turning off the tap. saudi arabia announces oil production cuts ofi million barrels a day. plus, a defining moment for augmented reality. apple is set to make an announcement that some say will bring the technology into the mainstream. hi there. welcome to asia business report. let's begin this morning with oil prices because they arejumping by more than 2% to 78 per barrel

because oil producing countries agreed to continue cutting production basically to push up prices which seems to be working so far. saudi arabia said it would make cuts of1 million barrels a day injuly and 0pec+ said targets would drop by 1.4 million barrels per day from 202a. 0pec+ accounts for a1% of crude oil and let's get more for our middle east correspondent. it was widely expected before the meeting started on the weekend that 0pec+ would reduce oil production because it is hovering around $75 a barrel. there are concerns it could fall further with global economy struggling and demand wiggling. saudi arabia and some countries were really keen that the oil group goes ahead and makes another cut as a group

but most countries were against that idea because any would cut the oil revenue crucial for their economies. saudi arabia was the only one who could make the cut and be able to manage its budget. why is saudi arabia keen to make these cuts? if you look at oil prices as i was mentioning they are hovering around $75 a barrel. for saudi arabia it is crucial that oil prices remain above $80 because that is the breakeven point and saudi arabia needs high oil prices to find the multibillion—dollar — infrastructure projects — it is building in saudi arabia. it is building new cities, economic zones, new tourist destinations. for all of that it needs money. it is doing this to diversify the economy away from oil as the world reduces imports of fossil fuels. and that is why saudi arabia is worried that if oil prices continue to fall it could impact its other projects which are ongoing right

now in the kingdom. analysts are not sure if this will impact on oil prices in the immediate future. it might soften further given that demand has been weakening but it will be interesting to see if the group decides to make further cuts in the months to come because it has said that it will continue monitoring the price and the market situation and take a decision when it needed. there are a lot of rumours that apple may be launching a new virtual reality headset and it is not alone. many companies have been investing in augmented reality tech and it is something that they are all showing off at the industry's world expo. here are the highlights from san francisco. when you arrive at awe you are greeted by a familiar sight, albeit much larger than usual. a human—sized snapchat screen with dozens of filters that can change how you look.

but walk a bit further and what you will find might be a bit less familiar. people standing, waving and grabbing around with devices strapped to their face and hands. these are all examples of augmented reality — a mix of real and digital, and while it might look strange from the outside, when i tried this flight simulator i could see the allure. it is captivating. all right. 0h! have to be gentle with this. that is what ar developers are banking on. it is great to be in this industry right now, and our company, we started a headset ten years ago or something, but the product was ahead of its time. we did not have enough computer memory and headsets. here on the show floor you will see ar devices being pitched for everything from medical devices to flight and driving simulators, and of course, gaming and entertainment. that is where china—based

xreal are focused, bringing the high quality entertainment experience to a pair of lightweight glasses. if you pair them up with your phone, gaming console, with your computer, it serves as a gigantic external display. it is like carrying a 65—inch tv with you. and aside from a cable running down behind your ear to a remote, they are comfortable. but not everything on display here feels polished, and some devices feel like they are solving a problem that really exist. for me, i find it hard to shake the feeling that putting a screen on your face just is not as practical as using a phone or a regular tv but that could all change later today as apple hold an annual developers conference where rumours are swirling they have a much anticipated headset. here on the show floor, developers are excited. we need a lot of companies to beat the drums for a very important technological transformation as augmented reality.

so, the more big companies that come into it, the more attention they will generate. with the announcement in a few hours, i will be watching closely. ijust need to find out if it will be streaming to this headset. it is the start of another busy week. on tuesday, australia central bank will decide on the cost of boring and they have been under pressure to raise rates because inflationjumped more pressure to raise rates because inflation jumped more than expected in april. staying in australia we will also find out how the economy performed in the first quarter and that gdp data is at mid week. then on thursday it is japan's turn to release its first—quarter performance and that is the same day that india's central bank will also be deciding on interest rates. and rounding off the week the latest inflation reading from the world's second biggest economy, of course,

china. our chief market analyst at kcm trade told me all eyes are now on the upcoming interest rate decisions. interest rates will be on the mind of the market this week. we have a few of the banks around the asian region having interest rate decisions and we have the fomc so that is what traders will be looking at — the data from the us and how that will potentially impact with the fomc does next week. that was going to be my question. the fed meeting in about ten days. what is your expectation? it seems like opinions are split on another hike or a possible pause? we had bumper payroll figures in the us on friday but it was a good scenario for traders and that in a robust labour market, but the wage pressures were easing so that is a good sign for inflation. for next week, i think there is two camps in the fed. thejerome powell camp who want to go into pause mode

