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London, Riyadh Seek New Partnerships in Hydrogen, Carbon, Clean Technologies

British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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London, Riyadh Seek New Partnerships in Hydrogen, Carbon, Clean Technologies

British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

British Deputy Ambassador to Riyadh Anna Walters said the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia were exploring new partnerships in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and clean technologies.

Walters told Asharq Al-Awsat that the two kingdoms were working on many new investment projects, adding that British companies were supporting Saudi giant projects, including NEOM, Qiddiya and Sports Boulevard.

Saudi Arabia is the United Kingdom’s second largest trading partner in the Middle East and the second largest export destination in the region, according to the official.

She noted that latest government figures showed that total trade in goods and services between the two countries reached 17.3 billion pounds in 2022, an increase of 68.5 percent, compared to 2021.

The bilateral relationship, according to Walters, provides important trade and economic opportunities for both parties.

She stressed that cooperation was growing rapidly across a range of sectors, transforming partnerships in defense, health and education, with emerging prospects in new sectors such as life sciences, aerospace, technology, critical minerals, culture, tourism and sports.

The UK is a priority market for the Saudi Public Investment Fund, including investments made through the SoftBank Vision Fund. The PIF has led more than $12 billion in investments in the UK since 2017.

Walters said the UK was currently negotiating with the Gulf Cooperation Council a free trade agreement, noting that the GCC countries, as one bloc, were the seventh largest export market in Britain.

She added that Saudi Arabia was an important investor in her country, expecting the PIF and other Saudi entities to continue to invest heavily in the UK.

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US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
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US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

US applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly a year last week, pointing to a still healthy labor market with historically low layoffs.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that applications for jobless benefits fell to 201,000 for the week ending January 4, down from the previous week's 211,000. This week's figure is the lowest since February of last year.

The four-week average of claims, which evens out the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 10,250 to 213,000.

The overall numbers receiving unemployment benefits for the week of December 28 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week, according to The AP.

The US job market has cooled from the red-hot stretch of 2021-2023 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Through November, employers added an average of 180,000 jobs a month in 2024, down from 251,000 in 2023, 377,000 in 2022 and a record 604,000 in 2021. Still, even the diminished job creation is solid and a sign of resilience in the face of high interest rates.

When the Labor Department releases hiring numbers for December on Friday, they’re expected to show that employers added 160,000 jobs last month.

On Tuesday, the government reported that US job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has loosened. Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since February and up from 7.8 million in October,

The weekly jobless claims numbers are a proxy for layoffs, and those have remained below pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate is at a modest 4.2%, though that is up from a half century low 3.4% reached in 2023.

To fight inflation that hit four-decade highs two and a half years ago, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Inflation came down — from 9.1% in mid-2022 to 2.7% in November, allowing the Fed to start cutting rates. But progress on inflation has stalled in recent months, and year-over-year consumer price increases are stuck above the Fed’s 2% target.

In December, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time in 2024, but the central bank’s policymakers signaled that they’re likely to be more cautious about future rate cuts. They projected just two in 2025, down from the four they had envisioned in September.