����ֱ��

BENGALURU/SINGAPORE: Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as traders assessed rising supply by OPEC+ against worries of weaker demand and US President Donald Trump’s new threats on India over its Russian oil purchases.

Brent crude futures dipped 1 cent to $68.75 a barrel by 9:31 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2 cents at $66.28.

Both contracts fell by more than 1 percent in the previous session to settle at their lowest in a week.

Both benchmarks have receded because extra capacity from OPEC+ is acting as a buffer for any shortfalls in Russian supplies, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September.

It marks a full and early reversal of the group’s largest tranche of output cuts, amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or around 2.4 percent of global demand, though analysts caution the actual amount returning to the market will be less.

The rising supplies come amid renewed concerns about demand, with some analysts expecting faltering economic growth in the second half of the year.

JPMorgan analysts said on Tuesday the risk of a US recession was high as labor demand has stalled. In addition, China’s July Politburo meeting signalled no additional policy easing, with the focus shifting to structural rebalancing of the world’s second-largest economy, the analysts wrote in a note.

At the same time, investors are eyeing possible supply disruptions.

US President Donald Trump has said he could impose 100 percent secondary tariffs on Russian crude buyers such as India after announcing a 25 percent tariff on Indian imports in July.

On Monday, Trump again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the Russian oil purchases. New Delhi called his attack “unjustified” and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening the trade rift between the two countries.

India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million bpd from January to June this year, up 1 percent from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources.

Traders are also awaiting any developments on the latest US tariffs on its trading partners, which analysts fear could slow economic growth and dampen fuel demand. 

RIYADH: ����ֱ�� led the Gulf region’s primary debt market in the first half of 2025, raising $47.93 billion through 71 bond and sukuk issuances, a new analysis showed. 

According to a report from Kuwait Financial Center, also known as Markaz, the Kingdom accounted for 52.1 percent of the total Gulf Cooperation Council issuances during the period, cementing its position as the region’s dominant fixed income market.

However, the volume marked a 19.8 percent year-on-year decline from $59.73 billion in the first half of 2024. 

Overall, GCC primary debt issuances totaled $92.04 billion during the period, down 5.5 percent from a year earlier.

Affirming the expansion of the region’s debt market, Fitch Ratings noted in December that total outstanding debt in the GCC surpassed the $1 trillion mark. 

Commenting on the latest first half figures, Markaz stated: “As for issuance preferences, the first half saw an increased appetite for conventional issuances in the GCC, representing 56.1 percent of total issuances for the year.” 

It added: “This is a change in issuance preferences from the first half of 2024, where more sukuk were issued than conventional bonds.”

Regional outlook 

����ֱ��’s debt market has expanded rapidly in recent years, as both domestic and international investors seek diversification and stable returns. 

In July, the National Debt Management Center raised SR5.02 billion ($1.34 billion) through a riyal-denominated sukuk issuance, marking a 113.6 percent increase from the previous month. 

Earlier in February, the Kingdom issued €2.25 billion ($2.36 billion) in euro-denominated bonds, including its inaugural green tranche, under its Global Medium-Term Note Issuance Program. 

In December, Kamco Invest projected that ����ֱ�� would lead the region in bond maturities over the next five years, with about $168 billion in Saudi bonds expected to mature between 2025 and 2029 — a reflection of the Kingdom’s growing prominence in regional debt markets. 

Following ����ֱ��, the UAE ranked second with $24.03 billion raised from 69 issuances, accounting for 26.1 percent of total market share. This also represented a 22.2 percent increase over the same period last year. 

Qatar followed with $10 billion from 58 offerings, capturing 10.9 percent of total GCC issuance in the first half. 

Bahrain saw $5.62 billion raised through seven issuances — an increase of 49.7 percent year on year. Kuwaiti issuances climbed 48 percent to $3.39 billion from four deals, while

Oman recorded the region’s lowest total, with $1.08 billion from six issuances. 

Maturity and issue size profile 

According to Markaz, bonds and sukuk with tenors under five years accounted for 46.9 percent of total GCC issuances, amounting to $43.2 billion across 154 deals. 

Issuances with tenors of five to ten years made up 33.8 percent of the market, totaling $31.1 billion from 43 deals. Bonds with maturities between 10 and 30 years comprised 9.6 percent, raising $8.8 billion from five transactions. 

“One issuance came in with a maturity greater than 30 years with a value of $1 billion, while perpetual issuances saw an increase in both the size and number of issuances when compared to the first half of 2024, with a total value of $8 billion through 12 issuances,” added Markaz. 

Issuance sizes ranged from $2 million to $5 billion. The largest share — $54.5 billion, or 59.2 percent of the total — came from 32 deals each valued at $1 billion or more.

Those between $500 million and $1 billion raised $27 billion across 44 offerings. 

The highest number of deals fell in the sub-$100 million category, with 105 transactions collectively raising $3.2 billion. 

Currency profile 

US dollar-denominated instruments dominated the primary market, raising $73.1 billion through 146 issuances — representing 79.4 percent of the total value. 

The Saudi riyal was the second most used currency, with $7 billion raised across eight deals. 

“As for currencies bucketed under “other” which totaled $2 billion, the Hong Kong Dollar represented 0.74 percent of total issuances with a total value of $682 million through 20 issuances,” added Markaz. 

A separate report by Fitch in April said GCC countries accounted for over 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issued in the first quarter of 2025 — excluding China — up from about 25 percent in 2024. 

Issuances by type 

Corporate issuances in the GCC rose sharply by 67.7 percent year on year to reach $60.20 billion in the first half of 2025, accounting for 65.4 percent of total issuances.

Government-related entities contributed $11.2 billion across 11 issuances. 

In its latest report, Markaz noted that conventional issuances rose 7.8 percent year on year to $51.61 billion in the first half. 

In contrast, sukuk issuances declined 18.2 percent over the same period, totaling $40.43 billion. 

The financial sector led issuance activity, raising $40.1 billion from 167 deals — 43.6 percent of the total. Government issuers came next, contributing $31.9 billion from 25 offerings. 

“The energy sector follows, with $8.6 billion through 9 issuances, representing 9.4 percent of total issuances, with the remaining sectors together representing a small portion of total issuance at 12.5 percent,” added Markaz.