States, a White House official said. The pledge would be a new financial commitment, the official said on the customary condition of anonymity. It comes as President Donald Trump pursues an aggressive tariff and trade agenda aimed at moving some manufacturing back into the United States. Apple said in February it would spend $500 billion in U.S. investments in the next four years that will include a giant factory in Texas for artificial intelligence servers while adding about 20,000 research and development jobs across the country. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump's tariffs cost Apple $800 million in the June quarter and spurred some customers to buy iPhones in late spring this year. Apple has been shifting production of products bound for the U.S., sourcing iPhones from India and other products such as Macs and Apple Watches from Vietnam. Indian Apple reseller Ample to grow revenue by a third as it expands presence, portfolio, CEO says The ultimate tariff rates many Apple products could face remain in flux, and many of its products are currently exempt. 'Today's announcement with Apple is another win for our manufacturing industry that will simultaneously help reshore the production of critical components to protect America's economic and national security,' White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement. The previously announced $500 billion in expected spending from Apple includes everything from purchases from U.S. suppliers to U.S. filming of television shows and movies for its Apple TV+ service. Earlier, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox Business Network Apple was likely to make an investment announcement on Wednesday, as he discussed the financial pledges made by companies and countries under Trump.
