Latest news with #Americanconsumers
Qatar Tribune
6 days ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
OPEC+ announces sharp increase in July oil production
Agencies Vienna Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key OPEC+ members announced on Saturday a huge increase in crude production for July. They will produce an additional 411,000 barrels a day -- the same target set for May and then June -- according to a statement, which is more than three times greater than the group had previously planned. In recent years the 22-nation group had agreed to daily reductions of 2.2 million barrels with the aim of boosting prices. But in early 2025, leading members of the group known as the 'Voluntary Eight', or V8, decided on the gradual output increase and subsequently began to accelerate the pace. The moves have resulted in oil prices plummeting to around $60 per barrel, the lowest level in four years. OPEC+ 'struck three times: (the output target for) May was a warning, June a confirmation and July a warning shot', Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon told a news agency. 'The scale of the production increase reflects more than just internal supply dynamics,' he said. 'This is a strategic adjustment with geopolitical aims: Saudi Arabia seems to be bowing to Donald Trump's requests.' Shortly after taking office, the US president called on Riyadh to ramp up production in order to bring down oil prices, meaning cheaper prices at the pump for Americanconsumers. Saturday's decision comes after a meeting of all OPEC ministers on Wednesday, where the alliance's collective production policy was reaffirmed. The decision is officially justified by 'healthy market fundamentals' covering oil reserves and structural demand growth during coming months. But markets have met this view with scepticism amid concerns about demand and a trade war launched by the United States. Analysts see several possible motivations for the production hikes, one of them being Saudi Arabia and others penalising members for not keeping to their quotas under the cuts first agreed in 2022. The increase is all the more likely due to 'the latest statements of Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov, who has apparently already informed OPEC that his country will not reduce production,' said Thu Lan Nguyen, an analyst at Commerzbank. 'Saudi Arabia is angry with Kazakhstan', which is seen as one of the main laggards, and which 'produced 300,000 barrels per day more than its quota,' said Bjarne Schieldrop, an analyst at SEB. Analysts meanwhile do not foresee a plunge in oil prices when markets open Monday as the announcement was largely anticipated, instead resulting in a 'moderate' reaction. On Friday, the benchmark Brent crude futures price had settled at $62.61 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was at $60.79.
Wall Street Journal
09-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's Bespoke Trade Deal With U.K. Sets Little Precedent for Other Nations
WASHINGTON—President Trump made a deal. Now comes the hard part: getting more. Trump agreed to a framework for a trade agreement with the U.K., giving his administration momentum as it faces pressure to notch scores more to avoid hurting American consumers. But the deal was limited in scope and included niche issues regarding the U.K., meaning it didn't offer other nations a clear road map to follow, foreign officials said.
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump is the wrong man to deny dolls to America's daughters
On trade, Donald Trump has been quickly and decisively proven right on at least one count. At a Cabinet meeting last week, he downplayed the impact of his trade policy on American consumers, quipping that 'maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls … And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally'. He liked the line so much that he repeated a version of it during an interview on Meet the Press. He explained that 'they don't need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. They don't need to have 250 pencils. They can have five.' Sure enough, Mattel, America's biggest toy company by sales, has now warned that Americans could soon see price increases as a result of Trump's trade war. 'There's no question that tariffs are creating disruption in the industry,' said Mattel chief executive, Ynon Kreiz. 'Many companies have stopped production and shipping to the US as a result of tariffs from China.' Still, at least the president is being upfront about the consequences of his trade policy. After all, on 'liberation day', when he announced his so-called reciprocal tariffs on America's trading partners, he wasn't saying Americans should prepare to pay more for less. Far from it, he was promising a 'golden age of America' . 'April 2, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,' insisted Trump, whose administration has often contradicted itself by claiming tariffs can be a revenue source, a bargaining chip for better trade terms, and a way to rebuild industry all at the same time. It's only been a little more than a month, and yet the president's tone has shifted dramatically. It's not wealth and golden ages on the tip of his tongue, but price hikes and the equivalent of wartime austerity. Only the United States isn't at war, and isn't facing an existential threat due to foreign trade. Indeed, Trump is calling on his voters to make sacrifices not on behalf of something that is destined to deliver enormous returns over time, but over a dubious policy that his administration has executed appallingly. The president's fixation with tariffs is informed by poor logic and worse history. He seems to think that any country exporting to the United States is ripping us off, and has made the risible assertion that the proximate cause of the Great Depression was that tariffs were too low. If only one of his more well-intentioned advisers were to google 'Smoot-Hawley' and show him the results. Unfortunately for the president, voters do not seem to agree that he is ushering in a new golden age. In the days since their 'liberation', Trump's approval rating has cratered, and deservedly so. Because while Trump may think that children won't mind fewer dolls in the cause of rendering US manufacturing artificially more competitive, Americans have realised that the immediate consequence is likely to be higher prices, less choice, and inferior quality products across the board. The fact that their fate is being downplayed by President Trump is likely to be even more galling. He came to fame by making his name synonymous with wealth and success. He rose from the political ashes to take back the White House last year largely because Americans associated his first term in office with an economic boom. He's also no stranger to what many might consider superfluous stuff – from the gold ornamentation that now adorns the Oval Office to Trump-themed merchandise. So even if there was a strong case for Americans to be buying fewer dolls for their daughters, President Trump would be the wrong person to make it. His appeal has always been as the man to bring America guilt-free abundance. Not austerity and hardship.
