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.



Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
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Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo

Gold prices hovered near a four-week peak on Thursday, while focus shifted to jobs report due on Friday for clarity on the Federal Reserve's 2025 interest rate path.
Spot gold edged 0.1% higher to $2,664.30 per ounce, as of 0732 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,681.80
"Prices are trading in a narrow range ... A new trigger is needed for gold to breach its resistance," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
The bullion hit a near four-week high in the previous session after a weaker-than-expected US private employment report hinted that the Fed may be less cautious about easing rates this year.
The market now awaits US jobs report on Friday for more cues on the Fed's policy path.
Investors are also awaiting Donald Trump to take office on Jan. 20 and his proposed tariffs and protectionist policies are expected to fuel inflation.
Policymakers at the Fed's last meeting also "noted that recent higher-than-expected readings on inflation, and the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, suggested that the process could take longer than previously anticipated," the minutes showed on Wednesday.
Bullion is considered an inflationary hedge, but high rates reduce the non-yielding asset's allure.
"We believe the bulk of the rally has been put in and that while gold's upward momentum may carry it higher in the near term and in early 2025, a combination of physical and financial market factors may tame the rally and drive gold moderately lower by the end of next year," HSBC said in a note.
Elsewhere, physically-backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) registered their first inflow in four years, the World Gold Council said.
Spot silver added 0.2% to $30.17 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.3% to $952.54 and palladium shed 0.8% to $921.37.