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Saudi to Provide $300m Export Funding for Bahrain's Noga

The signing of the agreement between the Saudi Fund for Development and the National Oil and Gas Authority. Asharq All-Awsat Arabic
The signing of the agreement between the Saudi Fund for Development and the National Oil and Gas Authority. Asharq All-Awsat Arabic
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Saudi to Provide $300m Export Funding for Bahrain's Noga

The signing of the agreement between the Saudi Fund for Development and the National Oil and Gas Authority. Asharq All-Awsat Arabic
The signing of the agreement between the Saudi Fund for Development and the National Oil and Gas Authority. Asharq All-Awsat Arabic

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has signed a financing agreement worth USD300 million (SAR1.11 billion) with the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA).

The agreement was signed, in a ceremony held under the patronage of Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, to fund Saudi exports of NOGA for projects in oil and gas sectors. It was signed by NOGA holding acting chief executive Dr. Dhafer al-Jalahma and SFD vice-president and managing director Dr. Khalid bin Sulaiman al-Khudairi.

Under the agreement, the fund will provide export credit and insurance for Saudi national exports to encourage domestic economic diversification and contribute to development within Bahrain. The minister said the agreement aims to finance the needs of Saudi manufacturing companies to participate in supplying to the oil and gas industry and projects in Bahrain.

Sheikh Mohammed said that the past period witnessed restless efforts and several initiatives by oil companies affiliated with NOGA that resulted in many oil projects, including updating Bahrain oilfield refinery that is considered the biggest with a capacity of 358,000 barrels worth USD6 billion.

Khudairi affirmed that Saudi-Bahraini ties are solid, hailing strong relations between SFD and Bahrain in development and commercial fields.

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Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
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Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.