Oil Update – Oil prices slip; Indonesia proposes OPEC-like group for nickel; Global dividends hit record 

Oil Update – Oil prices slip; Indonesia proposes OPEC-like group for nickel; Global dividends hit record 

RIYADH: Oil prices slid on Wednesday as COVID-19 cases in China continued to climb, sparking worries of lower fuel demand in the world’s top crude importer that outweighed concerns about an escalation of geopolitical tensions and tighter oil supply. Brent crude futures dropped by 60 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $93.26 a barrel by 08.01 Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 69 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $86.23 a barrel. Indonesia, in talks with Canada, has proposed establishing an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries-like organization for nickel producing countries, the Southeast Asian nation’s investment ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Indonesia and Canada are the first and sixth biggest nickel producers in the world, respectively. The proposal was made when Indonesia's Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia met Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. The minister raised the prospect of trying to “coordinate and integrate nickel policy” like the OPEC, the group of 13 oil-producing nations that often determine global output, the statement said. Bahlil previously raised the idea of such a grouping in an interview with the Financial Times last month, though at the