Report: Saudi Aramco to Sell More Assets

A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Report: Saudi Aramco to Sell More Assets

A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
A view shows branded oil tanks at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia October 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

The world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, is planning to raise tens of billions of dollars by selling more stakes in its businesses, Bloomberg reported this week.

The Saudi Arabian state-controlled firm created a new team to review its assets last year, soon after the coronavirus pandemic triggered a plunge in energy prices and strained its balance sheet, it said.

Aramco raised $12.4 billion by selling leasing rights over oil pipelines to a US-led group of investors in April.

The sales will continue in the next few years, according to Abdulaziz Al Gudaimi, senior vice president for corporate development.

They will happen “irrespective of any market conditions” and Aramco aims to generate “double-digit billions of dollars,” Al Gudaimi said in an interview.

“It’s a strategy meant to create value and create efficiency, it’s not about a specific capital target or financing the dividends of the company.”



Gold Edges Up as Investors Seek Fed Clues from US Data

FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo
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Gold Edges Up as Investors Seek Fed Clues from US Data

FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman picks a gold earring at a jewelry shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, May 24, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo

Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, supported by US rate cut bets and geopolitical concerns, while the focus shifted to economic data due this week for clues into the Federal Reserve's interest rate path.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,640.65 per ounce, as of 0810 GMT, after falling by as much as 1% on Monday. US gold futures were 0.2% higher at $2,663.40, Reuters reported.
US data this week includes the job openings due later on Tuesday, the ADP employment report on Wednesday, and the payrolls report on Friday.
"The next big thing is going to be the payrolls on Friday night because it'll tell us whether the Fed is essentially going to green-light the interest rate cut in a couple of weeks," said Kyle Rodda, financial market analyst at Capital.com.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Monday said, with inflation still forecast to fall to 2%, he is inclined "at present" to support another rate cut later this month.
The comments boosted expectations of a rate cut at the Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting to nearly 75% compared from 66% a day before.
"It seems we're just oscillating in one place until a new trigger emerges," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Non-yielding gold tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment and during periods of geopolitical turmoil.
Driving tensions in the Middle East, the Israeli military targeted dozens of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon on Monday.
Elsewhere, spot silver gained 1.3% to $30.89 per ounce, platinum added 0.6% to $952.18 and palladium rose 1% to $991.21.