TODAY: IATA AGM wraps in Dubai + UAE and Qatar’s PMIs are in

Good morning, ladies and gents. It’s a relatively calm news day on the regional logistics front, but we have some final updates from the IATA’s Annual General Meeting in Dubai and

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Work on Al Maktoum International Airport’s new passenger terminal is set to begin in the coming two to three weeks, Zawya Projects writes, citing a Reuters report. The first phase of the project — capable of handling 150 mn passengers — is likely to conclude within the coming 10 years, according to Dubai Civil Aviation Authority Chair Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Refresher: Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the design plan for the USD 35 bn new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport in April. The expanded airport is set to be the world’s largest, hosting over 260 mn passengers, handling 12 mn tons of annual cargo, accommodating around 400 aircraft gates, and featuring five parallel runways.

#2- Could Oman be Russia's new trade hot spot? Russia’s burgeoning economic ties with Oman will be thrust into the spotlight at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as the GCC state is recognized with the guest country award, Bloomberg reports. Russia is benefiting from Oman’s long standing political neutrality as it doubles down on trade and investment links with the country. On the flip side, Dubai has been falling out of favor with Russian business interests on the back of rising living costs and increased pressure from local banks to maintain compliance with US sanctions.

What have Oman + Russia been up to? Recent partnerships with Russia have focused on commodities with a state-owned Omani fund recently snapping up a stake in Moscow-based commodities trader Demetra Holding, Bloomberg writes. The pair have also collaborated in the mining and banking sectors, and there has been a recent uptick in ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil off of Oman’s coast.

IN OTHER NEWS- Morocco’s Nador is emerging as the next hotspot for cargo switching by Russian oil traders, Bloomberg reports citing ship tracking data. Drills by Greece’s navy have been taking place since early May, effectively detering the practice in the Laconian Gulf. The new focal point off Nador is close to the Spanish enclave of Melilla, making it likely that Spain will take steps to block the practice as it had done in the past when another Spanish enclave, Ceuta, emerged as a popular site for the transfers. Cargo swapping is a common practice applied by traders of Russian oil to evade sanctions and a G7-mandated USD 60 price cap, Bloomberg explained.

Remember: Experts cited parallel trade as a key reason why the G7 price cap has shown limited success in deterring non-compliant oil trades since its roll out two years ago.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil price dipped to near four month lows in early trading this morning in response to Opec+’s decision to gradually phase out production cuts, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures ticked up to USD 77.56 a barrel by 03.07 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) remained steady at USD 73.25, the newswire said. Both contracts fell nearly USD 1 yesterday to the lowest levels since early February.

#2- Baltic index slumps, ending three session streak: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — dipped 0.39% at 1,808 points on Monday, weighed down by lower rates across the board, Reuters reports. Capesize was down 0.14% to 2,816 points while panamax fell 0.7% to 1,682 points, marking its lowest level since 11 April. Meanwhile, the smaller supramax segment ticked down 0.47% at 1,272 points, the newswire says.

#3- Russian crude exports dipped by some 400k barrels per day (bpd) in May as the Opec+ member sought to compensate for overproduction, Bloomberg reports. The country’s exports in April were 120k bpd above a target designated for the month, while May’s exports were 170k bpd below another target. The lower volumes indicate that Russia is honoring a pledge to cut back production to redress exceeding its quota for April, the outlet said. Russia attributed April’s excess to “technicalities,” the outlet explained.

DATA POINTS-

#1- GCC region tops DCC exports in 1Q 2024: The GCC accounted for 55.5% of Dubai Chamber of Commerce (DCC) total exports and re-exports, amounting to AED 40.80 bn (USD 11.11 bn) in 1Q 2024, according to a press release. Non-GCC Middle Eastern countries came in second, accounting for 22.6% of DCC exports and re-exports at AED 16.6 bn. Meanwhile African markets came in third, accounting for 9.7% of total exports at AED 7.1 bn, the statement said.

#2- The King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam set a new record for monthly handling capacity in May, with 291.6 standard containers, the Ports Authority (Mawani) said in a release. The figure surpasses the port’s March record by some 2k TEUs.

IN CONTEXT- Congestion in King Abdulaziz Port came after most Jeddah-bound maritime traffic was directed to the port in Dammam in reaction to ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. The crisis saw container handling at Dammam first growing by 41.3% y-o-y in February to reach the then-record high of 235.8k TEUs.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Lebanon will host the East Med Maritime Conference on Thursday, 27 June in Beirut. The event will gather industry leaders to discuss the latest developments in shipping, maritime, and offshore industries to discuss industry innovations, alternative fuels, and decarbonizing emissions in the maritime sector and ports.

Turkey will host the ACI Europe Annual Congress on Tuesday, 2 July to Thursday, 4 July in Istanbul. The event will bring together 500 C-level airport executives, as well representatives from businesses engaged with airports, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and other stakeholders. The event will highlight discussions on the current state of the airport industry, geopolitics, the Turkish market, resilience, sustainability, and the diversification of revenues.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.