Seven countries in the OPEC Plus alliance agreed to keep production targets unchanged in December, during their virtual online meeting on Sunday, in line with expectations that no further adjustments to production policy will be made before next year.
The seven countries are: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and the Sultanate of Oman, which affirmed their “commitment to market stability.”
In a press statement, the seven countries renewed their collective commitment to achieving full compliance with the “Declaration of Cooperation.”
The seven OPEC Plus countries will continue to hold monthly meetings to monitor market conditions, with the next meeting scheduled to be held on November 29, 2026.
The OPEC Plus alliance includes countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, including Russia.
In September, the OPEC Plus alliance completed the gradual cancellation of a supply reduction of 1.65 million barrels per day, which had been agreed upon for the first time in 2023.
Germany is likely to fail by a large margin in achieving the target levels for filling gas stores, as the average filling rate was supposed to reach 70 percent by the first of November, but the stocks did not exceed about 61.4 percent, according to the latest data issued by the European “AGSI” platform.
A spokeswoman for German Economy Minister Katrina Reiche said: “Gas supplies in Germany are guaranteed during the coming winter, even with current storage levels.”
The spokeswoman added: “According to the current assessment, it is expected that Germany will be able to get through the winter well.” The importance of ensuring security of supply does not depend on storage filling levels alone, but also includes actual gas withdrawal rates, continued gas imports, and other precautionary measures.”
For its part, the German Networks Agency announced that gas supplies in Germany are stable, and said: “The security of supplies is guaranteed.” The German Network Agency still estimates, according to currently available information, that the risk of gas supply tension is low.”
Sebastian Heinerman, executive director of the Energy Storage Initiative, described the failure to achieve storage filling targets by November 1 as “a noteworthy warning sign.”
“Germany starts the heating season with fewer safety reserves,” Heinerman added. This increases the vulnerability of gas supplies to risks, especially in the event of exceptionally low temperatures or additional disruptions to gas imports.”
South Korea's exports nearly doubled in October, government data released Sunday showed, the strongest rise in more than 50 years, as strong global demand for investments in artificial intelligence led to an increase in the country's exports of electronic chips.
Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, which is an indicator of global trade, rose 93.7 percent compared to the same month last year to $115.28 billion, slightly more than the average rise expected of 93.2 percent in a Reuters poll of economists.
The increase, boosted by a higher number of working days compared to the previous year due to the different timing of the Chuseok holiday, exceeded September's increase of 83.7 percent, and was the strongest since January 1974.
Thanks to the global boom in investments in artificial intelligence, South Korea's economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, supported by strong exports and investments in semiconductors, while chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix recorded jumps in profits.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jong-kwan said: “With exports continuing to achieve strong growth and exceeding $110 billion in October, it is certain that annual exports worth one trillion dollars will be reached during November.”
South Korea's total exports for the period from January to October amounted to $930 billion. If annual exports exceed one trillion dollars, South Korea will become the fourth country in the world to achieve this achievement after the United States, China and Germany.
The Ministry of Commerce said that semiconductor sales abroad jumped 259.4 percent in October to $56.44 billion, as prices and quantities remained high as major global technology companies continued to invest in facilities as part of the competition for leadership in the artificial intelligence sector.
Computer sales rose 496.6 percent due to increased demand for servers for artificial intelligence services.
Shipments to China increased by 133.6 percent, while exports to the United States increased by 185.8 percent, to Europe by 56.4 percent, and to Southeast Asia by 128 percent.
South Korean imports rose 36 percent to $72.78 billion, after rising 26 percent in September, to record the largest annual increase since January 2022, driven by higher oil prices, as well as demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and automobiles.
The country recorded a monthly trade surplus of $42.50 billion, which is less than the unprecedented surplus of $49.97 billion in the previous month.
