Egypt's Sisi Opens Huge Suspension Bridge over the Nile

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Sisi Opens Huge Suspension Bridge over the Nile

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday opened a suspension bridge over the Nile touted as the world's widest, one of a series of military-led, mega-projects designed to improve infrastructure and provide jobs.

The bridge, which crosses the Nile just north of central Cairo, is a key link in a highway stretching from the Red Sea in the east to Egypt's northwestern Mediterranean coast, and is meant to help reduce congestion in the capital.

Traffic ground to a halt in parts of central Cairo on Wednesday morning as Sisi traveled to open the bridge with ministers and military generals.

At its widest, the bridge has six traffic lanes in each direction and measures 67.3 meters (222 feet) across. A regional director for the Guinness Book of World Records present at the opening said that makes it the world's widest suspension bridge.

Around one million cubic meters of concrete as well as 1,400 km (2,268 miles) of steel wire for 160 suspension cables were used in its construction, according to a presentation given at the formal opening.

The bridge crosses the Nile's Warraq Island, which has an estimated 100,000 residents, some of whom have protested against planned demolitions on the island and plans to develop it into a "modern residential community".

Other prestige projects launched under Sisi include an expansion of the Suez Canal, completed in 2015, and the building of a new capital in the desert east of Cairo that is currently under construction.



Gold Prices Extend Gains as US-China Trade War Escalates

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo
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Gold Prices Extend Gains as US-China Trade War Escalates

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are displayed at a gold jewelry shop in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh May 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo

Gold prices extended gains on Thursday, driven by an escalating trade war between the United States and China, even after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for other countries.

Spot gold was up 1% at $3,113.20 an ounce at 0955 GMT, after its biggest daily gain since October 2023 on Wednesday. US gold futures were up 1.6% to $3,129.90.

"We're just living in a world of extreme uncertainty. We just don't really know which way this trade war is going to go ... I think for the course of this year, gold will march higher," said Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree.

Trump said on Wednesday he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries, but ramped up the tariff on China to 125% from 104% following Beijing's decision to impose an 84% levy on US goods.

The US Federal Reserve's minutes of its meeting last month showed policymakers were nearly unanimous in thinking the US economy faced simultaneous risks of higher inflation and slower growth, with some noting that "difficult trade-offs" could lie ahead for the central bank.

Investors' focus is on US consumer price index data at 1230 GMT to gauge the trajectory of the Fed's monetary policy. The market is currently pricing in 84 basis points of rate cuts by the Fed by year-end.

Bullion is viewed as a safe haven amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties, and tends to thrive in a low-interest rate environment. Spot gold prices have maintained an upward trend from last year, and have risen over 18% this year.

"My forecast (for gold) is for $3,600 in about a year's time with a lot of upside risk, and I wouldn't be surprised if we get to $4,000," Shah said.

Spot silver fell 0.3% to $30.95 an ounce, platinum lost 0.8% to $930.19, and palladium shed 1.9% to $914.20.