Oil fell to $79 a Barrel

Oil fell earlier in the week after China set a modest increase target for this year and avoided any major stimulus. At the same time, there were concerns about further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.

West Texas Intermediate saw a decrease to $79 a barrel after witnessing a 5% increase in closing last week. China’s Premier Li Keqiang declared the target of 5% gross domestic product at the yearly National People’s Congress meeting on Sunday, which economists had predicted. The world’s top oil buyer suspended its stringent Covid Zero legislation at the end of last year.

Investors are looking to guidance from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and jobs data this week on the path to monetary tightening. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s President reiterated the central bank’s willingness to keep borrowing costs low for longer in a speech on Saturday.

Oil has been stuck in a tight $10 range since the start of the year, driven by optimism about China’s recovery and expectations of further interest rate hikes from the Fed. Saudi Arabia showed confidence in the near term, raising most of its prices in Asia and Europe for April.

Blockbuster Natural Gas

Abu Dhabi could see eight more listings this year after becoming the world’s largest initial public offering since the start of the year when ADNOC launched its natural gas business unit.

ADNOC raised $2.5 billion in a listing last week, with the offer 50 times oversubscribed and investors placing orders for $124 billion.

The listing gave the firm a market capitalization of about $50 billion, close to the upper end of the price range that the parent company had set before the listing.

Although Al Qubaisi declined to name any names, he said some companies plan to list 15% to 25% of their shares.

ADNOC’s gas division was not separate until the parent company decided to list it amid renewed interest in fossil fuel investments. The division was spun off and created as a subsidiary only earlier this year.

The gas listing continues a strong year for IPOs in the Middle East in 2022. Last year, sales in the region totaled $24 billion, accounting for more than half of revenues in the Middle East, Europe, and the North—African region.