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SINGAPORE — Some oil-hungry Asian countries are taking advantage of the collapse in prices to build up their crude stockpiles.

      Here are some questions and answers about strategic reserves and the region's oil supplies.

      What are strategic oil reserves and why do countries need them? -

      Strategic reserves are stockpiles of oil and other fuels held by governments in secure storage facilities to cover unexpected disruptions to energy supplies.

      Major economies such as the US, China and Russia began to build up reserves after oil shocks in the 1970s, according to Ravi Krishnaswamy, regional senior vice president for energy and environment at consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

      The events that spurred them to take action were principally the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and the Arab countries, and the 1979 Iranian revolution, which fuelled worries about supplies.

      How big are the strategic reserves across the region?

      China is believed to have the biggest in the Asia-Pacific. Beijing does not give an official estimate but analysts say it is at around 550 million barrels. In comparison, the United States' strategic reserves currently hold around 630 million.

      State-owned China National Petroleum Corporation said recently that the country's reserves were "obviously insufficient, and have not yet reached the international standard '90-day safety line'".

      The International Energy Agency requires its members to hold emergency oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net oil imports. China is an associate member, but not a full member.

      Japan's oil reserves were around 500 million barrels at the end of February, equivalent to national consumption for more than seven months, according to the latest official data, while South Korea had around 96 million barrels in strategic reserves as of December 2019, enough for 89 days.

      India, by contrast, has reserves with storage capacity of approximately 40 million barrels -- which would last just 10 days in the country of 1.3 billion people.

       How are reserves stored?

      Strategic reserves are stored largely in secure underground depots like natural rock caverns. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the world's largest supply of emergency crude, is stored in huge underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast.

      But building underground storage is challenging as it needs to have the right geological formation, and countries also need to build infrastructure to pump oil in and out.

      The high cost of building reserves has stopped many countries developing them to sufficient levels.

      In Asia, India uses caverns to store its reserves but other countries, such as Japan, put theirs in above-ground tanks.

      Which Asian countries are pouncing on low prices to build up stockpiles?

      Australia, which has long had one of the lowest levels of emergency stockpiles in the developed world, said it will take advantage of the fall in prices to develop a strategic reserve in the United States.

      The country's own storage capacity is already full but it has an agreement with the US allowing it to lease space in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

      In China, the Shanghai International Energy Exchange last month gave approval for state-owned Sinopec Petroleum Reserve to add more storage capacity.

      One storage depot in southern Guangdong province can hold up to 600,000 cubic metres (3.8 million barrels), while another in northern Hebei province can hold up to one million cubic metres.

      India's Ministry of Petroleum tweeted on April 15 it was buying crude to fill its reserves, stored in rock caverns, "to their full capacity".

      Madhu Nainan, editor of industry publication PetroWatch, however, questioned whether the country had enough available storage space to build up capacity quickly.

      "In India, storage tanks and pipelines are full and dealers' tanks are full," he told AFP.

      Japan and South Korea, with ample stockpiles, have not announced plans to build up their reserves substantially.

      A Japanese trade ministry official said current levels were sufficient, while Seoul plans to increase stockpiles by less than one per cent this year.

       Could low prices boost the region's economies when lockdowns are lifted?

      It looks unlikely, in the short term at least. Many observers believe economic activity won't bounce back quickly with the gradual lifting of lockdowns but only when a vaccine for the virus is discovered -- which could be some time away.

      "Low oil prices won't turbocharge Asian economic recovery," Jeffrey Halley, OANDA senior market analyst, told AFP.

      Are there any winners from low prices?

      Major oil-importers in Asia -- such as China, Japan and South Korea -- would in usual times benefit from low prices but this is unlikely to be the case immediately given the economic devastation caused by the pandemic.

      In Japan, for example, "the price crash has hit financial markets hard, which is negatively affecting the Japanese economy", said Toshihiro Nagahama, an economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

      "We can't apply our usual framework to this unprecedented period."

      Some economists, however, expect oil prices to stay low for a long period, meaning major importers could eventually emerge winners.

