Bahrain: Sustainable Energy Authority Established

 Image used for illustrative purpose. Palm Trees along King Faisal Highway in Bahrain. Getty Images
Image used for illustrative purpose. Palm Trees along King Faisal Highway in Bahrain. Getty Images
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Bahrain: Sustainable Energy Authority Established

 Image used for illustrative purpose. Palm Trees along King Faisal Highway in Bahrain. Getty Images
Image used for illustrative purpose. Palm Trees along King Faisal Highway in Bahrain. Getty Images

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa issued Thursday a royal decree appointing Dr. Abdulhussain bin Ali Mirza as the president of the Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA).

The authority, affiliated to the Cabinet, will encourage more investments in the sector and conduct a comprehensive assessment to raise efficiency and develop a general policy.

SEA will also make proposals to set national sustainable energy goals in association with governmental and non-governmental entities.

Bahrain plans to provide around 5 percent of the electricity needs from the solar energy projects, which is equal to around 250 MW by 2025. Bahrain’s output totals around 3,920 MW daily from the natural gas stations.

The decree also stipulated the authority’s tasks such as proposing a work-plan and determining the goals to enhance the efficiency of sustainable energy in addition to suggesting projects and initiatives by which sustainable energy sources are developed.

Some of the goals are to monitor the performance of the sustainable energy sector and to put economic and technical indicators on the level of achieving strategic goals and initiatives of sustainable energy and efficiency. Other goals are moving into a low-carbon economy.

The tasks also include directing the private sector and activating its role in maintaining sustainable energy in addition to inciting it to establish private or joint firms that aim to raise energy efficiency and use sustainable energy sources to generate electricity.



Gold Rises on Dip-buying, Focus on US-China Trade Updates

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany, January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany, January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth//File Photo
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20

Gold Rises on Dip-buying, Focus on US-China Trade Updates

FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany, January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany, January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth//File Photo

Gold prices rebounded on Thursday as investors bought bullion following a sharp decline in the previous session, while focus still remained on US-China trade tensions.
Spot gold was up 1.6% to $3,340.79 an ounce, as of 0907 GMT, Reuters reported. Bullion lost over 3% on Wednesday, in its worst daily performance since late November.
US gold futures gained 1.8% to $3,352.10.
"Gold's pullback earlier has cleared some of the froth from its latest surge. That in turn attracted some buy-the-dip action, amid still-persistent global trade war fears," said Han Tan, Exinity Group's chief market analyst.
"Given the still-evident tailwinds for this precious metal, gold bugs could ultimately conquer the $3,500 level with conviction."
Non-yielding bullion, traditionally seen as a hedge against global instability, has risen over 27% so far this year.
The International Monetary Fund made sharp reductions to its outlook for both US and global growth this year, with President Donald Trump's tariff policy the central reason behind the downgrade.
"If the economic outlook deteriorates further, then there's no reason why gold could not receive another strong bid," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US economic growth will surpass the IMF's revised estimate of 1.8%, down from 2.7% in January, if Trump administration's policies are implemented.
He also said that the excessively high tariffs between the US and China are unsustainable, and must be reduced before trade negotiations can proceed.
Supporting gold, the US dollar eased, making the greenback-priced bullion cheaper for overseas buyers.
Spot silver fell 0.5% to $33.37 an ounce, platinum was steady at $973.25 and palladium was down 0.6% to $939.53.