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IMF Expects GCC Reserves to Grow by $300-$350 Bln in Three Years on Higher Oil Prices

General view of Bahrain's financial district in Manama, Bahrain, June 20, 2019. Picture taken June 20, 2019. (Reuters)
General view of Bahrain's financial district in Manama, Bahrain, June 20, 2019. Picture taken June 20, 2019. (Reuters)
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IMF Expects GCC Reserves to Grow by $300-$350 Bln in Three Years on Higher Oil Prices

General view of Bahrain's financial district in Manama, Bahrain, June 20, 2019. Picture taken June 20, 2019. (Reuters)
General view of Bahrain's financial district in Manama, Bahrain, June 20, 2019. Picture taken June 20, 2019. (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund expects the foreign reserves of the six oil-rich Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to increase by $300-$350 billion in the next three years, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The GCC - which comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman - "will benefit from the increase in oil prices", Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, told Asharq TV.

Oil prices have risen about 60% from the start of the year as global demand recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

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Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon's deeply distressed sovereign dollar bonds hit a fresh two-year high on Tuesday as investors bet that a potential ceasefire with Israel could improve the country's prospects.

The bonds, which are still trading below 10 cents on the dollar, have gained more than 3% this week. The 2031 maturity was biding at 9.3 cents on the dollar, its highest since May 2022, according to Reuters.

"Some investors are mulling if it is a right time to buy, since a ceasefire is the first step needed to at some point in time restructure bonds," said Bruno Gennari, emerging markets strategist with KNG Securities International.

Israel's cabinet is expected to convene on Tuesday to discuss, and likely approve, a US plan for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli airstrikes, which continued on Tuesday, have decimated Lebanon's infrastructure and killed thousands.

But the counterintuitive rally, the second since Israel began bombing the country in September, was driven by bets that the deal could jolt Lebanon's fractured political system and revive efforts to pull the country out of default.