LONDON: Oil prices were slightly on Monday with investors and traders awaiting crucial talks by OPEC+ following disagreement over output within the group that could lead to major producers pumping up volumes to grab market share.
Brent crude was up 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $76.32 a barrel in early London trade, after slipping 1 cent last week, the first weekly decline in six. US oil gained 12 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $75.28 a barrel, having risen 1.5 percent last week, the sixth consecutive week of gains for the contract.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, voted on Friday to increase production by about 2 million barrels a day from August to December 2021 and to extend the remaining output cuts to the end of 2022, but objections from the UAE prevented an agreement.
In the United States, energy companies increased oil and natural gas rigs for a third week out of the last four.
The number of oil and gas rigs, an early indicator of future output, was up by 5 to 475 in the week to July 2, the most since April 2020, Baker Hughes Co. said in its closely watched report on Friday.
Oil edges up as OPEC+ seeks to break impasse over supply
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Oil edges up as OPEC+ seeks to break impasse over supply
- The number of oil and gas rigs, an early indicator of future output, was up by 5 to 475 in the week to July 2
Citi shuts most UAE branches temporarily as banks evacuate offices in region
DUBAI: Citibank will close most of its UAE branches and financial centers until March 14 as a precaution, its website showed on Thursday, as banks in the region sent staff home in response to a deepening Middle East conflict.
The US financial group’s measures are the latest sign of growing concern among banks after Iran threatened Gulf banking interests linked to the US and Israel.
The Citi branch in the Mall of the Emirates in central Dubai is exempted from the closure, the bank said on its website, adding it plans to reopen all affected branches on March 16.
Citi had moved to a fully remote model for all UAE-based staff and was continuing to serve clients without interruption, a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has so far killed around 2,000 people and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos as the conflict has spread across the Middle East, with Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.
Citi told its staff to evacuate offices in the Dubai International Financial Center and Dubai’s Oud Metha district this week and to work from home until further notice.
“The decision to evacuate three of our buildings and to close branches in the UAE was responsive to information we received and is consistent with our commitment to prioritize the safety of our colleagues,” the spokesperson said.
HSBC, another major global bank, has closed all branches in Qatar until further notice, a customer notice said, to ensure the safety of staff and customers.
The war has dented Dubai’s sales pitch to international businesses as the region’s most reliable economic hub, prompting concerns of capital flight, layoffs and firms relocating elsewhere, Reuters reported last week.
Citi said on its website that its phone banking service in the UAE was currently operating at a limited capacity and the processing of cheques would experience delays.
