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French Economy Likely to Grow at Least 0.8% in 2025, Finance Minister Says

French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)
French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)
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French Economy Likely to Grow at Least 0.8% in 2025, Finance Minister Says

French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)
French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)

Unless there is a sharp reversal in the final three months of the year, the French economy is likely to grow by at least 0.8% in 2025, outpacing the 0.7% that the government had anticipated, Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Sunday.

"We will most likely exceed the government's growth forecast for this year. We had predicted 0.7%, but I think we will have at least 0.8%. That's good news," Lescure told LCI television.

"So we would really need to have a bad fourth quarter, which I don't believe will happen, for us to be below 0.8%, so 0.8% is within reach," he added.

France's economy grew 0.5% in the third quarter, final data from statistics office INSEE showed in November, reflecting resilience in the euro zone's second-largest economy.

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Iran War Fuel Hike Adds $100 to Long-Haul Flight Cost, Study Says

A man walks past parked Lufthansa aircraft at the airport as Lufthansa pilots are on a two-day strike, in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP)
A man walks past parked Lufthansa aircraft at the airport as Lufthansa pilots are on a two-day strike, in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP)
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Iran War Fuel Hike Adds $100 to Long-Haul Flight Cost, Study Says

A man walks past parked Lufthansa aircraft at the airport as Lufthansa pilots are on a two-day strike, in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP)
A man walks past parked Lufthansa aircraft at the airport as Lufthansa pilots are on a two-day strike, in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP)

Disruption to global oil supplies from the Iran war has added more than $100 to the price of long-haul flights from Europe, a cost likely to trigger higher ticket prices, campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) said.

The rise in jet fuel prices has increased the average fuel cost by 88 euros ($104) for each passenger on long-haul flights leaving Europe and 29 euros on flights within Europe, T&E said.

Its analysis compared prices as of April 16, with those just before the US and Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.

Jet fuel ‌for a ‌flight from Barcelona to Berlin would be ‌26 euros ⁠more expensive per ⁠passenger, while a long-haul trip from Paris to New York would cost 129 euros more in fuel, T&E estimated in its analysis published on Tuesday.

European airlines are preparing for a challenging spring and summer, with jet fuel prices having risen to well over $100 a barrel since the Iran war began and concern growing that shortages could ⁠lead to flight cancellations. The European Union is set ‌to respond with guidelines on ‌managing limited jet fuel supply on Wednesday.

T&E calculated the average fuel burn ‌on all flight routes departing from Europe, and divided this by ‌the number of departing passengers, to calculate how much the fuel price spike would add to the cost per person.

Airline executives from carriers including Lufthansa, Ryanair and Air France-KLM said in March that they were likely ‌to pass on higher fuel costs to consumers if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed longer-term.

T&E ⁠said its ⁠calculations showed the extra costs from the fuel price spike were far bigger than the costs airlines face from complying with EU climate change policies.

"The Middle East crisis proves that our real vulnerability is a tank filled with foreign oil, not the laws designed to fix it," said Diane Vitry, director of aviation at T&E.

Airlines have called for a rollback of some EU climate policies, including a 2030 mandate to use synthetic green jet fuel as well as a review of upcoming carbon pricing rules.

As part of its package, the EU is set to push for energy independence through greater investments in green jet fuel.

Business

Gold Eases on Firmer Dollar as Investors Await Clarity on US-Iran Talks

An image taken with a slow shutter speed showing an Indian woman walking in front of gold ornaments at a jewelry shop on the occasion of the Akshaya Tritiya festivities in Bangalore, India, 20 April 2026. (EPA)
An image taken with a slow shutter speed showing an Indian woman walking in front of gold ornaments at a jewelry shop on the occasion of the Akshaya Tritiya festivities in Bangalore, India, 20 April 2026. (EPA)
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Gold Eases on Firmer Dollar as Investors Await Clarity on US-Iran Talks

