Business

UAE support for oil price as demand picks up

“The market is stable, the supply is stable. The price is acceptable and comfortable for the producing countries and the consuming countries," said the undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Energy.

April Yee

14 April, 2014

Oil prices approaching US$110 a barrel are “acceptable” for producers and consumers, and Opec does not need to change its output target, said the UAE’s deputy energy chief.

The group is scheduled to next meet in June in Vienna to debate its 30 million barrel per day (bpd) production ceiling, which has remained unchanged since December 2011.

“I don’t think there will be any change in the quota,” said Matar Al Neyadi, the undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Energy. “The market is stable, the supply is stable. The price is acceptable and comfortable for the producing countries and the consuming countries.”

Brent futures for delivery next month ticked up half a per cent yesterday to US$107.82 a barrel as concerns of conflict between Ukraine and Russia were stoked by a confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Slovyansk. Russia called for an emergency UN Security Council Meeting.

Last month the group pumped 29.6 million bpd, slightly below its quota, because of cuts in Iraq and Libya and reductions in Saudi Arabia, according to the International Energy Agency, the consumers’ watchdog. The IEA raised its estimate of how much Opec supply the world needs by 350,000 bpd to 30.6 million bpd for the second half of this year.

Prices remain below the level that Opec members Nigeria and Venezuela require to break even on their budgets, according to recent data from Deutsche Bank. The South American country, home to the world’s biggest oil reserves, needs an average price of $121 a barrel this year.

Opec has yet to decide on individual quotas for members, which it eliminated with the last production ceiling in 2011, or on a new leader for the organisation.

“We need to see,” said Mr Al Neyadi. “No need to anticipate anything, the meeting will be in two months and I am sure at the meeting anything could happen.”

ayee@thenational.ae

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Teachers' pay - what you need to know

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

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Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
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Ain Issa camp:
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  • Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
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  • 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
  • NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
  • One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region

Expert input

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KEY DATES IN AMAZON'S HISTORY

July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington

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1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs

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2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS

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