      "Oil prices are expected to remain low to some extent when the post-corona era comes, and given the current situation, it will have a positive effect on (South Korea's) economy in terms of recovery," said Jung Jun-hwan, a researcher at the Korea Energy Economics Institute.

      There are also "obvious losers" in Asia, such as oil exporters Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, said OANDA's Halley.

DUBAI — Saudi shares plunged on Sunday, a day after the finance minister announced "painful" measures to tackle the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

      The Tadawul stock market closed the day 7.4 per cent lower, as all but one of the 195 listed stocks on the Arab world's largest bourse were in the red.

      Energy giant Saudi Aramco dipped 5.2 per cent at the close of the first trading day of the week for the Muslim region.

      Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said late Saturday that the kingdom would take "drastic measures" to face the double shock of the novel coronavirus and low oil prices.

      "Some of these measures could be painful," he said in an interview with Saudi-owned news channel Al-Arabiya.

      The minister expected that Riyadh could lose half of its oil income, which contributes about 70 per cent of public revenues, as oil prices have shed two-thirds of their value since the start of the year.

      Jadaan said the government had allocated $48 billion as stimulus to assist the economy in the face of the coronavirus impacts.

      He added that the world's leading crude exporter would borrow close to $60 billion this year to plug a huge budget deficit.

      The company Saudi Jadwa Investment forecast on Thursday that the kingdom would post a record $112 billion budget deficit this year.

      In April, the International Monetary Fund projected that the Saudi economy would contract by 2.3 per cent this year.

       London-based Capital Economics said last week the contraction would be at least 5.0 per cent, one of the biggest drops in several decades.

      Moody's Investors Service on Friday changed Saudi economic outlook to negative from stable but affirmed its A1 ratings.

      "The negative outlook reflects increased downside risks to Saudi Arabia's fiscal strength stemming from the severe shock to global oil demand and prices triggered by the coronavirus pandemic," the ratings agency said.

     In other bourses in the oil-rich Gulf, the Dubai Financial Market slumped 4.0 per cent at close while its sister Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange ended down 2.8 per cent.

      Qatar's bourse finished 0.9 per cent lower while Kuwait's premier index and all-shares index closed down 2.0 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively.

      The small bourses of Oman and Bahrain were flat.

      Oil revenues make up at least 70 per cent of public revenues in each of the six Gulf Arab states.

BEIRUT — Lebanon on Friday signed a request for financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), initiating a long process the government hopes will ease the country's worst post-war economic crisis.

      "Prime Minister Hassan Diab and Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni signed a request for assistance from the International Monetary Fund," the government said, a day after announcing it would turn to the multilateral lender for help.

      Lebanon is in the thick of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

      A lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic has only added to the heavily indebted country's economic woes, which include soaring inflation, a liquidity crunch, plummeting currency and a first sovereign debt default.

      An economic reform plan, unanimously approved on Thursday in a cabinet meeting, is expected to reduce Lebanon's public debt burden from 170 per cent of gross domestic product to less than 100 per cent.

      It aims to see positive economic growth restored from 2022.

      In tandem, the government will seek more than $10 billion dollars in financial support on top of $11 billion in grants and loans already pledged by international donors in 2018.

      It is unclear how much would come from the IMF.

      "We have taken the first step on the path of saving Lebanon from a deep financial" crisis, Diab said in a video shared on his Twitter page on Friday.

      "It would be difficult to get out of it without efficient and impactful help."

      Experts had lobbied for an IMF rescue as the only exit from Lebanon's financial slump, but some officials have said they are wary of recommendations the world body may impose.

      Forty-five per cent of Lebanon's population now lives below the poverty line, according to official estimates, and tens of thousands have lost their jobs or seen their salaries slashed.

      The Lebanese pound, pegged to the dollar at 1,500 since 1997, reached record lows on the black market this week, selling for more than 4,000 to the greenback.

