Egypt Inks Deal to Further Accelerate Supply of Green Fuels

A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)
A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)
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Egypt Inks Deal to Further Accelerate Supply of Green Fuels

A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)
A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)

Egypt signed on Monday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maersk in a joint bid to further accelerate the supply of green fuels for ships as part of the shipping industry’s transition to net-zero.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed the signing of the deal with the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), the Sovereign Fund of Egypt for Investment and Development (TSFE), and Maersk.

The agreement will see the establishment of a project to produce green fuels for ship bunkering supplies and to achieve zero carbon emissions.

The signing was attended by Egypt's Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and Morten Bo Christiansen, Head of Decarbonization at Maersk.

The MoU is in line with the government's commitment to green projects, especially since Egypt will host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC .

Madbouly stressed that Egypt, under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, continues to strive to expand in the field of clean energy and its uses.

This is evident through providing the necessary support in this field, while placing green fuel projects on its list of priorities, and pushing for the implementation of these projects as pillars of the state’s strategy towards the localization of the green fuel industry.

“Capitalizing on Egypt’s fundamentals and vision, SCZone’s strategic integrated areas of ports and industrial parks around the Suez Canal and leveraging on the solid and enduring longstanding relationship we have with Maersk, I am looking forward to the evolvement of this project, which meets our mutual target of transforming into the green economy,” said Eng. Yahia Zaki, Chairman of the SCZone.



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
TT

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.