and wait and see and assess further data and there are others who are more hawkish and want to raise rates to address the stubbornly high inflation so i think we will see a pause next week but a hike injuly is in play for the fomc. what about australia which is facing a similar issue of high inflation pressure on the rba — to do something about it. what are you expecting there? we had a particularly high cpi in australia last week so i am expecting we could see the rba hike on tuesday. they have shown in the past they are not shy when it comes to surprising the market and concensus we will probably see them stay on hold but i am thinking we could see a hike on tuesday because they have shown that they really want to address that inflation which is well outside of the 2—3% target band for the rba at the moment, so let's wait and see what the market does. there were a lot of celebrations over the weekend to mark the start of pride month and some businesses are using it to put lgbt rights

in focus because what is known as the pink economy or the consumption power from the lgbt community, it is really growing quickly. ten years ago, the spending power was less than 3 billion us but this year according to one research it could grow to $5.1; billion. timothy hilderand is an associate professor at the london school of economics and political at the london school of economics and political science and earlier he told me that lgbt people continue to pay a penalty, particularly when they are openly gay. two—thirds of the world's population is in asia, and presumably two—thirds of the worlds lgbt people are in asia, but the reality is the whole idea of the pink economy rests upon an assumption that lgbt people have a higher disposable incomes, that they are ultimately more affluent than the straight counterparts, but the reality is in most parts of the world, especially in asia, there is a real high economic cost to being openly gay.

openly lgbt people pay a penalty for being their authentic selves, both in terms of education, employment, getting promotions, etc. even in the united states where the situation is particularly good for lgbt people, they are receiving roughly 90 cents per the dollar of their straight counterparts. so, long story short — they don't command as much power in the marketplace that a lot of these estimates would have you believe. before we go, let's quickly check on the markets japan's nikkei has gone up nearly i.5%. investors very happy the debt ceiling issue is now resolved.

flies on the interest rate decisions. that is it for the programme. thank you so much for watching. in newcastle's city stadium park, the lawns have been liberated and the wildflowers are free. ' . . , . are free. officials are pollinating _ are free. officials are pollinating insects, i are free. officials are i pollinating insects, bees are free. officials are - pollinating insects, bees and butterflies at them we put the grasses and flowers down we are reducing the food also leave them there and let them go. the team here _ them there and let them go. the team here hope the feast provided for pollinators will benefit the neighbours two. the changes made are part of a plan to boost biodiversity. i personally love this walk. so much nicer walking along here than along the road or

anything. it is lovely. i saw a dragonfly that was this big the other day. it is a good idea. i think the places where children play should be mode but anything else could be kept a bit rough until it is a reasonable time. it bit rough until it is a reasonable time. it is nice when the _ reasonable time. it is nice when the park— reasonable time. it is nice when the park is - reasonable time. it is nice when the park is tidy - reasonable time. it is nice when the park is tidy but i reasonable time. it is nice | when the park is tidy but if you have an area to go wild that it you have an area to go wild thatitis you have an area to go wild that it is very nice.- you have an area to go wild that it is very nice. the month done, that it is very nice. the month done. the _ that it is very nice. the month done, the plea _ that it is very nice. the month done, the plea to _ that it is very nice. the month done, the plea to gardeners i that it is very nice. the month done, the plea to gardeners - j done, the plea to gardeners — leave more in the shed as long as you can and enjoy what springs up without much work. for more stories from across the uk head to the bbc news website.

the signs of summer are everywhere. so why is there still a christmas tree in beverly? it still a christmas tree in beverly?— still a christmas tree in beverl ? ., beverly? it was due to come down early _ beverly? it was due to come down early january. - beverly? it was due to come down early january. this - beverly? it was due to come down early january. this is l beverly? it was due to come l down early january. this is the down early january. this is the first time that this has ever happened but a bird actually decided to nest in the tree. that's did cause us quite a few complications which we are still living with at the moment.— still living with at the moment. . ., . , , moment. the council put up sins moment. the council put up signs after— moment. the council put up signs after comments - moment. the council put up signs after comments were |

moment. the council put up - signs after comments were made about the state of the tree and not everyone has sympathy for the wood pigeon that has made it home. , ., it home. the thing is that the tree is dying. _ it home. the thing is that the tree is dying, so _ it home. the thing is that the tree is dying, so my - tree is dying, so my inclination is that it should be taken away.— inclination is that it should be taken away. yes, but the nieon be taken away. yes, but the pigeon has _ be taken away. yes, but the pigeon has squatter's - be taken away. yes, but the| pigeon has squatter's rights. this is a wood pigeon sat on a nest_ this is a wood pigeon sat on a nest in— this is a wood pigeon sat on a nest in a — this is a wood pigeon sat on a nest in a piece of structure that— nest in a piece of structure that we. _ nest in a piece of structure that we, society, has put there. _ that we, society, has put there, and it is protected while _ there, and it is protected while it— there, and it is protected while it has got that nest and it is on— while it has got that nest and it is on that nest. hello, i'm lizzie greenwood—hughes, from the bbc sport centre. coming up on the programme: novak djokovic reaches a record 17th french open men's quarter—final. red bull's max verstappen cruises to his fifth win in seven races to win the spanish grand prix and take control of the season.