      The official rate of 1,500 pounds to the dollar remains unchanged, but the reform plan adopted by the government is "based on an estimation of a rate of 3,500", according to a copy of the document.

      "The peg to the US dollar that has been maintained over decades is now impossible to restore and must be revamped as part of the government programme," it added.

      "Going forward, the government intends to move to a more flexible exchange rate."

NEW YORK — Wall Street stocks tumbled Friday following disappointing results from Amazon, Exxon Mobil and other companies amid worries of increased tensions between China and the United States over blame for the coronavirus.

      The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.6 per cent, or more than 620 points, at 23,723.69.

      The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2.8 per cent to 2,830.71, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 3.2 per cent to 8,604.95.

      The losses marked an ugly start to a new month after major indices scored their biggest monthly gains in decades in April.

      Amazon dove 7.6 per cent after the company cautioned that earnings in the second quarter would be entirely wiped out by expenses related to COVID-19 as it works to keep up with surging demand at a time when many brick-and-mortar stores are closed.

      Exxon Mobil was another big loser, shedding 7.1 per cent as it reported a $610 million loss in the first quarter, its first loss in decades.

      Analysts also pointed to comments from US President Donald Trump claiming that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab.

      Trump threatened tariffs on Beijing, escalating a blame game between the two biggest economies and reviving investors' trade war worries.

      Trump "clearly wants to make China bashing a central platform for his re-election campaign," said LBBW's Karl Haeling.

      "Let's hope he just talks but doesn't really do anything" significant, he said.

      Friday's session punished several travel-oriented companies that clawed back some of their losses in April after devastating drops in March. These included American Airlines, down 11.4 per cent, Marriott International, down 6.8 per cent, and Boeing, down 5.5 per cent.

      Tesla also plunged, losing 10.3 per cent after Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter that shares were overvalued.

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla reported a surprise first quarter profit on Wednesday on higher car production and deliveries as its chief called for an end to coronavirus restrictions on people's movements due to the coronavirus pandemic.

      While Tesla has gotten back to making electric cars in China, production at its plant in Silicon Valley remains stalled as workers comply with directives to shelter in place to stop the spread of deadly COVID-19.

      Shares surged after the electric car company reported profits of $16 million, compared with a loss of $702 million in the year-ago period. Analysts had anticipated a loss.

      Revenues rose 32 per cent to $6.0 billion, with shares surging some 9 per cent in after-hours trading.

      Tesla scored large increases in both car production and deliveries and reported progress in ramping up production at its Fremont, California factory and at a newly opened plant in Shanghai.

      But the company closed the Fremont plant in late March.

      The Shanghai factory is operational, while Tesla is trying to restart production in Fremont as soon as possible, executives said on the call.

      Tesla had hoped to reopen the factory by May 4, but a joint statement from northern California health officials extended a shelter-in-place order through May.

      Tesla said it has the capacity to exceed 500,000 vehicle deliveries in 2020, but said of the Fremont plant "it remains uncertain how quickly we and our suppliers will be able to ramp up production after resuming operations."

      The company said it was unable to project near-term net income and free cash flow, saying "due to the wide range of potential outcomes, near-term guidance of net income and free cash flow would likely be inaccurate."

      Tesla is making rapid progress lowering production costs in China, and is lowering the price of the standard-range Model 3 car in that country, according to Musk.

      "Although the rest of the world is essentially shutdown and in lockdown mode, strong Model 3 demand out of China remains a ray of light for Tesla in a dark global macro (environment)," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.

      "In a brutal environment, these recent numbers were a bright spot for the bulls."

      A new Model Y scored a first at Tesla, being the first of its cars to become profitable in the first quarter after its release, the company reported.

      Musk said a recent update to Tesla self-driving software enables cars to recognise and respond to traffic lights and stop signs as the company continues to envision a future where vehicles safety and efficiently maneuver autonomously, perhaps even as on-call "robo-taxis."

      Despite disruption caused by the pandemic, Tesla will continue to invest in its future, according to its chief.

      "There is clearly an uncertain future ahead, it's a bit of a bumpy road, but I think the long term prospects are extremely good," Musk said.