An image taken with a slow shutter speed showing an Indian woman walking in front of gold ornaments at a jewelry shop on the occasion of the Akshaya Tritiya festivities in Bangalore, India, 20 April 2026. (EPA)
An image taken with a slow shutter speed showing an Indian woman walking in front of gold ornaments at a jewelry shop on the occasion of the Akshaya Tritiya festivities in Bangalore, India, 20 April 2026. (EPA)

Gold prices eased on Tuesday as the dollar firmed, while investors waited to see if the US and Iran are meeting this week for peace talks after renewed tensions over the weekend.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,807.91 per ounce, as of 0217 GMT, extending its fall from Monday when it hit the lowest level since April 13. US gold futures for June delivery ‌were steady at $4,827.30.

The ‌US dollar firmed, making greenback-denominated commodities more ‌expensive ⁠for holders of ⁠other currencies.

Investors are now awaiting "the next headline regarding whether the talks are going to go ahead in Islamabad and then if they do, whether a ceasefire is extended or even better, a peace deal is done," said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

"If those things happen, gold will probably be well supported ⁠because oil prices will drop. If those things ‌don't come about, you might start ‌to see some of that volatility come back into the market," Rodda ‌said.

Oil prices fell as investors reassessed supply risks on expectations ‌peace talks between the US and Iran will take place this week and allow more supply to flow from the key Middle East producing region.

Higher crude prices feed into inflation by raising transportation and production costs. ‌Gold is considered an inflation hedge, but high interest rates make yield-bearing assets more attractive, weighing on ⁠its appeal.

Iran ⁠is considering attending peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, following moves by Islamabad to end a US blockade of Iran's ports, a significant obstacle to Tehran rejoining peace efforts as the end of a two-week ceasefire approaches.

The two-week ceasefire to the conflict that has killed thousands and roiled the global economy, particularly energy markets, is set to expire this week.

Gold prices have fallen about 8% since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.6% to $79.40 per ounce, platinum lost 0.7% to $2,074, while palladium was up 0.3% at $1,556.16.

Business

Iraq Reopens Rabia Border Crossing to Boost Fuel Oil Exports via Syria

This aerial picture shows cars and trucks loaded with goods waiting to cross over into Syria at the al-Rabia border crossing on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial picture shows cars and trucks loaded with goods waiting to cross over into Syria at the al-Rabia border crossing on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
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Iraq Reopens Rabia Border Crossing to Boost Fuel Oil Exports via Syria

This aerial picture shows cars and trucks loaded with goods waiting to cross over into Syria at the al-Rabia border crossing on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial picture shows cars and trucks loaded with goods waiting to cross over into Syria at the al-Rabia border crossing on April 20, 2026. (AFP)

Iraq has reopened the Rabia border crossing with Syria after more than a decade to accelerate overland fuel oil exports and revive cross-border trade amid disruption to Gulf shipping following the Iran war, Iraqi border officials said on Monday.

The crossing, located in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, will allow fuel oil shipments to be trucked through Syria while also reopening the route to ‌commercial trade ‌traffic that has been halted since ‌the ⁠conflict that followed ⁠Syria’s civil war, officials said.

The head of Iraq’s Border Ports Commission, Omar al-Waeli, said reopening Rabia would ease pressure on fuel shipments to Syria by allowing more fuel oil trucks to cross, with most convoys currently backed up at ⁠the al-Waleed crossing in western Iraq, ‌the only operating ‌border point.

Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO has recently turned to overland routes through Syria, despite higher ‌costs, as one of the few viable alternatives to keep exports flowing. SOMO ⁠awarded ⁠contracts to supply about 650,000 metric tons of fuel oil per month from April to June to be trucked overland via Syria.

Convoys of tanker trucks loaded with Iraqi fuel oil are expected to begin crossing in the coming days, adding capacity to an operation that energy officials say has already stretched Iraq’s trucking and border infrastructure.

Iraq had previously exported the bulk of its fuel oil through the Khor al-Zubair terminal on the Gulf.