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Oil posts biggest monthly gain in a year on tight supply, Ukraine tensions

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Oil posts biggest monthly gain in a year on tight supply, Ukraine tensions

Oil prices rose to the end of January on Monday, posting their biggest monthly gain in a year on supply shortages and political tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The most-active Brent contract for April delivery rose 74 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $89.26 a barrel. The front-month contract for March delivery, which expires at the close, was up $1.18, or 1.3%, at $91.21.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.33, or 1.5%, to settle at $88.15 a barrel.

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The benchmark index hit its highest level since October 2014 on Friday, at $91.70 and $88.84, its sixth straight weekly gain. They are up about 17% this month, their biggest gain since February 2021.

Market analysts and Reuters sources widely expect OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, to maintain its policy of gradually increasing output when it meets on Wednesday.

OPEC+ producers have boosted output by 400,000 bpd per month since August.

Louise Dickson, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy, said: “A 400,000 bpd monthly supply increase is either too inconsequential for the market to appreciate, and more importantly, the group has not fully achieved that. “

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“As a result, the only short-term solution to balance the undersupplied oil market will need to come from OPEC+ and be dominated by Saudi Arabia, the producer with the largest spare capacity.”

However, OPEC’s oil output in January again fell short of the planned increase in a deal with allies, a Reuters survey found, underscoring the difficulty some producers have struggled to increase output even at seven-year highs.

Geopolitical tensions involving major oil producers Russia and the United Arab Emirates intensified in January.

Europe needs to diversify its energy supplies, the NATO chief said on Sunday, as Britain warned Russia was “very likely” to try to invade Ukraine.

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Markets were also wary of the Middle East after the UAE said it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis, as the Gulf state hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the first such visit.

Complete News Source : Business Standard

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Laid stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet reveal the worst gifts their romantic partners gave them | Exclusive

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Laid stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet reveal the worst gifts their romantic partners gave them | Exclusive

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Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet talk about their new series Laid, and some of the horrors of dating as millennials.
Imagine a scenario where anyone and everyone you have ever been intimate with begins to die one by one. Is it a curse? If yes, then who is cursed? These are questions that Stephanie Hsu‘s Ruby battles with in the new zany comedy, Laid. Ahead of the show’s release, Stephanie and co-star Zosia Mamet spoke exclusively with HT about their roles, the show’s unique premise, and the horrors of dating as millennials. (Also read: Dune: Prophecy star Emily Watson on working with Tabu: ‘She is a true treasure’)

Stephanie Hsu on her character’s flawed morality

Laid, created by Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, is the story of Ruby (Stephanie Hsu), who discovers that all her sexual partners are dying one by one, and she must warn them. Helping her in this unique quest is her best friend AJ (Zosia). The fun thing about Laid is that the protagonists are not the usual likeable characters. “She is totally an anti-hero of our story. I really love that,” says Stephanie, referring to Ruby’s moral greyness. “I am not a perfect person and I love playing flawed characters. But it was difficult. The creators told me that she is a total narcissist. But narcissists don’t think they are one, so I had to figure out a way to love her. For me, playing Ruby was about getting into her psychology and finding the innocent part of her – which is that she just wants love,” the actor adds.

While sitcoms usually add the best friend as the voice of reason trope, Laid diverges from that, with AJ even zanier and more morally ambiguous than Ruby. Talking about playing such a colourful character, Zosia Mamet says, “When you play not-so-likable or zany characters, people don’t believe they are that way. I don’t think AJ wakes up every morning and thinks, ‘I am absolutely crazy’. It’s about trusting the writing and finding an organic way into these characters to make them seem grounded, real, and relatable.”

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Stephanie, Zosia reveal the worst gifts they received from partners

In Laid, Ruby gives the gift of death to the men she is with, even if that is inadvertent. Ask the women about the worst ‘gift’ a partner has ever given them, and the discussions veer into the unusual horrors of modern-day dating. “I got a vintage wooden duck decoy from someone. It was broken, and I thought, ‘What does this say about our relationship?’. They didn’t know me well enough to know if I’d want this but also that they gave me something old and ailing,” Zosia says with a laugh.

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