HONG KONG — Equities rallied again on Thursday and oil prices built on the previous day's surge as investors began to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against coronavirus, following news of a possible breakthrough in the search for a treatment.

      Top US epidemiologist Anthony Fauci said Gilead Science's remdesivir "has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery".

      His comments fanned hopes that lockdowns -- already being loosened in some nations -- could be lifted more quickly, allowing people back to work to kickstart the battered economy.

      The announcement allowed investors to look past data showing the US economy had contracted 4.8 per cent in the first quarter, its worst performance in a decade, and the Federal Reserve's warning that it would likely tank even further in April-June.

      The central bank did provide some support, though, by pledging to keep interest rates at zero until the economy has weathered the crisis and is ready to resume growth. On Thursday France said its economy had fared even worse and contracted 5.8 per cent.

      "While a treatment is not a vaccine, a successful treatment would be a game-changer for the virus and would help facilitate a greater rollback of containment measures," said National Australia Bank's Tapas Strickland.

      "It could also give consumers greater confidence to resume pre-pandemic activity."

      Wall Street and Europe's main indexes all rose at least two per cent, and Asian equities -- already enjoying a bright week on signs of an easing in the virus -- took up the baton on Thursday.

      Tokyo returned from a one-day holiday to end 2.1 per cent higher, while Sydney, Singapore and Taipei also piled on more than two per cent.

      Mumbai and Jakarta jumped more than three per cent, with Shanghai, Manila and Bangkok breaking the one per cent mark, though Wellington dropped more than one per cent.

      Hong Kong and Seoul were closed for public holidays.

      In early trade, London, Paris and Frankfurt advanced.

      "One of the main reasons for the strong recovery in risk sentiment... is the homogeneity of the recession's driver," said AxiCorp's Stephen Innes.

      "Compared to previous downturns that were more multifaceted and professedly more difficult to unwind, the eradication of the single recessionary input -- the virus -- via a vaccine can cobblestone the way for an expeditious recovery in global economic output."

       Oil 'ping-pong'

      China released data on Thursday showing that factory activity grew again in April, though at a slower pace than in March, as the country slowly emerges from the crisis following a long-running lockdown that slammed the economy.

      Officials warned that a return to normal would take time as overseas demand for exports remained limited.

      On crude markets, both main contracts soared for a second day -- with WTI's 15-per cent gain adding to a 25-per cent advance on Wednesday -- thanks to the news on remdesivir as well as figures showing a slower-than-expected rise in US stockpiles.

      There were also signs that demand may be improving with weekly gasoline supplied rising by 549,000 barrels a day in the US, the most since May last year, Bloomberg News reported.

      The gains were much needed after the commodity was hammered last week by worries over almost non-existent demand and a lack of storage facilities, which offset a massive cut in output by major producers.

      Edward Moya, of OANDA, said: "Oil prices will continue to play ping-pong here, but continued optimism on the virus front will do wonders, improving both economic activity and crude demand forecasts.

      "The next few weeks could get ugly again fairly quickly for oil prices, but energy markets might see volatility ease if steady production-cut announcements occur across the globe."

      Traders' confidence in taking on more risky assets lifted high-yielding currencies, with Indonesia's rupiah, Mexico's peso and the South African rand all more than one per cent up on the dollar.

      There were also big gains for the Australian and New Zealand dollars as well as the South Korean won.

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday cut its dividend for the first time since the 1940s after a first-quarter loss -- and warned virus-ravaged oil prices will take time to fully recover.

      The Anglo-Dutch group sank into a $24-million ($29.5-million) net loss in the three months to March -- when oil went into freefall on tumbling demand and a price war between producers Saudi Arabia and Russia.

      That contrasted sharply with profit after tax of $6.0 billion in the same period a year earlier, the London-listed giant added in a statement.

      Earnings on a current cost-of-supplies (CCS) basis -- stripping out changes to the value of oil and gas inventories -- sank 46 percent to $2.9 billion in the reporting period, Shell said.

