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 King Abdullah Financial Center in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Sovereign Fund Allocates $19.4 Billion for Green Projects Spending

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has earmarked $19.4 billion for eligible green projects, with $5.2 billion allocated by June of this year. As one of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. SPA file photo

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Tops The Times Global Ranking

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) has topped universities in the Middle East and Africa in the Times Higher Education global ranking,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business FILE PHOTO: Chinese Finance Minister Lan Foan speaks at the China Development Forum (CDF) 2024, in Beijing, China March 24, 2024. REUTERS/Jing Xu/File Photo

China Flags More Fiscal Stimulus for Economy

China pledged on Saturday to "significantly increase" debt to revive its sputtering economy, but left investors guessing on the overall size of the stimulus…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Lebanese national flag flutters in Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2020. (Reuters)

Lebanon's Bonds Soar as Traders Place Counterintuitive Bets

Israel's airstrikes in Lebanon are inflicting destruction that could set its economy back by years. But the defaulted country's bonds have climbed to two…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A view shows ingots 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

Gold Gains as Dollar off 2-month Highs on Fed Rate Cut Expectations

Gold extended gains after the release of the latest data on US producer prices on Friday, as the US dollar pulled back from two-month highs on heightened…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: A view shows an oil pump jack outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Oil Heads for Weekly Climb on Potential Mideast Supply Disruption

Oil prices softened on Friday but were set for a second weekly gain as investors weighed the impact of hurricane damage on US demand against any broad supply…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A citizen working in an agricultural area in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia to Launch First Green Zone to Present Solutions for Combating Desertification

Saudi Arabia has become the first country to establish a “green zone” at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business A power transmission tower is seen in Karachi, Pakistan, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo

Pakistan Ends Power Purchase Deals to Cut Costs

Pakistan's government has reached an agreement with utilities to end power purchase contracts, including one with Pakistan's largest private utility that…

Asharq Al Awsat (Karachi)
Business Saudi Arabia, Oman Sign MoU on Cooperation in Economic Planning

Saudi Arabia, Oman Sign MoU on Cooperation in Economic Planning

The Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning and Oman's Ministry of Economy signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) focusing on cooperation in…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business FILE - Containers are piled up in the harbor in Hamburg, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)

WTO: Global Trade Could Climb 3% in 2025 if MidEast Conflicts Contained

The World Trade Organization on Thursday nudged up its forecast for global trade volumes this year and said a further pick up to 3% growth was likely in 2025,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business File photo of the Israeli Leviathan field (Reuters)

Will Escalation Stop Israeli Gas Production?

The American energy giant Chevron, which operates the Leviathan field off the Mediterranean coast of Israel, has decided to suspend work on laying an…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business GASTAT released its Industrial Production Index (IPI) report for August 2024. SPA

Saudi Industrial Production Index Increases in August

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has released its Industrial Production Index (IPI) report, revealing a 1.0% increase in IPI during…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business A participant shows gold bars during the 21st edition of the international gold and jewelry exhibition at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Kuwait City on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Yasser AL ZAYYAT / AFP)

Gold Prices Inch Higher With US Inflation Data in Focus

Gold prices nudged higher on Thursday, while traders await a key US inflation data due later in the day to gauge the Federal Reserve's future monetary policy…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Deputy Governor of the Communications, Space and Technology Authority for the Technology Sector (Asharq Al-Awsat)

20 Tech Companies Listed on Tadawul with a Value Exceeding $39 Billion

Raed Al-Fayez, Deputy Governor of the Communications, Space, and Technology Commission for the Technology Sector, revealed that the number of tech companies…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Deputy Governor of the Eastern Province oversees the signing of a contract for the implementation of the project of linking the Gulf Electricity Market with Iraq (SPA)

GCC Signs Landmark Electricity Market Connection with Iraq

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries signed on Wednesday a contract to implement a project linking the Gulf electricity market with Iraq. The project…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dammam)
Business 09 October 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: A general view of buildings damaged by Israeli strikes. Photo: Mahmoud Issa/Quds Net News via ZUMA Press/dpa

Geopolitical Strife Could Cost Global Economy $14.5 Trln Over 5 Years

The global economy could face losses of $14.5 trillion over a five-year period from a hypothetical geopolitical conflict which hits supply chains, insurance…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business An Iranian oil field. Reuters file phto

Iran Oil Exports Slump to Multiyear Lows

Iran's crude export loadings have fallen sharply, according to observed and estimated tanker loadings, as Tehran braces for a potential strike on the country's…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business The Bank of Israel building in Jerusalem. Reuters

Israel Central Bank Holds Rates

The Bank of Israel kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday for a sixth straight meeting, but raised the prospect of future rate increases should armed…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The announcement was made during a ceremony held at Cruise Saudi’s headquarters in Jeddah. SPA

Cruise Saudi Announces Development of Private Red Sea Island for Cruise-Ship Tourism

Cruise Saudi, a company fully owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and specialized in developing the Kingdom’s cruise tourism sector, announced the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Jeddah)
Business A participant shows gold bars during the 21st edition of the international gold and jewelry exhibition at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Kuwait City on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Yasser AL ZAYYAT / AFP)

Gold Extends Fall to Sixth Day ahead of Fed, US Inflation Data

Gold extended losses for a sixth straight session on Wednesday to hover near the two-week lows hit the day before on lowered expectations of deeper rate cuts,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil Slips as Strong Supply Counters Middle East, Hurricane Risk

Oil prices erased early gains on Wednesday as weak demand fundamentals and rising supply countered elevated risk of supply disruption from conflict in the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A woman shops at a supermarket in Cairo. Reuters

Egypt's Headline Inflation Inches Up in September

Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation climbed for a second month in September, rising to 26.4% from 26.2% in August, data from the country's statistics…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business A man phones with his mobile while entering the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

China Files Complaint Against Türkiye at WTO

China has taken the first step in initiating a trade dispute with Türkiye at the World Trade Organization over its tariffs on imports of electric vehicles, the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beijing)
Business Jassem Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), participating at the Global Rail conference in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Gulf States Advance Railway Connection, Expected to Launch in 2030

Jassem Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), announced that member states are working together to unify their policies and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)