Oil prices gain on demand expectations amid improving economy
Brent crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.42%, to $69 a barrel by 0105 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 40 cents, or 0.6%, at $66.92.
That reversed two days of declines as the market downplayed the potential for supply disruptions after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on purchases of Russian oil.
Prices have seesawed in a fairly tight range as signs of steady demand from an increase in travel during the Northern Hemisphere summer has competed with concerns U.S. tariffs on its trading partners will slow economic growth and fuel consumption.
However, major oil producers are pointing to improvement in economic growth for the second half of the year and Chinese data showed growth there remained consistent.
"Strong seasonal demand is currently providing upward momentum to oil prices, as summer travel and industrial activity peak," LSEG analysts said in a note.
"Increased gasoline consumption - especially in the U.S. during the Fourth of July holiday period - has signaled robust fuel demand, helping offset bearish pressures from rising inventories and tariff concerns."
China data showed growth slowed in the second quarter, but not by as much as previously feared, in part because of frontloading to beat U.S. tariffs. That eased some concerns about the economy of the world's largest crude importer.
The data also showed that China's crude oil throughput in June jumped 8.5% from a year earlier, indicating stronger fuel demand. That was the highest since September 2023, as state-owned refineries increased operations and saw a recovery in profit, consultants said.
Additionally, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast in a monthly report on Tuesday that the global economy would do better in the second half of the year, boosting the oil demand outlook.
India, China and Brazil are outperforming expectations while the U.S. and EU are recovering from last year, the report said. (Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
28 minutes ago
- Al Etihad
Trump signs stablecoin law as crypto industry aims for mainstream adoption
18 July 2025 23:44 (Reuters)US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a law to create a regulatory regime for US-dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, a milestone that could pave the way for the digital assets to become an everyday way to make payments and move bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, passed by 308 to 122, receiving support from nearly half the Democratic members and most Republicans. The law is a huge win for crypto supporters, who have long lobbied for such a regulatory framework in a bid to gain greater legitimacy for an industry that began in 2009 as a digital Wild West famed for its innovation and speculative chaos."This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and pioneering spirit," said Trump at a signing event that included several crypto are designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 US dollar peg, and their use has exploded, notably by crypto traders moving funds between tokens. The industry hopes they will enter mainstream use for sending and receiving payments new law requires stablecoins to be backed by liquid assets - such as US dollars and short-term Treasury bills - and for issuers to disclose publicly the composition of their reserves companies and executives have argued such legislation will enhance stablecoins' credibility and make banks, retailers and consumers more willing to using them to transfer funds stablecoin market, which crypto data provider CoinGecko said is valued at more than $260 billion, could grow to $2 trillion by 2028 under the new law, Standard Chartered bank estimated earlier this law's passage culminates a long lobbying effort by the industry, which donated more than $245 million in last year's elections to aid pro-crypto candidates including Trump, according to Federal Election Commission Republican president, who has since launched his own coin, in turn aligned himself with the industry and told a crypto conference during his presidential campaign that he would make the US "the crypto capital of the planet."But Democrats and critics have said the law should have blocked big tech companies from issuing their own stablecoins, which could increase the clout of an already powerful sector, contained stronger anti-money laundering protections and prohibited foreign stablecoin issuers. COULD BOOST DEMAND FOR T-BILLS Big US banks are internally debating an expansion into cryptocurrencies as regulators give stronger backing to digital assets, but banks' initial steps will be cautious, centering on pilot programs, partnerships or limited crypto trading, Reuters reported in several crypto firms including Circle and Ripple are seeking banking licenses. This would enable the companies to settle payments faster and cut costs by bypassing intermediary banks, as well as enhancing their of the bill have said it could potentially give rise to a new source of demand for short-term US government debt, or T-bills, because stablecoin issuers will have to purchase more T-bills to back their others worry this activity could increase volatility in the Treasury bills market. In an April research note, JPMorgan analysts estimated that stablecoin issuers could become the third-largest buyer of Treasury bills in the coming years. TRUMP CREATES BITCOIN RESERVE Trump has sought to broadly overhaul US cryptocurrency policies, signing an executive order in March establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve. The president has moved personally into digital assets, launching a meme coin called $TRUMP in January and partly owning crypto company World Liberty Financial.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
