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Sudan Bids to Import Flour, Wheat

Supporters gather outside the National Prison during the release of politicians and journalists, after demonstrations in Khartoum, Sudan February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
Supporters gather outside the National Prison during the release of politicians and journalists, after demonstrations in Khartoum, Sudan February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
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Sudan Bids to Import Flour, Wheat

Supporters gather outside the National Prison during the release of politicians and journalists, after demonstrations in Khartoum, Sudan February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
Supporters gather outside the National Prison during the release of politicians and journalists, after demonstrations in Khartoum, Sudan February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning launched Sunday an open tender on the supply of 500,000 tons of wheat and flour, in response to a wave of protests Sudan witnessed in the past days.

Days earlier, Sudan's Prime Minister Moataz Moussa announced budget 2019 that encapsulates subsidies allocations of SDG66 billion (USD1.4 billion) and SDG53 billion out of them are for bread and fuel.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the wheat and flour bid is meant to calm protesters and easing living conditions that are affected by bread prices and scarcity of wheat.

Economist Prof. Mohamed Jack Ahmad told Asharq Al-Awsat that the success of the public budget is hinged to negative economic indicators including the inflation rate, foreign currencies exchange, the rise of services and commodities prices, and the recession in Sudanese markets.

Director-General of the Agricultural Bank of Sudan Salah al-Din Hassan said that the amount of the tender is to be determined later after the closing date of submission, pointing out that the last tender for the supply of wheat issued by the Ministry of Finance was about two years ago.

Former deputy minister of foreign trade and former official of the wheat file Al-Kindi Yusuf pointed out that the scarcity of strategic commodities, including wheat and bread flour, has become a phenomenon associated with the economies of developing countries, which is always paid to plan for self-sufficiency.

Yusuf pointed out that the tender for wheat and bread flour at this particular time means that the government has renewed the support that stopped the commodity to absorb the political turmoil caused by citizens in protest against the high prices of bread.

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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.