Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) says it supplied more US dollars this year than the last four years, in its efforts to combat the dollar black market.

The central bank said it continues to supply US dollars to banks and state-owned enterprises.

In 2019, the MMA sold total USD 626.6 million under its foreign exchange intervention policy.

And in 2022, the central bank upped the amount to USD 993.7 million.

MMA said it increased its interventions by 3 percent this year.

MMA said it supplied US dollars to the State Trading Organization (STO) import staples, pharmaceuticals and fuel again this year, in order to mediate the impact on the foreign exchange rate due to the rise in global fuel rates.

The central bank said it also supplied US dollars to other state-owned enterprises to finance debt repayments.

MMA said that as part of additional efforts to address US dollar constraints faced by banks, it also issues US dollars to Maldivians who travel overseas at the rate of USD 500 per traveler via the Bank of Maldives (BML), and provides US dollars to hajj and umrah groups, and to people who travel overseas for medical treatment and education under set policies.

The dollar rate is currently upwards of MVR 18 in the black market – higher than the fixed bank rate of MVR 15.42. The BML has the daily limit for US dollar withdrawals fixed at USD 1,600.

Source(s): sun.mv

VALLETTA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) — Thursday’s decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, to further cut down oil production next year has left the market disappointed, according to analysts.

OPEC+ announced further production cuts for next year to bolster oil prices that have recently tumbled amid a weakening economic backdrop. Several OPEC+ countries are to additionally cut a total of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, which aims to support the stability and balance of oil markets.

The reductions will be taken from the quotas adopted at the last OPEC+ ministerial meeting in June. It will add to the voluntary output cuts announced by OPEC+ countries in April and will last until the end of 2024, OPEC said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, will extend its voluntary production cut of 1 million bpd, which has been in effect since July, to the end of Q1 2024. Russia, a leading OPEC ally, will cut its oil exports by 500,000 bpd, up from the current 300,000 bpd, until next March.

Other OPEC+ countries, including Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, have pledged smaller cuts for Q1 2024, the OPEC said.

Warren Patterson, ING’s head of commodities strategy, noted that instead of seeing further cuts distributed among the whole group, it was left up to individual members to decide whether they would make deeper voluntary supply cuts.

“Our balance sheet shows that the additional voluntary cuts ensure that the marginal surplus that had been forecast for 1Q24 will be erased, and in fact, we now see a small deficit,” Patterson wrote on the ING website.

“This suggests that there is some upside to our current 1Q24 ICE Brent forecast of US$82/bbl and full-year 2024 forecast of US$88/bbl,” he said, “However, this will largely depend on how OPEC+ goes about unwinding these cuts and obviously on how demand plays out next year.”

“While OPEC seemed to build up expectations leading to a sharp rally, at the end of the day the market was skeptical that OPEC could keep its promises,” Phil Flynn, an analyst at the Price Futures Group, said.

Oil prices have slid since October amid concerns about oversupply in a weakening global economic outlook. The international benchmark Brent crude has stayed in the range of low- to mid-80 U.S. dollars a barrel in recent weeks, from this year’s peak of over 90 dollars a barrel in September.

Before Thursday’s OPEC+ ministerial meeting, analysts had expected the oil-producer group to make bigger production cuts next year to support the oil prices.

Crude prices failed to rally after the meeting, with Brent crude edging down 0.32 percent to settle at 82.83 dollars a barrel on Thursday.

Asset & Wealth Management Investment Strategy Group (ISG) at Goldman Sachs believes that the price of a barrel of oil is likely to trade between 70 and 100 dollars for most of 2024. The forecast reflects slowing oil demand growth arising from tighter financial conditions and still elevated U.S. recession odds over the coming year.

Source(s): Xinhua

VIENNA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, on Thursday announced further production cuts for next year to bolster oil prices that have recently tumbled amid a weakening economic backdrop.

Following a virtual meeting of OPEC+ oil ministers, OPEC said in a statement on Thursday night that its Secretariat “noted the announcement” of several OPEC+ countries to additionally cut a total of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, which aims to support “the stability and balance of oil markets.”

The reductions will be taken from the quotas adopted at the last OPEC+ ministerial meeting in June. It will add to the voluntary output cuts announced by OPEC+ countries in April and will last until the end of 2024, the OPEC statement read.

In breakdown, Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, will extend its voluntary production cut of 1 million bpd, which has been in effect since July, to the end of Q1 2024. Russia, a leading OPEC ally, will cut its oil exports by 500,000 bpd, up from the current 300,000 bpd, until next March.

Other OPEC+ countries, including Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, have pledged smaller cuts for Q1 2024, the OPEC said.

However, the statement noted that the new output cuts will be “returned gradually subject to market conditions” to “support market stability” after March next year.

Oil prices have slid since October amid concerns about oversupply in a weakening global economic outlook. The international benchmark Brent crude has stayed in the range of low- to mid-80 U.S. dollars a barrel in recent weeks, from this year’s peak of over 90 dollars a barrel in September.

Before Thursday’s OPEC+ ministerial meeting, analysts had expected the oil-producer group to make bigger production cuts next year to support the oil prices.

Crude prices failed to rally after the meeting, with Brent crude edging down 0.32 percent to settle at 82.83 dollars a barrel on Thursday.

Thursday’s meeting also saw Brazil, one of the world’s top 10 crude producers, ready to join OPEC+ next year. Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira de Oliveira attended the online meeting.

OPEC+ countries are set to convene their next ministerial meeting on June 1, 2024.

Source(s): Xinhua