      The energy titan, which axed spending last month in response to the oil crash, said it had slashed its shareholder dividend by 65 percent to 16 cents per share, from 47 cents in the fourth quarter.

      "As a result of COVID-19, there is significant uncertainty in the expected macroeconomic conditions with an expected negative impact on demand for oil, gas and related products," Shell said.

      "Furthermore, recent global developments and uncertainty in oil supply have caused further volatility in commodity markets."

      It warned that the pandemic would spark a difficult second quarter -- with no price bounceback in prospect. 

      'Naive' to call rebound

       "It would be too naive at this point in time to say: we know what is happening, this is just another downturn, things will bounce back, and we will get to where we were before," van Beurden told Bloomberg TV.

      "I think that would be an inappropriate conclusion to draw at this point in time."

      He added that human behaviour had changed rapidly to halt the spread of the deadly pandemic -- and indicated less oil-intensive travel could become the new normal.

      "We do not know whether attitudes and practices of people will be permanently altered," said van Beurden.

      "And my expectation is that they will be altered for some time to come... whether people want to take different risks when they travel or when they go on holiday, or when they rediscover the convenience of working from home."

      Earlier this month, the market went into meltdown with New York light sweet crude briefly diving into negative territory as sellers had to pay to offload oil with storage capacity at breaking point.

      Shell on Thursday said that its production fell one percent to 3.719 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first three months of the year.

      The group in March said it would axe operating costs by $3.0-4.0 billion over 12 months, and reduce its annual spending by one-fifth to $20 billion.

      Van Beurden meanwhile did not exclude the prospect of job cuts over time but cautioned that there would not be any this year.

      Shell's rival BP logged a far bigger net loss of $4.4 billion in the first quarter owing to its smaller size, and indicated it would shed some positions by the end of 2020.

SAN FRANCISCO — Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday reported higher profits and revenues in the first quarter even as a coronavirus-induced economic slump hit advertising in March.

      Alphabet shares climbed three per cent in after-hours trades following release of earnings figures that eased fears the pandemic would devastate digital ad revenue that is the internet firm's income engine.

      Alphabet reported a profit of $6.8 billion, up nearly three per cent from last year, on revenue that grew 13 per cent to $41 billion compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

      The internet colossus said, however, that the pandemic's impact began to hit online ads, its main source of revenue and profit, in the final month of the period.

      "Performance was strong during the first two months of the quarter, but then in March we experienced a significant slowdown in ad revenues," chief financial officer Ruth Porat said.

      "We are sharpening our focus on executing more efficiently, while continuing to invest in our long-term opportunities."

      Revenue in the three months was driven by search, cloud computing offerings, and ads at video-platform YouTube according to Porat.

      Ad revenue up

      Overall ad revenues for Google rose 10 per cent for the quarter despite the pandemic's worsening in March.

      "This is probably exactly what technology needed at a time when many suspected FANG/Tech could be rolling over," Mark Newton of Newton Advisors said in a tweet, referring to the acronym for the big tech firms Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google.

      YouTube's ad revenue was up about a third to $4 billion as people turned to online entertainment while they hunkered down at home to avoid the coronavirus.

      The pandemic has disrupted operations at tech powerhouses known themselves for disrupting traditional business models.

      Fewer people are buying new smartphones; more people are online and using social platforms but online advertising is slumping; cloud computing needs are growing; and more consumers are relying on delivery of essential goods from Amazon.

      Along with other tech firms, Google has been highlighting its role in helping consumers and authorities in the battle against COVID-19.

      Chief executive Sundar Pichai said that "we've marshalled our resources" to assist people during the crisis.

      "Given the depth of the challenges so many are facing, it's a huge privilege to be able to help at this time," he said.

      Google has teamed up with longtime rival Apple to develop technology for coronavirus smartphone "contact tracing" by allowing devices from the two platforms to communicate and indicate when people have crossed paths with an infected person.

      Earlier Tuesday, YouTube said it began adding fact-check panels to search results in the US for videos on hot-topic claims shown to be bogus.

