Japan presses UAE to pump more oil

Japan on Sunday urged the United Arab Emirates to pump more oil to calm markets rocked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the latest major consumer to lobby Gulf producers.

The plea by Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi came during meetings with Emirati officials which coincided with a visit by Germany's economy minister, three weeks into the Russian offensive.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also flew to the UAE and Saudi Arabia to push for more oil this week in a bid to ease prices of over $100 a barrel and secure non-Russian supplies.

Hayashi asked  "the UAE to contribute to the stabilisation of the international oil market by supplying more oil, securing spare productive capacity as a leading member of OPEC+".