Oil prices continue to rise after Saudi export cuts pledge

Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia pledged to curb exports from next month and Opec called on several members to boost compliance with output cuts to help rein in oversupply and tackle flagging prices.

Gains were also supported by a warning from Halliburton's executive chairman that the growth in North America's rig count was "showing signs of plateauing", a possible threat to US shale oil production.

Global benchmark Brent crude for September delivery was up 22 cents, or 0.5 percent, at US$48.82 a barrel by 07.05 GMT after settling up 1.1 per cent in the previous session.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 23 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $46.57 a barrel.

In a meeting in St. Petersburg on Monday, Opec and non-Opec producers discussed extending their deal to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) beyond March 2018 if necessary.

The Saudi energy minister Khalid Al Falih added his country would limit its crude exports to 6.6 million bpd in August, almost 1 million bpd below the levels of a year ago.

Nigeria voluntarily agreed to join the deal by capping or cutting its output from 1.8 million bpd, once it stabilises at that level. Nigeria, which has been producing 1.7 million bpd recently, had been exempt from the output cuts.

Opec said stocks held by industrial nations had fallen by 90 million barrels over January to June, but were still 250 million barrels above the five-year average, which is the target level for Opec and non-Opec .

"Despite the goals for rebalancing, the market is still not sure that inventories would fall precipitously to achieve their target," said Tomomichi Akuta, a senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting in Tokyo.

The Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said an additional 200,000 bpd of oil could be removed from the market if compliance to Opec -led deal was 100 per cent.

"In our view ... these meetings were aimed at saving face and diverting the market's attention away from Iraq's poor compliance, shale's resilience, and Libya's and Nigeria's markedly higher output," Britain's Barclays bank said.

China's crude imports will exceed 400 million tonnes (8 million bpd) this year and likely grow by double digits next year, a Sinopec Group executive said.

US commercial crude oil inventories likely fell by 3 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed ahead of a data release from the American Petroleum Institute.

Reuters

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The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.

It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.

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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme

Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.

The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.

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