SINGAPORE — US oil prices rebounded above $14 a barrel on Wednesday, a day after a sell-off sparked by a major fund selling its short-term holdings of the commodity amid virus-triggered storage concerns.

      West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, for June delivery jumped 14.5 per cent to $14.13 a barrel in Asian morning trade.

      It had plunged by more than 21 per cent at one point Tuesday after the United States Oil Fund - a major US exchange-traded fund (ETF) - started selling its short-term contracts of the commodity.

      Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading 3.27 per cent higher at $21.13 a barrel.

      Traders "are bargain hunting after a couple of days of massive sell-offs", OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley told AFP.

      ANZ Bank said in a note that the market was hit by volatility Tuesday "as ETFs and index funds moved contract positions amid renewed concerns of negative prices" in short-term holdings.

      The Oil Fund had sold its contracts due to expire in June to move into longer-dated holdings amid fears about storage space running out in the short term. 

      Following the US ETF's move, Standard & Poor's also told clients to sell their stakes in the June contracts and move them into July, ANZ said.

      S&P operates the GSCI commodity index, which is tracked by pension funds and other big investors.

      Other indices, including the Bloomberg Commodity Index, took similar steps.

      Oil prices have fallen to historic lows this month, with WTI crashing deep below zero for the first time as governments worldwide shut down businesses and air travel grinds to a halt due to the virus.

      An agreement by top crude-producing nations to cut output by 10 million barrels a day from May 1 has done little to calm the market.

      The production cuts "will probably take weeks to show up in the physical market, hence we are still stuck with the inventories issues that will continue to curb any semblance of bullish appetite", said AxiCorp global market strategist Stephen Innes.

LONDON — British energy giant BP on Tuesday said it slumped into a $4.4-billion net loss in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand for oil, triggering a price crash.

      "Our industry has been hit by supply and demand shocks on a scale never seen before," BP's new chief executive Bernard Looney said in an earnings statement, having seen crude prices plunge from around $70 per barrel at the start of the year to close to $10 currently. He confirmed there would be job losses.

      "The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with pre-existing supply and demand factors have resulted in an exceptionally challenged commodity environment," BP said, having reported profit after tax of $2.9 billion in the first-quarter of 2019.

      BP said it planned to reduce cash costs by $2.5 billion by the end of 2021 relative to 2019.

      "Some of these cost savings may have associated restructuring charges," the company added.

      Looney later told the Financial Times that "there will be job cuts globally towards the end of this year".

      It expects also to produce less oil in the second quarter, with companies unable to store the excess crude.

      BP's first-quarter output dropped 2.8 per cent to 3.7 million barrels per day.

      "BP's warning about the second quarter being difficult should not be ignored... especially on a day when oil has fallen sharply yet again," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG trading group.

      BP's share price rallied 1.2 per cent to 317.7 pence in midday deals on the rising London stock market.

      Crude futures plunged to record lows this month, with US prices sinking briefly into negative territory, also following a vicious price-war between major oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia.

      BP on Tuesday added that its underlying replacement cost profit -- a widely-watched measure stripping out exceptional items and changes in the value of oil inventories -- stood at $800 million in the first quarter, compared with $2.4 billion for the same period a year earlier.

      "The result reflected lower prices, demand destruction in the downstream particularly in March, a lower estimated result from (Russian partner) Rosneft and a lower contribution from oil trading."

      BP on Monday said that crashing oil prices had prompted it to tweak the terms of a gigantic deal to sell off its Alaska operations.

      Hilcorp Alaska in August agreed to purchase the assets, including operations in the mammoth Prudhoe Bay oilfield, for $5.6 billion in a move that sees BP exit the US state after a 60-year presence.

      The overall price tag remains the same but the structuring and phasing of payments has been modified.

      The first quarter meanwhile saw the departure of long-time chief executive Bob Dudley, with the American leaving after a decade at the helm.

      Soon after starting, Irish national Looney set BP a target to achieve "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050.