In a joint statement the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) and the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) launched the ‘Aber’ project, which seeks to evaluate the feasibility of issuing a digital currency for use between the two central banks.

OPEC+ agreed the option of extending the first phase of the production adjustments pertaining in May and June by one further month.

A delegate-level OPEC+ technical committee, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is scheduled to meet June 5 to discuss market conditions and review compliance.

The $300 billion Public Investment Fund bought stakes in global corporate leaders such as Boeing, Facebook, Disney, Marriott and Starbucks. It also invested in two big US banks, Citigroup and Bank of America, and took holdings in oil giants BP, Total and Royal Dutch Shell.

The clash of oil titans Saudi Arabia and Russia sparked a 25% slump in crude prices on Monday, triggering panic selling on Wall Street and other equity markets that have already been badly hit by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Saudi Arabia's oil sector declined by 3.6 percent in 2019 dragging overall GDP growth to 0.3 percent

Despite heavy lobbying by Saudi Arabia, the 23-country coalition of OPEC and non-OPEC producers has yet to agree on any plans to rein in crude oil production further.

Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday that Russian and Saudi companies have held discussions on possible joint projects as well as potential investment worth more than $10 billion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz "thoroughly discussed" the current oil market conditions as prices have fallen by more than 20% in the past three weeks amid global oil demand concerns, a Kremlin statement said late Monday.

The crude stocks held by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi were 1.41 million kiloliters, or 8.87 million barrels, at the end of November, equating to four days of Japanese oil consumption, up from 1.1 million kiloliters a month earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.