The overlooked AI aspect of the US-Bahrain nuclear co-operation deal
The artificial intelligence boom was the primary driver of a recently signed nuclear energy agreement between Bahrain and the US, according to a Middle East technology expert. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahrain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani signed on Wednesday a civil nuclear co-operation agreement − and a major part of the deal involves a commitment to the development of small modular reactors. 'This deal positions Bahrain to become an emerging AI power, leveraging SMR inroads and its legacy as one of the Gulf's earliest technology pioneers,' said Mohammed Soliman, director of the strategic technology programme at the Washington-based Middle East Institute think tank. Over the past decade, as the AI boom has placed strain on energy grids, enthusiasm for SMRs − compact and versatile reactors that can be built and put on line at a quicker pace than conventional nuclear reactors − has increased significantly. Mr Soliman said that while most media coverage of the nuclear co-operation agreement framed it in the context of energy diversification, the bigger story was broader technological and industrial pivot throughout the Arabian Gulf. 'Energy is about enabling sovereign AI systems and digital exports,' he said. 'That shift from oil to AI is what gives this announcement its strategic weight.' While there has been a significant surge in SMR research and commitments from various entities in the public and private sectors around the world, most are still in the lengthy regulatory review and licensing stage. However, Mr Soliman said that SMRs are finally ready to come to fruition, and could have significant presence throughout the Middle East. 'The technology has matured considerably, especially with new reactor designs and private-sector players accelerating deployment,' he said. Governments throughout the Middle East, he added, have an appetite for placing long-term infrastructure bets and have centralised planning that make the region 'one of the most likely where SMRs can reach meaningful scale'. The infrastructure of the data centres that power AI takes more energy than conventional computing. Most estimates show that a query to ChatGPT uses 10 times more energy than a similar search on Google. In the US, the need to plug the energy gap created by AI has spurred renewed interest and public support for nuclear reactors. That pattern of nuclear enthusiasm has been echoed in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, where several countries are hoping to play a major role in AI development. 'This Nuclear Co-operation Memorandum of Understanding represents an important step towards deepening a robust civil nuclear partnership between the US and Bahrain,' said Ann Ganzer, US deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation. She added that the agreement builds on both countries' collaboration through something called First – the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology. Mr Al Zayani echoed those sentiments, saying that the country looks forward to the learning from the US's 'world-leading technology and expertise in this field'. 'There is no doubt that co-operation on nuclear technology will be a vital contributor to our shared responsibility and prosperity in the years ahead,' he added.
Al Etihad
4 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Stocks consolidate after bumper week buoyed by resilient US economy
18 July 2025 20:18 London (AFP)US and European stock markets stalled or trimmed gains on Friday after a bullish week buoyed by US data and upbeat company York -- whose S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite struck record highs on Thursday -- mainly held on to gains but made little further headway. The Dow Europe, London's blue-chip FTSE was up though just under its all-time record reached on Tuesday. Paris was flat and Frankfurt slipped a little on markets had closed higher -- except for Tokyo, which was dragged down ahead of weekend upper-house elections that could spell trouble for Prime Minister Shigeru week's strong performance in equities showed that worries -- for now -- were largely being set aside over US President Donald Trump's threats of piling on further tariffs from August 1 if governments did not agree on trade deals."With the president toning down his rhetoric, markets are quick to forget tariff risks and concentrate on the positives including a resilient US economy," Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading firm XTB, overall optimism was fuelled by data suggesting the US economy was still well, with no persuasive indication that the tariffs were pushing up inflation.A June consumer price index report released this week "does not reveal tariff-induced price increases, but a closer look shows clear signs" they could be building, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Federal Reserve governor, Christopher Waller, on Thursday argued for a July rate cut, saying he saw limited upside inflation this week denied he was planning to sack Fed boss Jerome Powell, whom he had been urging to reduce US borrowing costs to further boost the world's top economy.A meeting in South Africa of G20 finance ministers on Friday pointedly stressed that "central bank independence is crucial" around the corporate news, American Express followed big US banks in reporting better-than-expected second-quarter from streaming giant Netflix also outperformed -- though its share price slipped on Friday as investors weighed whether it had been overvalued. In London, British luxury brand Burberry said sales had not fallen as much as analysts expected, "which is a sign that the company's new strategic direction could be working", said XTB's Brooks. Its shares rose nearly six percent. Stock Markets Continue full coverage
