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- Brent crude was up by 96 cents, or 1.3%
- Asian shares steady despite a retreat on Wall Street
- Abu Dhabi’s index edges higher, region mostly retreats
- Dollar edges lower, gold prices steady
Oil prices
Oil prices surged on Monday OPEC members, following losses in the previous sessions.
A Reuters report said that Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih announced on Sunday that there was consensus among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied oil producers to drive down crude inventories “gently” but he would remain responsive to the needs of a “fragile market.”
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei told reporters earlier on Sunday that producers were capable of filling any market gap and that relaxing supply cuts was not “the right decision.”
Brent crude was up by 96 cents, or 1.3%, at $73.17 a barrel by 0227 GMT, having earlier touched $73.40, the highest since April 26.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 82 cents, 1.3%, higher at $63.58 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark reached $63.81 earlier, the highest since May 1.
“Al-Falih and the UAE both put paid to suggestions of increasing production over the weekend and then President Trump essentially telling Iran to bring it on, was a perfect short-term storm for oil prices,” Greg McKenna, strategist at McKenna Macro, told Reuters.
Global markets
Asian shares steadied following steep losses last week when trade tensions between the United States and China weighed on investor sentiment.
In early trade, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.6% after a steep 3% loss the previous week.
Japan’s Nikkei stock index added 0.4%, after data showed growth in the world’s third-biggest economy unexpectedly accelerated in the first quarter.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.38%, the S&P 500 lost 0.58% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.04%.
Middle East markets
Dubai’s index fell 2.2% on Sunday, led by a 3.1% decline in heavyweight Emaar Properties and a 2.3% drop in bank Emirates NBD.
Abu Dhabi's index rose 0.3%, recovering from early losses in the session, as First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) rose 0.7 percent and Etisalat gained 1 percent.
Saudi Arabia's main index fell 1.1% with Al Rajhi Bank dropping 1.1%, Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) fell retreating 2.3%, and Jabal Omar losing 3.6%.
Qatar's index was flat as most shares ended lower, offsetting Mesaieed Petrochemical's 4.5% rise and Qatar Insurance Co's 1.3% gain.
Egypt’s blue-chip index EGX30 dropped 1 percent, Kuwait’s premier market index dropped 1.7 percent while Oman and Bahrain’s indices were mainly flat.
Currencies
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down a touch at 97.980.
Precious metals
Gold prices steadied early on Monday.
Spot gold was broadly unchanged at $1,276.79 per ounce at 0321 GMT.
U.S. gold futures were 0.1% higher at $1,276.40 an ounce.
(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
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