Oil prices inched up on Friday but were on track for a sharp weekly loss amid the latest round of US tariffs and anticipated US-Russia talks on a Ukraine war ceasefire.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, rose 0.65 per cent to $66.86 per barrel on Friday at 3.39pm UAE time, while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, increased 0.58 to $64.25 a barrel. The incremental rise on Friday followed Thursday’s nine-week lows.
For the week, Brent and WTI are on pace for a decline of 4 per cent and 4.7 per cent, respectively. Year-to-date, both benchmarks are down 10.5 per cent.
This week’s oil price movement was “again” driven by the moves of US President Donald Trump, said Giovanni Staunovo, a strategist at Swiss bank UBS.
“He first threatened high tariffs for buyers of Russian oil – as of now the only one buyer impacted is India – and the added tariffs came in on the lower side at 25 per cent and not 50 per cent or 100 per cent as feared,” Mr Staunovo told The National.
“No secondary sanctions were added on buyers, with market participants for now assuming modest supply disruptions and awaiting more clarity how Indian refineries will react,” he added. “Russian supply is not disrupted currently. Production is limited due to the Opec+ agreement. A truce would not change this, but lower supply disruption risks.”
A meeting between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been agreed, a Kremlin official said on Thursday as negotiations on a Ukraine summit gained new impetus. The announcement was made on the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress towards ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine.
The move signalled a crucial thaw in the two nations’ strained relationship, analysts said.
“The market went into a wait-and-watch mode amid the rapidly-evolving US-Russia engagement on the Ukraine crisis,” Vandana Hari, chief executive of Singapore-based Vanda Insights, said.
Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said a summit could take place as early as next week at a venue that has been decided “in principle”, although he did not identify it. Mr Putin later named the UAE as a potential location.
The meeting will be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Mr Putin in Geneva in June 2021.
“For oil, the pivot represents increased probability of a Ukraine ceasefire deal that could lead to the western alliance phasing out its sanctions and embargoes against Russia,” Ms Hari said.
Oil prices had trended upwards since May, peaking on June 19 after Israel attacked Iran, but have fallen since. That, among other geopolitical tensions, has added to market volatility.
On Monday, oil prices dropped after Opec+ agreed to another large output rise.
The alliance of oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia is to increase its oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, as it continues to unwind voluntary cuts introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
That decision marks the sixth month in a row when the group has raised output as it gradually restores 2.2 million barrels a day of supply that was withheld from the market.
Last month, Opec+ announced a larger-than-expected increase of 548,000 barrels a day for August, accelerating the pace of its phased supply return.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli’s father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, “authenticated and appraised” by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
– An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
– A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
– A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950