Business

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

Business A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

World food prices edged lower in October as weaker import demand contributed to monthly declines in cereal, dairy and meat prices, but were still nearly 6%…

Business Copper at the Aurubis copper smelting and refining plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Reuters)

Copper Falls, Set for Worst Week Since March on AI Rout

Copper dropped on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly drop in London since March, as a rout in technology stocks battered markets. Benchmark three…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Workers walk at Kalyon Karapinar solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya province, Türkiye, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP)

Emerging Economies Set to Match Advanced Nations’ Renewable Capacity Additions, IEA Says

Emerging ‌and developing economies outside China are expected to add as much new renewable energy capacity as advanced economies for the first time over…

Business Gold bracelets displayed in a shop window on Green Street, east London, UK, April 30, 2024. (AFP)

Gold Drops Over 1% on Higher Oil Prices; US Payrolls Data in Focus

Gold prices slipped on Friday as oil prices rebounded, fanning inflation worries and higher-for-longer interest rate expectations, while investors awaited key…

Business A pumpjack operates near Bakersfield, California, on Oct. 16. (AFP)

Oil Set for Sharp Weekly Drop but Middle East Supply Concerns Provide Floor

Oil prices are set for a sharp weekly drop on expectations of a de-escalation of the Iran war after US President Donald Trump's party suffered election losses,…


Business The Saudi Aramco logo is pictured at Hyvolution exhibition in Paris, France, February 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Saudi Oil Giant Aramco Posts Third-Quarter Profits of $27.5 Billion

Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco reported third-quarter profits of $27.5 billion on Tuesday, down about 15% from last year as low oil prices ate into its…

Business SABIC reported a net profit of SAR 1 billion ($266 million) for the three months ending September 30. (SPA)

SABIC Returns to Profit in Q3 Driven by Revenue Growth

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s largest petrochemical firms, returned to profit in the third quarter, recovering from a loss a year…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Budget Shows Continued Government Spending on Mega-Projects

Saudi Arabia’s third-quarter budget results this year reflect the government’s commitment to boosting spending on mega-projects while working to increase…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business US Dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration picture taken June 14, 2022. (Reuters)

US Election Weighs on Markets

The dollar softened and stocks fell on Monday as investors treaded carefully hours before the US presidential election, with a US Federal Reserve interest-rate…

Business FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo

Oil Trades in Tight Range Ahead of US Election

Oil prices traded in a narrow range on Tuesday ahead of what is expected to be an exceptionally close US presidential election, after rising more than 2% in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia Records Significant Increase in Potato Production

Saudi Arabia Records Significant Increase in Potato Production

The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture announced a remarkable 47% increase in potato production in 2023, achieving a self-sufficiency rate of…

Business ACWA Power announced in March that it would execute the project, which will aid Kazakhstan in reaching its goal of sourcing 50% of its energy from clean resources by 2050. (Photo: ACWA Power)

Kazakhstan Anticipates Completion of ACWA Power’s Wind Energy Project

Kazakh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Madiyar Menilbekov, announced that his country eagerly anticipates the completion of ACWA Power’s first wind energy project…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives to attend a governmental seminar at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)

French People Need to Work More to Boost Growth, Minister Says

People in France must work more, Finance Minister Antoine Armand said on Monday, adding that the fact that French people worked less than their counterparts in…

Business Sisi and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. (Reuters file photo)

Egypt, IMF Hold New Discussions to Alleviate Citizens’ Financial Burdens

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed to review their joint credit facilitation program to ensure that no additional burdens are placed…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business The Road Safety and Sustainability Conference is held under the theme “Innovating for Tomorrow”. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia World Leader in Road Network Connectivity

Saudi Arabia ranks first globally in road network connectivity and has made significant strides, advancing to fourth place in road quality among G20 nations…

Ayat Nur (Riyadh)
Business Photo taken during MBC Group's opening of its new headquarters in Riyadh (SPA)

Saudi PIF Buys Istidamah Holding’s Stake in MBC for $2 Billion

The Saudi media group MBC has announced that Istidamah Holding, one of its shareholders, signed an agreement to sell its 54% stake to the Public Investment…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The Saudi Ministry of Tourism logo

Saudi Tourism Ministry Announces 99% Growth in Tourism Hospitality Licenses

The Ministry of Tourism announced that the number of tourism hospitality facilities licensed to operate across Saudi Arabia has increased to more than 3,950 by…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business FILE PHOTO: A view of the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) outside their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

OPEC+ Agrees to Delay December Output Hike for 1 Month

OPEC+ has agreed to delay a planned December oil output increase by one month, the group said on Sunday. Eight members of OPEC+, which groups the Organization…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Mawani Introduces GRC Shipping Service to Jeddah Islamic Port

Mawani Introduces GRC Shipping Service to Jeddah Islamic Port

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has announced the addition of the Gulf Red Sea Corridor (GRC) shipping service, operated by Emirates Shipping Line, to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a press conference in Brussels, Belgium October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

Germany's Scholz Summons Top Ministers over Rival Plans to Fix Economy

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold meetings with his top two ministers to try to find common ground after they put forward contradictory plans to fix the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia will assume the next UNCCD Presidency

Saudi Arabia Says it is a ‘Critical’ Moment to Tackle Land Degradation, Drought

With less than one month until the sixteenth session of the Conference of Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) starts in…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business A car drives near the site of the Iconic Tower skyscraper in the Central Business District and banks area, at the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt, November 3, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egypt: 4th Review of IMF Loan Program to Start Tuesday

The fourth review of Egypt's loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will start on Tuesday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business The exterior of the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building is seen in Washington, D.C., US, June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo

Federal Reserve is Set to Cut Rates Again

No one knows how Tuesday's presidential election will turn out, but the US Federal Reserve's move two days later is much easier to predict: With inflation…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Business Farmers harvest peanuts at the New Halfa irrigated agricultural project in Kassala state in eastern Sudan on October 20, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

War Decimates Harvest in Sudan

Ahmed Othman's farm has been spared from the deadly fighting that has spread across Sudan, but the war's toll on the economy and labor market has still reached…

Asharq Al Awsat (Khartoum)
Business A worker transports items during Cyber Monday at the Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville Township in New Jersey, US (Reuters/File)

US Job Growth Slowed Sharply in October amid Steady Unemployment Rate

US job growth likely slowed sharply in October amid disruptions from hurricanes and strikes by aerospace factory workers, but a steady unemployment rate should…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Business A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)

Egypt's Net Foreign Assets Fall in September

Egypt's net foreign assets (NFAs) fell by $591 million in September having dropped off sharply in August, central bank data showed on Friday. NFAs declined to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia Ranks 12th Globally in International Tourism Receipts

Saudi Arabia Ranks 12th Globally in International Tourism Receipts

Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector continues its impressive growth, advancing 15 positions in international tourism receipts and leading the Top 50 ranking in…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A view shows granules of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Gold and Silver Prices Rise after Profit-taking

Gold and silver prices rose on Friday, recovering from profit-taking during the previous session, while investors braced for US payrolls data for further clues…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A usually crowded beach in Tel Aviv is nearly deserted on August 25, 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Israeli Cabinet Approves 2025 State Budget with Spending Cuts to Pay for Ongoing War

The Israeli cabinet approved a long-delayed wartime budget package on Friday that includes a raft of tax increases and spending cuts to pay for a war that has…

Asharq Al Awsat