NEW YORK: Oil prices spiked abruptly at midday on Thursday, extending an early bounce from new four-year lows as a combination of technical buying and options expiry for US crude triggered a sudden frenzy of buying.
Markets had gained earlier in the day, led by a pick-up in gasoline futures after data showed US stockpiles fell to their lowest level in two years, and as some traders bet that a more than 25 percent slump since June had been overdone.
At around 1700 GMT, the market suddenly surged by as much as $3 a barrel, a move traders said was fueled by investors covering positions tied to US WTI options trades, which expire later in the day, as well as automatic buy-stops.
By 1:18 p.m. EDT, oil prices had given up about half of the midday gains, but December Brent crude was up $2.18, or 2.6 percent, to $86.30 a barrel, putting it on track for the biggest one-day gain since the market began a lengthy slide in mid-June. Expiring November Brent rose 47 cents to $84.25 a barrel.
US November crude rose $1.37 to $83.15 a barrel, off the intra-day high of $84.83 a barrel.
The rally appeared partly to be a reaction to the steepening sell-off over the past week or two, fueled by a growing realization that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members are in no hurry to cut production and shore up prices.
“The oil market is trying to find a bottom around $80, but there’s a lot of support and short covering,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
US oil data earlier on Thursday set off a rally in New York gasoline futures, which rose more than 3 percent.
US gasoline stocks fell by 3.99 million barrels from the prior week to reach 205.6 million barrels, their lowest level since November 2012, according to weekly data from the US Energy Information Administration released on Thursday.
The data also showed US crude inventories rose 8.9 million barrels, far higher than analysts’ expectations for a build of 2.8 million barrels.
The global price of oil was relatively stable for nearly four years, averaging $110 per barrel.
Increased production in the US, Canada, Iraq and elsewhere made up for declining supplies in nations such as Iran and Libya and helped meet rising global demand.
The global sell-off in stock markets deepened on Thursday, with European indexes in particular suffering heavy losses amid growing concerns about Greece’s financial stability.
After being stable on the open, the German DAX stock index was down 1.8 percent by midday in Europe. France’s CAC 40 shed 2.3 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 1.8 percent.
Markets in economically weaker European countries fared worse — Spain’s was down 2.9 percent and Italy’s 2.8 percent.
Wall Street was expected to drop on the open, with Dow and S&P 500 futures down 1.1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Asian markets closed lower earlier, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 diving 2.2 percent.
Investors are worried about a downturn in global growth and inflation. Slowdowns in Europe and China are seen threatening the US recovery.
In Europe, the biggest concern was Greece, where investors are worried the country might need more financial support as its government borrowing rates have risen sharply in recent days.
The country’s benchmark 10-year bond yield was up a stunning 1.13 percentage points on the day on Thursday, to 8.86 percent. The rate was around 6.5 percent just earlier this week.
The rise suggests Greece is unlikely to be able to wean itself off its bailout loans as hoped, because borrowing on bond markets independently would be too expensive.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the European Central Bank agreed overnight to provide liquidity support to Greek banks to keep them stable.
A slump in energy prices has also shaken many global investors
Though lower oil prices can help consumer spending, they can weigh on inflation. Low inflation is a problem for many developed economies, particularly in Europe.
World stock market sell-off deepens
World stock market sell-off deepens
Saudi Arabia looks to Swiss-led geospatial AI breakthroughs
- IBM’s Zurich lab is shaping tools policymakers could use to protect ecosystems
ZURICH: For Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, AI-powered Earth observation is quickly becoming indispensable for anticipating climate risks, modeling extreme weather and protecting critical national infrastructure.
That reality was on display inside IBM’s research lab in Zurich, where scientists are advancing geospatial AI and quantum technologies designed to help countries navigate a decade of accelerating environmental volatility.
The Zurich facility — one of IBM’s most sophisticated hubs for climate modeling, satellite analytics and quantum computing — provides a rare look into the scientific foundations shaping how nations interpret satellite imagery, track environmental change and construct long-term resilience strategies.
For Saudi Arabia, where climate adaptation, space technologies and data-driven policy align closely with Vision 2030 ambitions, the lessons emerging from this work resonate with growing urgency.
At the heart of the lab’s research is a shift in how satellite data is understood. While traditional space programs focused largely on engineering spacecraft and amassing imagery, researchers say the future lies in extracting meaning from those massive datasets.
