Egypt, Nigeria Seal Agreements Worth $30m

Bilateral meetings between Egypt and Nigeria in Cairo on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bilateral meetings between Egypt and Nigeria in Cairo on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Egypt, Nigeria Seal Agreements Worth $30m

Bilateral meetings between Egypt and Nigeria in Cairo on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bilateral meetings between Egypt and Nigeria in Cairo on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt witnessed the signing of bilateral agreements and partnerships between Nigerian and Egyptian businessmen during the Egyptian-Nigerian Economic Conference.

The Egyptian African Businessmen's Association (EABA) organized the conference.

Chairman of the EABA Dr. Yousrey ElSharkawi said that the outcomes of the conference include promptly operating the Egyptian plastic sewage pipes factories, and exporting Egyptian ready-made clothes to Nigeria.

ElSharkawi said during a press conference that six companies from both countries agreed on cooperating in the sectors of construction, medical equipment, and engineering industries.

Discussions also highlighted the agricultural sector, fertilizers, and solar energy.

The conference resulted in $30 million worth of agreements between Egypt and Nigeria.

These events achieve the Egyptian dream to ensure the private sector’s access to Africa, said ElSharkawi, and they also seek increasing cooperation.

Several countries from the African continent, including Zambia and Mauritius, intend to send delegations to Egypt in the two upcoming months, according to ElSharkawi.

For his part, Minister of State for Works and Housing Ibrahim El-Yakub expressed his country’s aspiration to cooperate with Egypt in the housing sector.

Yakub examined housing units presented by the private sector, given that Nigeria requires a minimum of 200,000 housing units each year.



Gold Stabilizes after Selloff as Wider Markets Regain Balance

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
TT

Gold Stabilizes after Selloff as Wider Markets Regain Balance

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Gold prices held steady on Tuesday, anchored by stability in European equities and US stock futures, a day after bullion's sharp decline amid a tech-led selloff.

Spot gold was steady at $2,742.37 per ounce by 12:05 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $2,746.70.

"After the drop yesterday, with gold likely being used to cover losses in other asset classes, stable equity markets in Europe are keeping gold stable too," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, Reuters reported.

Gold fell over 1% on Monday, marking its steepest drop since Dec. 18, as investors rushed to liquidate bullion to offset losses triggered by a sharp pullback in technology stocks, spurred by DeepSeek's low-cost, low-power AI model, casting doubt on the dominance of traditional AI giants.

Investors' focus is now set upon the Federal Reserve's first meeting this year, scheduled to start later in the day.

Policymakers are expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the end of the two-day meeting.

However, US President Donald Trump saying he wants borrowing costs to be lowered cast some doubt over the independence of the Fed's decision.

"Market uncertainty should still support demand for gold over the coming months, we still look for higher prices later this year, driven also by further rate cuts by the Fed," Staunovo added.

Trump's policies, in addition to being perceived as inflationary, could potentially trigger trade wars, increasing safe-haven demand for bullion.

Gold prices look set for a record-breaking year due to heightened economic uncertainty and inflation concerns, a Reuters poll showed.

However, analysts downgraded their 2025 price forecasts for platinum and palladium as demand struggles to improve significantly.

Spot silver fell 0.1% to $30.17 per ounce, palladium was down by 0.1% to $959.75 and platinum also shed 0.1% to $946.05.