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Egypt's Suez Canal Revenues Hit $6.3b in 2021 vs $5.6b in 2020

Ships are seen at the entrance of the Suez Canal, Egypt March 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
Ships are seen at the entrance of the Suez Canal, Egypt March 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt's Suez Canal Revenues Hit $6.3b in 2021 vs $5.6b in 2020

Ships are seen at the entrance of the Suez Canal, Egypt March 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
Ships are seen at the entrance of the Suez Canal, Egypt March 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Egypt's Suez Canal revenues hit an all-time high in 2021 of $6.3 billion, versus $5.6 billion in 2020, canal spokesperson George Safwat said on Sunday.

Some 20,694 ships transited the canal in 2021, against 18,830 in 2020, a 10% increase, he added.

Earlier in December, the Suez Canal Economic Zone signed a $2.6 billion contract to build a methanol plant at Egypt's Ain Sokhna port and industrial complex.

The project will be executed in two phases, with completion of the first by 2025 at an investment cost of about $1.6 billion.

The second phase, with an estimated cost of about $1 billion, is to be completed over a further three years.

Targeted production capacity for the first phase is one million tonnes of methanol and 400,000 tonnes of ammonia per year.

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Gold Near Record High; Investors Await Fed Chair Powell's Speech

FILE - Gold bars are shown stacked in a vault at the United States Mint, on July 22, 2014, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
FILE - Gold bars are shown stacked in a vault at the United States Mint, on July 22, 2014, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
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Gold Near Record High; Investors Await Fed Chair Powell's Speech

FILE - Gold bars are shown stacked in a vault at the United States Mint, on July 22, 2014, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
FILE - Gold bars are shown stacked in a vault at the United States Mint, on July 22, 2014, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)

Gold prices rebounded and looked set to scale a fresh peak on Thursday, on mounting expectations for another US interest rate cut this year, while investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's address later today for more policy cues.
Spot gold climbed 0.4% to $2,668.05 per ounce, as of 0913 GMT, a few dollars away from the record $2,670.43 it hit on Wednesday.
US gold futures were up 0.2% to $2,691.20, reported Reuters.
"Gold price strength is feeding on itself just now. That’s to say momentum is driving speculative flows despite a rising US dollar and Treasury yields," said independent analyst Ross Norman.
"Powell's comments will be observed for indications about the depth of further cuts. But really it's a case of when, not if."
Last week, the Fed trimmed the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%-5.00%. Traders now see a 62% chance of an additional 50 bps reduction in November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Lower interest rates boost non-yielding gold's appeal.
Powell is set to give opening remarks later in the day at a conference, where New York Fed President John Williams and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr will also speak.
Markets will also scan the US jobless claims data on Thursday and the core personal consumption expenditure index - the Fed's preferred inflation indicator - on Friday.
Bullion has risen more than 29% so far in 2024, hitting record highs several times, fueled by the US rate cuts, safe-haven demand due to geopolitical and economic uncertainty and robust central bank buying.
"In the coming weeks, gold could set new records and we see $3,000 an ounce as the maximum extension of the bullish movement," analysts at Intesa Sanpaolo said.
"We forecast a 4Q24 gold average of $2,595, as some profit-taking could materialize towards year end."
Among other metals, spot silver climbed 0.9% to $32.16 per ounce, holding close to the four-month high it hit on Wednesday.
Platinum rose 1.8% to $1,005.61 and palladium gained 2.4% to $1,062.36.