Oil prices hit 11-week highs above US$31 a barrel on Friday as OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and Venez-uela sought assurances that non-member Mexico would follow the cartel in any move to tighten supply.
Renewed signs that looting and sabotage will disrupt the resumption of Iraq's oil exports further bolstered prices, which have gained 20 percent in the last month.
US crude futures jumped US$0.46 to US$31.20 a barrel, hitting its highest price since March 19. In London, benchmark Brent crude was US$0.36 higher at US$27.80 a barrel.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and his Venezuelan counterpart Rafael Ramirez met in Madrid with Mexico's Energy Minister Ernesto Martens ahead of next week's OPEC conference on third-quarter production policy.
"We are coming here before the OPEC meeting to discuss the world oil market. We are also in contact with Russia and Norway and I think we will get good results," Ramirez said.
Saudi Arabia and Venezuela want to lay the groundwork for contributions from non-OPEC producers should the return of Iraq push prices down later this year, officials at the talks said.
"That's the key, because it indicates non-OPEC producers may be willing to cooperate, if nothing else by giving lip service to jawbone the prices higher," said a New York trader.
With oil prices near the top end of OPEC's US$22 to US$28 a barrel band, some ministers have said they see no need for OPEC to cut production limits when it meets next Wednesday in Qatar.
Iraq announced on Thursday it would this month resume oil exports, which have been halted since mid-March. But a full recovery of its pre-war exports -- some 4 percent of globally traded oil -- appears distant.
Baghdad's top US adviser on oil said on Friday that well-organized saboteurs are targeting Iraqi oil facilities in a campaign designed to hamper efforts to revive crude exports as the country recovers from war.
"It is very difficult for me to identify who they are and what their motives are. I can only say their techniques appear to be very professional and aim at causing harm to significant and important installations," Phillip Carroll told reporters in an interview.
Oil markets have now more than reversed losses following US government data on Wednesday showing an unexpected rise in crude and gasoline supplies.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
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