Dubai

DUBAI/MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC and Russia will discuss record oil output cuts on Thursday to support prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis but talks are complicated by internal disagreements and the reluctance of the United States to join in any action.

Global fuel demand has plunged as much as 30% as measures to fight the virus have grounded aircraft, reduced vehicle usage and curbed economic activity.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar’s ruler has asked the government to postpone $8.2 billion in unawarded contracts on capital expenditure projects due to the coronavirus outbreak, a bond prospectus seen by Reuters showed.

The spread of the coronavirus may continue to negatively impact the Qatari economy and financial markets and could lead to a recession, the Gulf state also said in the document, dated April 7.

Qatar on Tuesday started marketing a triple-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated bond.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates’ central bank said on Sunday it had reduced banks’ reserve requirements for demand deposits by 50% to support the country’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aggregate value of all capital and liquidity measures adopted by the central bank since March 14 is 256 billion dirhams ($69.70 billion), the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) said in a statement.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The oil ministry of the internationally-recognized, Saudi-backed government in Yemen said on Sunday the Iran-aligned Houthi group had attacked an oil pipeline pumping station in the province of Ma’rib, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The pipeline is operated by the Safer oil company, owned by the Yemeni government, SPA said, without giving details on the attack, but there has been no oil pumped through that pipeline for years.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s president said on Sunday “low-risk” economic activities would resume from April 11 in the Middle Eastern country worst-affected by the new coronavirus.

Iran has been struggling to curb the spread of the highly infectious respiratory disease known as COVID-19 but authorities are also concerned that measures to curb public life to contain the virus could wreck an already sanctions-hit economy.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco has appointed Mark Weinberger to its board of directors as an independent board member, replacing Andrew Gould, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

Weinberger was the global Chairman and CEO of EY (previously known as Ernst & Young) from 2013 to 2019.

He currently serves as a director on the boards of Johnson & Johnson and Metlife as well as being a member on several boards of trustees, including the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).

DUBAI (Reuters) - Transit through Bahrain International Airport is open again for international travelers, Manama-based Gulf Air said on Saturday, though entry to the country is limited to Bahrainis and other residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

“In compliance with the new regulations issued by the Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority, we are welcoming back transit passengers through Bahrain International Airport. Arrival into Bahrain remains restricted to nationals and residents,” the airline said on Twitter.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak climbed to 3,452 on Saturday, with 158 more fatalities recorded over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpur said.

The total number of cases diagnosed with the disease reached 55,743, of whom 4,103 are in critical condition, he said on state TV. Iran is the country worst affected by the pandemic in the Middle East.

DUBAI/MOSCOW (Reuters) - OPEC and Russia have postponed a meeting planned for Monday until later next week, OPEC sources said on Saturday, as a row intensified between Moscow and Saudi Arabia over who is to blame for plunging oil prices.

The meeting’s delay came despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, to urgently stabilize global oil markets.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia sharply criticized Russia on Saturday over what it described as Moscow blaming the kingdom for the collapse in global energy prices, showing the tensions ahead of an emergency meeting of OPEC and other oil producers.