LONDON: Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after Moscow said that peace talks with Ukraine had hit a dead end, fueling supply worries, while weak economic data from China and Japan kept a lid on gains.
Brent crude rose by 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $105.12 a barrel by 0808 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 28 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $100.88. Both benchmarks had surged by more than 6 percent on Tuesday.
“The downside for oil prices is limited,” said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley, citing the Russian comments on peace talks and US President Joe Biden accusing Russia of genocide. These “are reinforcing that the Ukraine-Russia situation will not be de-escalating any time soon.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday blamed Ukraine for derailing peace talks and said Moscow would not let up on what it calls a “special operation” to disarm its neighbor.
Crude futures are also drawing support from Russian oil and gas condensate production falling to below 10 million barrels per day (bpd) on Monday, its lowest since July 2020.
The International Energy Agency on Tuesday said it expected Russian oil output losses to average 1.5 million bpd in April, with losses growing to close to 3 million bpd from May.
Western sanctions against Russia and logistical constraints have hampered trade, people familiar with the data said on Tuesday.
OPEC has warned that it would be impossible to replace potential supply losses from Russia and signalled that it would not pump more crude.
Reports this week of partial easing of some of China’s tight COVID-19 lockdown measures also underpinned oil prices.
Price gains, however, were kept in check by weak data from China and Japan.
China’s crude oil imports slipped 14 percent from a year earlier, extending a two-month slide, as strict coronavirus restrictions hit demand in the world’s top crude importer.
Japan reported its biggest monthly fall in core machinery orders in nearly two years, dragged down by a steep drop in demand from IT and other service companies.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Tuesday cut its forecast for 2022 global oil demand growth, citing the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation as crude prices soar and the resurgence of the omicron coronavirus variant in China.
OPEC now expects global demand to grow by 3.67 million bpd in 2022, down 480,000 bpd from its previous forecast.
Oil prices edge higher with falling supplies in focus
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Oil prices edge higher with falling supplies in focus
Trucks and vehicles crossing Saudi Arabia’s ports up 24% in 2025, reaching 4.7m
RIYADH: The number of trucks and vehicles entering and exiting through Saudi customs ports jumped to 4.7 million in 2025, recording annual growth of 24 percent compared with 2024, according to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority in statements to Al Eqtisadiah.
Specialists in the logistics services sector attributed the increase to transformation in the field, starting with raising the efficiency of ports, speeding up procedures, and adopting unified platforms to facilitate processes for importers and exporters.
The authority reported that the total number of trucks and vehicles that crossed Saudi customs ports over the past three years exceeded 11.8 million trucks and vehicles, with an annual average of 4 million, of which 6.3 million were incoming vehicles and 5.5 million were outgoing.
Five ports recorded the largest share of truck and vehicle traffic: Al Batha, Al Haditha, King Fahd Causeway, Al Khafji, and Salwa, which are all considered key arteries for interregional and regional trade movement.
The authority indicated that customs ports completed procedures last year for 2.6 million trucks and vehicles arriving in Saudi Arabia, in addition to 2.1 million trucks and vehicles departing, reflecting the efficiency of procedures and the speed of completing customs operations.
On the operational side, land, sea, and air ports completed procedures for 2.5 million containers and cleared 7 million customs declarations, alongside the authority’s expansion in developing procedures and programs that support the flow of goods.
Chief among these was the launch of the updated version of the Saudi Authorized Economic Operator Program, with the participation of 14 government entities.
The program contributed to increasing the number of registered establishments from 560 establishments in 2024 to 753 by the end of 2025, a growth rate of 34.5 percent, enhancing the reliability of supply chains and raising the efficiency of logistics operations in line with global best practices.
Smart platforms and ports behind the growth
Supply chain and operations management consultant Khaled Al-Zahrani explained that these positive indicators do not only reflect growth in traffic volume, but also expansion in the application of digital solutions and the linking of entities through unified platforms, which helped reduce operating costs for importers and exporters.
Logistics specialist Nashmi Al-Harbi said that the efficiency of customs ports indicates the development of digital and operational infrastructure through faster procedures and building trust with trading partners, which reduces customs clearance time and enhances supply chain flexibility.
In turn, Sami Al-Otaibi, a specialist in logistics services and customs clearance, explained that infrastructure projects and smart ports have begun to yield tangible results on the ground.
