Oil prices are expected to show a strong weekly finish, with Brent, the international benchmark, trading above $75 per barrel on the final day of trading.
The benchmarks have gained more than 11 per cent since Opec+ on July 18 agreed to bring more supply to the market.
Brent, under which two thirds of global crude is priced and traded, was up 0.28 per cent, trading at $76.26 per barrel at 5.42pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude grades, was up 0.18 per cent at $73.75 per barrel.
Brent was headed for a strong finish, gaining 3.8 per cent over the course of the week. WTI meanwhile is expected to settle with a weekly gain of 2.3 per cent on Friday.
Both benchmarks clawed back losses amid growing demand for crude, despite higher cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant in several parts of the world.
"The outlook for the recovery remains very positive so oil should remain well supported and I wouldn't be surprised to see crude prices taking a run at those July highs next week," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda Europe.
"Whether it can overcome them may depend on whether investors can bounce back quickly after today's declines," he said.
Oil prices have gained about 50 per cent since the start of the year as countries press on with vaccination programmes and major economies reopen.
Earlier this month, Opec+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, extended its agreement until the end of December 2022. The group reached a consensus over the phasing out of 5.8 million bpd of withheld supply after weeks of deadlock and will review the pact at the end of the year.
Oil prices quickly recovered from the fall, and have since clawed back their losses amid indications of higher demand during the second half of the year.
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
