SINGAPORE: Brent crude oil prices rose to $70 a barrel on Monday, supported by ongoing output cuts led by OPEC and Russia, and ignoring a rise in US and Canadian drilling activity that points to higher future output in North America.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $70 per barrel at 0558 GMT, up 13 cents from their last close.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $64.53 a barrel, up 23 cents.
Both benchmarks last week reached levels not seen since December 2014, with Brent touching $70.05 a barrel and WTI reaching as high as $64.77.
ANZ bank said on Monday oil prices had recently risen on data that continued to show the market is tightening.
Oil markets have been well supported by production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia which are aimed at propping up crude prices.
The cuts started in January last year and are set to last through 2018, and they have coincided with healthy demand growth, pushing up crude prices by more than 13 percent since early December.
But other factors, including political risk, have also supported crude.
“Tighter fundamentals are (the) main driver to the rally in prices, but geopolitical risk and currency moves along with speculative money in tandem have exacerbated the move,” US bank JPMorgan said in a note.
Attracted by tighter supplies and strong consumption, financial investors have raised their net long US crude futures positions, which would profit from higher prices, to a new record, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
Some analysts, though, have been warning of a downward correction after the sharp price gains since December.
“Many believe that oil prices above $60 will self-correct as this level of prices will encourage substantially more drilling in US shale,” said William O’Loughlin, investment analyst at Australia’s Rivkin Securities.
US energy companies added 10 oil rigs in the week to January 12, taking the number to 752, energy service firm Baker Hughes said on Friday.
That was the biggest increase since June 2017. ANZ bank said the jump came “as shale producers quickly reacted to the strong rise in prices in 2018.”
The picture was similar in Canada, where energy firms almost doubled the number of rigs drilling for oil last week to 185, the highest level in 10 months.
The high prices for crude, which is the most important feedstock in the petroleum industry, have also crimped profit margins for oil refiners, resulting in a decline in new crude orders.
Brent crude oil rises to $70 on output cuts, ignores rising North American drilling activity
Brent crude oil rises to $70 on output cuts, ignores rising North American drilling activity
RLC Global Forum helping retail experts exchange knowledge around new tech, industry leaders say
RIYADH: New technologies used to improve customer experience and day-to-day operations are driving Saudi Arabia’s retail transformation, industry leaders have told Arab News during a high-profile gathering in Riyadh.
On the sidelines of the RLC Global Forum, key players in the sector spoke to Arab News about how artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role as tech-savvy consumers look for integration between the virtual and physical worlds.
They also praised the role of the forum in bringing stakeholders together to exchange knowledge and ideas, which is driving forward retail offerings in the Kingdom and beyond.
The two-day RLC Global Forum started on Feb. 3 under the strategic theme “Growth Crossroads,” and brought together more than 2,000 global leaders, policymakers, and innovators from over 40 countries to define the next chapter of growth across retail, consumer, and lifestyle industries.
Speaking to Arab News, Majid Al-Gothmi, acting CEO of shopping centre management company Red Malls, said: “The Saudi retail sector is changing under Vision 2030. The transformation has helped our growth.”
He agreed that digital tools, AI, and new technologies are being used to improve customer experience and day-to-day operations.
“It’s helping us a lot in actually profiling our customers, understanding them, and providing better services to the younger generation,” said Al-Gothmi.
“Gen Z constitutes a major component of the retail market. We can see that 70 percent of the consumers are Gen-Z — they do most of their shopping online, over 60 percent of them,” he added, going on to say that his company’s focus is on “future proofing” shopping malls by integrating technology along with physical space that allows people to mingle comfortably and seamlessly.
Al-Gothmi described the RLC Global Forum as “an excellent platform gathering all the developers, retailers, brands, and most importantly, policymakers.”
He added: “This is a first, I think, where they share their insights, challenges, and exchange solutions, which helps the whole industry to move faster.”
Stefania Lazzaroni, CEO of Italian luxury brands association Altagamma Foundation, told Arab News that she expects steady growth for high-end products and experiences in the Kingdom.
She said: “There’s a new trend about hospitality, fine dining, longevity, and health spa beauty. These are the key factors that are growing. And we believe fine dining, hospitality and spa health as well will be a new trend even in this area. Honestly, they have been doing well for a couple of years.”
Lazzaroni asserted that digital tools, AI and new technologies are being used to improve customer experience, as “the luxury client is very specific about what they want.”
She added: “Artificial intelligence is really perfect for us. We have a lot of counterfeiting all around the world, so technology can really support luxury brands in protecting their brands.
“So we are very pro artificial intelligence, which is changing the game and giving more strength and potential for luxury brands.”
The CEO explained that AI is also useful for talking to Gen Z, “which will be the clients of the future.”
She added: “So today with social media, TikTok, and so forth, there is an explosion of beauty, Gen Z is very much active on this.”
Abdel-Salam Bdeir, CEO at the Saudi Co. for Hardware, agreed that the retail sector is changing under Vision 2030 transformation.
He told Arab News: “We are building new technologies for AI to be used and demand planning and inventory optimization, marketing, and pricing optimization, margin, maximization.
“Even in security cameras, communication with customers, shopping behavior targeting certain sectors of customers, we are building all that as we speak.”
Bdeir believes technological progress brings both opportunities and challenges, among them the risk of fewer jobs.
He said: “With major international platforms entering the market, not only the jobs, but money goes to other markets. That’s why the United States, UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany put strict regulations on international platforms first to meet safety standards for the consumer and environmental standards, and second to secure jobs for locals.
“They also put higher tariffs, customs duties, on developing markets like India, Egypt, Turkiye, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.”
Bdeir added: “So what is in my opinion, necessary is for the regulators to do what European countries and developing markets did to protect jobs, consumers and the economy.”
