Saudi Arabia Allocates $28Bln for Water Projects

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman al-Fadley announced the allocation of SAR105 billion for water projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman al-Fadley announced the allocation of SAR105 billion for water projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Allocates $28Bln for Water Projects

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman al-Fadley announced the allocation of SAR105 billion for water projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman al-Fadley announced the allocation of SAR105 billion for water projects. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman al-Fadley announced the allocation of SAR105 billion ($28 billion) for water projects within the five-year capital portfolio of the environment, water and agriculture system.

He said that the portfolio includes around 1,300 projects as part of the first package of the projects listed in the water sector.

The projects are in line with the Kingdom’s efforts to improve the level of services in the sector and maximize the utilization of sources and assets.

They are part of the National Water Strategy and aim to achieve the ministry's objectives that include developing and preserving water resources, as well as protecting the environment and providing safe supply, high quality and efficient services.

Fadley stressed that this step will contribute to the economic and social development in the Kingdom in line with Vision 2030.

Separately, the Ministry will launch on Monday the shrimp fishing season 2022, which will end in January 2023.

It issued permits for more than 1,827 large and small boats to fish during the season along the coast of the Arabian Gulf.

More than 15,500 tons of shrimp were netted last year, while the prices of 16 kilograms of shrimps ranged between SAR200 for small shrimps and SAR700 for large shrimps.



Gold Holds in Narrow Range as Spotlight Shifts to US Jobs Data

FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013.  REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
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Gold Holds in Narrow Range as Spotlight Shifts to US Jobs Data

FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013.  REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

Gold prices were stuck in range-bound trade on Thursday as investors awaited US non-farm payrolls data that could influence the Federal Reserve's timeline for interest rate cuts.

Spot gold edged down by 0.1% to $3,352.59 an ounce by 0801 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.1% to $3,363.10.

"Gold is looking for new triggers," said WisdomTree commodities strategist Nitesh Shah.

"We had slightly weak ADP data that could potentially point to a little bit of weakness in underlying labor markets, which has been a little bit of a support for gold, but the non-farm payrolls could be a trigger point later."

Data released by ADP showed US private payrolls dropped by 33,000 jobs in June, marking the first decline in more than two years.

The non-farm payrolls report due at 1230 GMT on Thursday is expected to show an addition of 110,000 jobs in June, down from 139,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll.

US equities climbed to record highs after President Donald Trump announced that the US has struck a trade deal with Vietnam, including a 20% tariff on exports to the United States. He has also expressed optimism about a deal with India.

"More trade deals at lower tariffs could build some confidence that inflation will remain benign, thus allowing the Fed to ease monetary policy," ANZ analysts said in a note.

Non-yielding gold tends to perform well when interest rates are low and during times of political and financial uncertainty.

In other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.1% to $36.93 an ounce and platinum was steady at $1,417.85, hovering near a more than 10-year high hit last week, while palladium was up 0.1% at $1,155.97.