As Juan Bernabe-Moreno, director of IBM Research Europe for Ireland and the UK, notes, satellites ultimately “are gathering data,” but real impact only emerges when institutions can “make sense of that data” using geospatial foundation models.
These open-source models allow government agencies, researchers and local innovators to fine-tune Earth-observation AI for their own geography and environmental pressures. Their applications, Bernabe-Moreno explained, have already produced unexpected insights — identifying illegal dumping sites, measuring how mangrove plantations cool cities, and generating flood-risk maps “for places that don’t usually get floods, like Riyadh.”
The relevance for Saudi Arabia is clear. Coastal developments require precise environmental modeling; mangrove restoration along the Red Sea is a national priority under the Saudi Green Initiative; and cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah have recently faced severe rainfall that strained existing drainage systems.
Opinion
This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field)
The ability to simulate these events before they unfold could help authorities make better decisions about zoning, infrastructure and emergency planning. Today’s satellites, Bernabe-Moreno said, provide “an almost real-time picture of what is happening on Earth,” shifting the challenge from collecting data to interpreting it.
This push toward actionable intelligence also reflects a larger transformation in research culture. Major advances in Earth observation increasingly depend on open innovation — shared data, open-source tools and transparent models that allow global collaboration. “Open innovation in this field is key,” Bernabe-Moreno said, noting that NASA, ESA and IBM rely on openness to avoid the delays caused by lengthy IP negotiations.
Saudi Arabia has already embraced this direction. Through SDAIA, KAUST and national partnerships, the Kingdom is moving from consuming global research to actively contributing to it. Open geospatial AI models, researchers argue, give Saudi developers the ability to build highly localized applications adapted to the region’s climate realities and economic priorities.
Beyond Earth observation, IBM’s Zurich lab is pushing forward in another strategic frontier: quantum computing. Though still in its early stages, quantum technology could reshape sectors from logistics and materials science to advanced environmental modeling.
Alessandro Curioni, IBM Research VP for Europe and Africa and director of the Zurich lab, stressed that quantum’s value should not be judged by whether it produces artificial general intelligence. Rather, it should be viewed as a tool to expand human capability.
“The value of computing is not to create a second version of myself,” he said, “it’s to create an instrument that allows me to be super-human at the things I cannot do.”
Curioni sees quantum not as a replacement for classical computing but as an extension capable of solving problems too complex for traditional machines — from simulating fluid dynamics to optimizing vast, interdependent systems. But he cautioned that significant challenges remain, including the need for major advances in hardware stability and tight integration with classical systems. Once these layers mature, he said, “the sky is the limit.”
DID YOU KNOW?
• Modern satellites deliver near real-time views of Earth’s surface.
• Geospatial foundation models transform vast satellite datasets into clear, actionable insights.
• These tools can produce flood-risk maps for cities such as Riyadh, analyze how mangroves cool urban areas, and even detect illegal dumping sites.
Saudi Arabia’s investments in digital infrastructure, sovereign cloud systems and advanced research institutions position the Kingdom strongly for the quantum era when enterprise-ready systems begin to scale. Curioni noted that Saudi Arabia is already “moving in the right direction” on infrastructure, ecosystem development and talent — the three essentials he identifies for deep research collaboration.
His perspective underscores a broader shift underway: the Kingdom is building not only advanced AI applications but a scientific ecosystem capable of sustaining long-term innovation. National programs now include talent development, regulatory frameworks, high-performance computing, and strategic partnerships with global research centers. Researchers argue that this integrated approach distinguishes nations that merely adopt technology from those that ultimately lead it.
For individuals as much as institutions, the message from Zurich is clear. As Curioni put it, those who resist new tools risk being outpaced by those who embrace them. Generative AI already handles tasks — from literature reviews to data processing — that once required days of manual analysis. “If you don’t adopt new technologies, you will be overtaken by those who do adopt them,” he said, adding that the goal is to use these tools “to make yourself better,” not to fear them.
From geospatial AI to emerging quantum platforms, the work underway at IBM’s Zurich lab reflects technologies that will increasingly inform national planning and environmental resilience.
For a country like Saudi Arabia — balancing rapid development with climate uncertainty — such scientific insight may prove essential. As researchers in Switzerland design the tools of tomorrow, the Kingdom is already exploring how these breakthroughs can translate into sustainability, resilience and strategic advantage at home.
