ISLAMABAD
\nOil futures surged for the second straight week and posted the biggest weekly gain since October due to fears about the Red Sea supply disruptions.
\nMajor global benchmark Brent ended the week higher by 3.29 percent. Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world\u2019s oil, rose to $79.07 a barrel from $76.55 a barrel during the week, showing an increase of $2.52 on a week-on-week (WoW) basis.
\nOther global benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, closed the week higher to $73.56 from $71.43 a barrel, registering a weekly uptick of $2.13 (+2.98 percent).
\nMore maritime carriers are avoiding the Red Sea due to attacks on vessels carried out by the Houthi militant group, which says it is responding to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza. The attacks have caused global trade disruptions through the Suez Canal, which handles about 12 percent of worldwide trade.
\nGermany\u2019s Hapag-Lloyd and Hong Kong\u2019s OOCL have joined a growing list of major shipping companies that have said they would avoid the Red Sea. Hapag-Lloyd will reroute 25 ships by the end of the year from the key waterway as freight rates and shipping stocks have increased because of the disruption.
\nThe United States on Tuesday last launched a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea, but the Houthis said they would continue to carry out attacks. The longevity of impact on prices is completely dependent on the length of time that shipping companies continue to steer clear of the area. What has exaggerated such impact is the lack of clarity on how, where and when the so-called naval coalition will turn up.
\nMeanwhile, Angola, Africa\u2019s second-largest oil producer, announced on Thursday that it was leaving the oil producer\u2019s alliance, following a dispute over production quotas. \u201cWe feel that at the moment Angola does not gain anything by remaining in the organisation and, in defence of its interests, it has decided to leave,\u201d Diamantino Azevedo, Angola\u2019s Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, was quoted as saying by local media.
\nAngola, which joined Opec in 2007, produces about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, compared with Opec\u2019s production of about 28 million bpd. The country\u2019s exit will reduce Opec\u2019s membership to 12 countries and its crude oil production to about 27 million bpd, or some 27 percent of the global oil market.
\nLast month, Angola was given a target of sticking to 1.11 million bpd of output in 2024. Angola\u2019s departure from Opec is the result of a long disagreement over the quantum of crude oil that it can produce.
\nThe country is mired with wide fiscal and external imbalances and underline the government\u2019s resolute vigour in maximizing output. The challenge remains on reversing the years of under-investment that have resulted in around 40 percent production declines in 2008.
\nBrent is down nearly 4 percent since Opec+ members announced voluntary output cuts of 2.2 million bpd on November 30. Saudi Arabia, the group\u2019s largest producer, extended its voluntary cut of one million bpd until the end of March next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Oil futures surged for the second straight week and posted the biggest weekly gain since October due to fears about the Red Sea supply disruptions. Major global benchmark Brent ended the week higher by 3.29 percent. Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world\u2019s oil, rose to $79.07 a barrel from $76.55 a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-376572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n