Iraq Raises June Basrah Medium Crude Price to Asia to $4.30 a Barrel

Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. (Reuters)
Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. (Reuters)
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Iraq Raises June Basrah Medium Crude Price to Asia to $4.30 a Barrel

Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. (Reuters)
Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. (Reuters)

Iraq has raised the June official selling price for Basrah Medium crude oil to Asia to $4.30 a barrel against the average of Oman/Dubai quotes from the May OSP of $17.30 a barrel, state-owned Iraqi oil marketer SOMO said on Sunday.

Basra Heavy to Asia in the same month was priced at $2.20 a barrel to Oman/Dubai quotes, from $15.20 a barrel set for May.

Iraq has offered term buyers May-loading Basrah crude at steep discounts for loading inside the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely blocked since ‌the Iran conflict began.

The OPEC producer is offering its flagship Basrah Medium crude at discounts of $33.40, or $26 a barrel to its May official selling price, for loading on May 1 to May 10 or May 11 to May 31, ⁠respectively, according to a May 3 notice from state oil marketer SOMO seen by Reuters.

It also offered May-loading Basrah Heavy crude at a discount of $30 per barrel to the May OSP, the document showed.

The cargoes are sold on a free-on-board basis at the Basrah Oil Terminal or Single Point Moorings, both located inside the Strait of Hormuz.

The OSP is determined ‌on ⁠the final destination of the cargoes, it said.

The discounts underscore mounting pressure on Iraqi crude exports as shipping risks persist in the waterway, a ⁠critical artery for global oil flows.

Iraqi crude exports, which averaged 3.33 million barrels per day in 2025, are mostly shipped to Asia, ⁠Kpler data showed.

In April, only two vessels loaded at Iraq's Basra port, one of them has past the Strait ⁠of Hormuz while the other one has not been out, according to Kpler.



Saudi-Jordanian Business Council Recommends Boosting Economic Cooperation

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi-Jordanian Business Council Recommends Boosting Economic Cooperation

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

Meetings of the Joint Saudi-Jordanian Business Council were held in Jordan’s capital, Amman, to strengthen bilateral partnerships, promote joint projects, and address obstacles to trade and investment flows, SPA reported.

The council’s sectoral committees recommended a package of practical measures and initiatives to strengthen economic and investment cooperation, boost bilateral trade, and facilitate the movement of investors, businesspeople, and goods between the two countries.


Japan Seeks Record $55.6 bln Defense Budget, with AI Focus, Says Ministry

This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
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Japan Seeks Record $55.6 bln Defense Budget, with AI Focus, Says Ministry

This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
This photo shows an exterior view of the Defense Ministry of Japan with its sign at the main entrance in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

Japan's defense ministry requested a record budget of 8.9 trillion yen ($55.6 billion) on Monday as Tokyo looks to artificial intelligence to speed up decision-making in the face of a tense security environment.

But the final budget reportedly could reach 10 trillion yen as Tokyo undergoes a sweeping upgrade of its defense in order to navigate growing tension with neighbors such as China, North Korea and Russia.


Turkish Economy Grows Less-Than-Forecast 2.3% in Q2 as Domestic Demand Shrinks

24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)
24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)
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Turkish Economy Grows Less-Than-Forecast 2.3% in Q2 as Domestic Demand Shrinks

24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)
24 August 2026, Türkiye, Istanbul: Pigeons take flight at sunset as people sit along the waterfront in Istanbul. (dpa)

Türkiye’s economy expanded 2.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, data showed on Monday, below forecasts as domestic demand shrank amid tight monetary policy and the Iran war impact. 

In a Reuters poll, economic growth was estimated to have risen by 2.9% in the second quarter and was forecast to expand by ‌3.05% in 2026. ‌It was the fourth consecutive quarter of slower ‌growth. 

Treasury ⁠and Finance Minister ⁠Mehmet Simsek said that growth would rise after the "balanced" second-quarter growth. 

"Thanks to progress in the disinflation process and more supportive global conditions, we expect growth to gradually increase in the coming period," Simsek said in a statement after the data. 

Second-quarter gross domestic product grew 1.1% from the previous quarter on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, the Turkish ⁠Statistical Institute data showed. 

The strongest growth by ‌activity was shown by agriculture, forestry ‌and fishing, which expanded 13.3%, while information and communication grew 8.6%, the data ‌showed. 

Haluk Burumcekci from Burumcekci Research and Consultancy said there was ‌an "increasingly evident loss of momentum in domestic demand", adding that the "positive contribution from net external demand after six quarters suggests that the first signs of the 'rebalancing among demand components,' one of the key objectives of the economic ‌program, have begun to emerge". 

External demand contributed 0.6 percentage points to second quarter growth, while domestic ⁠demand shrank ⁠1.3% quarter-on-quarter, economists said, noting that this was a disinflationary development. 

Turkish annual consumer price inflation stood at 31.75% in July, underscoring the challenges for the central bank, which has held rates at 37% in the last four policy meetings as it monitors Iran war fallout. 

While tight monetary and fiscal policies implemented to balance domestic demand and combat high inflation put pressure on economic growth, the economy grew by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to revised figures. 

Growth in 2025 was revised to 3.7% from 3.6%. 

The government's current medium-term program projected growth of 3.8% in 2026. A new medium-term program will be announced on September 7.