Oil prices drop as Iraq says doesn't want to join OPEC cut:
Oil prices fell early
on Monday as Iraq said it wanted to be exempt from any deal by producer cartel
OPEC to cut production to prop up the market, and as U.S. drillers stepped up
work.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $51.59 per barrel at 0133 GMT,
down 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close.U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 22 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $50.63 a
barrel.Traders said the price falls followed comments from Iraq, which said it
wanted to be exempt from a production cut by the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) that the group plans to decide at its Nov. 30
meeting.OPEC plans to reduce production to a range of 32.50 million to 33.0
million barrels per day (bpd), down from 33.39 million bpd in September.That
would be harder to achieve if Iraq, which is OPEC's second-biggest producer
after Saudi Arabia, didn't participate.Iraq said on Sunday that its oil
production stood at 4.774 million bpd, with exports standing at 3.87 million
bpd."We are not going back in any way, not by OPEC not by anybody
else," said Falah al-Amri, the head of Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company.
Pak
Suzuki to replace Mehran with 660cc Alto
Pak Suzuki has announced
its plans to start local production of Suzuki Alto 660cc by 2018 to replace its
iconic Mehran 800cc.The information was shared with the Senate Standing
Committee on Industries and Production which was visiting Pak Suzuki Motor
Company Limited (PSMCL) plant on Thursday.The Senate committee asked the auto
assembler to introduce global standard safety features in its new model.The
Senate delegation was led by Senator Hidayatullah and included Khalida Parveen,
Kalsoom Perveen and Chaudhry Tanvir Khan. Additional Secretary, Ministry of
Industries and Production, Sher Ayub Khan and Engineering Development Board
CEO, Tariq Ejaz Chaudhry also accompanied the delegation. Sources said the
company has already started the process of localisation of parts for the new
660cc car with local vendors.
Fertiliser
subsidy claims: FBR stays away, food ministry steps in
The Federal Board of
Revenue (FBR)’s decision to distance itself from the verification process of
subsidy claims filed by diammonium phosphate (DAP) importers, has spelt trouble
for the Ministry of National Food Security and Research because of its lack of
expertise in the area.The payment of subsidy claims has already been delayed
for months in the wake of less coordination among government departments and absence
of cooperation from some provinces.Under the fertiliser subsidy package
announced in the federal budget for 2016-17, the FBR was initially tasked to
verify the claims to be submitted by the DAP importers, but the recent FBR
decision to sideline itself posed a new challenge to the food ministry to
undertake the task.
NJHP
project to start by Feb 2018
The much-delayed 969
Megawatt Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) will start power generation by
February 2018.
“Around 85 percent
work on the project has been completed, and the first turbine will start
generation in February 2018 while 100 percent generation from the project will
be possible by May 2018,” WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain said on
Sunday while talking to newsmen after the connection of two portions of the
left tunnel of NJHP.In a statement issued from Wapda House, the spokesperson
said the project management achieved this milestone when it successfully
connected the two portions of the left tunnel with precision. It added that during
the mining operation, one of the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) broke
through the left tunnel from downstream side, joining it with the portion which
had already been excavated through traditional drill-and-blast method from the
upstream side.
Coal
prices hit 30-month high
The global coal
prices have jumped to $75.7/ton, which is highest in 28 months, compared to
$67.7/ton at September 2016 and $52.8/ton at April 2016.According to industry
experts, higher coal prices would dampen local cement players’ profits by 5-7
percent on average, as coal constitutes more than 30 percent to the total
production costs.Experts said that coal prices have been gradually increasing
since May 2016, when China (World’s largest coal producer, importer and
consumer) imposed supply side measures to limit its coal mining capacity.Recent
surge to the trajectory came from stricter local rules on coal transportation
which fueled coal imports.In shorter term, domestic Chinese coal supplies may
increase in October and November in order to prevent a supply shortfall, which
would be a short-term bear point for all coal prices.
Clinton
jumps to double-digit lead over Trump: poll
Hillary Clinton has
soared to a 12-point lead over Donald Trump in the race for the White House,
according to a new poll released Sunday, with the real estate magnate's support
tanking among key voter groups.The Republican presidential nominee has seen
dismal poll numbers since a string of women came forward earlier this month to
accuse him of sexual assault or inappropriate behaviour in the past.He has also
stirred controversy by refusing to say that he will accept the result of the
November 8 election no matter what, calling the process "rigged."
